Oxfordshire SEND charity gets 'one-off' council grant

A council which pulled funding from a charity supporting young people with autism has given it a cash grant.

Oxfordshire County Council told Autism Family Support Oxfordshire (AFSO) that it would stop funding some of its services from 1 April.

The grant has been given as a "one-off", allowing the charity time to find alternative financing, it said.

The authority has previously been criticised over its care for children with special educational needs (SEND).

AFSO was set up to provide support to parents whose children have autism.

But in a letter to parents and carers in March, AFSO said the council had "decided that from 1st April 2024 they will stop funding our youth groups and our family support work".

The charity said it was told the decision had been made due to council budget constraints.

Announcing the grant on Thursday, the county council called the measures an "intermediate step".

It said it had also offered professional advice to the charity.

Oxfordshire County Council told the BBC the amount of money in the grant was confidential.

Gemma Rodgerson, from Bampton, whose daughter has autism, called the charity "a lifeline".

"When we have been at our lowest, they have been there," she told the BBC.

The decision to stop some of AFSO's funding was not a result of the authority reducing spending in the area, a council spokesperson previously said.

"Parenting support was not offered as a tender because parents did not feel this was as important as direct care [so] they were unable to bid for this funding," they added.

In 2023, Ofsted inspectors found Oxfordshire County Council was not meeting the needs of SEND children requiring its help, with some vulnerable young people being made to wait years for help or appropriate school places.

The authority has since published an action plan in a bid to improve its services.

Autism Family Support Oxfordshire has been approached for comment.

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