Purpose

The four existing SEMH Base contracts are due for renewal. Considering the associated costs and the high level of need among the children attending these provisions, a decision has been taken to increase their funding.

We propose to increase funding to £270,000 per Base per year. This remains more cost- effective than placing these children in out-of-area educational settings and provides additional benefits to their wellbeing, as it enables them to access education closer to home without the need for extensive travel.

This approach recognises that both the SEMH Bases and the Communication Needs Bases will contribute to improving school attendance for children with SEMH needs and Speech, Language
and Communication Needs (SLCN) respectively, and reflects the intention for these services to operate under closely aligned contractual arrangements, recognising the slight differences
between the specifications.

Decision

It has been agreed by the SEND Sufficiency Board that all current annual payments to the SEMH Bases listed below will increase to £270,000 per annum from September 2026, with the contract being renewed for a further seven years. Thereafter, the annual payment will be subject to an annual inflationary uplift in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) (or agreed inflation measure), applied on each contract anniversary for the duration of the contract.

The current annual funding arrangements for the Primary SEMH Bases are as follows:
Venn Academy / Brooke Primary
• Leger Education Trust / Castle Hills
• Ivanhoe Primary

Each of these primary SEMH provisions currently receives £222,396 per annum.

The revised funding arrangements will take effect upon the renewal of each contract, recognising that their renewal dates occur at different times.

Alternative options considered

• De-commissioning the SEMH Bases: If the underlying emotional barriers are not addressed, attendance initiatives alone will not work and that would lead to Children with SEMH needs experiencing persistent school absence, an increasing number of Children
with Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) and increasing likelihood of non-attendance becoming entrenched.

• Placing children with SEMH needs in Alternative Provision and/or Special Schools: Although these provisions play an important role within the continuum of support, SEMH Bases are uniquely configured to prioritise reintegration into mainstream education,
making them a particularly effective option where this is the desired outcome.