Agenda item

To consider a report of the Executive Director Core Services and the Executive Director People in respect of the SEND Local Area Inspection and Barnsley Self-Evaluation

The following witnesses were welcomed to the meeting:-

Rachel Dickinson, Executive Director, People, BMBC

Margaret Libreri, Service Director, Education, Early Start and Prevention, People, BMBC

Richard Lynch, Head of Service, Commissioning, Governance and Partnerships, People, BMBC

Sue Day, Interim Service and Strategy Manager, Assessment and Referral Service, People, BMBC

Liz Gibson, Virtual Headteacher for Looked After Children, People, BMBC

Karen O’Brien, Designated Clinical Officer for SEND, Barnsley CCG

Councillor Margaret Bruff, Cabinet Spokesperson for People (Safeguarding)

Councillor Tim Cheetham, Cabinet Spokesperson for People (Achieving Potential)

The item was introduced by the Service Director, People, Education, Early Start and Prevention.  Members were reminded that the inspection of local area arrangements had commenced in May 2016, with 40 areas inspected to date.  It was noted that the inspections were jointly conducted by the CQC and Ofsted, and considered the wider arrangements within an area, and did not solely focus on the Local Authority. Members noted the focus of the inspections to ascertain whether areas could effectively identify children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND), assess them and improve outcomes for them.

The attention of Members was drawn to the self-assessment recently undertaken, and to the strengths and weaknesses identified.  The strengths included areas such as; leadership and governance; joint commissioning; early years provision; Education and Health Care Plans (EHCPs) issued within timescales; the virtual school for Looked After Children (LAC); cross agency partnership working; prevention and early intervention programmes in mental health; and information and advice services for parents and carers.

With respect to the areas of improvement, Members noted the following had been identified; improving educational progress for those with SEND, especially at Key Stage 4, and for those without statutory plans; building the capacity of mainstream schools to identify those with additional needs and provide effective support; improving attendance and reducing exclusions of pupils with SEND; increasing participation of young people, carers and parents in co-production to shape and improve arrangements; improving data sharing across partners; improving the transition of 16-25 year olds; improving access and waiting times for support services; improving quality assurance in relation to EHCPs; and improving performance management arrangements in order to evidence how outcomes have been improved.

Questions were asked in response to the report and introductory presentation, which included the following points:-

·         Should Barnsley receive an inspection, it was felt that the self-assessment was accurate and would give an indication of the outcome.  A solid foundation could be evidenced, with plans in place to deliver improvements.

·         Questions were raised about how well the needs of parents, carers and young people were met, and it was suggested that this was an improving picture, and the area where improvements would make the most significant difference was building the capacity in mainstream schools.  In the majority of cases this was the best place to identify needs and to meet them.

·         Members queried whether any particular group was not as well served currently, and it was acknowledged that outcomes for those without a statutory assessment, but with SEND, categorised as SEN Support, were not as good as they needed to be, and that this included for attendance rates and exclusion.  It was noted that this had been identified as an area for improvement.  There was a growing demand for EHCP assessments, and it was acknowledged that this may be reduced should the needs of those identified as SEN support be met more effectively.

·         Challenges were made around the rate of exclusions in light of the strict policies adopted by a number of the Academies within Barnsley. It was noted that Barnsley had positive partnership arrangements and this included strong working relationships through the Alliance Board, and challenges were issued to secondary heads to use other mechanisms such as Fair Access Protocols or to trigger Early Help Assessments, to work with families to try and avoid exclusions.  It was noted that regular updates were provided by schools, which included details of exclusions, and efforts were made to ensure these were as short as possible.

·         Members questioned the funding associated with supporting those with SEND, noting some of this was already within schools’ budgets, but that additional finance was provided for those with an EHCP or SEN Statement through the Local Authority.  It was noted that nationally Barnsley was relatively poorly funded, and that some schools within the area did have agreater proportion of pupils with SEND, which could be attributed in part to their exclusive nature and previous record of working with the cohort in question. It was noted that there was no strong geographical pattern to this.

·         Members acknowledged that the Council had statutory responsibility for all those identified with SEND, whether these be pupils in academies or maintained schools.  It was noted that the ‘narrowing the gap’ subgroup were looking at a model to identify areas of improvement and of success and establish a peer support network between schools in order to facilitate this.  Members also noted that a network of SEND Coordinators existed to share best practice.

·         Issues around the sharing of data were probed, and it was acknowledged that this was an area requiring improvement, and work was underway to ensure the sharing of public health data.

·         Questions were raised around transition, and whether additional finance was available to support young people with SEND 16-25.  It was confirmed that no additional finance was available but a working group was established to consider the offer to this age group, recognising the need for services to be joined up and be focused on the individual.

·         Members stressed the importance of the voice of the child and the engagement of parents and carers and challenged how these were taken into account.  It was noted that there were plans in place to re-stablish the parent/carer forum, with the details of which due to be consulted on in the near future.   Members were reminded of the ‘all about me’ sections in plans, and that improving EHCPs had been identified as a priority.

RESOLVED:-

(i)            That the report be noted; and

(ii)          That the witnesses be thanked for their attendance.