Early help locality funding
This funding is intended to provide the most appropriate support package for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in a range of settings, taking account of parental and student choice.
The key principles for the funding of higher needs pupils are:
- funding for high needs provision is to be arranged on an equivalent basis across different types of providers, including maintained or academy schools
- pupils and students with high needs in the school or academy, further education and alternative provision sectors
- a 'place-plus' approach to funding in specialist settings is being adopted
Apply
The first time you apply, you will be asked to create an account. You will then be able to view your saved and completed forms once logged in.
You will need to provide:
- pupil’s details
- provision map
- SEN support plan
- IEP
- One Page Profile
- assessment data (EYFS and KS1,2,3,4)
- Educational Progress Reviews completed within the last 12 months
- Personal Education Plan, if pupil is Looked After
- Health Care Plan (if appropriate)
- risk assessment or safe handling plan, if appropriate
If you need support completing our forms, email our High Needs team at [email protected].
Decision panel
The panel meets monthly during term-time. They will consider applications from schools for early help locality funding for children without an education, health and care plan (EHCP). Each application is discussed to determine whether the child meets high needs criteria in line with the SEN descriptors.
There are two decisions types:
- The child meets the criteria for early help locality funding
- The child does not meet the criteria for early help locality funding
Decisions are notified to schools via email. The decision notification confirms the funding period and the amount to be funded.
2025 to 2026 panels
| Submit application by | Panel meeting | Confirmation letters will be received by |
|---|---|---|
| 24 September 2025 | Friday 3 October 2025 | Friday 17 October 2025 |
| 24 October 2025 | Friday 7 November 2025 | Friday 21 November 2025 |
| 27 November 2025 | Friday 5 December 2025 | Friday 19 December 2025 |
| 23 January 2026 | Friday 6 February 2026 | Friday 20 February 2026 |
| 27 February 2026 | Friday 13 March 2026 | Friday 27 March 2026 |
| 24 April 2026 | Friday 8 May 2026 | Friday 22 May 2026 |
| 29 May 2026 | Friday 12 June 2026 | Friday 26 June 2026 |
| 26 June 2026 | Friday 10 July 2026 | Friday 24 July 2026 |
All panel decisions will be sent out to the email address provided on the application form. Completed applications can be submitted at any time and will be considered in date order, at the closest panel meeting date with capacity.
Applications must be checked and prepared and that panel members require at least 5 working days to review applications prior to the panel meeting. Applications submitted close to a panel date will therefore be submitted to the next panel.
For schools, where funding is agreed it will commence from the date automatically generated by the system upon submission of the application form. This date appears in the 'completed by' section at the end of the form.
Guidance
Continuation forms have been issued to all schools currently receiving this funding. These were sent to the email address on the application form. If you have not received this, or have any queries about continued funding, please email us at [email protected].
The document below fulfils a Department for Education requirement for each local authority to explain the special educational needs provision it expects to be made from within a mainstream school's budget share. It clearly explains the provision for pupils from early years settings and schools and will form part of the local authority Local Offer.
The document should be used as required to inform good practice and support effective provision for pupils with special educational needs.
The creation of the Unitary authorities has resulted in additional cross border pupils for example a child with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who lives in, and is the funding responsibility of, their 'home' authority, but goes to a school in another authority.
The arrangement for schools to be paid for SEN support for such EHCP pupils, is that the agreed funding is recharged via invoices raised by the school to the funding authority - this process is already in place for existing neighbouring authorities.
Schools themselves need to invoice the relevant funding authority for agreed SEN support funding. This includes pupils from North or West Northamptonshire Councils. This arrangement applies to mainstream schools (maintained and academy), special schools, unit provisions and early years settings.
Where schools have pupils from another authority without an Education Health and Care Plan but agreed early help locality funding, they will again need to invoice the funding authority direct.
Invoices will need to be addressed to:
North Northamptonshire Council
One Angel Square
Angel Street
Northampton
NN1 1ED
You will not require a purchase order number, but invoices must be emailed to [email protected].
Please provide invoices on a termly basis (to support cash flow, we are able to accept invoices in advance), so this will usually be the annual amount agreed divided by three terms (except where one-off amount etc.)
Please provide full backing information to support the claim - pupil name and date of birth, funding level (RAS or EHCP level), special arrangement funding detail and period of claim.
For some children and young people (for example those who are 'looked after'), it can be difficult to establish which authority is financially responsible for funding their SEN top up. If you require assistance to clarify, or if you have any other query, please contact the appropriate High Needs business support Team.
Last updated 14 July 2025