Ealing Schools Forum Approves £1.69M Transfer to High Needs Block to Address Funding Pressures

Ealing Schools Forum has approved the transfer of £1.69 million from the schools block to the high needs block, aimed at alleviating funding pressures in special educational needs. The decision was made at the forum's meeting on 20 November 2025, as part of discussions around school funding for the 2026-27 financial year.

The funding is allocated back to schools through provision for those with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), including outreach services that support high needs pupils in mainstream schools. Central services such as SEN Assessment are funded by the Council's General Fund, so are not funded from the transfer from the schools to high needs block.

The transfer, representing 0.5% of the schools block, is a continuation of an approach agreed upon in previous years. According to the School Forum Report Nov 2025, the move is intended to address the increasing demand and complexity within the high needs sector. The report also indicates that the 0.5% transfer from the schools block to the high needs block does not reduce existing levels of funding to schools. The overall increase in schools block funding in 2026-27 (including the wrapping in of grant funding) is expected to increase this to around £1.69m, approximately £37 per pupil.

Despite a 5.7% increase in Ealing's high needs block allocation in 2025-26, pressures remain significant, with the council maintaining over 4,500 EHC plans as of November 2025. The council anticipates reducing the number of EHC plans back to around 4,000 by 2030 as part of a plan to mitigate the high needs block deficit.

The School Forum Report Nov 2025 noted that Ealing Council's high needs block was overspent by £5.528m in 2024-25, leading to a cumulative Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit of £5.641m. Projections indicate a further increase in the deficit, potentially reaching £18m by the end of 2025-26. The current mitigated plan aims to reduce the in-year high needs block deficit to around £5m a year by 2027-28, but the overall deficit is still forecast to increase to around £50m by 2030-31.