On Tuesday 1 February, the government announced funding for SEND & Short breaks (respite). SEND funding includes:
- Supported Internships
- Short breaks (respite)
- Targeted support
- Participation
- Direct support to schools for SEND CYP
Key announcements include:
- £30 million for the next three years to set up more than 10,000 additional Short breaks (respite), helping to provide positive opportunities for disabled children and young people and to give family carers a break so they can look after vulnerable children better in the long-term.
- £18 million over three years to double the capacity of the Supported Internship programme to provide thousands more young people who have additional needs to secure and sustain paid employment. The programme will additionally drive up the standards and quality of internship delivery across the country for students who have an Education, Health and Care Plan.
- The new funding for Short breaks (respite) and Supported Internships come alongside more than £45 million of continued targeted support for families and parents of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). These programmes will:
- Target support to improve monitoring, support and intervention for local authorities and local health and care partners’ delivery of statutory SEND services, with a focus on underperforming areas and sharing best practice;
- Improve participation and access for parents and young people for high quality advice and support; and
- Directly support schools and colleges to effectively work with pupils with SEND, for example through training on specific needs like autism.
The Council for Disabled Children welcome this funding.
Dame Christine Lenehan, Director of the Council for Disabled Children, said:
“We welcome the Government’s announcement of much needed money and support for services for children with SEND and their families. We look forward to this money reaching the young people and families who need them and a continual journey of improvements, including the publication of the SEND Review”.
The Disabled Children’s Partnership - a coalition of 100 organisations (including the Council for Disabled Children) that campaigns with parents, young people and others are pleased to see the new funding announced today. You can read their statement here:
You can read the government’s press release here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/package-to-transform-education-and-opportunities-for-most-disadvantaged