Bexley Children's Services reports underspend, but education faces significant overspend
Bexley Children's Services has reported a projected underspend of £0.083 million in its budget for the 2026/27 financial year, a positive financial outcome noted by Councillor Kurtis Christoforides. However, the Education department is forecasting a substantial overspend of £0.669 million, primarily driven by increased demand and reforms within Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services.
The Budget Monitoring Report for 2026/27, presented to the Children's Services and Education Overview and Scrutiny Committee, detailed the financial performance. While Children's Social Care is in a healthy financial position, the Education department faces pressures, with SEN Transport accounting for a significant variance of £0.387 million. This increase is attributed to the SEND reform plan growth and factoring in increase in demand from September 2026,
as well as the cost of personal transport budgets (previously assumed to be chargeable to the Dedicated Schools Grant) and faster than projected growth in the overall number of children receiving travel assistance.
Further contributing to the education overspend is £0.429 million in staffing costs for Educational Psychologists and Statutory Assessment & Inclusion. Of this, £269,000 is specifically for locum Educational Psychologists (EPs). To address these staffing cost increases, the council is implementing strategies to grow our own
EPs by supporting assistant EPs to qualify, improving work-life balance to retain existing staff beyond statutory assessments, and actively recruiting permanent EPs from other local authorities. Work related to emotional-based school avoidance (EBSA), which requires EP input, is also a factor.
Councillor Howard Jackson sought details on mitigation strategies for budget pressures. Amar Barot, Head of Finance Business Partnering, explained that the primary pressure in children's social care stems from children's placements, particularly those outside the borough or with independent providers. A key mitigation strategy is the investment in in-house fostering, which has seen improved recruitment and retention of foster carers. This investment aims to enable children with complex needs, who were previously in residential care, to step down, to be cared for within a family environment,
thereby impacting long-term placement costs.
Clarification was also sought by Councillor Christopher Reade regarding changes to asylum grant income and its effect on the SEND budget. Councillor Caroline Newton and Mr. Kitchman explained that the Home Office grant regime for under-18 asylum seekers is shifting from a surplus model to a to cost
funding approach. Historically, local authorities could use a surplus from this grant to offset pressures in the over-18s category. The new approach means no surplus, potentially creating a council-wide pressure due to less generous grant funding for over-18s. The overall SEND budget pressure encompasses SEN transport and Educational Psychologists.
Despite the overspend in Education, the report highlighted that transformation savings of £1.2 million are on target for full delivery in 2026/27, with the service exceeding these targets in the previous financial year. Service Reviews conducted in 2025/26 identified further mitigations, with the Children's Service directorate targeting £0.308 million in savings for 2026/27, which is also expected to be delivered in full.
Key factors influencing expenditure across the directorate include the percentage of children in care in residential placements, the number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), and the proportion of eligible children with SEND receiving travel assistance. The report was presented to the Children's Services and Education Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 13th October 2026.^[1]
[1] Public reports pack, 13th October 2026, Children's Services and Education Overview and Scrutiny Committee. http://democracy.bexley.gov.uk/documents/g30962/Public%20reports%20pack%2013th-Oct-2026%2019.30%20Childrens%20Services%20and%20Education%20Overview%20and%20Scrutiny%20Co.pdf?T=10