Agenda item

          The Board received Halton’s SEND Improvement Programme which was submitted to OFSTED following the Local Area Partnership SEND Inspection. In November 2023, there was an Ofsted and CQC visit where it was shown that there were systematic failings in Council’s SEND provision.

The Board received a presentation that outlined the improvements that needed to be made with the new SEND strategic and delivery boards. Officers were keen to improve communication for families, reduce repetition for officers, and ensure that families felt there were improvements and received information quicker. The new strategy was done with families and other relevant partners in 21 engagement sessions. The new programme should go live in January 2026 after the board reviews it in November 2025. The new programme will also include a formal escalation process if actions already attempted were not having an impact and alternative provision to exclusion. Partnership work was done to save money on specialist furniture for SEND children and work was planned to provide support for neurodivergent pupils. There will be a new speech & language assessor provider from November 2025. Officers concluded that a new SEND White Paper was expected from the Department of Education (DfE) in the Autumn of 2025.

The following points arose from the discussion:

·       There was no maximum distance a SEND pupil had to travel before they would receive lodging at the school. This was not something the Council directed.

·       It was predicted that the new White Paper would say only children with complex needs would be allowed EHCPs.

·       The White Paper was expected to send SEND money provision direct to schools and not via the Council which meant they would not be able to support mainstream schools with SEND issues.

·       A reduction in pupil numbers at schools meant that they would receive less funding as they were given money per pupil.

·       Private assessments for children possibly needing EHCPs could be biased and would need to be scrutinised more against what an education provider could give. If a EHCP was declined and went to a Tribunal, risks would need to be managed.

·       Regarding the speech and language provider, a new company was being brought in due to concerns with the current one. The ICB (Integrated Care Board) would manage one aspect of this, and the Council would manage the other. If an EHCP said interventions were needed for a child, then the Council would need to ensure that this is delivered. The ICB would manage the health aspects.

·       With the joint partnerships, the Council worked well with its partners, but they needed to sort out who would manage each aspect to ensure all work was collaborative.

·       Children in out of county placements did not go through the SEND Improvement Board but the joint care packages did, of which there were very few.

·       If the SEND Team was to be inspected soon, inspectors should see that there had been progress made against the five action plans. Officers noted that there needed to be greater measures to see the impact made by the changes implemented. Impact changes should be easy to present to parents and non-Council workers.

·       A Board Member noted that there was not enough provision in secondary schools.

·       Officers expressed that they would like the DfE’s White Paper will direct system-wide changes nationally.

·       As part of SEND sufficiency, the Council received £1.6 million to increase SEND provision for schools in-borough. This includes new classrooms at Ashley High School and other schools been asked if they want to access to the funding to help their provision. This had led to head teachers feeling more confident about co-operating with the Council on improving their provision.

          Officers agreed to provide a copy of the PowerPoint to the Board.

RESOLVED:

That Halton’s SEND Improvement Programme be accepted.