If you’ve ever tried to understand how SEND funding actually works in schools, you’ll know it can feel like trying to read a map with half the landmarks missing. Parents are often told, “We don’t have the funding”, “Your child doesn’t meet the threshold”, or “We need to use our notional budget first” — but rarely does anyone explain what that really means.

This blog breaks it down clearly:
What the notional SEND budget is
When and how schools can access top‑up funding
How funding works once a child has an EHCP

Let’s make the system make sense.