February 2017

Welcome to the February SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) update. Here you'll find a summary of the Peer review carried out last year with a link to inspectors' full report.

There are also details of important Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) training, and a reminder that the current consultation on Devon's SEND strategy is still underway.

You can also find out how our Local Offer is shaping up, and how we are restructuring our work around Education, Health and Care assessments.

The SEND inspection process is still well underway across the country, and here in Devon we are continuing to prepare ourselves for a visit.  The latest area report to be published was Hillingdon.  See the findings from this, and other local authorities here.

Final Peer Review report

Now that we’re well into a New Year, work is really picking up pace to implement the SEND reforms in Devon. 

Our Peer review in November last year found a strong commitment in Devon to children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and to improving the implementation of SEND. The Peer Review team said that focusing on the child, enabling co-production and reflecting on the child and family experience will enable Devon to achieve this.

They said we recognise the scale and breadth of what is needed to make the changes through the work of the SEND Improvement Board, which whilst still at an early stage, had accurately recognised the areas that require attention and the necessity of having an integrated approach fully involving partners to fulfil their responsibilities.

We know that there is still plenty for us to do to ensure the reforms provide the best opportunities for all children and young people with SEND, and work has already begun to tackle some of the areas we had already identified. Read more

 View the full Peer Review report or a shorter presentation available in PowerPoint.

Changes to Education, Health and Care Plan Assessments have now begun

The Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) Improvement Board has identified some priority areas for Devon. One of these is to improve our Education, Health and Care needs assessment and planning process and ensure we complete it within the 20-week legal timescale.

The SEND partnership has identified an improved multi-agency process for conducting an EHC Needs Assessment in line with the SEND Code of Practice 2014, which will give families clear information and more say in what happens, provide alternative support when a statutory plan is not needed, and ensures all our services are consistent and of a high quality.

 The process will clearly outline a child or young person’s strengths and needs, and facilitate a better conversation between parents, the young person and professionals about aspirations, expected outcomes and how a child or young person can be supported to help them achieve agreed outcomes.

This changed way of working began earlier this month for new requests for EHC needs assessment. For EHC assessments already in process there will be no change, the current process will continue.

Find out more:  If you are a professional working on EHCP assessments.  If you are a young person, parent or family member interested in how it will affect you.

EHCP training

Free training is available to support a multi-agency, person-centred approach towards contributing to an Education, Health and Care Plan.

This training aims to deliver information about statutory duties and give both clear guidance and the tools to support the process. Training is open to all staff involved in the Education, Health and Care assessment and planning SEND process.

To book your place please visit the Babcock booking website. Further training dates are being scheduled and will be available shortly.  In the meantime you can add yourself to the waiting list.

SEND Strategy Consultation A draft SEND strategy has been developed over the last few months, as part of the SEND Improvement Programme.  It sets out six priorities across Education, Health and Care and is centred on the collaboration required across partners to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND and their families; this directly aligns with the Devon Children, Young People and Families Plan 2015–2020: My Life, My Journey. The six strategic priorities have been informed by Devon parents and carers, the local area self-evaluation, feedback from a range of groups and individuals and the findings from the Local Government Association (LGA) Peer Review, undertaken in November 2016. Consultation on the draft SEND Strategy launched on 17 January 2017 and will run until 17 March 2017.  After this time all responses will be considered and the findings will be used to inform the final strategy document and associated implementation plan.  The recommendation is that the final strategy and plan be signed off by the SEND Improvement Board and presented to the Children Young People and Families Alliance Executive for ratification.  Implementation of the SEND Strategy will be the responsibility of the multi-agency SEND Improvement Board.

Local Offer update

Devon is committed to making sure that children, young people and families get a say in their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision. The Local Offer Reference Group, or LORG, collects parents’ and young peoples’ perspectives and reports them to commissioners and people who make decisions about SEND provision in Devon.  This new group had its first meeting in November 2016 and plans to meet every half term to contribute to the review and development of the local offer for SEND.

The group represents the perspectives of as many parent carers, children and young people as possible, and works closely with Devon Parent Carers’ Voice (DPCV) and local support groups to try to achieve this. The LORG was created by and for parent-carers. Reps attend meetings, alongside DPCV, to make sure they can be involved in shaping local SEND provision. The group is also helping children and young people with SEND to have more of a voice at a strategic level.

To find out more about the Local Offer Reference Group, contact 01392 383080, email sendlocaloffer@devon.gov.uk or visit the Local Offer website: new.devon.gov.uk/send