Published: 26/10/2026
In September 2025, Southampton City Council (SCC) launched its SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) Mainstream Funding Cluster Model across all 66 mainstream settings within the City. The model brings together primary and secondary schools with local professionals. These include Educational Psychologists (EPs), the Neurodiversity Multidisciplinary Team (NDMDT) and health colleagues. Together they provide flexible, rapid support for pupils with SEND. By devolving £1 million from the High Needs Block (HNB) to eight locality-based clusters, the model has placed increased emphasis on early intervention and collective responsibility, alongside statutory processes focused on individual support. Since its introduction, the model has fostered a culture of trust and professional collaboration across the City, supporting earlier needs-led support in mainstream settings. Funding is used as an enabler of collaboration rather than as the primary driver of support.
The SEND Effective Practice Evidence Framework considers that the “strength of evidence” of this case study is emerging. The work has been evaluated internally after its first full year, capturing feedback from practitioners alongside impact monitoring of funded projects and interventions. The work is now entering its second full year of deployment, following the initial pilot phase. The “breadth of impact” of this case study is promising. There is evidence of impact in terms of feedback from professionals and education, health and wellbeing outcomes for children and young people1.
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1 The SEND Effective Practice Evidence Framework uses two “signal strength” indicators to present the strength of evidence and the breadth of impact of a case study. Each indicator has four bars – emerging, promising, good and robust The “strength of evidence” indicator is based on how the project has been evaluated and the length of time it has been sustained. The “breadth of impact” indicator is based on whether the case study can demonstrate impact in four broad areas – the more areas of impact, the higher the signal strength indicator.