Big savings planned with SEND changes across Dudley

Dudley Council is planning to save big money by cutting back on placing children with special needs in independent schools.

Councillors at a meeting of the borough’s Social Care and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee were told repurposing the Unicorn Centre near Stourbridge, to take pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), was part of a strategy to bring provision back into the borough.

The Unicorn Centre, on Brettell Lane in Amblecote, was built to provide specialist care for adults but closed in 2024.

A total of fourteen children now attend the centre and the authority hopes to place up to 50 youngsters at the Unicorn in the next two years.

Committee members, at the meeting on October 22, were told the average cost per pupil for a placement at the Unicorn is £86,000 per year compared to £141,000 for a placement at an independent school.

Some independent placements are outside of the borough and councillors were also told savings on transport for children by March 2026 could add up to £148,000.

Officers said the council was now looking at using more vacant council-owned buildings to provide SEND places.

Cllr Sue Ridney said: “I am pleased we are looking at using other sites for our SEND children because it takes away from the criticism that a couple of years ago we had got so many children going out of the borough.

“We have often said we want our children educated in the borough.”

Independent schools say the situation may be more complicated than just a matter of cost. Heathfield Knoll School, in Wolverley near Kidderminster, deals with around ten consultations from Dudley each year.

Heathfield Knoll’s headteacher, Lawrence Collins, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “These are not figures I recognise and are in contrast to the costs charged to the six local authorities who partner with Heathfield Knoll School for the delivery of specific SEND teaching and services.

“It is important to remember that each pupil has specific needs that vary, along with the inputs they receive and therefore the costs.

“Value is measured by individual pupil outcomes and as a result of the quality assurance processes operated by each local authority. There is, and should never be, a one-size-fits-all approach with SEND.”