East Riding of Yorkshire Council has been successful in a bid for £1million from the Department for Education Better Value Grant to support children and young people with SEND.
The funding will be targeted to improve early intervention for children and young people in the East Riding, aiming to ensure needs are identified as early as possible – a key priority within the SEND development and improvement plan.
The Local Offer website will be improved to make it easier for families and young people to use and access the information and services they need. More support will be given to schools and early years settings, including three additional specialist teachers to support pupils with SEND across the East Riding, and additional training for school staff in supporting pupils with additional needs. A new digital system will also be implemented to give families access to information, step by step through the process of Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessment and review. It will also help improve multi-agency involvement and improve efficiency.
Whilst local campaigners have welcomed the extra money they have said that in comparison to the scale of the problems they and their children face in East Riding the extra money is not enough. more funding is required.
However, Councillor Victoria Aitken, portfolio holder for children, families and education said in a video address that: “In East Riding we receive less funding for SEND children than anywhere else in the country. I have been, and continue to lobby for more funding, so I am pleased that we have been successful for this much needed money.
“We have looked at the needs of children, young people and families and we are working to ensure the provision reflects the needs, for example increasing the support for schools around autism.
“The improvements we will make in early intervention will add to the recent developments such as our successful free school bid on the old St Anne’s site in Welton and the creation of new places in our enhanced resource provisions for children and young people with autism and social, emotional and mental health needs.
“Along with our partners, we remain dedicated to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND. I hope this funding brings some confidence to our families.”