Agenda item

The report of Liz Williams (Finance Lead – High Needs Sustainability) and Ben Stevens (Inclusion, SEND and AP Transformation Lead) seeks to update Schools Forum on the draft revised SEND Sustainability Plan which was submitted to the Department for Education in December 2024.

Liz Williams, Finance Lead – High Needs Sustainability, alongside Ben Stevens, Inclusion, SEND & AP Transformation Lead, updated the Schools Forum on the draft revised SEND Sustainability Plan which was submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) in December 2024. The following was then highlighted:

• The background to the report and confirmation of the DfE payments were detailed as per Paragraphs 2 to 10.
• It was then reiterated that a revised version of the sustainability plan, subject to Cabinet approval, had been drafted for submission to the DfE in response to the fact that the Council was not on track to meet Agreement Condition 2 to reduce the cumulative deficit. Furthermore, due to the significant backlog and the increases in Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) post-pandemic skewing the initial modelling, significant revisions to the plan were necessary and as such, the Council was now seeking agreement from the DfE to extend the plan to a 7-year period as opposed to a 5-year period.
• Officers highlighted that Paragraphs 11 to 17 of the report alongside Appendix 1 provided further details on the factors driving the overspend in the High Needs Block (HNB).
• Despite this, officers drew attention to the fact that the Council had made significant process in clearing the EHCP backlog, therefore even though the backlog was at its lowest level since 2020, more plans had been brought forward as a result.
• It was confirmed that eight short-term interventions had been developed and subsequently mapped onto the revised forecast, but it was emphasised that all 8 interventions continued to place the needs of children and young people at the centre and were grounded in an invest-to-save approach.

During the discussion, points included:

• It explained that the reasons as to why Wiltshire Council was in a different position to that of its statistical neighbours were complex, and that officers were working hard to analyse the data to fully understand the causations and differences. It was further noted that some Local Authorities saw an earlier increase in the number of EHCPs and could therefore put mitigations in place to soften the impact post-pandemic.
• Members queried what the additional risks were to extending the process by two years, to which officers reassured Members that although the assumptions built into the plan were ambitious, numerous actions were being undertaken to enable officers to build capacity into the system. Furthermore, the High Needs Sustainability Board also met regularly to deliver a further layer of scrutiny and support.
• It was emphasised that one of the reasons officers had taken the decision to extend the plan by two years was to ensure that the experiences or outcomes for children and young people with SEND, their families, and schools were not compromised. As such, officers provided further assurance that any and all children and young people who met the EHCP threshold, regardless of the increased number of plans and backlog, would be recognised and that through the plan children, young people, and Mainstream Schools would be provided with the necessary support to meet those children and young people’s needs.
• It was clarified that officers were still awaiting feedback from the DfE on the revised plan.
• It was explained that officers wanted to ensure that the support once needs had been identified were as robust as possible, particularly throughout the system in early years which would then inform further work on early intervention, prevention, and support for families.
• The EHCP Top-Up Funding Consultation was raised, and it was acknowledged that costs were rising in line with EHCP requests, but it was emphasised that officers needed to understand the data and the complexities around the top up review in order to make long-term improvements.

At the conclusion of the discussion, it was then:

Resolved:

The Forum noted the update on the High Needs Sustainability Plan.