The headteacher of Heathfield Knoll School, an independent institution specializing in education for special needs pupils from Dudley, has expressed concerns about reducing costs at the expense of educational quality.
Dudley Council’s children’s services are under growing pressure due to increasing demand for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support. With budgets already stretched thin, the council is exploring strategies to lower expenses.
According to their SEND and AP Sufficiency Strategy (2024–2031), in June 2024, Dudley had 296 SEND pupils placed in independent schools at an annual cost of £15.8 million. In comparison, 1,068 SEND pupils were educated in council-run settings costing £14.1 million annually. To contain costs, the council intends to bring more pupils back into its own provision rather than relying on more expensive independent placements.
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However, Lawrence Collins, headteacher at Heathfield Knoll School in Wolverley, Worcestershire, cautions against focusing solely on budgets. “It is very difficult to put a price on someone’s education. If you start to think of children as numbers, you lose sight of what education should be about – developing young people. The quality of outcomes will suffer,” he says.
Heathfield Knoll, which collaborates with multiple local authorities and accepts approximately ten Dudley pupils annually, provides highly personalized support at roughly £50,000 per pupil per year. The school maintains a low pupil-to-staff ratio, with one teacher and one teaching assistant for every six pupils, alongside a range of tailored therapies delivered in its purpose-built Connect Centre.
Collins explains, “We start from ‘what do children need?’—not what is the cheapest solution. Our approach would be difficult to replicate elsewhere. The council sends children to us because we meet their specific requirements.”
Jane Cain, assistant headteacher, adds, “If the council chooses us, it means other providers cannot meet those needs. We offer something unavailable elsewhere.”
Councils are legally obligated to provide education that meets the diverse needs of SEND pupils. Collins emphasizes, “It always comes back to the right setting for the right child. If you fail in that, you can’t get that lost time back.”
Dudley Council plans to reduce its reliance on independent placements by repurposing vacant council-owned buildings as new SEND facilities. However, the Heathfield Knoll team questions whether this will deliver genuine cost savings or maintain the quality of provision. Their state-of-the-art Connect Centre provides a low sensory environment critical for pupils with anxiety who struggle in mainstream schools.
Cain cautions, “Using empty buildings won’t necessarily be inexpensive to adapt.”
Collins concludes, “You have to consider the bigger picture and focus on outcomes. Is this decision being driven by educational needs or just budgets? From an educational perspective, we must deliver the very best.
“If our children go elsewhere, it would either be the wrong setting or cost even more. Unless you truly understand SEND, you risk misinterpreting numbers and undervaluing the real needs of these young people.”