Dear colleagues

In a world where SEND teams often face challenges and scrutiny, it's important to recognise the incredible work happening every day. The EYIS ESS team has recently received some fabulous feedback that reminds us why we do what we do. Here are just a few examples I wanted to share with you:

• Sinead Bird, ESS Early Support Worker – Parent Beth described her as “our rock from start to finish,” praising her for easing worries, supporting nursery visits, and helping her son thrive. Sinead’s thoughtful approach helped Beth feel confident in choosing a nursery, and her son is now thriving.
• Alana Gauntlett, ESS Teacher – An Associate Educational Psychologist called her “an absolute delight to work with,” highlighting her responsiveness, warmth, and child-centred approach during EHC pathway work.
• Sarah Adams, ESS Teacher – A parent shared how her welcome call was “amazing, very informative and reassuring,” showing how even first contact can make a lasting impression.
• Gulshan Hussain, ESS Early Support Worker – Recognised Marlborough Primary School for being “inclusive and positive” during a child’s transition. SENCO Kim Banks and Class Teacher Samia Fardoos were praised for going “over and above” to support a child, building trust with parents and embracing inclusive practice.

This month’s bulletin features:

• An update on High Needs Spend
• A request to share links to two surveys capturing the lived experiences of SEND children and young people, and parent carers.
• Progress updates on the Delivering Better Value programme workstreams
• A reminder of our SENAR Communications Pledge
• The Educational Psychology Service – New Ways of Working
• Summit Learning Trust - Leadership Conference 2025- Ascend Together: Championing SEND Across All Phases
• Secondary School Resource Bases – we need your help
• Link to the SENCo Noticeboard – November edition

We hope you continue to find these monthly bulletins useful. If there’s anything you’d like to see included in future editions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’re always looking to improve how we share information and celebrate the fantastic work happening across Birmingham.

Thank you for everything you do to support children and young people with SEND.

With my very best wishes

Helen

Director of SEND and Inclusion

High Needs Block Dedicated Schools Grant

2025-26 Quarter 2 Budget Monitoring Forecast

Blocks	DSG Brought Forward	Budget 2025/26	Q1 Forecast Outturn 2025/26	Q2 Forecast Outturn 2025/26	Q2 Forecast Variance	Forecast Cumulative Reserve
	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000	£’000
High Needs Block	42.583	268.248	279.858	279.421	11.173	31.41

The High Needs Block (HNB) of the DSG is currently projected to overspend by £11.173m, a decrease of £0.437m from quarter 1, against a budget of £268.248m.   

• One of the key contributing factors is the rising cost of provision for pupils in mainstream settings and resource bases, particularly for those in the lower secondary year groups (Years 7 to 9). As these cohorts progress through the school system, the level and complexity of support required has increased driving up associated costs. In addition, a projected increase in pupil intake for the next academic year is expected to place further pressure on existing resources.  The growth is forecast to result in an overspend of £6.804m
• An increase in the number of Birmingham children placed in provisions within other local authorities is also anticipated. This is expected to contribute further to cost pressures and the overall projected spend resulting in a variance of £1.812m
• Additional funding from the High Needs block has been provided to the Early Years Inclusion service to address the increased EY cohort from 9 months and to extend eligibility for application to nursery schools.  The funding would also be used to increased staffing needed to manage the growth resulting in an overspend on budget of £3.000m

The forecast overspend in the HNB will be funded from the brought forward reserve of £42.583m reducing it to £31.410m.

Lived Experience Surveys

We’re asking schools to share the following information with their communities. Please do encourage families to complete the survey – every response makes a difference. Thank you so much for your continued support.

We want to hear from young people and parent carers of children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND).

Two new Lived Experience Surveys are open, all about you, your child or young person’s experience. One is for young people with SEND, and the other is for parent carers of children and young people with SEND

These surveys are all about you or your child’s experiences, showing us what’s good, what could be better, and how you feel about the services being received. Your feedback helps shape how services are designed and delivered in Birmingham, so this is a real chance to make a difference

If you’re a young person

We want to know what life is like for you in Birmingham, whether that’s at school, at home, or in your community. So, we can get an idea of how you are feeling.

If you’re a parent carer

We’d love to hear about your experiences of support and services for your child or young person. Your insight helps us understand what families are feeling and experiencing. Please answer the questions based on one person for the child/young person you are completing this survey for.

If you have more than one child/young person with SEND needs, please complete a survey for each person.

Take part here

• Lived Experience Survey for Young People
• Lived Experience Survey for Parent Carers

It is a multiple-choice questionnaire and hopefully doesn’t take up too much of your time, but the feedback could help improve support for children, young people, and families across Birmingham.

The survey will be open till Friday, 12th December 2025

If you’ve got any questions or need help, just drop us an email at localoffer@birmingham.gov.uk

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. Your feedback is important and will be kept confidential.

Delivering Better Value Programme

Workstream 1

A series of workshops were held in June and July on autism-friendly schools and settings and curriculum pathways, with a focus on the theory of change. The workshops were well attended with a breadth of representation from across the Local Area Partnership.

The outcomes of both these focus groups were presented at a shared event on 10th July with partners from health, social care and education, including Head teachers, DfE and Parent Carer Forum. A three-year plan has been developed to support all Birmingham schools and settings in the City’s mission to be autism-friendly, as well as a plan to develop curriculum pathways across mainstream schools that cater for those CYP who are operating behind their peers and expected levels – more to come so watch this space!

The Parent Reference Group (PRG) has been established and will be focusing on the following areas:

• Parent Information Guides
• Parent Partner Settings and Champions
• Parent-Friendly OAG Overview
• Section Two Parent-Focused Resources

As part of ongoing development of the Ordinarily Available Guidance, the following highlights some of the work taking place over the next two terms:

• Revision of School Age OAG – a workshop took place on 14th October that was well attended by schools/settings, parent carers, education, health and social care.  All the comments and feedback from the workshop will be taken into account as part of the development of the school age OAG.
• Early Years – draft EYS OAG has been developed and is being tested through implementation with 15 EYS settings this term.
• Post 16 – draft Post 16 OAG has also been developed and is being tested through implementation with a number of sixth forms and colleges this term.
• Parent Carers – Guides for parents are currently being developed with our parent group and these will be reviewed with wider groups of parents across the city this term.
• Online version – the Local Offer will be hosting the Online version of the OAG in April next year; the mapping of this has begun and includes updated materials, downloadable and editable documents as well as links to specific info/resources and videos that showcase good practice within Birmingham.
• Learning and Development - a draft index of the L&D offer linked to the OAG is currently being worked on, with additional CPD offers for teachers and support staff.

Workstream 2

Two task and finish groups met during the summer term with representation from mainstream, resource bases and special to provide additional reflections for the development of two options papers that will consider future top-up funding frameworks for children with EHC Plans (Group 1) and SEN Support Provision Plans (Group 2). The groups utilise the relevant information previous workstream activities, for example the baseline and spend analysis returns, the SSPP case reviews and the SENCO SSPP survey.

In summary, the original options in the first draft considered for children with EHC Plans involved:

1	No change to current funding processes (Do nothing)	Continue to maintain the current funding frameworks
2	Two aligned banded frameworks for mainstream and special settings	Review of both banded frameworks to ensure greater alignment. Alignment will also involve removal of anomalies in both frameworks for redistribution of funds
3	One Banded Framework	One banded framework demonstrating a continuum of complex need
3A	One Banded Framework with additional special school environment factors	As per Option 3 but with add one for Special e.g. Environmental Factor
4	Unit modelling option for special school	The Ranges/Support Unit framework remains for mainstream settings with a review of descriptors as Option 2 however for the special school sector a Unit Model will be adopted.
5	Spend Analysis Option	Hypothetical analysis to consider the impact on the High Needs block if the reported spend analysis average cost were to be fully absorbed by top-up funding

For children on SEN Support receiving top up funding by SSPPs, the options in the first draft were:

1	Cease HNF for pupils on SEN Support by SSPPs
2	No change to current funding processes
3	Current processes remain however a time limit of up to 12 months with no renewals.
4	Current processes remain with reduce level of funding. e.g. capped at the equivalent level of 4SU
4A	As option 4 however a time limit of up to 12 months – no renewal
5	Funding no longer universal and only available for targeted cohorts for a fixed term period of up to 12 months
6	Pupil led central decision process -moved to locality led processes – available budget informed by preferred option from 2-5

The two options papers are currently undergoing revision for a second draft to incorporate steering, project and task and finish groups feedback.  Further communications will be shared about the progress in the coming months.

For any queries or further information please contact the team at DeliveringBetterValue@birmingham.gov.uk

SENAR’s Communication Pledge: a reminder

Earlier this year SENAR launched and shared its Communication Pledge. The pledge was co-produced with partner agencies, settings and the Parent Carer Forum and sets out expectations for respectful and positive interactions between SENAR and all stakeholders. It aims to create a shared understanding that benefits everyone, helping to strengthen our partnership and foster better joint-working.

In recent weeks, some SENAR staff have been subject to communication which falls short of the values set out in the Pledge. We understand the assessment and review process can be an emotive time for families, and schools and settings play a vital role in supporting them to navigate this. We also know there are times when disagreements may arise, and when SENAR may not have lived up to our own expectations when it comes to timeliness or communication. We do however ask that despite these challenges, communication to officers remains polite and courteous, keeping in mind our shared goal of achieving better outcomes for our children and young people.

Your support and assistance in adhering to these values is much appreciated, thank you!

Summit Learning Trust - Leadership Conference 2025 - Ascend Together: Championing SEND Across All Phases

Natalie Williams, Head of SEND and Nasreen Akhtar, Service Manager, SENAR presented at the conference on 17 October to give delegates an overview of SEND in Birmingham and beyond, providing a local and national context.  This year’s Leadership Conference embraced the theme Ascend Together, highlighting the Trust’s commitment as professionals to building an inclusive and supportive environment for all.

By bringing together leaders from across the Summit Community, the conference fostered collaboration, innovation and shared learning. Through a focused lens on SEND provision, the conference aimed to empower leaders to identify and respond to diverse needs, implement evidence-informed strategies and above all ensure the learning and well-being of all children and young people.

A big thank you to the Trust for inviting SENAR to present and also be part of the day learning from other speakers who are recognised locally and nationally for their work in SEND and Inclusion.

Educational Psychology Traded Services Delivery 2026/27 – New Ways of Working 

The Educational Psychology Service has been reviewing its traded service delivery to schools and would like to share our thoughts and proposals for new ways of working for the upcoming traded year (2026/27), starting April 2026.

We are hosting webinars to provide an overview of these changes and what they mean for you. Please do attend to find out more – simply click on the appropriate link below to join the session. We very much look forward to seeing you.

Webinar dates:

• Monday 1st December 10-10.45am 
• Tuesday 2nd December 1.30 -2.15pm 

Secondary School Resource Bases: We Need Your Help

We are really appreciative of the support we have so far received from schools in implementing our SEND Sufficiency plans. This has resulted in the opening of 16 new Resource Bases over the last two years alone. But we continue to face immediate challenges in securing sufficient secondary provision for those CYP transferring from primary. We already know that there will not be enough available Year 7 places for September 2026 and that, by September 2027, there will be a minimum shortfall of 40 places for which we will need to develop between 5 and 8 new secondary Resource Bases for CYP with autism as their primary need. While our work in the primary sector continues, we would particularly welcome expressions of interest from any of our schools offering secondary provision to help us meet the needs of the increasing numbers of CYP with EHCPs requiring this type of provision.   

Please send expressions of interest to David Bridgman, Head of SEND Commissioning at David.Bridgman@birmingham.gov.uk

SENCo Noticeboard – November Edition

The latest edition of the SENCo Noticeboard is now available.  It’s packed with useful updates, resources, and information to support your work.

If you’re a new SENCo and would like to receive future editions, just drop us an email at LocalOffer@birmingham.gov.uk and we’ll add you to the distribution list.