SEND Funding

Funding for Inclusion (FFI)  and Early Years Funding for Inclusion (EYFFI) was used in Leeds to support children and young people who had special educational needs that needed a high level of support. 

This funding model is no longer in use. Decisions about funding now take place within the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessment pathway.

Children and young people already receiving FFI will continue to be funded until a transition to the EHCP pathway has taken place. 

For more information and updates on the transition process you can visit the SEND transformations page on the Leeds Local Offer website.

Special schools can provide a higher level of targeted SEND support than mainstream schools. They are provided with additional funding per place to help them to do this.

An Education, Health and Care Plan is needed for a place in a special school or setting and is also a way for extra high needs funding to be agreed for individual children and young people if needed.

SEND Inclusion Funding (SENDIF) is used to support children from 9 months to school age who are starting to show additional needs, helping them in nursery settings where they get Free Early Education Entitlement (FEEE).

SENDIF+ is additional funding that can be used to support children from 9 months to school age who have more complex needs than those covered by SENDIF. 

It can be accessed through the Education, Health and Care needs assessment (EHCNA) process.