We're backing f40's campaign for increased and fairer education funding and major reforms to SEND provision

Pupils from Cheselbourne Village School have joined Dorset Council in backing a campaign by the f40 group for increased and fairer education funding and sweeping reforms to solve the crisis in SEND.

The children at Cheselbourne School, near Blandford, gathered with the chair of governor Jon Moller, headteacher Chris Perry and Dorset Council's Children's Services Portfolio member Clare Sutton in support of f40's campaign to ensure all children have the assistance and tools needed to reach their potential.

The f40 group, which campaigns on behalf of 43 local authorities across the country for fairer and increased education funding, including Dorset Council, is hoping for a whole re-set of the education sector. It also believes education funding should be more fairly distributed and that every school should have enough funding to operate well.

As we await the publication of the Schools White Paper - setting out the Government's new direction of travel for education - and the anticipated reforms to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), f40 is urging Government to ensure the reforms are powerful enough to solve the crisis and are backed by sufficient funding to enable schools to implement them.

Councillor Clare Sutton said urgent reform of the system was essential: "Dorset Council has been urging the government to set out clearly and openly its reforms of the SEND system, and it needs to do this as soon as possible."

"The current system is failing our children and families, and we are facing huge ongoing costs caused by rising high-needs deficits."

Mr Moller added: "As both a Chair of Governors and a parent, I see every day the dedication of our county-wide education staff, but we cannot ignore the stark reality of the funding disparity. It is simply not fair that a child's and young person's educational opportunities are limited by their postcode. Dorset schools currently face a "perfect storm" where some of the lowest per-pupil funding in the country meets rapidly escalating operational costs and significant local cost-of-living pressures."

"This creates an unsustainable financial burden that jeopardises our ability to provide the inclusive education every child and young person deserves. We are calling for an end to this historic unfairness so that every pupil in Dorset receives the support and resources they need to thrive."

The f40 groups is campaigning for lasting change to the SEND system, prioritising early intervention for those children who need extra help, investment and resources for schools, and better inclusion of SEND children in mainstream education.

With demand for SEND support currently outstripping funding, local authorities in England are estimated to have a cumulative SEND deficit of £6 billion by April 2026, which will continue to grow unless changes are made. f40 believes a firm commitment is required from Government to meet the cost of current and future SEND deficits to ensure councils are financially sustainable - until such point that the system is reformed and there is alignment between SEND policy and the funding required to deliver it.

Chair of f40, Councillor Alex Dale, said: "We welcome Government's commitment to tackle the crisis in SEND and hope they take this opportunity to really get to the root causes of the issues and make brave, lasting changes that benefit every child and school. The reforms must be backed by funding, or schools and the reforms themselves will be set up to fail."

Notes to Editors

For more information about f40 and to view funding graphs that show the disparity in education funding across all local authorities in England go to https://www.f40.org.uk/