What is the threshold for receiving top-up funding?
Mainstream schools
Your core funding includes funding for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) whose additional support costs are lower than £6,000.
Where the cost of a pupil’s additional support is higher than £6,000, the excess will be met with top-up funding. This will be paid to your school directly by the local authority (LA) in which the pupil lives.
The process of applying for top-up funding, and the amount of funding that the LA makes available, is determined locally as part of the local offer.
This is explained in section 14.2 of the operational guide for high needs funding.
Special schools and alternative provision
If your school is a:
- Maintained special school
- Special academy
- Special free school
- Non-maintained special school
- Pupil referral unit (PRU)
- Alternative provision (AP) academy, or
- AP free school
However, you