OUTRAGED parents have launched a campaign urging county hall to rethink over planned cuts to funding for children with special needs.

Plans to cut mainstream top-up rates and tipping point payments to schools were originally due to come into force on April 1 – but this deadline was scrapped after headteachers and governors spoke out about the effects the cuts would have.

As reported in the Dorset Echo in March, cash was found from the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) to ‘make an easier transition’ and allow time for more consultation with schools – but cuts will still have to be implemented.

Now, parents of children with special needs have joined forces to raise awareness of the issue. A petition calling for councillors to challenge the cuts and ensure they are scrutinised by elected representatives has already gained almost 300 signatures.

And a Facebook group has been set up for parents to share pictures of their children who would be affected by the cuts.

Naomi Patterson, who is leading the campaign, said parents of children with special needs face a ‘constant battle’ for access to health services – and now education.

She said: “It’s been good over recent years with education. It felt like children are starting to be more accepted in society, and there has been a lot of support for those with autism, ADHD or other conditions. Now it feels like everything’s going back to how it was years ago.”

Naomi’s son George, nine, suffered pneumococcal meningitis as a baby and has spent much of his life in and out of hospital.

He now attends Wyvern, but attended a mainstream pre-school when he was younger.

Naomi said: “It made it easier for me, having all three kids at the same school, and they did so well with him. I really feel for the teachers and teaching assistants affected by this. They have to be everything to children with special needs – educators, nurses, physiotherapists. And they’re wonderful.”

The campaign is all about raising awareness, Naomi added.

“We want to see this decision go through a proper scrutiny process. We know that cuts have to be made but we do not want our children to suffer. We need to make sure our children’s needs continue to be met.”

The petition was started by Cllr Ros Kayes.
Writing on the page, she said: “These huge cuts, which amount to 10 per cent of some schools' budgets will result in redundancies in mainstream schools and larger class sizes in special needs schools. This will have disastrous consequences for children with conditions ranging from problems with reading to autism and those with severe physical handicap. 

“The cuts originally proposed have been waived until September but have not even been approved by any committee at Dorset County Council.”

To sign the petition, visit www.change.org and search ‘Save our kids from SEND cuts’. You can also find the group ‘Protect our children from SEND cuts’ on Facebook.

One mum's story
“EVERY child deserves an education.”

That’s the message of one mum, who is ‘devastated’ to hear of the potential impacts of the cuts.

Ella Jones, 35, is mum to seven-year-old Jack, who has autism. Previously, he was a pupil at a mainstream school, which Ella says was ‘very supportive’. But the severity of his condition meant he was unable to continue there, and he had a tutor at home, and a mentor from charity Autism Wessex, before a place was found for him at Westfield School.

Ella said: “The children in Jack’s class all have one to one support and that is completely necessary. If there was only one teacher, for instance, and one child is having a meltdown, who is going to look after the others?”

Ella said she is worried that cuts will mean either fewer teaching assistants in her child’s class, or even that he loses his place at Westfield.

“It is frightening. It’s taken a long time to get to the point we are at now. Every child with autism is different. I fear his place being taken away, but if he was at mainstream school he can have meltdowns over things like, for instance, a picture on the wall having been moved. The slightest change can set him off.

“We had a letter from the county council about there being cuts but there was not enough information about what the impact could be.”

Jack is a ‘typical little boy’, Ella added, who wants to be a builder or inventor when he’s older.

“Every child deserves an education. There’s a chance for every child to flourish but it depends on having their needs met.”


What are the funding changes all about?

Dorset County Council has, in the past, been able to fund pupils with special needs above the national average through a government grant called Higher Needs Block (HNB). With the increase in recent years of the number of pupils on EHCPs (education, health and care plans) this is no longer possible.

And now, there is a £5.2m gap between what the government provides and what is being spent.

In addition, the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) is facing a deficit for the first time in several years. Previously it has been underspent and has achieved a carry-forward surplus of £1.6m.

Originally, it was planned to cut mainstream top-up rates and tipping point payments from April 1 to cope with the deficit in the HNB. 

Schools wrote strongly-worded letters, warning the decision would plunge them into debt, force them to make redundancies and affect the most vulnerable children.

At the end of March, Dorset County Council said the £1.6m carry-forward surplus from the DSG would be used to ‘make an easier transition’. 
They also pledged to work with schools to develop medium and long-term strategies for managing the budget, which is set by the government.