Meeting documents

To receive the presentation.

The Board had a presentation on the inspection of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision in Somerset. There was an inspection by Ofsted and the Quality Care Commission (CQC) in Merch 2020. The focus was conducted a joint inspection of the local area of Somerset to judge the effectiveness of the area in implementing the disability and special educational needs reforms as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014 as detailed in the SEND Code of Practice (2015). The inspectors identified significant concerns in relation to statutory duties which requires a Written Statement of Action (WSoA) by both the CCG and the Local Authority by the 30^th of September (deadline was extended following the inevitable delays resulting from the pandemic).

The SEND Improvement Board are responsible for monitoring progress and are on track to submit the Written Statement of Action by the September 30^th deadline and are confident that it will make a significant difference.

The Somerset Health and Wellbeing Board:

·         Welcomed the update and asked to be kept informed of progress.

The Board had a presentation on the inspection of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision in Somerset. There was an inspection by Ofsted and the Quality Care Commission (CQC) in Merch 2020. The focus was conducted a joint inspection of the local area of Somerset to judge the effectiveness of the area in implementing the disability and special educational needs reforms as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014 as detailed in the SEND Code of Practice (2015). The inspectors identified significant concerns in relation to statutory duties which requires a Written Statement of Action (WSoA) by both the CCG and the Local Authority by the 30^th of September (deadline was extended following the inevitable delays resulting from the pandemic).

It is important to note that 60% of local areas inspected nationally have been required to produce a WSoA. This is a result in the exponential raise in ECHPs (Education and Health Care Plan). In Somerset this has risen from 1,690 in January 12019 to 2,024 in January 2020. This represents 2.6% of all pupils. The resultant increase in spend is reflected in the revised budget being £7million more that already increased budget of £54million. In addition to the 2.6% of pupils with an ECHP there are 15.4% of pupils with a Special Education Need (SEN) representing 12,217 pupils.

There are some positive demonstrations of the effectiveness of the local area provision:

·         Joint working in the early years leads to effective early identification of children with complex needs.

·         Speech and language therapy provision for young people in the Youth Offending Team is well established.

·         The effectiveness of joint working in the early years supports timely and accurate identification of young children’s needs

·         Outcomes for children and young people with SEND in the ‘West Somerset Opportunities Area’ are improving because of better joined-up working between services.

·         Opportunities for co-production are improving. Leaders are increasingly responding to the views of parents through the strengthening relationship with the parents and carers forum.

·         SENDIAS staff advocate exceptionally well for children, young people and their parents. The service is very well led.

The Written Statement of Action is required to address nine areas of weakness:

·         A need to work more closely with children and young people with SEND and their families to understand and learn from their experiences as the County develops strategies to improve the area. Inspectors recognised that there are many strengths in this area, but it was not consistent.

·         There was a need to improve leadership capacity across services in Somerset to provide effective support to children with SEND.

·         There is a need to continue to strengthen and embed partnership working across Education, the NHS, Public Health and Social Care.

·         Improving joint commissioning arrangements between Somerset County Council and the NHS, to improve leaders’ abilities to ensure they meet area needs, as well as improving outcomes and achieving cost efficiencies.

·         The pathway for children with autistic spectrum disorder needs substantial development to address the poor service too many families are receiving.

·         A need to extend inclusive practice in schools across the local area and in turn reduce exclusion rates which currently mean too many children and young people are not accessing education.

·         A need to improve the outcomes for all children with SEND, through ensuring effective identification of needs and the right support to make the difference for children.

·         The multi-professional assessments and planning required for Education, Health and Care Plans needs to be carried out more swiftly.

·         The quality of professional input for Education, Health and Care Plans needs to be at a consistently high level.

The Board were assured that considerable progress had already been made following a meeting with The Department of Education. An Improvements Boards has been established, chaired jointly by the Somerset County Council and the CCG Chief Executive Officers. There have been briefings and surveys to capture the views of a wide range of Service Users, Organisations, Governors and Trustees. In all there have been over 200 meetings with more consultations to follow.

The SEND Improvement Board are responsible for monitoring progress and are on track to submit the Written Statement of Action by the September 30^th deadline and are confident that it will make a significant difference.

The Somerset Health and Wellbeing Board: -

·         Welcomed the update and asked to be kept informed of progress.