Headteachers have told council chiefs to go back to the drawing board over controversial proposals to claw back more than £8 million from Cumbria’s schools.

It comes with a warning that future decisions required to address the rising costs of providing support for children who have high levels of special education needs could still be “equally unpalatable”.

But, for now, a plan to transfer up to £8.7m from school budgets to plug an overspend in high needs funding – a three per cent clawback from every school next year – will not be recommended while other options are explored and a budget recovery plan is developed by council chiefs.

Proposals being considered include:

  • cutting top-up funding schools receive from the county council for children with existing Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Schools would have to provide the first 10 hours of support, rather than the existing eight
  • from April 2017, schools would fund the first 16 hours of support for children with new EHCPs
  • bringing children being educated out of the county back into local mainstream schools, subject to parental agreement.

The county council has seen an 80 per cent rise in the number of children needing additional support in the last two years.

A consultation on plans runs until October 14.

Members of Cumbria’s schools forum – a panel of local headteachers and education leaders who help shape how central government funding for schooling is spent – unanimously agreed yesterday not to recommend the clawback from schools while alternatives are explored.


Chris McAree Chris McAree, headteacher of William Howard School in Brampton, said: “To put money in and then have an increasing budget, you can’t do that.

“We need a plan to repay this and we’ve got to live within our means. Fundamentally we need a debt recovery plan. You can’t do this in one go. The toxic shock would be too much.”

The schools forum will meet again later this month to draw up recommendations for Cumbria County Council’s ruling cabinet to consider next month.

Jonathan Johnson, principal of West Lakes Academy in Egremont, said: “Whatever comes to the table, it could be equally unpalatable.”

There has already been an “incredible” amount of responses to the consultation, forum chairman Alan Rutter said.