Agenda item

Purpose: To present the draft Local SEND Reform Plan, which seeks to improve support for SEND pupils, while bringing high needs spending onto a more sustainable footing over time.

Ashley Milum (Service Director – Education and SEND), Anisah Pathan (SEND Strategy Officer) presented the Draft SEND Reform Plan (Agenda Item 7).

During the debate the following points were discussed:

·       It was noted that every local authority had to submit a plan with the aim of reaching the same point within three years, regardless of their starting point.

·       There was a risk that the DfE could reject the plan, and officers were seeking clarification from DfE about the line that the Council needed to get across.

·       Members queried the large increase in the number of Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) applications. It was explained that parents had confidence in the existing process, so there had been a rush of applications ahead of the new system coming into place. It was recognised that conversations were needed with families to explain the changes.

·       Funding levels quoted in the presentation were confirmed to be average amounts received by primary and secondary schools in West Berkshire for inclusion measures. Officers considered that there was a mismatch between the level of funding provided and the DfT’s ambitions for schools.

·       Members asked for further detail around the maturity matrix for the Local Area Partnership. It was confirmed that most aspects were classed as ‘emerging’. Areas classed as ‘not yet emerging’ were around data assurance, including financial forecasting and place planning sufficiency. DfE required quarterly data returns, and work was underway to deliver this.

·       Officers explained that ‘Best Start’ was a national programme to improve accessibility and take-up of early childcare and education, particularly for disadvantaged children, with the aim of achieving a Good Level of Development (GLD) at the end of Reception.

·       Further detail was sought about how pressures from the increased demand for EHCP assessments was being managed. Officers recognised that that the challenge, but work was underway to streamline and automate parts of the process, and opportunities were being taken to learn lessons from other councils.

·       Members asked about the role of health visitors in early identification of need. It was confirmed that health partners were being engaged through the SEND Area Partnership. The ‘Experts at Hand’ approach would embed specialist expertise (e.g. occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy) into the local model, though funding only equated to approximately 10 posts. A cluster-based model aligned to the Family Hub footprint was being considered to improve joined-up working across Children’s Services.

·       Concern was expressed about the pace of the reforms and Members asked how well schools were prepared for taking on additional responsibilities. It was explained that engagement with schools had started, with more focused conversations planned from September to clarify what they would be expected to do. It was recognised that changes to practices would be needed given the limited amount of funding available.

·       Members expressed frustration that the Committee was unable to scrutinise the plan in detail prior to submission and asked wherever possible that papers should come for scrutiny prior to decisions being taken. It was acknowledged that the timing was not ideal, but work was progressing at pace, and the document was being updated on a daily basis in response to feedback from DfE. Officers indicated that there were other constraints, but these would need to be explained under Part II due to the confidential nature of the material.

RESOLVED to note the update.