en Ofsted judgements made of schools on the basis of pupils’ attainment and the level of inclusion. All local authorities have a ‘Fair Access Protocol’ (FAP) to ‘ensure that vulnerable children, and those who are having difficulty securing a school place in-year, are allocated a place as quickly as possible’ (DfE, 2021). However, DCSs gave examples of academies reluctant to accept children in care, those with SEND or an EHCP. DCSs expressed frustrations with school and inspection systems that they perceived as favouring schools with few or no children with SEND at the expense of inclusion. We have a school system that is not inclusive and is not incentivised to be inclusive. We have children in the wrong provision. Many could probably get GCSEs if they were in mainstream with support, but they’re not going to get GCSEs. (DCS, Unitary borough, London Region) The high needs funding system supports provision for children and young people with SEND. While funding to the high needs block has increased from £4.8 billion in 2014–15 to £9.2 billion in 2024–25, with a further £1 billion allocated in the 2024 Autumn Budget, the national cumulative high needs deficit stands at £3.16 billion and is predicted to rise to nearly £5 billion by 2026 (Isos, 2024). The recent Isos research highlights that, despite record expenditure, outcomes for children have not improved. Many examples of how the financial situation continues to deteriorate were given. One example is set out below. …we're financially in a really challenging position, driven by both increase in numbers and increase in unit costs. We also have an accelerated action plan around the quality of EHCPs… Our EHCP timeliness is really poor but the number of requests for assessment coming in continues to rise... We need to move a