Safety Valve agreement confirmed

The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed it will enter into a Safety Valve agreement with Bracknell Forest Council, until the end of the 2029 to 2030 financial year.

The decision comes after the council was asked by the DfE last year to submit proposals to take part in the programme. The aim of the Safety Valve programme is to help councils efficiently manage their spending on the high needs element of their dedicated schools’ grant. It helps local special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services to manage their finances well and stay financially stable.

As part of the agreement, over the next 6 years the council will receive £16m in its dedicated schools’ grant from the government. This is subject to meeting all the actions set out in the agreement.

As part of the agreed action plan, the council must:

• strengthen early intervention services and work with schools to build an inclusive culture, so more children and young people’s needs are met within mainstream education
• expand local provision through building a new autism free school and SEMH free school, alongside expanding existing specialist resource provisions - these will be used as centres of excellence to provide outreach services across Bracknell Forest
• pioneer the use of technology to support children and young people who are unable to attend school due to medical needs
• review the process for commissioning and managing places in independent schools and education facilities
• improve the way high need services work with local health services

Cllr Roy Bailey, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Learning, said: 

“Bracknell Forest Council is one of the 5 latest local authorities that was asked to join the Safety Valve programme. In simple terms, the council, like many others across the country, is spending more money than it has available to support children and young people with SEND.

“The Safety Valve programme aims to help councils manage that overspend for the current year and reduce the deficit over the next 5 years. Following early work with the Schools’ Forum and headteacher representatives, along with local feedback and experience from other areas that have already been through the safety valve process, the council has an agreed action plan in place to achieve this.

“We want our children and young people with SEND to achieve their full potential in their early years, at school and in college and lead happy and fulfilled lives. The Safety Valve programme will support us to increase specialist provision in the borough, through new schools, better technology and improved early intervention services. These commitments will provide better educational support to the children and young people who need it most.”

To find out more about the Safety Valve agreement between the council and the DfE, visit the DfE’s website.