Recommendation 16

We agree that catch up funding should be weighted towards children who have been “hardest hit” by disruption to their education. We know that many children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will be in the hardest hit group; many received little or no support earlier this year. We know that pupils with SEND are likely to fall further behind without commensurate help. Pupils with SEND in mainstream schools have often borne the brunt of the dysfunctional SEND system, missing out on support for their needs through a lack of ring-fenced funding. We Unequal impact? Coronavirus, disability and access to services: full Report 45 are very concerned that catch up funding allocations do not adequately reflect this. In the light of experiences earlier this year, it is unacceptable that the £1 billion catch up premium does not include ring-fenced funding for pupils with SEND in mainstream schools. We recommend that funding for the remaining tranches of the universal catch up allocation be increased by around £211 million, to allow mainstream schools to receive £240 per pupil with an EHC plan or receiving SEN Support, ring-fenced for their catch-up support in this academic year. We further recommend the Department procure an additional strand of specialist provision in the National Tutoring Programme, designed to support pupils with EHC plans and those receiving SEN Support, across all schools. (Paragraph 105) Engagement and communications with disabled people