High Needs Provision Capital allocation – Haringey’s plan

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’.

High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024

Haringey’s two-year allocation is as follows:

• 2022 - 2023 financial year – £1.38 million
• 2023 - 2024 financial year – £1.66 million

High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for 2024-2025

In April 2024, the Department for Education (DfE) awarded the council a recalculated 'High Needs Provision Capital Allocation (HNPCA)' of £989,429 for 2023-2024.

This increase in funding is due to two factors: the inclusion of children with education, health, and care plans (EHCPs) in special schools within the allocation formula and the reflection of rising inflation in the costs of supplies and services across the county.

• 2024-2025 financial year - £2.07 million (which is made up of £989,429 for 2023-2024 and £1,080,833 for 2024- 2025)
   

Safety Valve Programme

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. Learn more about our Safety Valve programme.

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 £14 million to invest in new or improved provision within Haringey.

Investment

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:

• Enable or increase access to mainstream placements for children and young people who might otherwise have required more specialist provision
• Increase the local availability of High Needs places, which can help reduce out-of-area placements and associated transport or residential costs and reduce reliance on poor quality, inappropriate or more expensive provision, where local provision can be provided at a less ongoing cost
• Adapt, re-model or improve existing High Needs places to make them suitable for a wider range of needs

HNPCA projects could also involve:

• expanding existing High Needs provision (including expanding the existing provision to a different or additional site)
• reconfiguring existing provisions to make available space for additional places or specialist facilities
• creating new High Needs provisions, such as specialist units or resourced provisions in mainstream schools or the creation of new settings
• Re-purposing existing buildings or facilities will help them better meet the needs of children and young people with complex needs

HNPCA investment will also enhance access to existing provisions for children and young people with SEND by improving:

• their physical access to the school (for example, ramps and handrails)
• their physical movement around the buildings (for example, automated doors)
• their access to the curriculum (for example, specialist furniture and IT equipment)
• facilities within school buildings (for example, medical rooms and acoustic improvements)
   

Consultation 

Collaboration is key to the project, and therefore, 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 2023-2026 (PDF, 1.32MB).

Haringey’s Children Services Directorate is committed to delivering almost 120 school places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will be created in Haringey as part of a plan to provide high-quality support for children and young people.

There has been an extensive engagement exercise with primary and secondary schools to express interest in providing education provision for autistic children and young people and those students with social and emotional mental health (SEMH) and severe learning difficulties. Six schools across the borough are set to accommodate a total of 118 SEND places as the council’s Safety Valve Programme takes a crucial step forward, as outlined below: 
 

Ongoing engagement with parents and carers will be crucial when developing a programme of activity and making sure that services will meet the needs of children and families.

We will continue to consult with the SEND Power, Haringey’s Parent Carer Forum, and other strategic partners over the priorities for Haringey.

We will also continue to consult with local school leaders, governing bodies, academy trusts, and parents and carers, as and when specific proposals begin to emerge.