Agenda item

To receive an update on Wiltshire’s SEND Strategy.

Cate Mullen, Head of SEND and Inclusion, and Kai Muxlow, Commissioning Manager – Specialist Services, provided an update on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Inclusion Strategy. It was explained that the update would cover the progress made against the 6 priority areas and the plans for the next iteration of the strategy. The following matters were then discussed:

·       The vision of the strategy was outlined, and Members were informed that it was a local area strategy, not just a Council led strategy, therefore partners and stakeholder services were involved in its development.

·       It was explained that feedback had been gathered from young people, families and other interested parties in Wiltshire such as schools, and the Public Health Department, with particular emphasis on the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) who were noted as having the ability to share and gather information from a large reach of families.

·       The 6 priorities that were coproduced for the existing strategy were then outlined and explained and officers provided further details and progress updates on each.

·       It was noted that progress against each of the priorities was discussed within each bimonthly SEND Board meeting.

·       The development of the ‘Growing Up and Moving On’ guides were particularly highlighted as a big piece of work under Priority 6: Well Planned Transitions, whereby feedback was gained through a variety of methods, such as an event held in October 2022 for young people aged approximately 14+, alongside a planned employment engagement event for Spring 2023.

·       The different areas for development were then outlined, with Members informed that each priority was subject to both internal officer and SEND Board level scrutiny.

·       It was highlighted that there was a very broad scope and level of need across children and young people with SEND and therefore, it was a constant challenge to understand how to seek and capture all of their voices.

·       Members were informed that a waiting list initiative was underway in Wiltshire with regard to the high demand experienced nationally for neurodivergent assessment processes. Furthermore, it was highlighted that the continued monitoring and support for parents and children/young people during the Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) process was a significant amount of work which presented resource challenges.

·       It was explained that as SEND was a complex area, the strategy would help to guide and build the confidence of all schools across Wiltshire in understanding local and national drivers and expectations.

·       It was further explained that it was important for the strategy to align with other plans across the Council, such as ensuring that officers built and maintained solid relationships with housing developers when considering new housing estates to ensure that there were adequate SEND provisions in place.

·       As the strategy was initially launched on the brink of the first national lockdown in Spring 2020, inevitable delays impacted on the ability for officers to drive forward certain areas of work.

·       It was explained that significant progress had been made with regard to Central Government SEND plans, such as the recent announcement on the Local Inclusion Plan Initiative, and therefore in order to understand new requirements and meet some of the expectations fed down, officers had decided to revisit the existing strategy. Furthermore, it allowed officers to ensure that the development of the new strategy had the ability to address delayed progress due to COVID, report on all performance areas, and be in line with other Council and Central Government plans.

·       A timeline of the SEND Inclusion Strategy Planning was displayed, and it was confirmed that a finalised draft would be presented to the SEND and Health and Wellbeing Boards before sign-off.

During the discussion, points included:

·       It was noted that officers were unsure as to whether the strategy would be working to a 3 or 5 year vision but that it would form part of the consultation work to understand what would best meet people’s needs.

·       Further details as to the types of transitions children and young people would encounter within their childhood to adolescence and then adulthood were explained.

·       It was confirmed that the ‘Military Schools Network’ as detailed under Priority 6 referred to schools that had high numbers of children from military communities on roll, thus additional resources were provided to support them.

·       It was suggested that officers consult with the voluntary sector capture their voices, and to ensure that any volunteers engaging with children/young people with SEND understood and could support their needs.

·       A more accessible version of the document upon finalisation that could be promoted to Members, officers, and the public alike, was suggested.

·       The importance of focussing on the transition into adulthood of those children/young people with SEND was emphasised, as their needs would still need to be met within the wider healthcare system and it was asked whether additional training for partners such as police, fire services, and housing officers, could be provided to help support and understand adults with additional needs.

·       Officers were commended on liaising with the Leisure and Libraries Department on supporting children/young people with SEND but it was highlighted that although there were lots of interactive videos produced by the teams during the lockdown periods, they were relatively loud and visually busy, which could be overstimulating for those with SEND.

·       It was confirmed that new roles focussing on supporting the EHCP process were being recruited for, but national challenges in recruiting and retaining other professionals within the industry was highlighted, such as speech and language, and occupational health therapists, educational psychologists and paediatricians. Members were reassured that officers were creating and developing roles to attract the right people, such as amending job descriptions, thinking creatively about how to retain staff, and allowing for on-the-job training/shadowing while in further education.

·       The reforms as proposed within the recently published SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan from Central Government were highlighted, and it was confirmed by officers that they were being discussed within the SEND Board and an Executive Board Member lead accountable for SEND had been nominated.

·       Alternative schooling provisions were explained in response to a question, and it was noted that personalised alternative settings could be implemented to each child/young person depending on their needs and strengths.

Decision – The Wiltshire Health and Wellbeing Board accepted the following recommended proposal:

i)                The Board noted the update provided.