Agenda item

Note:  The report on Special Educational Needs and Disability SEND has been circulated with the agenda for background information only.

The commission received an update from Councillor Jasmine Ali, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education in respect of SEND provision.

Councillor Ali reported that the council had opened up a new school in September in the Camberwell area which catered for both primary and secondary school pupils and a college opened in Newington Ward.

An additional £500,000 had been put aside in the council budget for assessments for Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs).  £500,000 had also been set aside for transport provision.

Nina Dohel informed the commission that a briefing note had been produced in response to questions raised ahead of the meeting.  This would be circulated to members of the commission.

Nina informed the commission that the previous SEND strategy was coming to an end. One of the pillars around the strategy was around Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and the department was just completing a review of ASD provision, once complete this would feed into the refresh of the strategy.

Questions were raised around the following by commission members:

·  A commission member highlighted that the human rights commission was expected to shortly release the findings of their inquiry into the treatment of disabled children in schools, particularly in relation to potentially harmful restraint, isolation booths and other forms of isolation.  The commission member enquired as to whether the council held any information on the use of these techniques in Southwark schools [special schools, mainstream schools and mainstream post 16 settings] and whether any research had been undertaken on the impact of such techniques on children’s mental health and education.  It was suggested that senior officers come back to the committee once the inquiry was published.

·  Keeping children with SEND in mainstream education where possible so that they can receive education alongside their peers, and how it will be funded.

·  The accountability of schools for reporting SEND spend to school governors and transparency in this area / annual reports being published on school websites.

In responding to the question relating to keeping children in mainstream education, Councillor Ali explained that it was a matter for the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), which had been the cause of consternation [how support for SEND was funded and money available], the council was spending money but was not receiving it back from the government.  Councillor Ali further explained that where mainstream schools had SEND pupils, that this was supported, but that there were also brand new state of the art schools which had been purpose built for children with autism.  Councillor Ali expressed that there was a mix of options and it was about giving parents and pupils’ choice.

In relation to the question on restraint, Nina explained that there was no duty on schools to report it or for the local authority to collect that information, however just like any other form of discrimination, or unacceptable incidents, the school should be recording incidences for their own purposes and report that to the governor’s or board.  Nina further explained that there were very clear guidelines on restraint, this was set out in the ‘keeping children safe in education’ safeguarding document.  Nina expressed that whilst she could not say that it does not happen, Southwark special schools are second to none and leaders in their field were acutely aware of all issues around restraint, including the impact on young people.

In relation to question around funding for schools, Nina explained that funding for schools was very complex.  Nina stressed that there was a national crisis around funding for SEND, which has not been addressed by the DfE.  Southwark had been at the forefront of raising the issue with DFE.  Nina reported that there had been a slight increase in funding, but it was not keeping pace with the scale of numbers and need. 

Nina explained that because Southwark has excellent assessment professionals in the health and education sector, more and more children at a younger age were being identified as having more and more complex needs.  The default position was that for as long and as far as possible that children stay in mainstream schools, and that would be supported.  Only where there is the need for specialised education, would a pupil come out of the mainstream setting, with an aim to keep the child within the borough.  This would not be possible in all cases due to the needs of some children being so specialised, which may require residential placements.  Nina indicated that these placements came at an extremely high cost, but the financial provision was not being made for that.

In relation to the reporting of SEND spend, Nina explained that schools have been spending more money than they have been allocated for SEND provision.  In terms of accountability the information on spend should be being reported to Governor’s and being included in the minutes.  Anybody could request to inspect governor minutes and would be able to see what the reporting mechanisms were.