Calderdale has been allocated the funding, a share of £429 million being invested across England in 2026/27, to set up a new ‘Experts at Hand’ service. It is designed to allow schools to easily access advice from professionals like speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists.

Calderdale Council will be asked to work closely with the NHS and local partners such as special schools, alternative provision and mainstream settings to determine how the money should be spent. Final guidance will be published by the government next month setting out how this should be done.

Josh Fenton-Glynn MP said:

“It has been clear for some time that children, young people and families are really struggling in the SEND system. I don’t doubt that school staff do their best, but sometimes expert advice is needed to determine what exactly will help them.

“I’m looking forward to meeting with the council and NHS in the coming weeks and months to see how we can use the opportunity provided by this funding to really improve things for children across Calder Valley.”

Minister for School Standards, Georgia Gould, said:

“Too often, young people with SEND face a long wait for the support they need, holding them back from building important skills and thriving in education.

“We recently set out our generational SEND reforms to turn this around, and now, we’re getting on and backing councils with the funding needed to transform the system and make sure every young person receives the right support early on.

“Our Experts at Hand offer will make sure families don’t face a postcode lottery in support by boosting teacher capacity and ensuring nurseries, schools and colleges across the country have access to a bank of specialists who are ready to provide the additional help children may need.”

The announcement follows last month’s high needs capital allocations, where Calderdale was assigned a further £3.1 million to make to make sure all children in Calder Valley can benefit from more inclusive schools. The funding was part of a record amount allocated to councils nationally. Labour-run Calderdale Council has also announced they will be moving forward with a new specialist school in North Halifax, and an alternative provision school in partnership with Delta Academies Trust.

A public consultation on broader reforms to the SEND system is ongoing. Parents, children and young people, and professionals across Calderdale are invited to share insights, evidence and feedback. It can be accessed here.