Somerset Council launched a new consultation, asking for the public’s views on some of the ways education is funded.

In Somerset, £568m is spent on education each year and supports 70,000 children and young people in the county.

The consultation focuses on three areas:

• Funding for early years settings, which includes day nurseries, pre-schools and nursery schools.
• Early help services that help children and families when they have problems, aiming to prevent the situation from getting worse.
• Funding that helps children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from their early years to age 25.

A number of ideas on how these services can be improved have been suggested in the consultation. The Council is asking everyone to share their opinions on these options. If any proposals to change SEND funding are accepted, there will be a further consultation and piloting before anything changes for all schools and pupils.

Councillor Tessa Munt, Executive Lead Member for Children, Families & Education at Somerset Council said:

At Somerset Council, we pride ourselves in being transparent about our finances and services, and our education funding is no exception. We need constantly to review the ways in which education is delivered to ensure taxpayers get value for money.

This is a fantastic opportunity to have your say on education funding in Somerset and I encourage all those who have children in education, care for SEND children, work in the education sector, or simply feel passionately about education take part.

The consultation runs until 10 November and the results will be published once they have been analysed.

A link to the consultation can be found here: How should we meet education funding challenges in Somerset? Have your say.

A paper copy of the consultation can be viewed, or printed on request, at Bridgwater, Taunton, Shepton Mallet and Yeovil Libraries.