Camden schools are facing a significant financial challenge, with a projected £8.45 million overspend on special needs provisions for the 2025/26 academic year. This overspend is driven by a continuing growth in the number of children and young people with high needs.

The projected overspend was a key topic at the Camden Council Schools Forum meeting on Thursday, 18 September 2025. According to the High Needs Block Update on 2025-26, the High Needs Block (HNB) allocation is expected to reach £58.9 million, but expenditure is forecast to rise to £67.4 million.

The report identified four primary drivers for the increased spending:

  • An increase of £2.74 million in Camden school funding.
  • A £1.05 million rise in individual tuition costs. The report notes that the increase in individual tuition reflects continuing growth in this area, which is to be thoroughly reviewed.
  • A £1.365 million increase in post-16 college fees. The projection for post-16 college fees is estimated as actual numbers for the academic year 25/26 are yet to be confirmed.
  • A £2.205 million rise in spending on non-Camden schools. The increase in spending on non-Camden schools reflects growing numbers but also a shortage of specialist places in Camden schools.

In response to these growing pressures, the Schools Forum considered a detailed mitigation strategy, outlined in the High Needs Block Update on 2025-26. The strategy aims to control spend and maintain a robust overview in a way that is sustainable whilst meeting the needs of our children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The cost-efficiency strategy includes strengthening internal processes, improving commissioning and expanding local provision.

Specific measures within the mitigation strategy include:

  • Embedding financial processes to ensure robust monitoring and review of costings and funding sources for the maintenance of individual EHC Plans and ENGs.
  • Strengthening multi-disciplinary placement panels for all placements
  • Reviewing SEN Panel decision-making processes including systems for recording financial decisions
  • Reviewing ENG decision-making processes including systems for recording financial decisions
  • Migration to Impulse Nexus
  • Additional data cleanse Officers and Auditors recruited to support improved compliance and consistency in record keeping in Impulse Nexus initiation
  • Training to be delivered to SEN team on record keeping requirements as part of agreed processes and policies
  • Multi Agency Post 16 Workshop
  • Improving annual review processes to address Post 19 placements Individual Tuition EOTAS Packages
  • Establishing a preferred provider framework with capped rates and agreed quality standards for AP and Interim Tuition
  • Developing new Service Level Agreements for Additionally Resources Provision (ARP)
  • Working with Post 16 providers on admissions processes and admissions panels. Explore trailing with host FE provider
  • Completing further data analysis on increasing numbers of children and young people with SEND to identify specific areas of investment including EOTAS packages, outcomes of tribunals, phase transfers and school provision and demand.
  • Reviewing mainstream and ARP Banding levels and banding descriptors
  • Introducing a refined banding structure to improve equity and control costs

The Schools Forum has a High Needs Block Subgroup (HNBS) that oversees the expenditure from the High Needs Block (HNB) and considers requests to utilize funding in order to improve outcomes for children and young people aged 0 to 25 years with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The HNBS is not a decision-making group; it will make recommendations to Schools Forum where necessary.

The HNBS will:

  • Consider the recommendations in the report produced by Peter Gray (July 2023) regarding continued strengthening of mainstream provision through the use of Exceptional Needs grant (ENG) and cluster working.
  • Explore sufficiency of places across Camden schools, including considering the need for new provision and use of vacant space. This would consider the role of specialist provision (special schools and resourced provision) reflecting the legal assumption of mainstream and Camden's commitment to inclusion.
  • Review outreach services for SEND and alternative provision (AP), in line with the SEND & AP green paper with a focus on the three tiers of support regarding AP.
  • Oversee the expenditure to ensure this is providing value for money.