What Is SEN Funding For?

Places of learning have a legal duty to ‘use their best endeavours’ to ensure that a child with SEN receives the support they need. This means they must do everything reasonably possible to meet children’s and young people’s special educational needs.

Schools are expected to use part of their budget to provide additional help to allow children with SEN to access their education. This may include things like:

  • Adjustments to the curriculum
  • Special equipment or adapted teaching materials
  • Use of assistive technology
  • Small group interventions
  • Classroom support
  • A quiet base or supervised space for focused work or calm space for regulation

Who Manages SEN Resources in School?

The SEND Code of Practice explains that places of learning must plan how they use their resources to support pupils with SEN. As part of this:

School Governors

  • Set the school’s overall SEN policy
  • Oversee how resources are allocated

Headteacher and SENCO

  • Ensure the SEN policy is put into practice
  • Plan strategically how resources will be used
  • Develop a clear picture of the support available in the school
  • Make decisions in the context of the school’s total resources, including targeted funding such as the pupil premium

Class Teachers

  • Are responsible for meeting the SEN of pupils in their classroom
  • Work with the SENCO to ensure appropriate support is in place

The school’s SEN Information Report (on the school website) provides details about SEN arrangements and how to contact the SENCO.

Where does SEN funding come from?

All mainstream schools receive funding to support children with special educational needs. This money is called delegated funding, and within this, a portion is often referred to as the notional SEN budget. Schools have flexibility in how they use this funding to meet the needs of pupils with SEN.

SEN funding is made up of three elements:

Element 1 – Core Funding (Age Weighted Pupil Unit)

Every school receives a set amount of money for each pupil on roll. This is known as the Age Weighted Pupil Unit (AWPU) and forms part of the school’s delegated budget. It helps cover general SEN provision, such as contributing to the cost of a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) and other basic resources.
For maintained schools, this funding comes from the local authority. For academies and free schools, funding is provided by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

Element 2 – Additional SEN Support Funding

Element 2 funding is money allocated to schools so they can provide support that is additional to or different from what most pupils receive. Government guidance says that schools are expected to fund up to £6,000 of SEN provision for each child who needs extra support, including those with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This does not mean that every child with SEN receives support costing £6,000. Some may need less, some may need more, and schools often use funds across groups of children rather than individually or on whole school initiatives that will benefit children with SEN.

Parents can ask their child’s school how this SEN budget is being used, and the local authority’s Local Offer explains what kinds of resources this funding might support.

Element 3 – High Needs Funding (Top‑Up Funding)

Some children have very complex needs that require support beyond what a school can provide using Elements 1 and 2 alone. In these cases, the school or academy may request Element 3 funding, also known as High Needs Funding or the high needs block.

A child does not need an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) to receive this funding. The local authority manages the high needs block and may allocate additional funding when a school can demonstrate that a pupil has an exceptional level of need.

Unlike Elements 1 and 2, any money awarded through Element 3 must be used specifically for that individual pupil to provide the additional, personalised support they require. 

How Can Parents Find Out What Support Their Child Is Receiving?

The first step is to speak with your child’s teacher or the SENCO. This may happen at:

  • Parent evenings
  • SEN support meetings
  • Review meetings

Parents can ask for a written copy of any support plan.

If your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), the plan will clearly describe the support and resources your child should receive.

SEN Funding in Early Years

In Norfolk, early years providers are expected to offer a high-quality Universal Offer for all children aged 0–5, but some children will need support that is “additional to and different from” what is typically provided. When this happens, settings can apply for SEND Inclusion Funding, which gives additional financial support to help meet an individual child’s needs. Any provider that has signed the Norfolk Local Funding Agreement can request this funding, and it may be used for things like increased staffing ratios, targeted interventions, or time for staff to work with specialist services such as speech and language therapy or physiotherapy.

This funding aims to put early support in place to improve outcomes for children and reduce the likelihood of longer-term difficulties. Because early years funding is aimed at early identification and early intervention, it is structured to be flexible and responsive to changing needs.

Post 16 Funding

SEN funding in further education works in a similar three element way to schools, but there are some differences. Colleges receive their core funding through the 16–19 funding formula or the Adult Education Budget, rather than through school based delegated SEN budgets, and this includes resources for additional needs. Like schools, colleges are expected to meet the first £6,000 of SEN support per learner from their own budget.

High Needs Funding can be requested when support costs exceed £6,000, but the rules differ slightly: young people aged 16–18 can receive high needs top-up funding with or without an EHCP, whereas learners aged 19–25 must have an EHCP for this funding to continue. FE providers also place a greater emphasis on preparing students for adulthood focusing on independence, employment, and life skills and therefore may use their SEN funding differently to schools.