FUNDING for special needs pupils will not be slashed on April 1 – as Dorset County Council makes a ‘u-turn’ on unpopular plans.

Proposals to cut mainstream top-up rates and tipping point payments met with outspoken opposition from headteachers, governors and parents – but a meeting of the Dorset Schools Forum heard the cuts were necessary to plug a £5.2m hole in the Higher Needs Funding block (HNB).

Councillors also blasted the plans, which they said were made without any scrutiny by elected members or committees. The proposals were due to be implemented on April 1.

But schools were told on Monday that the plans have been ‘revised’ and that a sum of £1.6m which has been carried forward from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) will now be put towards ‘making an easier transition’ instead of being used to offset the deficit in the DSG.

Changes to the budget will still have to be implemented. A spokesman for Dorset County Council said that in the past, the HNB has been able to fund pupils above the national average, but the increase of pupils in Dorset on EHCPs (education, health and care plans) means this is no longer possible.

The county council has pledged to work with schools to develop medium- and long-term strategies for managing the budget, which is set by the government.

A spokesman said: “These new proposals have been funded by the £1.6m carry forward that was going to reduce the deficit. Instead it has been used to make an easier transition and allow more time for consultation and engagement with schools.”

The revised plans have been cautiously welcomed by schools.

Kay Taylor, executive principal of the Minerva Learning Trust, which represents a number of schools in the Bridport area, said: “"We are pleased to hear that the local authority is looking again at the funding for SEN pupils. There are still significant cuts coming for schools and it is still unclear how funding will be allocated in September as they move to a new system, but at least schools have some time to prepare for this and there is time for further consultation."

The Reverend Pete Stone, a governor at St Mary's CE primary school in Bridport, said: “I welcome the rethink of the cuts to the budget, while there are some cuts, and possibly more in the future, there is now breathing space for St Mary’s and other schools to look at their budgets and give them space and time to manage these cuts so that they can still provide the excellent education to all children in their care, but especially those with special needs.”

Cllr Ros Kayes, who represents Bridport on the county council, said the revised plans are ‘a great improvement’ and welcomed what she described as a ‘u-turn’.

She added: “I’m not sure it delivers everything the schools wanted, but it slows down the progress of these cuts, and that will be of immediate benefit to schools. I still think it needs to go to scrutiny. This has been decided by officers and I think that’s why it’s been so damaging.”

Cllr Kayes also praised the Dorset Echo for bringing the issue to public attention.

“I want to say thank you to the Echo for pushing this. It’s made a huge difference.”