How do LAs set up SEND units in mainstream schools?

The mechanism: commission a block of places, then fund the split

LAs set up a SEN unit or resourced provision by commissioning a block of high-needs places at a mainstream school, funded at £6,000 per occupied place (£10,000 if reserved) plus top-up (2026-27). The key thing to hold onto is that these places are place-led, not pupil-led: you plan and fund a fixed block of places at a host school, rather than waiting for individual pupils to arrive. The Department for Education's high needs operational guide defines a SEN unit as separate classes within a mainstream school where pupils are taught apart for at least half their time, and a resourced provision as reserved places for a specific type of need that need a base and some specialist facilities but keep pupils in mainstream classes for at least half their time.

The steps in order

1. Plan the place need. Identify the gap in your SEND sufficiency and place-planning strategy, agree the model (unit or resourced provision) and the host school. This sits under your duty to keep provision in your area under review.
2. Build or adapt the base. Where new physical space is needed, deploy high needs provision capital for the build or adaptation. The 2025-26 round allocated £740 million to create over 10,000 new places, with LAs encouraged to spend it in local mainstream schools to cut reliance on costly independent special school places.
3. Commission the places. For a maintained school, the provider LA determines the number of funded places. For an academy or free school, the DfE confirms places through the annual place change notification process. Record the agreed places in the school's funding arrangements.
4. Fund the two elements. Pay £6,000 (Element 2) for each place occupied by a pupil on roll, and £10,000 for each place that is reserved, unfilled at census, or held for local reasons. On top of that, the resident commissioning LA pays Element 3 top-up for any pupil whose support costs run above £6,000.
5. Name the provision. Once the places exist, they can be named in Section I of an EHC plan so pupils are admitted into them. See whether a school can be told to admit a child with an EHCP.

If the host school resists or the named school is wrong

Naming a maintained mainstream school, academy or other listed institution in Section I of an EHC plan binds it to admit the child, even over the school's objection (section 43, Children and Families Act 2014; the council's duty to name the parent's preferred school in the plan sits at section 39). Your duty to keep provision under review and secure sufficient suitable places (section 27) is the statutory hook for the wider place-planning. Where a parent disputes the school you name, the route is appeal to the SEND Tribunal, not local negotiation; see appealing when the council names the wrong school.

Reform watch

The terminology is in active flux even though the funding mechanism is stable. The February 2026 Schools White Paper introduces inclusion bases as a single umbrella term for flexible specialist spaces in mainstream schools, with an expectation that in time every secondary school hosts one and matching primary places, backed by over £3.7 billion to create 60,000 specialist places. The DfE has also commissioned the National Children's Bureau to produce best-practice guidance for units and resourced provision. State the current place-and- funding rules in your commissioning paper and flag the direction of travel without committing to a timeline. The DfE high needs operational guide is the source to cite for the live rules.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.