Agenda item

The Committee will receive a report from Helean Hughes on the outcome of the LGA Peer Review of Wiltshire Council’s SEND Strategy.

The Committee received a report from Richard Hanks on the outcome of the LGA Peer Review of Wiltshire Council’s SEND Strategy.

The full report, with all its findings and recommendations, can be found in the agenda pack.

The peer team’s preparation process, which included reviewing a range of documents and information, to ensure they were familiar with the Local Area Partnership including Council, ICB and health partners, strengths and the challenges they are facing. They heard from over 110 people, including children, young people, parents, lead members, local authority senior leadership team, chief nurse of the ICB, senior health partners, front-line practitioners and managers and partners. The team also reviewed a small sample of EHCPs.

Richard Hanks referred to specific key findings:

• The strategic leadership for SEND is visible and developing.
• Parents and carers are well engaged through an active and well-established parent carer forum, which is a key strategic partner participating at board level.
• There is a clear strategic awareness of the need for continuous improvement with agreed joint actions. However, some of these actions now need to be taken forward at pace with each of the three elements – education, health, and care – demonstrating their impact.

The Key Recommendations were noted:

• Find your “conductor/s” and balance the education, health, and care
  elements of SEND.

• Be bold in articulating your story and drive forward ambitions already
  identified with pace.

• Embrace schools and settings and bring them on your journey.
  
  

• Coproduce a local area outcomes framework to further align commissioning activity.

• Create a workforce strategy for the whole system and across all settings.

Debate

The followings clarifications and points were made:

• The committee expressed concern at a lack of concrete timescale, referring specifically to where the report spoke about taking actions at pace.

• A “data dashboard” was being planned and a full timescale would be brought back to the Committee at a future meeting.

• A recommendation to ensure greater clarity on who has the overarching view of SEND across education, health and care had been accepted and was being approached as a joint arrangement between Lucy Townsend, Corporate Director – People and Jill May, Chief Nurse of the Integrated Care Board (ICB).

• The committee felt the report was good to read, but with many “however(s)” throughout which ought to be separated to compare with recommendations.

• Recommendation 6.3 was highlighted by the committee, with the need to ensure all of Wiltshire was being looked after. Concern was expressed that Southwest Wiltshire has no secondary schools and go to school in Dorset.

After clarification that children who live in Wiltshire but go to school in Dorset are not under SEND Wiltshire’s legal responsibilities, concern was raised as to who looks after these children who cross county borders for school and how issues that arise are resolved.

Resolved:

To receive an update on the actions coming out of the peer review at the next Childrens Select Committee meeting.

To receive a briefing for members to understand arrangements for children attending school out of their county of residence.