Devon must rein in special educational needs spending

Devon must rein in its special educational needs spending and establish new ways of providing services as part of a £95 million government bailout.

Donna Manson, the authority’s chief executive, told councillors that Devon can no longer “spend more money every day than we should be” on its special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision.

Quizzed by Devon’s children’s scrutiny committee about the authority’s £95 million Safety Valve deal with the Department for Education (DfE), Ms Manson said the county is hugely overspending compared to its peers and this needs to be rectified to secure the entire grant.

“Not every council is overspending to the extent we have been, and as described earlier, if we are an outlier in everything and so are paying costs above what’s sustainable or affordable, something needs to be done,” she said.

She added that Devon needs to be more in line with authorities on various measurements if it is to ensure its SEND provision can be provided within budgets in future.

“We need more young people in school every day as we are an outlier in the numbers being educated at home, we need to improve inclusion and practice in schools, as we are an outlier in the number of exclusions in secondary schools, and we need better statutory processes,” she said.

“Our improvement journey is well on its way, and if it wasn’t, we wouldn’t have received the Safety Valve deal.”

Devon confirmed it had secured the funding last week, and outlined details around it.

The council is expected to receive £38 million in the coming days, and then roughly £6.3 million for seven subsequent financial years, with a final payout of £12.7 million in 2031/32.

However, councillors on the children’s scrutiny committee asked where the compulsory £5 million annual contribution from the local authority would come from, as well as the £20 million contribution from reserves by the end of the deal.