Fourteen of the 19 Bracknell Forest schools that replied oppose moving 0.5% of their budgets to SEND. The council still wants to, so it must ask the Education Secretary.

Most Bracknell Forest schools that answered a council consultation have said no to giving up 0.5% of their budgets next year to help pay for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Of the 19 schools that replied, 14 opposed the plan and five supported it in principle. Another 17 schools did not respond.

The council still wants to make the transfer in 2027-28. Because most schools that responded were against it, the borough’s Schools Forum cannot approve it alone. The council must instead apply to the Secretary of State for Education for permission.

The figures are in a report to the Schools Forum for its meeting on Thursday 12 November. The forum was asked whether it would back that application. The council has not yet published what it decided.

Overview

  • The proposal moves up to 0.5% of mainstream school funding into the high needs budget, which pays for SEND support, in 2027-28.
  • 14 of the 19 schools that replied opposed it, and 17 did not reply.
  • The council says it wishes to proceed, which means a “disapplication request” to the Education Secretary.
  • Separately, 7 of the 17 schools the council still maintains ended March 2026 in deficit, owing £1.237 million between them.

What schools said

The council’s report says schools raised “the financial pressures currently faced by schools”. They worried that any cut to their funding would hurt their ability to meet rising costs and “rising levels of pupil need”.

The council’s answer, in the same report, is that more money for high needs “forms an important part of delivering the SEND Reform Plan”. It says the transfer would support inclusion and help build “sustainable local provision” for children with SEND in the borough.

The council has not put a figure in pounds on the transfer. Its budget planning paper says no modelling has been done yet because the government has not sent indicative funding for 2027-28. The government’s figures have been delayed because the national Budget is not until the Autumn Statement. School-level budgets must still go to the Department for Education in January 2027, and final allocations to schools are expected in March.

Why the council wants the money

The borough’s SEND budget has run up a large deficit. In November the government confirmed a High Needs Stability Grant of about £29 million, which the council says clears around 90% of the debt built up to March 2026.

The planning paper says the 0.5% transfer used to be part of the council’s deficit plan under the government’s Safety Valve programme, which has now ended. Backing it now would show “a coordinated Bracknell Forest approach to addressing SEND pressures”, the paper says.

Schools’ own finances are tighter

A second report to the forum covers the 17 schools still maintained by the council. Academies are not included. At 31 March 2026:

Measure 31 March 2026 Change on a year earlier
Schools in deficit 7
Total of those deficits £1.237m worse by £0.468m
Schools in surplus 10 up 2
Total of those surpluses £1.519m up £0.387m
All balances combined £0.282m down 22%

The combined balance is 0.7% of the schools’ yearly income. The report says that is “below the minimum level required for working balances to safely cover unforeseen circumstances”.

Primary schools are, on average, in the red. Their combined balance is a deficit of £0.172 million, and the average primary balance is minus 1.9% of funding. The report says primaries would need about £1.076 million more in reserves to reach a 3% target. Garth Hill College, the one secondary school the council still maintains, holds a surplus of £0.454 million.

A third report asked the forum to approve deficit agreements, which let a school overspend for a period under a recovery plan. Three schools with existing agreements have asked for higher limits, two have asked for new ones, two have cut their deficits and two have paid theirs off in full. The report expects support for schools on recovery plans to continue “over the medium to long term”.

What happens next

If the forum backs it, the council’s application goes to the Education Secretary, who decides whether the transfer can go ahead. The forum’s decision should appear in the minutes of the 12 November meeting.

What it means for you

If the transfer goes ahead, every mainstream school in the borough, academies included, gets up to 0.5% less from the local funding formula in 2027-28. The money would go towards SEND support instead. Parents will see the effect only through each school’s own budget choices, and individual budgets will not be set until early 2027.