In March 2022, the Department for Education (DfE) announced the ‘High Needs Provision Capital Allocation (HNPCA)’ for financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24. This funding supports local authorities in delivering new school places or improving existing provisions for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).
It was previously known as the ‘Special Provision Capital Fund’.
For the current financial year, the Department of Education (DfE) awarded funding for each local authority in the latest round of allocations (2025 to 2026). This is due to the ongoing sustained increase in EHCPs, which is broadly in line with the London average.
Haringey Council is an active participant in the Safety Valve Programme. This transformation programme is designed to assist local authorities in reducing overspending in their High Needs Block (HNB) expenditure and achieve an in-year balanced budget. Haringey has agreed to a Safety Valve deal until 2027-2028, with a range of projects aimed at improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND and delivering services within a balanced budget.
If successful, this will significantly reduce the projected deficit of £80m to £30m and draw down additional funding of £30m to clear the projected deficit.
As part of this programme, Haringey successfully secured a further £7 million capital funding to support the increasing new provision within Haringey.
Combined, this provides a total of approximately £16.4 million to invest in new or improved provision within Haringey.
As part of the Safety Valve Phase 1 programme of works, the council is currently mid-delivery on six SEND capital schemes. These schemes will create 126 new placements, with the overall aim of delivering excellent educational outcomes for children in the borough while reducing budgetary pressures on the SEND system.
In September 2024, Haringey opened two new provisions:
In September 2025, Haringey completed an additional two schemes:
By September 2026, the council is on track to deliver two new secondary-aged resource provisions: one for SEMH at Park View and one for autism at Fortismere.
School |
Estimated completion date |
Number of Placements (phased over a period of time) |
|---|---|---|
Provision for autistic children within primary (Earlsmead Primary) |
September 2024 |
15 |
Provision for autistic children with complex needs within secondary (Riverside Secondary) |
September 2024 |
15 |
Provision for autistic children with complex needs within primary (The Brook Primary) |
October 2025 |
18 |
Provision for children with SEMH within primary (Alexandra Primary) |
December 2025 |
10 |
Provision for autistic children within secondary (Fortismere Secondary) |
September 2027 |
34 |
Provision for Children with SEMH within Secondary (Park View Satellite Site) |
September 2027 |
34 |
The council has worked closely with key partners, including the local Integrated Care Board, Whittington Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), parent/carer representatives from SEND Power Forum, and Schools, to inform our Haringey SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy 2025-2028.
In early November 2024, the final version of the updated SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy was shared. The strategy uses data to explore options for expanding specialist provision further and outlines the following recommendations:
The HNPCA funding will be used mainly to meet the capital costs associated with providing new places and improving existing provisions for children and young people with SEND, including those with complex needs who have Education, Health and Care plans and would benefit from attending Alternative Provision.
HNPCA can also fund projects that:
HNPCA projects could also involve:
HNPCA investment will also enhance access to existing provisions for children and young people with SEND by improving:
