Portsmouth schools set for specialist support under £1.8bn SEND plan

The Department for Education has announced a funding package for local authorities to provide more support for SEND pupils. It comes after the government outlined a range of reforms to how SEND services are provided in schools,

SEND services have placed severe cost pressures on councils’ education budgets in recent years with Portsmouth facing a £4.5m

Now, the government has announced a £1.8bn grant for councils to improve access to advice, guidance and support from specialists such as therapists and psychologists “in every community up and down the country”.

The department states that the new service will “ensure specialist support is available to children in the community who need it”.

The grant is split into three yearly instalments, with £429m allocated in the financial year between 2026 and 2027 with more instalments expected in 2027/28 and 2028/29.

In Portsmouth, that translates to £1,560,475, and £9,869,906 for Hampshire County Council.

When fully rolled out, the average secondary school will have access to 160 days of dedicated specialist time, while a primary school will receive 40 days.

The government also announced a £9m cash boost for a programme that offers work placements for young people with SEND.

Minister for School Standards, Georgia Gould, said: “Too often, young people with SEND face a long wait for the support they need, holding them back from building important skills and thriving in education.

“We recently set out our generational SEND reforms to turn this around, and now, we’re getting on and backing councils with the funding needed to transform the system and make sure every young person receives the right support early on.

“Our Experts at Hand offer will make sure families don’t face a postcode lottery in support by boosting teacher capacity and ensuring nurseries, schools and colleges across the country have access to a bank of specialists who are ready to provide the additional help children may need.”

Critics have argued it would be difficult to recruit and train enough specialists within three years, given existing shortages and an overstretched system.

Questions have been raised around whether council, any of whom are under financial strain, can commission and deploy the scheme at the pace that SEND pupils need.