Agenda item

The Committee has requested an update on the Priority Action Plan. Cllr Kate Gregory, Cabinet Member for SEND Improvement, Cllr John Howson, Cabinet Member for Children, Education, and Young People’s Services, have been invited to present the report and will be accompanied by Lisa Lyons, Director of Childrens Services, and Ian Smart, SEND Transformation Programme Director.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet arising therefrom.

Cllr Kate Gregory, Cabinet Member for SEND Improvement, and Cllr John Howson, Cabinet Member for Children, Education, and Young People’s Services, were present to deliver the report, and to update members on the progress of the Priority Action Plan (PAP).  The Cabinet Members were accompanied by Lisa Lyons, Director of Children’s Services, and Ian Smart, SEND Transformation Programme Director.

A further update on the progress made on the PAP would be submitted to the Committee at its meeting in September 2024.

There had been a deep dive at the end of March 2024 undertaken by the Department for Education (the DfE). The DfE said appropriate progress had been made. A stocktake was also scheduled for June which would include the wider SEND Improvement and Assurance Board (SIAB) and several other stakeholders. The Director of Children’s Services saw this as a demonstration of the impact and progress that had already been made.

The Director informed the Committee that it was likely that the Ofsted monitoring visit would be in the spring of 2025.

The SEND youth forum was also to be revamped. It was seen as important that young people with SEND were both engaged and consulted, making sure the youth forum was coordinated and effective in influencing plans. There were existing groups and fora but there was a recognition that the work and involvement of such groups could be clarified, and it was hoped that the work by the steering group would show in policies and approaches taken.

Members were advised that the co-production charter they had requested would be circulated that day.

Cllr Haywood left the meeting and did not return.

The Committee discussed a number of issues, including the following:

Working with the co-production board, the Director confirmed that the 2022 definition of co-production had been adopted and was that to which the Council worked and would continue to work. A meeting was to be held with an advisory group of young people with SEND to adapt the language to make it more accessible.

In response to concern that some schools had reported that they had received inadequate information on new pupils with Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs) and insufficient time to implement preparations for their arrival, the Committee was advised that Children’s services worked closely and regularly with schools, including multi-academy trusts and special schools, and their leaders. Most EHCPs were requested by or applied for with the help of schools. Schools with many EHCPs received money based on a central formula, with the Schools Forum's support.  Concern was also expressed that some mainstream schools were expected to cater for a higher proportion of students with EHCPs than others.  A breakdown of the number of pupils with EHCPs at individual schools across the county was requested.

The Committee established that the section on page 25 of the agenda pack (paragraph 5 of the section entitled ‘School funding’ in Appendix D) which stated “Schools forum is the key decision making forum for all school funding” was imprecise and that Schools Forum was, as members had understood, an advisory body. 

It was explained that, in order to support school staff to ensure satisfactory outcomes for students with SEND, the teaching hub offer was being supplemented with additional training on trauma-informed, emotional and behaviour support, and that there was improved pathways for support staff. Support staff, as well as frontline teaching staff, should receive adequate training on various techniques and approaches for all students.

The Committee requested the following ACTION:

•         A breakdown of the number of pupils with EHCPs at individual schools across the county to be provided to members.