Local SEND inclusion factor: school checks for 2027 to 2028

The consultation on a local SEND inclusion factor closed on 18 September 2026. That does not mean the policy is final, or that every mainstream school will receive extra money in 2027 to 2028.

The useful job now is to separate three things: what the Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed about the application process, what still depends on the consultation response and ministerial approval, and what your local authority is considering.

Key points: The consultation is closed and the DfE is analysing responses. Interested local authorities had to register by 18 September, but formal applications are due by 30 October. Schools should check their schools forum papers, test local formula assumptions and keep provision, cost and review evidence ready. No allocation is guaranteed.

What has changed since the consultation closed?

The consultation page now says the DfE is analysing feedback. No outcome has been published yet.

The separate application guidance for local authorities remains live. It says authorities that intended to apply had to register an expression of interest by 18 September. They must develop a proposal with the DfE, consult their schools forum and submit a formal application by 30 October 2026.

An expression of interest is not an approval. A schools forum discussion is not an allocation. Even a formal application still needs approval from the Secretary of State for Education.

For a school, the immediate evidence is local. Look for published schools forum agendas, papers and minutes. These should show whether an authority is developing a proposal and, if so, the threshold, transfer amount, distribution factors and transitional arrangements under discussion.

What is the local SEND inclusion factor?

Under the current proposal, an approved local authority could raise the £6,000 additional support cost threshold that mainstream schools are expected to meet from their delegated budgets. It would transfer a proportionate amount from the high needs budget to the schools budget to reflect that greater responsibility.

The money would sit on top of the local school funding formula as a separate local SEND inclusion factor. The authority would need to state which formula factors it used. The DfE guidance also says authorities should consider targeted funding for schools with disproportionately high levels of SEND or complex SEND where a formula alone would produce a poor fit.

This is a proposed funding route for 2027 to 2028. It is different from the Inclusive Mainstream Fund already operating in 2026 to 2027, and it is different from high needs top-up funding attached to eligible individual provision. Lumping the three together will make a governor paper shorter and much less reliable.

What is confirmed, proposed and locally unknown?

Use this three-column test in any briefing for leaders or governors.

Confirmed process

The current DfE guidance sets out an expression-of-interest stage, proposal development, schools forum consultation, a 30 October application deadline and ministerial approval. It also says maintained schools and academies may receive formula funding on different timetables, so an authority may need transitional arrangements.

The School and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2026 provide the current framework for local formula consultation. The DfE application guidance says formal proposals must include evidence that the schools forum was consulted.

Proposed policy

The increase to the £6,000 threshold, the transfer from the high needs block and the local SEND inclusion factor remain part of a proposed arrangement. The DfE says the guidance may change after the consultation response.

Locally unknown

Until your authority publishes its proposal, the school may not know:

whether the authority registered an interest;
how far it wants to raise the threshold;
how much funding it proposes to transfer;
which formula factors it wants to use;
whether targeted funding will protect schools with unusually complex cohorts;
how payment timing will work for maintained schools and academies.

Do not fill those gaps with national averages or a neighbouring authority's plan. This policy is deliberately local.

What should schools ask their local authority now?

The best questions expose the assumptions behind the proposal rather than asking only for an estimated allocation.

Did the authority register an expression of interest by 18 September?
When will the proposal go to the schools forum, and where will the papers be published?
What evidence supports the proposed threshold increase?
Which pupil or school characteristics will drive the formula?
How will the authority test whether the formula disadvantages schools with complex or changing cohorts?
What targeted or transitional funding is being considered?
When will maintained schools and academies receive indicative allocations?
What will schools need to record in their annual inclusion strategies if the policy proceeds?

Bring the SENCO, headteacher and finance lead into the same conversation. A formula can look sensible at authority level while missing the way support is delivered in a particular school.

What evidence should a school prepare?

Do not build a speculative funding bid. Build a current operational picture that remains useful whether the authority applies or not.

Start with five records:

a current provision map showing the support in place, who receives it and who delivers it;
clear cost assumptions, including the period covered and whether a cost is committed, estimated or shared;
review evidence linking provision to the barrier, intended outcome and next decision;
a short account of cohort pressures that formula proxies may miss;
an action log for local authority questions, owners and dates.

The high needs funding operational guide for 2026 to 2027 is clear that local authorities should work with affected schools and colleges on funding arrangements. A school contributes more usefully when it can show the provision decision behind the number, rather than presenting a total with no review trail.

MeritDocs supports costed provision, structured plans and review workflows in the same pupil record. That gives school teams a practical way to trace why support was agreed, what it cost, what changed at review and which version is current. Staff still decide the provision and approve the record.

How does this relate to the Inclusive Mainstream Fund?

The local SEND inclusion factor should not be confused with the Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF).

The IMF is current funding for 2026 to 2027. The DfE's inclusion strategy guidance says schools must publish an inclusion strategy on their website by 31 December 2026. It must explain the funded activity and budgeted costs.

The local SEND inclusion factor is a proposed route for 2027 to 2028. If implemented in an authority, the DfE says schools would report activity funded through it in their annual inclusion strategy too.

Keep separate lines in the budget and evidence trail for the IMF, notional SEN funding, any local SEND inclusion factor and individual top-up funding. Clear labels prevent the same provision being counted twice and make the conditions attached to each source easier to follow.

How can a school keep the funding trail usable?

Funding records often split at the worst point. Finance holds the cost, the SENCO holds the plan, a teacher holds the evidence and the decision sits in meeting minutes.

MeritDocs connects provision and cost information to the structured plan and its review history. The useful outcome is a record that can answer four linked questions: what support was agreed, why it was chosen, what it cost and what the review found. Schools can then export the relevant record when a funding or governance conversation needs it.

That is a better starting point than another standalone spreadsheet, but it is not an automatic funding case. Local criteria, professional judgement and staff approval still govern the decision.

FAQs

Has the local SEND inclusion formula been approved?

No national outcome has been published. The consultation is closed and the DfE is analysing responses. Individual local authorities must still complete the application process and receive approval before using the factor.

Does a local authority expression of interest guarantee more funding for schools?

No. It starts a discussion. The authority must develop and consult on a proposal, apply by 30 October and receive approval. Any school allocation would then depend on the approved local formula.

Should schools assume the £6,000 threshold will rise?

No. The current threshold remains the relevant starting point unless an approved local arrangement changes it for 2027 to 2028. Schools should not rewrite support or budget decisions around an unapproved figure.

What should governors see this term?

Give them one page with confirmed national process, the authority's published position, the school's main SEND cost pressures, evidence gaps and the date of the next check. Do not present a possible allocation as income.

What is the first practical step for a SENCO?

Check the latest schools forum papers, then make sure current provision, cost assumptions, review evidence and named owners can be brought together without reconstructing the story from several systems.

The decision for schools

The consultation deadline has passed, but the school's preparation window has not. Check the local evidence, keep the policy status precise and make the provision trail usable before budget numbers harden.

If the factor proceeds locally, that work will support a better response. If it does not, the school still gains a clearer account of what it provides, what it costs and whether it is working.

Status note: Published 4 September 2026 and materially updated 24 September 2026. This article distinguishes current requirements from proposals, consultations and announced funding. A proposal or announcement does not create a new statutory duty until the relevant legislation, regulations or official guidance is in force. Check the linked official sources below for the confirmed implementation date and current position.

Local SEND inclusion factor: what mainstream schools should check now