Agenda item

Local Area Inspection of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

14.40

 

The outcome of the recent Ofsted and CQC joint local area inspection of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) arrangements.

 

The Committee is RECOMMENDED consider the outcomes of the recent local area inspection and the County Council’s action plan to address areas for improvement in education.

Minutes:

The Committee had before it a report which outlined the outcome of the recent Ofsted and CQC joint local area inspection of Oxfordshire to judge the effectiveness of the area in implementing the disability and special educational needs reforms as set out in the Children’s and Families Act 2014.

 

Inspectors spoke with children and young people with disabilities and/or special educational needs, parents and carers, local authority and National Health Service (NHS) officers. They visited a range of providers and spoke to leaders, staff and governors about how they were implementing the special educational needs reforms. Inspectors looked at a range of information about the performance of the local area, including the local area’s self-evaluation. Inspectors met with leaders from the local area for health, social care and education. They reviewed performance data and evidence about the local offer and joint commissioning.

 

The report was published on December 4th and stated that the local area was required to produce and submit a written statement of action to Ofsted that explains how the local area will tackle the following areas of significant weakness:

·                the lack of clearly understood and effective lines of accountability for the implementation of the reforms

·                the quality and rigour of self-evaluation and monitoring and the limited effect it has had on driving and securing improvement

·                the quality of EHC plans

·                the timeliness of the completion of EHC plans

·                the high level of fixed-term exclusion of pupils in mainstream secondary schools who have special educational needs and social, emotional and mental health needs in particular.

 

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) had determined that the local authority and the area’s clinical commissioning group were jointly responsible for submitting the written statement of action to Ofsted within 70 days of the published report (March 14th).

 

Since the inspection there had been an opportunity to reflect and begin to implement the learning from the experience. The spot light on SEND had raised the importance of the area’s joint responsibilities and emphasised how austerity measures had been impacting on Oxfordshire’s ability to deliver the SEND reforms.

 

The Programme Board was overseeing the implementation of the reforms and was chaired by the Cabinet member for Public Health and Education, Councillor Hilary Hibbert-Biles, and would report to the Children’s Trust and Oxfordshire’s Health and Wellbeing Board, ensuring joint accountability.

 

Resources were being considered to strengthen services and provision for children and young people with SEND to enable the local area to fulfil its duties. Some immediate decisions have been made including:

  • reversing the planned savings for the SEN casework team from April 2018 (£250,000) and providing an extra £250,000 to maintain the current staffing levels in the casework team if the DfE SEND grant ceases (April 2018).
  • 3 additional educational psychologists.
  • A manager to take a lead for improving behaviour.  

 

As the detailed action plan was developed further resource implications would be identified. 

 

Oxfordshire’s SEND action plan was being updated to address the areas of weakness identified and in line with Ofsted guidance. The written statement of action would be submitted to Ofsted and the CQC within 70 working days of the published report (March 14th). The SEND Programme Board will sign off the action plan before submitting it to the DfE.

 

A performance dashboard containing targets across education, health and care was being developed.

 

During discussion, the Committee made the following points:

  • The Committee noted that DfE surprised that we’ve been asked for a statement of action – supported the strengths highlighted through the inspection

·         That the outcome would Outcome will provide momentum for change;

·         that the authority was raising the profile of SEND through stronger Programme Board, reporting to the Children’s Trust

·         welcomed the Multi-agency action plan being developed and the performance dashboard;

·         Waiting times for an EHCP not good enough – Oxfordshire needs to

·         the Committee welcomed the initial actions that had been taken thus far to address the areas for improvement that relate to education;

·         there was a need to be mindful not to duplicate work in response to inspection that was being carried out by the ESC;

·         the Committee felt that it would have been helpful for Ofsted/CQC qualitative;

·         the report did not reflect that schools were in the process of changing to academies,

 

 

low funding for high needs block at the same time as implementing reforms

-       Why is Bucks

-       Benchmarking data on level of funding per child? – yes

-       Chairman to write to government about underfunding of high needs

-       Report back to committee in June on progress with action plan

Supporting documents: