By Belinda Ryan, local democracy reporter
A councillor has called for a review of the funding formula which sees Cheshire East allocated just a third of the amount some other councils receive for children with special needs.
Cllr Laura Crane, chair of Cheshire East’s children and families committee, is urging all councillors to lobby their MPs to ensure the funding formula is revisited as soon as possible.
A new short breaks offer for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is set to launch in Cheshire East.
Cheshire East Council has agreed a deal with The Endorphins Group to run its community short breaks provision.
Plans for improving special needs provision for Cheshire East children are in limbo because the government has not made a decision on the authority’s bid to convert its former HQ into a school, a councillor said.
Officers briefed the children and families committee on the council’s proposed SEND (special educational needs and disability) and AP (Alternative Provision) ‘One Plan’.
By Belinda Ryan, local democracy reporter
A panel set up last summer to look at the ‘extreme challenge’ of Cheshire East Council’s whopping £116 million special needs budget deficit has not met once, a councillor said.
Cash-strapped Cheshire East is overspent on its special needs and disability (SEND) budget because the cost of provision has outstripped government funding.
By Belinda Ryan, local democracy reporter
Cheshire East has been refused access to a government support scheme to help its ballooning special needs budget deficit.
The deficit looks set to be an eye-watering £285 million by 2031, despite mitigation measures.
By Belinda Ryan, local democracy reporter
Cheshire East Council’s ballooning special needs budget deficit is so serious it “threatens the very existence of the council”, a councillor said.
The DSG (dedicated school grant) deficit currently stands at about £90 million.
By Belinda Ryan, local democracy reporter
Cheshire East Council would have to increase council tax by 20% just to cover the deficit in its special needs budget, the council leader has said.
Cllr Sam Corcoran (Lab) has called on all councillors to look into the SEND provision (special educational needs and disabilities) so they can debate the issue at the next meeting of full council and come up with suggestions as to how the system can be improved.
By Belinda Ryan, local democracy reporter
Cheshire East Council’s current £46.9m deficit on its special educational needs budget is forecast to rise to a whopping £306.9m by 2028.
Councils across the UK are struggling with massive deficits in their dedicated schools grant budget because funding has not matched soaring demand and spiralling costs.
Exclusive
Devastated parents of an autistic Nantwich boy say they were given just 48-hours’ notice that he was not welcome back in school – despite spending the previous six years there.
His parents are now demanding an apology after the bombshell news that his primary school was no longer able to provide for his needs.
Brine Leas School in Nantwich has maintained its “good” rating after the latest Ofsted inspection.
Inspectors visited the Audlem Road school in May.
By Belinda Ryan, local democracy reporter
The new primary school planned for Kingsbourne in Nantwich could provide additional places for children with Special Educational Needs (SEND).
Members of Cheshire East’s children and families committee heard from acting director of education Mark Bayley that the need for extra provision in the town had been highlighted during the recent consultation.
Childcare inspectors say services for children with special educational needs (SEND) across Cheshire East have been “transformed”.
It comes three years after an earlier report highlighted “significant weaknesses” in the provision.
A South Cheshire school which supports children with educational needs has now moved to a permanent location.
Axis Academy is for pupils with an Education Health Care Plan for Social Emotional and Mental Health.
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