Issue details

Proposed decision –

APPROVE, the acceptance of the Expert at Hands (EaH) and Local Authority (LA) Special Education Needs & Disability (SEND) Transformation Grant from the Department of Education for 2026 to 2029; and the deployment of the grant funding in accordance with the grant conditions including the delegation to enter into contracts/agreements where necessary.

Reason for the decision

-      In February 2026, the Government published its White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving and accompanying SEN reform Consultation: Putting Children & Young People First, which included the commitment to invest £1.8 billion nationally over next three years to develop the Expert at Hands (EaH) Offer along with a further £0.2 billion to support Local Authorities to deliver future national SEN reforms.

-      In mid-April, the Department of Education announced the 2026-27 individual LA allocations for the EaH and LA SEND Transformation Fund, along with indicative national allocations for 2027-28 and 2028-29.  For Kent County Council this equated to £12.2 million in 2026-27, and approximately £21.2 million and £24.0 million respectively for the next 2 years.

-      On 5 June 2026, more detailed guidance was issued on the expected use of the funding and updated terms and conditions.

-      This decision is required to accept the funding for the 3-year programme providing the terms and conditions remain similar, and deploy the grant funding in accordance with the grant conditions and future DfE guidance.

Background

-      The EaH and LA SEN Transformation Fund is for local authorities, working in partnership with the local system partners, to provide an offer of advice and direct support to early years education settings, mainstream schools and further education colleges. It is intended to invest in services that individual education settings cannot commission alone, such as specialist health & education support, to improve the quality of inclusive education for children & young people with SEND and strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings to meet the needs of children & young people with SEND more effectively, as set out in the White Paper and accompanying SEN Reform consultation.

-      Local Authorities are expected to work in partnership with Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to develop and deliver a new EaH offer for mainstream education settings which provides a new route to access expert advice and support from education & health professionals including:

·         Educational psychology services & specialist teachers

·         Additional outreach from alternative provision, special schools & post 16 institutions

·         Speech & Language therapists and Occupational therapists

·         A new Speech & Language Therapist Advanced Practitioner in every ICB area

-      The grant will also fund associated administration costs of EaH offer and wider SEN reforms including evaluating existing SEN support services to mainstream schools and developing, submitting and implementing future SEND reforms.

-      The grant is designed to build on and enhance existing local capacity and good practice across the Local Area (including both Local Authority and ICB commissioned services). The grant is not expected to be substituted to fund existing spend.

-      Funding cannot be used to provide: support named in an child’s Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP); assessments for EHCP;, provision schools should/can do themselves; or wider social care or family support.

-      Local areas are responsible for defining the exact offer and distribution of resources, according to local circumstances within national expectations as set out within the guidance. 

Options (other options considered but discarded)

-      The option to not accept the funding has been considered. This was disregarded at an early stage. The Expert at Hands Offer is a nationally prescribed offer. If the Local Authority did not accept the model, education settings would be not have the opportunity to access additional professional advice, and the children and young people of Kent would not have an equitable offer of support compared to the rest of the country. Unless, the Council chose to invest its own funding in an equivalent service (at a significant cost to the Council Tax Payer). It would also put at risk current and future support from Government to help fund the Dedicated School Grant overspend.  Kent overspent its Dedicated School Grant allocation by nearly £60 million in 2025-26 (which when added to previous years deficits totalled an accumulated deficit of nearly £300 million by end of March 2026), with further in-year deficits predicted in 2026-27 of nearly £110 million and even higher in 2027-28.

How the proposed decision supports the Council’s Strategic Statement

-      Aim 3: Supporting residents that need help – The national Expert at Hands Offer and SEN Reforms are intended to tilt local provision to focus on early support for mainstream education settings, so that staff are able to meet the needs of children and young people  more quickly and effectively within the setting. The will enable earlier, more effective support and help prevent needs from escalating wherever possible. Mainstream education settings will have access to expert professionals who can provide whole setting support, tailored guidance and strategic advice, as well as some group level interventions.

Financial Implications

-       The DfE have announced the 2026-27 funding allocation for the Expert at Hands and LA SEND Transformation Fund for Kent County Council is £12,155,170. Indicative allocations for 2027-28 and 2028-29 have been estimated from national totals as £21,200,000 and £24,027,000 respectively.

-       This is a ring-fenced revenue grant and the total cost of delivery is expected to be met from the grant. There no expectation of a General Fund contribution towards the additional delivery expectations set out in the grant. Related services are currently funded by the Council from its Dedicated Schools Grant allocation (Education ring-fenced grant) or in the case of services commissioned directly by the ICB: the grant conditions stipulate that it should be used to build on and enhance existing local capacity & good practice. It is not intended to be used to substitute existing spend.

-       For 2026-27 allocation, funds are permitted to be carried forward past March 2027 for the purposes outlined in the terms and conditions (of that year of funding) but must be used by September 2027. Terms and conditions for future years of funding are still to be published. 

-       Funding post 2029 has yet to be confirmed but the Government has set out its intention to invest a further £3.5 billion nationally into the High Needs Block of Dedicated Schools Grant and has set out its long term intention in the SEN Reform Consultation that Local Authorities will continue to be responsible for commissioning the Expert at Hands Offer in the future.

-       Local Authorities are required to maintain clear records of income & expenditure in relation to this grant including evidence of use of funds and will be required to submit returns periodically to the DfE setting out financial summaries and forecasts.

-       Failure to comply with the terms & conditions may result in the Secretary of State recover some or all of the grant that has been allocated.

-       Future support for high needs related Dedicated Schools Grant deficits that arise in 2026-27 and 2027-28 will take into account local authorities’’ appropriate use of this grants to establish an effective and quality Expert at Hands offer. The Plan to implement the Expert at Hands offer will also be an influencing factor in the DfE agreeing to pay the High Needs Stability Grant in 2026-27 which will fund 90% of the Council’s Dedicated School Grant accumulated deficit as at March 2026 (estimated grant total of £290 million).

-       This grant will be reported against the key service line “SEN & Psychology Services” in the approved KCC Budget Book.