Agenda item

Following the joint CQC and Ofsted investigation in March 2018 which looked at education and health issues around Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND), 12 areas of weakness were highlighted and the CCGs and Local Authority have produced a joint statement of action and were working together to produce an improvement action plan. 5 work-streams had been identified and the SEND Improvement Board had been charged with producing and overseeing the action plan. In September the SEND Advisor said that the improvement plan was fit for purpose and the improvement journey was moving in the right direction. Communications were important so that parents, families and schools fully understood the SEND offer.

It was emphasised that the organisations on the HWB had a clear leadership responsibility to ensure children with special educational needs got the support they needed in order to grow into productive adults. Everyone had a part to play and there was joint leadership of each work-stream.  The Director of Children, Families and Communities gave credit to Families in Partnership, a voluntary organisation who supported the Parents and Carers of Children with special needs and a co-production event had been held which had helped professionals understand what life was like for families with SEND. Education needed to be more inclusive and a joint workforce development strategy had been put in place.

The next monitoring visit was due on 11 December 2018.  Work programme 1 consisted of the 'Local Offer' and a website had been launched to give advice, information and resources. Twelve workshops were planned to launch the website to parents and professionals.

In the following discussion the following main points were made:

·       The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills wished to endorse the work done so far and encourage the Improvement Board to continue their commitment to the work streams. There were financial pressures but the County Council needed to fulfil its statutory duty to meet the needs of those with SEND and provide appropriate services to meet those needs. Parents, carers and the community needed to be aware of what the local offer was and how to access it. He echoed that the County Council and Health needed to take joint responsibility for the work-streams and he was committed to the improvement journey

·       The representative from Healthwatch endorsed the spirit of the report and the fact that parents and carers were being involved in the improvement programme but wondered what numbers were being dealt with and how the finances would cope in future

·       It was explained that education needed to be more inclusive. A lot of children with SEND could be supported to succeed in mainstream schools but sadly that was not working consistently in Worcestershire. There had been an increase in the  numbers of Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans, up to over 3000, and that rate of increase was greater in Worcestershire than nationally 

·       Parents thought they needed to get EHC Plans to access SEND services which showed that Worcestershire was not supporting SEND needs effectively

·       Worcestershire was working with special school staff to organise visits to mainstream schools to pass on expertise and support

·       Most requests for EHC plan assessments come from schools, in part because they were worried about having the resources to cope

·       Local communities and voluntary groups had an important job in helping and supporting families with SEND and District Councillors had a Leadership role in the local area by supporting the services available and helping to communicate the information to those who needed it

·       There were around 1000 children being home educated in Worcestershire – some because parents believed they could teach children themselves but some because they were at risk of being excluded. There was no legislation to rely on to intervene unless there were child protection  concerns

·       The County Council and Health had strategic duties to narrow inequalities; and education and employment were closely linked so it was important for the Board to hear about the Improvement Plan. The local offer was welcomed and supported. A further report should be brought back to the Board in future.

RESOLVED that the Health and Well-being Board:

a)     Noted the steps taken to address the key concerns identified in the Local Area SEND inspection in particular in relation to Local Area Leadership; and

b)    Wished to inform the SEND Improvement Board that they endorsed the work done so far and encouraged the Improvement Board to continue their commitment to the work streams.