Agenda item

To hear from Shenice parent of a child with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

To hear from Yvonne Ely, Head of SEN & Inclusion on the Journey map through SEND- Education and Health Care Plan, starting primary and secondary schools through SEND.

To review officer responses to questions on SEND processes, raised at the previous commission meeting held on 16 November 2021.

To formulate and discuss recommendations for SEND provisions in Southwark.

The Chair informed the commission that under this item, Shenice, parent of a child with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is not present at the meeting.

The commission then received a journey map on Education and Health Care Plan process in SEND and also response to questions from Yvonne Ely, Assistant Director, SEND, these questions were raised at the previous commission meeting on 16 November 2021.

Yvonne informed the commission that the SEND system is quite vast and complex covering a wide age range and a variety of special educational needs from mild to complex and challenging needs faced by children and their families. Local authorities endeavour to support children appropriately ensuring legislation is followed, the SEND code of practice is a 300 page document which governs the processes.

Yvonne explained further that every council has a Local Offer covering education, health and social care aspects and in the case of Southwark it’s a comprehensive local offer on the council website for professionals and parents to access giving in depth-information on SEND and services provided. The journey map provided in the agenda depicts a 20 week process and assessments for children and young people who have got much more complex needs than schools can provide, at this point either parents or the schools or the educational setting can be referred to the local authority for education, health and needs assessment. The children or young people are taken through this process with co-ordination and help of families, teachers and professionals in the field.

Yvonne then briefly discussed the responses to the commission’s questions raised at the 16 November 2021 meeting in the agenda pack. Yvonne then answered the commission’s questions on the following topics.

·  Timeline for publishing the new SEND strategy

·  Capacity to meet expected level of increase in the requirements for SEND provision over the coming years

Consultation for SEND strategy will commence in March 2022 covering a very broad area which includes schools, professionals, agencies, focus groups of parents and young people. The final strategy is expected to be completed towards the end of the school year 2022 covering the next three years.

On increased levels of provisions there are 2700 children with an EHCP which is considerable amount of growth and expanding provisions will be achieved by rebuilding and expanding schools like Beormund that the council maintains and provisions of resources for mainstream schools and building specialist units for provision where buildings are available.

The commission then discussed SEND provision around the following themes

·  Role of SEND co-ordinators around the EHCP

·  Volume of EHCP requests and expediting EHCP process

·  Influx of students from other boroughs in Southwark Special Schools

·  ADHD diagnoses, cases and referrals

·  Children in out of Borough independently maintained specialist schools

·  EHCP appeals process

·  Home schooling and examinations

The Chair and the commission agreed to prepare draft recommendations on SEND based on the following points

1.  Increased acuteness of need for children with SEND.

2.  More inclusion in mainstream schools (New SEND Strategy)

3.  Comprehensive training plans in mainstream for SEND provision

4.  Local Authority working with Health sector around diagnoses for certain types of special educational needs

5.  Clarity on routes parents can take in primary or secondary schools stages without having to go through EHCP needs and assessments? Current guidance gives impression that everybody and anybody needs an EHC assessment.

6.  Early stage and pre-school for parents by Health care professionals who are concerned about their children’s needs who don’t meet EHCP thresholds.