The huge amount of cash spent on providing expensive special needs education is becoming “unsustainable” the mayor has warned. Demand and costs for special educational needs (SEN) is rising across the country, with Bristol facing a growing budget black hole.
In an effort to stop these costs spiralling, the Department for Education has given Bristol City Council £1 million to explore what reforms can be brought in. While details of the reforms are not fully clear, they’re expected to begin by this April, affecting thousands of children.
This year, the council budgeted £78.5 million for its “high needs block”, and next year this will increase to £86.5 million. But this is still not enough cash to cover costs, with this year’s deficit expected to be £44 million, and growing next year to a whopping £63 million.
