ASCL comment on SEND and capital funding announcement

Responding to the Department for Education announcement about funding for new SEND and AP places and refurbishing school buildings, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said:

“This blizzard of figures looks very much like previously announced spending commitments. While any investment in education is welcome, it is a very long way short of the level of funding that is needed.

“The special educational needs system is on its knees, with many local authority high needs budgets in deficit, children waiting for assessments, and lack of money in schools for provision. In addition, parts of the school estate are literally crumbling as a result of 14 years of underinvestment, and many schools have to bid for funding just to be able to afford the cost of vital repairs.

“The recent Budget barely mentioned education despite the Prime Minister’s assertion that it is the ’silver bullet’. We urgently need to see education made a spending priority with strategic investment from the Treasury.”