Launch event: Reforming SEND finance: meeting need in a sustainable system

Event summary

CIPFA launches its latest social care publication - Reforming SEND Finance: Meeting need in a sustainable system.

CIPFA sets out five principle for a sustainable SEND finance system that meets the needs of children and young people. We propose actions to take to build this system, and make recommendations to government on areas such as funding, early intervention, integration, market management and accountability. We will be joined by the National Audit Office to discuss the future of SEND in England.

Date

14 February 2025
Starts: 12:00
Ends: 13:00

Location

online

Standard price

£0.00 excl VAT

Network Member Price

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About this event

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system is not working. It is not improving outcomes for children and young people or the experiences of their families, and it is financially unsustainable. Local authorities across England are being driven to a financial cliff edge. The system must be reformed.

CIPFA’s latest publication focuses on how to build a SEND system that meets the needs of children and young people, while being financially sustainable. Our five principles for a financially sustainable system cover funding, early intervention, integration, market management and accountability. We describe the financial challenges in the current system, and propose actions to take to resolve these challenges. We make recommendations for government to take in the short, medium, and longer term, and consider the financial and legislative impact of these recommendations.

CIPFA will be joined by the National Audit Office, whose October 2024 report ‘Support for children and young people with special educational needs’ similarly explored challenges within the current system and made a series of recommendations.

Join us at this free launch event to hear the findings from the reports and to pose your questions to CIPFA and the NAO.

Who should attend?

Everyone with an interest in special educational needs and disabilities, education, health, social care, public health, public financial management, and local authority financial sustainability.

How will you benefit from attending?

Learn about the financial challenges in the SEND system
Learn about CIPFA’s five principles for a financially-sustainable system that meets the needs of children and young people
Hear CIPFA’s recommendations on how to create a financially-sustainable system that meets the needs of children and young people
Hear from the National Audit Office about their latest report on SEND
Pose your questions to the authors of the reports.

CPD hours

This course carries 1 CPD hours.

Topics

Accounting
/ Central government
/ Childrens services
/ Commissioning
/ Education finance and academies
/ Financial management
/ Financial reporting
/ Health and social care
/ Local government
/ Shared services
/ Sustainability
/ Value for money

Speaker - Dr William Burns, Social Care Policy Advisor

William is CIPFA’s social care policy voice, and he runs the Social Care Network. His work focuses on social care reform, and he has produced thought leadership in the areas of charging reform, children’s social care reform, Scotland’s National Care Service, and social care funding. Before joining CIPFA, he was Social Care Finance Lead at the Scottish Government where he was involved in costing a range of social care reform policies stemming from the Independent Review of Adult Social Care. William attained a PhD in English Literature from the University of Glasgow and started studying accountancy during the final stages of his PhD.

Speaker - Iain Murray, Director of Public Financial Management, CIPFA

Iain is CIPFA’s recently appointed Director of Public Financial Management and has over 20 years’ experience of working with the public sector. Having joined District Audit as a graduate trainee in 2002 Iain moved his way up to manager at the Audit Commission before joining Grant Thornton in 2012 where he progressed to director and became a key audit partner. Working with the public sector has always been a deliberate choice, during his career Iain has worked with local government, NHS and police bodies of varying size and complexity in both an audit and advisory capacity. He is well versed in the issues public finance and public services. At CIPFA Iain leads the teams in the key areas of policy, technical and standard setting.

Speaker - Emma Wilson, Director, Education value for money, NAO

Having worked at the NAO for just over 20 years, Emma has substantial experience auditing a range of government programmes and sectors. This includes detailed reviews across welfare reform and large-scale defence programmes, as well as the Restoration & Renewal of Parliament. She took over responsibility for the NAO’s value for money work across the education sector, having undertaken specific work on student loans, condition of school buildings, early years and special education needs. Emma is a qualified chartered accountant and holds IACCM and project management qualifications, whilst also a trustee at Young Citizens