An update on national and local plans for improving special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision - March 2023

The government recently published its new national plan for improving SEND and alternative provision, which we have welcomed.

Here in Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole, we published our local plan for improving SEND services in January 2022. We have been working hard against our local plan; however, we recognise that there is still a long way to go. Progress against our local plan has been slowed by a number of issues. These include challenges in recruiting staff, surging levels of demand after the pandemic, and changes to the local health and social care system.

Read more about the national and local plans for improving SEND, including our progress in the BCP area, in this update from Cathi Hadley, Corporate Director of Children's Services

Working together to build better SEND services – February 2023

Over the last year, BCP Council and NHS Dorset have worked closely with families to introduce changes that will improve the support we provide to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Better co-production is at the heart of the changes we are making.

Co-production can be a confusing term but put simply, it means that everyone works together on an equal basis. In relation to SEND services, it means that families and SEND professionals work in partnership to agree the best outcomes for children and young people. It also means that children, young people and parent-carers have a say in how SEND services are developed, so that the support we provide meets the right needs in the future.

Helen Becker, Head of SEND Service, Education and Skills at BCP Council, explains: “When families reach out for support, it’s vital that we take the time to listen, understand their needs, and agree the best outcome for their child together. We will be honest and transparent about what can be achieved, communicate clearly and regularly, and treat every family with the respect they deserve.”

“It’s also really important that families tell us if we aren’t getting it right. They can do that in a number of different ways – in person, via email or via letter – which we will explain to them when we start working with them.”

To support our commitment to co-production, we have launched two new co-production charters, which were developed with parent-carers and young people. We also now have a Co-production Officer and Participation Officer supporting the SEND team, to help us listen to the views of families and young people.

You can read more about co-production, and view our co-production charters, at Working together to make things better

Expanding the SEND team – July 2022

We are continuing to make good progress against the action plan for improving SEND services.

It is vital that we have a strong team in place to help us build better support, so we are pleased to report that we have now successfully recruited to some key new posts.

The SEND team now includes four permanent additional caseworkers (taking the total to eight) who will work directly with families to help them access the right services and support. We have recruited a new Participation Officer, who will be embedded in the community working to ensure children, young people, families and carers are at the centre of our work, and a Local OfferLocal OfferA local authority website resource that holds information on services and provision for children and young people with SEN and disabilities across education, health and social care and leisure. Officer, who will work with families, young people and other partners to develop our Local OfferLocal OfferA local authority website resource that holds information on services and provision for children and young people with SEN and disabilities across education, health and social care and leisure. website. We have also now appointed a new permanent Head of SEND.

We have seen delays in recruiting to some other new posts such as our new Co-production Officer role but have now held interviews for that role. Further funding has also been identified to support the recruitment of Educational Psychologists, in response to increased requests for education, health and care plans (EHCPs).

Additional progress from May-June 2022 includes:

• Improved training, including making SEND a mandatory part of social work induction training and monthly training on advice for EHCPs
• Work to streamline the EHCPEHCPA legal document that describes a child or young person's special educational, health and social care needs. It explains the extra help that will be given to meet those needs and how that help will support the child or young person to achieve what they want to in their life. process, including internal process mapping
• Wider participation in our SEND Improvement Board from parents, carers and partners.

Progress and challenges – April 2022

We have made good progress in many areas within our SEND improvement plans, including work to improve the graduated response, an agreed new service model for speech, language and communication needs, and development work on a new support pathway for autism.

We are also recruiting a participation worker and co-production worker, to make sure children, young people, families and carers are at the centre of future work, along with an officer dedicated to improving the information available on our Local OfferLocal OfferA local authority website resource that holds information on services and provision for children and young people with SEN and disabilities across education, health and social care and leisure. website (this site).

Additional progress from January-April 2022 includes:

• permanent leadership in place to support the changes​ set out in the SEND improvement plan
• full programme team in place​ to provide a secure structure for the improvement work
• successful parent-carer conference held in March 2022 and positive engagement with parents/carers throughout the programme
• successful education conference held in March 2022 to engage headteachers and other key education colleagues
• capital programme to develop specialist places agreed
• communications plan in place​.

Current challenges

We are working hard with our partners to deliver the actions set out in the improvement plan as quickly as possible. We are facing challenges in some areas, including an increase in EHCPEHCPA legal document that describes a child or young person's special educational, health and social care needs. It explains the extra help that will be given to meet those needs and how that help will support the child or young person to achieve what they want to in their life. requests (almost 60% more requests in January-March 2022 compared to last year) and challenges in recruitment and retention, but we are taking action to tackle these. Increased workloads also mean some team members have limited capacity to focus on the actions in the plan, but we are working to streamline processes further, to free up additional time for improvement work.