High Needs Top-up Funding in Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

What is High Needs Top-up funding?

Mainstream schools are expected to fund the first £6,000 per pupil per year of additional SEN support from their delegated budget (often referred to as the “notional SEN budget”) however, the delegated SEN budget is not intended to provide £6,000 for every pupil with SEN as most pupils’ support will cost less.

The £6,000 threshold applies before any additional funding from the local authority is considered. If a pupil’s support costs exceed £6,000, the local authority provides High Needs Top-up funding to cover the extra cost.

High Needs Top-up funding (sometimes called element 3 funding) is additional funding provided by the local authority to schools and settings for children and young people with significant special educational needs (SEN).

This system ensures schools meet lower-level SEN needs from their own resources, while high-cost, complex needs receive additional funding to access the support and resources they need to participate fully in education.

What cannot be funded from High Needs Top-up funding?

High Needs Top-up funding is ring-fenced for educational provision for pupils with SEND, so it cannot be used for a school’s general running costs including:

• General staffing costs for teaching that would have had to have been met even if it had no pupils with high needs (class teachers, SENCo for all pupils).
• Building maintenance and utilities (heating, lighting, cleaning).
• Administrative overheads (office staff, finance team, HR).
• Whole-school resources (library books, ICT for general use).
• Premises costs (rent, rates, insurance).
• Meals and catering.
• Transport for non-SEND purposes (general school buses).
• Social care or health costs (residential care, medical treatment).
• Adult education provided by a college.
• The cost of educational and other assessments, for example, by educational psychologists.

How do we calculate Top-up funding for schools and nurseries?

There is no statutory obligation for local authorities to provide funding at a specific rate; allocations are determined according to assessed needs. Guidance indicates that top-up funding is designed to contribute to the costs associated with special educational provision for children and young people with high needs.

RBKC uses the Education Banding Tool (EBT), developed by Imosphere, to calculate top-up funding. The EBT is a transparent, needs-based system that links the level of funding to the child’s identified needs in their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Key features of the EBT calculator:

• It uses information from Section B of the EHCP (description of needs).
• Each area of need is scored using a RAS (Resource Allocation System) points system.
• Points correspond to a band, which determines the funding level.
• The model is deficit-based, meaning funding is linked to what is required to meet the child’s needs.

Areas of need assessed:

The EBT considers a wide range of needs and each area is weighted according to the level of support required:

• Communication and Interaction - includes managing sensory impairments and communicating well.
• Cognition and Learning - focuses on achieving potential for learning, engaging with the curriculum, and overcoming barriers.
• Social, Emotional, and Mental Health - covers forming positive relationships, maintaining emotional well-being, and managing behaviour.
• Sensory or Physical Difficulties - includes being independent with mobility and motor skills, and the impact of sensory impairments on independence.
• Recreation and Community Inclusion - developing and enjoying recreational activities and community inclusion.
• Dealing with Change and Transitions - managing change within the education setting and transitions.
• Independence and Self-Care - Being independent with self-care (toileting, changing clothes, meals).
• Risk of Harm - Likelihood of actions causing harm to self, others, or property.
• Preparation for Adulthood - Independent living skills, travel skills, preparing for employment (not applicable in this case due to age).
• Health and Well-being - Includes assessment for Continuing Care, breathing, skin and tissue viability, medication, seizures (mostly not applicable in this case).

How do we moderate and ensure adequacy?

Moderation is essential to maintain fairness and consistency:

• Headteacher Panels spot check funding decisions made.
• The High Needs Block Review Group (HNBRG) checks that rates reflect real costs.
• We compare EBT outputs with actual provision costs (e.g., TA hourly rates, therapy costs).
• Annual reviews ensure funding remains aligned with the need of the child.

Independent checks and feedback from schools help us confirm that the system is working effectively.

Current RBKC banding rates

Banding rates for mainstream schools are agreed annually by Schools Forum. Below are the 2024/25 RBKC EBT rates, inclusive of the notional £6,000 that schools must contribute towards SEN provision.

Exceptional changes to funding

Should a child or young person’s needs change significantly between planned review intervals, and the school requires urgent additional funding, the school may request a reassessment of the funding band from the council prior to the next EHCP review.

In such cases, the Supplementary Information Form must be completed, ensuring that all needs are documented and subsequently reflected in the EHCP at the following annual review.

Schools and nurseries are advised to contact their allocated EHC Coordinator if a child or young person demonstrates significantly changed needs that may necessitate additional funding support, in order to request a copy of the Supplementary Information Form. Please note that this form is not intended as a replacement for the standard annual review documentation.  

How do we calculate funding for other placements?

Special Schools

Local authorities set place numbers for schools, confirmed annually. Each funded place in a maintained special school, special academy, or special free school receives £10,000 core funding (pre-16 and post-16) per place, which does not have to be spent on individual students.

The local authority provides a High Needs Top-up for each student to cover costs exceeding the standard £10,000 place funding, with amounts differing depending on the school and individual needs. In RBKC, special schools have fixed rates per place. Special schools rely solely on place funding plus the top-up.

Inclusion Bases

Each inclusion base in a mainstream school receives £6,000 per commissioned place from the local authority, plus a High Needs Top-up payment agreed through a service level agreement. Like special schools, this funding covers core specialist provision costs, but mainstream schools also receive standard pupil funding (AWPU) for enrolled students. The High Needs Top-up amount varies by school.

Colleges

Colleges do not have a notional SEN budget like schools. They receive core funding and extra funding for students with additional needs, but the £6,000 threshold works differently. For each high needs’ student, colleges automatically get £6,000 from the ESFA for support, separate from High Needs Top-up funding.

Unlike schools, colleges are not expected to cover SEN support from their own resources beyond the ESFA allocation so they tell the Local Authority what top-up they need once they are consulted for a pupil with an EHCP, we do not use EBT.

Additional Information

For additional details, the Department for Education’s High Needs Operational Guide offers comprehensive information on how the high needs funding system works. It’s designed to assist local authorities and education providers in planning and delivering services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) as well as those in alternative provision. The guide outlines the funding structure within the high needs block of the Dedicated Schools Grant, explaining the operational processes necessary for consistency and meeting statutory obligations. It is updated usually at least once a year to incorporate policy changes, adjustments in funding formulas, and new operational requirements.

For any queries related to a specific child’s High Needs Top-up, please contact the SEND Team on 020 7361 3311 or by email at [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)