TO FOLLOW

Pauline Maddison, Interim Director of Education,  Dr Tina Soda,  Acting Head of Special Educational Needs and Michael McKeaveney, SEN Team Manager, provided an update on SEND provision and transport, as well as details on the Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) forecasting and demand management.

Pauline Maddison began the presentation with details of the school census data from 2022 and 2023, which showed 5.9% of pupils require EHCPs. The national average is 4.3%. The majority of students are either in mainstream or specialist schools which is preferred, as Independent schools are more costly. Sub-committee members were informed that there are significant delays in speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

An inclusion framework will be established with parents, schools, carers and stakeholders, to ensure mainstream schools provide accessible and targeted support. The implementation of the plan is scheduled for March 2024 and discussions to develop a training offer for staff to guarantee consistency in schools are also taking place.

Mr. McKeaveney then discussed the monthly improvements within EHCPs beginning at 33% at the start of the year to 60% now,  putting Tower Hamlets in the top third, above the national average of around 50%. This is due in part to added investment in the service. Further work on a rapid improvement plan will be initiated to ensure performance levels remain high.

Sub-committee members were informed of the  challenges within the service, such as issues in receiving health advice. This is being addressed with additional speech and language therapists recruited to work with school based providers.

Dr Soda then touched on the quality of provision for the EHC service plans and slight irregularities noted by the recent LGA Peer Review. The review also focused on; the transitional journey of children and young people moving through education, effective leadership and governance, the progress made on written statement of action (WSOA) and a financial plan with alternative provision.

Priority will be given to improve co-production in the plans with more engagement with children, families, stakeholders and schools, to ensure specific and measurable achievements are made more swiftly.

LGA Recommendations included; reviewing the remit of the SEND Improvement Board as it was deemed too wide, the co-production of a revised SEND strategy, strengthening the WSOA to test the impact of the progress, improve information sharing with partners to ensure a common understanding of priorities and to continue to improve the quality and timelines of EHCPs.

Sub-Committee members were informed that currently there are 4,406 open EHCPs in the borough, with approximately 50-90 monthly requests received. The Delivering Better Value Project (DBVP) expects this figure to rise to around 6,750 by 2028, increasing the pressure on services.

Improvement measures include a targeted approach with earlier intervention, and a grant to be issued shortly from the DBVP,  to be used to develop a SEND triage system for universal support. More robust signposting of services will also be included and the LGA recommendations will be actioned.

Further to  questions from the sub-committee, Dr Tina Soda and Michael McKeaveney;

·       Explained that pupils receiving EHCPs will be placed in the most suitable setting via the sense efficiency workstream, which should conclude by January 2024. Some students may be placed in mainstream schools although consideration will be given to expand specialist provision and placements.

·       Clarified that the borough receives element two funding for SEN support which is the second best funded in the country. Work with BARTS is ongoing for speech and language therapy provision to combat the shortage and further details will be brought back to the sub-committee for review.

·       Conceded that further work on measuring satisfaction for children and young people is required, to understand the impact as they transition through education. More engagement with young people to evaluate their EHCPs will take place.

·       Confirmed that the ‘Let’s Talk SEND’ events enable children and families to raise concerns and receive advice. Surveys are also given to measure their understanding of care plans and thoughts on the processat the annual review stage.

RESOLVED that;

1.    Details on speech and language therapy provision in conjunction with BARTS will be brought to the sub-committee for review.

2.    That the presentation be noted.