Agenda item

Further to Minute No. 10 of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services and Safeguarding) held on 10 July 2018, the Cabinet considered the final report of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services and Safeguarding) Special Educational Needs and Disability Process of Assessment Working Group.  The Lead Member of the Working Group, Councillor Spencer presented the Final Report to the Cabinet.

The Cabinet placed on record its appreciation to all Members of the Working Group and Officers for their commitment in producing an excellent piece of work.    

Decision Made:

That provided the recommendations are subject to any budget implications and the inclusion of the revised recommendation 1. (h), as amended by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services and Safeguarding) on 10 July 2018, the following recommendations be approved:-

(1)       That the Head of Schools and Families be requested to:-

(a)       Review the current provision of Special Educational Needs (SEN) units within schools, in order to ensure that appropriate provision is available within the relevant schools, as evidence provided suggests that the current system is not meeting the needs of children and their families appropriately.

(b)       Encourage relevant schools to consider an alternative term for “SEN unit”, possibly describing themselves as a “SEN-friendly school”, in order to reduce stigma and improve compliance with the Equality Act.

(c)        Liaise with the Sefton Clinical Commissioning Groups and Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in order to explore the possibility of requesting assessment appointments by professional experts to be carried out in schools wherever possible, particularly specialised schools and those schools with a unit, in order to provide a “safe” environment for children, with less preparation required for those children who experience anxiety when their routine is disrupted.

(d)       Encourage those schools that have a SEN unit to have a dedicated Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO), particularly where there are a high proportion of children with SEND, as evidence provided indicates that access to appropriate resources is greater in settings where there is a dedicated SENCO.

(e)       Encourage schools to include SENCOs on the management team for the school, in order to enhance the profile of SEND.

(f)        Encourage schools to support SENCOs to undertake referrals of children with SEND for professional input and assessment appointments, in order to minimise delays in obtaining Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

(g)       Explore the possibility, in conjunction with the Council’s Senior Educational Psychologist, of encouraging schools to undertake joint training on SEND for parents/carers’ groups within schools, with teachers and governors, in order to ensure that the information and approach provided are consistent, appropriate embedded.

(h)       Include Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for parents/carers of children with SEND within the information available on school admissions, as part of the “school readiness” approach, in order to create an efficient and effective home-school partnership from the outset, in conjunction with the Assessment, Resource and Provision Planning Team.

(i)         Explore the possibility of increasing communication with parents/carers on SEND through the Borough’s Family Wellbeing Centres, particularly from an early years’ perspective and possibly through the development of leaflets, in order to enhance “school readiness” for the children and their parents/carers.

(j)         Liaise with the Sefton Clinical Commissioning Groups to explore the possibility of requesting that information on SEND for parents/carers is included with/within the Personal Child Health Record (red book) and through the Healthy Child Programme, in order to assist in early intervention.

(k)        Encourage schools to include potentially useful contacts and useful events on SEND within school newsletters, in order to ensure that all parents/carers have access to them.

(l)         Encourage primary schools to share good practice and to consider undertaking inclusivity education with all children, particularly relating to SEND and neuro-diversity, in order to raise standards and ensure equitable and universal access to provision within schools.

(m)      Revise Sefton’s Local Offer in order to make it more user-friendly and accessible to parents/carers, which could include ensuring that it is easier to find on the Council’s web-site, using less formal language and the inclusion of a glossary of terms and abbreviations.

            (n)       Liaise with the Council’s Head of Health and Wellbeing in order     to:

(i)            Encourage schools to advertise and promote the School Nurse drop-in sessions within their newsletters, so that parents/carers have a greater opportunity to access them.

(ii)          Request the School Nursing Service to approach the SENCO Forum, with a view to discussing the Healthy Schools Programme and to clarify the role of the School Nurse, particularly in relation to assessing children with SEND and in order to minimise delays in obtaining EHC Plans, as this would help to manage the expectations of parents/carers.

(o)       Submit a report to a future meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services and Safeguarding), following an audit, providing information on the following:-

(i)            Any high schools which are restricting the number of enhanced transitions for SEND, together with explanations for the reasons behind the decisions.

(ii)          The number of children with SEND accessing Sefton schools who come from outside the Borough and the reasons for this.

(iii)         Consideration of how parents who have children with SEND and who are not engaging with schools could be engaged, or re-engaged.

(iv)         Whether funding has been withdrawn for children with SEND in Year 6 and the reasons for withdrawal.

(2)       That the Head of Health and Wellbeing be requested to ensure that the School Nurse carries out their role prior to any collaboration with the school SENCO, in relation to assessing and referring children with SEND, in order to minimise delays in obtaining EHC Plans.

(3)       That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services and Safeguarding) be requested to consider the establishment of a Working Group in the future to examine post-19 provision for SENDs, in order to improve conditions for this vulnerable group of young people. This could be a Joint Working Group with the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Skills).

(4)       That the Senior Democratic Services Officer be requested to liaise with relevant officers in order to ensure that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Children’s Services and Safeguarding) receives a six-monthly monitoring report, setting out progress made against each of the recommendations outlined above and as a means of ensuring SMART objectives.