High needs funding

Also called Element 3, Top-up funding, High needs block

Money councils hold for pupils whose needs cost more than a school's own budget covers.

What it is

High needs funding is the part of the Dedicated Schools Grant a local authority holds to support children and young people with complex needs, in mainstream schools, special schools, alternative provision and post-16 settings.

Element 3 top-up is the per-pupil amount a council pays a setting above the first £6,000.

Where it applies

Pupils whose needs exceed what the notional SEN budget covers, from 0 to 25.

How it works

Councils set their own local arrangements for how schools apply for top-up, and the processes vary widely — banding systems, panels, matrices.

Most high needs blocks are under severe pressure nationally, and many councils are in deficit on them. That pressure is real and it is not a lawful reason to refuse provision in an EHCP.

What you can ask for

Ask the school whether it has applied for top-up and what the outcome was. Schools sometimes have not applied.

Ask the council what its banding or matrix is. Most publish it, and it tells you what evidence gets what.

If funding is refused and provision is in Section F, the duty still stands. That is a matter for the council, not for you to solve.

Where to get help

The council's SEN team and its published high needs arrangements. IPSEA where the funding answer is being used to refuse provision.