Agenda item

The Committee has requested a report on the Local Area Partnership’s SEND monitoring and Priority Action Plan and the opportunity to consider the Area SEND monitoring visit inspection report.

The Committee has invited Cllr Sean Gaul, Cabinet member for Children and Young People, Lisa Lyons, the Director of Children’s Services, Matthew Tait, the Integrated Care Board’s Chief Operating Officer, to attend to present the report as well as Annette Perrington, Interim Deputy Director for Education, Deborah Smit, Assistant Director: SEND and Inclusion, Steve Crocker, independent Chair of the Oxfordshire SEND Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board, and the Co-Chair of the Oxfordshire Parent Carer Forum.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and raise any questions, and to AGREE any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet on behalf of Local Area Partnership system partners arising therefrom.

The Committee invited Cllr Sean Gaul, Cabinet member for Children and Young People, Lisa Lyons, the Director of Children’s Services, Matthew Tait, the Integrated Care Board’s Chief Operating Officer, to attend to present the report as well as Annette Perrington, Interim Deputy Director for Education, Deborah Smit, Assistant Director: SEND and Inclusion, Steve Crocker, Independent Chair of the Oxfordshire SEND Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board, and Jules Francis-Sinclair, the Chair of the Oxfordshire Parent Carer Forum.

The Committee also welcomed Sophia Johnson, Feedback and Reporting Co-Ordinator at OxPCF, to the meeting to support the discussion.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People commented on the progress within the SEND Local Area Partnership over recent years and expressed confidence that the Partnership had matured into a more coherent, outcome focused endeavour. This renewed assurance stemmed from stronger joint working arrangements and the steady stewardship of The Independent Chair. The Cabinet Member emphasised that collective effort across agencies and dedicated work by officers had helped establish a clearer, shared purpose around improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

The Assistant Director: SEND and Inclusion provided a structured overview of the Local Area Partnership’s progress since the SEND inspection of July 2023. Five priority action areas framed the work: elevating the voices of children and young people with SEND; strengthening communication across the system; improving the quality and timeliness of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs); reinforcing commissioning; and ensuring robust accountability and governance. She reported steady, evidenced progress across each area, supported by ongoing monitoring and scrutiny by national regulators. Whilst acknowledging improvements, she highlighted challenges that still required attention, including inconsistencies in communication, deepening workforce understanding of SEND, and widening participation in the youth forum so that more voices were captured.

The Independent Chair underscored the centrality of partnership working. He observed that the system had become more cohesive and practical in its focus, with headteachers, health partners and Council officers working more consistently toward shared objectives. He nonetheless cautioned that the Partnership operated within a national context marked by structural pressures, uneven performance and ongoing turbulence. Sustaining local progress would therefore require vigilance, continuous attention to delivery, and a readiness to adapt.

Building on those points, the Integrated Care Board’s Chief Operating Officer set out the developments seen across joint working in the previous six to twelve months. He noted that partners had engaged in difficult conversations and stayed committed despite pressures. The shift in emphasis towards transformation, redesigned pathways, and earlier access to support had begun to make a difference in some areas, even where the overall system remained under strain. These changes reflected a growing confidence to test new models rather than rely solely on additional capacity.

The Feedback and Reporting Co-ordinator at the OxPCF explained that she and colleagues had contributed extensively to the coproduction of the Priority Action Plan. Many of the Forum’s proposals had been retained in the final document; others had not been included because they lacked measurable indicators or alignment with regulatory requirements, and some had been redirected into the wider SEND improvement programme. This approach ensured that contributions without immediate metrics were not lost but were instead tracked through relevant workstreams.

Members raised local government reorganisation (LGR) and its potential implications. Members recognised that the scale of possible structural change called for early planning and careful stewardship through transition. The Independent Chair confirmed that the Partnership had deliberately considered these issues and was preparing for different scenarios. He noted that, should the improvement notice be lifted, his role would not technically be required; however, he had agreed to remain in post through any reorganisation to provide continuity as well as to reassure partners and to preserve momentum. This would help ensure a smooth handover into whatever new arrangements might follow. The Partnership would continue to keep reform firmly in mind while acknowledging that the ultimate shape of future governance was not yet known.

Waiting times and what improvements in those could be evidenced was raised.  The Independent Chair distinguished between waits linked to the EHCP process and those within broader health services. He confirmed that health advice for EHCPs was generally being provided within the statutory six-week timeframe, and that overall EHCP timeliness had risen above national averages. The Integrated Care Board’s Chief Operating Officer added that progress across health services was mixed: occupational therapy waits had reduced from thirty-three to twenty-two weeks, while waits for speech and language therapy and physiotherapy had remained static or increased in places. He observed that meaningful gains often came from redesigned pathways, such as improved triage and targeted support, rather than from simple increases in staffing.

The discussion also explored early support at the point when concerns first emerged, particularly in early years settings. Officers explained that while formal assessments could involve delays, urgent cases were triaged to ensure that the highest need children were seen first. They highlighted the use of the WellComm screening tool in early years, which enabled practitioners to identify speech and language needs quickly and start targeted activities without delay. These interventions were recorded and monitored, and they informed joint commissioning reviews, creating a clearer picture of demand and helping the system to respond more intelligently. Officers further noted that training for school and early years staff had been expanded, so that practical help could be provided while families waited for specialist input.

Members examined the balance between the improved timeliness of EHCPs and the imperative to maintain quality. Officers recognised the risk of prioritising speed over substance and set out the safeguards that had been put in place. The Assistant Director: SEND and Inclusion reported that timeliness had improved markedly, with recent performance at 92% and the average issuing time now below twenty weeks. To protect quality and consistency, multi-agency assurance processes had been implemented, including quarterly reporting by service leads on both timeliness and the quality of professional advice. Regular audits were undertaken, and focused development targeted sections requiring improvement, such as capturing the child’s view and strengthening professional contributions. The intention was to embed a high-quality standard across all plans, not merely to achieve faster throughput.

There was further consideration of how Oxfordshire’s waiting times compared with neighbouring areas. Officers explained that, across the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West system, Oxfordshire’s waiting times were broadly comparable, though the picture varied by service. Occupational therapy had seen tangible reductions, while speech and language and physiotherapy remained more static. Officers reiterated that training and early help approaches were being expanded so that support could begin ahead of formal assessment, thereby reducing the impact of waits on education and development.

Members then discussed how progress against the Priority Action Plan was being measured, given the value of clear indicators to flag issues early. Officers explained that, whilst an earlier plan iteration had used a Red-Amber-Green framework linked to Department for Education stocktakes, the updated assurance model sat within the broader SEND transformation governance. Themed working groups now produced monthly highlight reports covering progress, next steps, and any risks or barriers. These reports were escalated to the Partnership Delivery Group and the SEND Improvement and Assurance Board, enabling structured challenge and early resolution. This approach aimed to identify risks promptly rather than allow pressures to accumulate unnoticed.

The incorporation of children and young people’s voices formed a further strand of discussion, including whether older young people were asked to reflect on earlier stages of their journey. The Independent Chair confirmed that this retrospective perspective was already being captured. Older young people attending the Improvement Board had offered thoughtful reflections on what might have helped at critical points, such as the transition to secondary school, and how earlier support could have altered their experiences. He cautioned that, whilst these narratives were valuable, it was important not to overgeneralise from individual accounts, and to triangulate feedback with wider system evidence.

Communication structures were also reviewed, with Members probing whether improvements were embedded across the system, rather than concentrated in standalone initiatives. Officers described a set of measures introduced since 2023: online SEND Conversations that opened two-way dialogue with parents and explained transformation work; focused listening events on themes such as communication, travel and alternative provision; and the coproduction of a Communication Pledge that set out clear expectations for families. Together, these actions formed the backbone of a more transparent, regular and trust building approach to engagement.

Officers and representatives from OxPCF reflected further on the effect of these changes. The Assistant Director: SEND and Inclusion reported that the combination of listening events and SEND Conversations had created more constructive dialogue and practical feedback loops. The Feedback and Reporting Co-ordinator confirmed that OxPCF had strengthened its mechanisms for gathering and channelling parent experiences across multiple workstreams, though capacity and reach remained active challenges. The Chair of OxPCF agreed that partnership working had deepened and that parent voice was more consistently embedded in discussions, whilst acknowledging that aligning feedback with fast moving workstreams would continue to require attention.

Steve Crocker left the meeting at this stage.

Later discussion scrutinised the target for improving healthcare transitions by spring 2027, with questions raised about feasibility given the pressures in adult services. The Integrated Care Board’s Chief Operating Officer acknowledged the scale of the challenge. He explained that improvements depended on both service transformation and securing sufficient investment to address the mismatch between demand and capacity. While some waiting times had reduced in specific services, the broader aim would require sustained resourcing. He stated that the Board intended to reduce community waiting times to eighteen weeks over the next two years, though financial risks remained because the required level of investment had yet to be secured. Officers agreed that the assumptions underpinning the 2027 target should be revisited to test their realism.

The proposed ambition of a 25% reduction in Care and Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) complaints was also examined. Members questioned whether this represented a sufficiently stretching goal, given that a complaint at that level often indicated that earlier support had not been effective. Officers accepted the point and agreed that the target should be reviewed. They observed that many complaints reflected system wide capacity pressures rather than isolated failings but acknowledged the need for sharper focus on earlier interventions and stronger support to prevent escalation. A reconsidered target would balance realism with ambition and would be aligned to the transformation work already underway.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Young People recognised the significant progress achieved while emphasising that there was no complacency about the work still to be done. The Cabinet Member praised the commitment of partners and officers, reiterated the intention to maintain momentum, and suggested that members might benefit from observing the SEND Improvement and Assurance Board’s work first hand to see how the maturing partnership was driving improvement.

The Committee AGREED to recommendations under the following headings:

• That the Council should set out a clear plan for the long?term sustainability and resourcing of targeted SEND support across Oxfordshire, ensuring that improvements made through the Local Area SEND Partnership can be maintained despite ongoing financial and demand pressures.

• That the Council should provide an updated strategic statement on the purpose, role, and operational expectations of resource bases within Oxfordshire schools, including how these bases will be funded and supported in the medium to long term as part of the wider SEND Improvement Programme.

• That the Council develop and publish a strengthened transition pathway for children and young people moving from primary resource bases into secondary education, ensuring continuity of provision, clarity for families, and an enhanced assurance framework aligned to the improvement actions identified since the 2023 SEND inspection which should also include benchmarking against statistical neighbours and comparable authorities. 

The Committee AGREED to the following Actions:

• The Interim Deputy Director to provide a graph setting out how timeliness had improved;

• Members of the Committee to be invited to observe work at the Enhanced Pathways.