 Inside this edition
1. Preparing for Adulthood Thematic CQC/Ofsted Inspection
2. Yo! Active offer
3. Short Breaks update
4. Health review update
4. Developing the SEND Local Offer website
5. SEND Statistics
6. Quality Assurance around Alternative Provision
Preparing for Adulthood Thematic CQC/Ofsted Inspection
On Monday 19th February we were notified of a SEND Thematic Review into Preparing for Adulthood by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission. The inspection started on the day of notification and lasted until Thursday 7th February. We were the first in England to be carried out under a new framework launched early February.
The 'thematic visit' focussed on four key pathways, based on the 'SEND code of practice’ - employment, independent living, community inclusion and health. It provided insights for Ofsted, the CQC, government, strategic leaders and frontline education, health and social care practitioners to promote improvement in the sector and update approaches to inspection, as appropriate.
We would like to thank everyone who was involved in the Thematic Review in anyway, those who had met with the Inspectors or who provided valuable information and intelligence. The Inspectors commented on how they really appreciated practitioners making time in busy days to support the process.
During the thematic review Inspectors asked children, young people, families and practitioners their views via some online surveys. The efforts of everyone sharing this resulted in 147 completed surveys from children and young people and 292 from parent, carers and practitioners which is above average for a full area SEND inspection.
Feedback at the end of the review was generally very positive indeed, with the inspection team recognising the excellent work we do here in Wolverhampton to prepare our children and young people with SEND for adulthood. Highlights include the bespoke offer provided by Connexions, strong transition plans, education, health and care plans which include the views of children and young people and parents and joint commissioning work such as with BASE 25 which has contributed to preparing for adulthood.
It also provided us with of course some food for thought about those areas where we can and will get even better. What is important to note is that there is nothing that we didn't already know, which shows a very good level of self-awareness by all partners.
So, what happens next?
Ofsted and the CQC are not making judgments about individual areas as a result of the thematic review process, but will share their findings in a national report to be published this autumn. They will be visiting a number of other areas as part of this process and while the final report will list the local areas visited, it will not attribute findings to individual areas.
Meanwhile, we will be going over the findings in detail and looking at what we, as a local system, can do to further improve the support we give to our children and young people with SEND. With the review now over, it just leaves one final opportunity to thank you all once again for your help and support over the last three weeks - we couldn't have done it without you, so thank you!
Look out in a future edition in the Autumn for more information on the overarching report.
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Yo! Active offer
 Yo! Active is a two-year pilot of offering a diverse range of free physical activity to children and young people in Wolverhampton between 0-18 and under 25 for young people with a special educational need and disability and care leavers.
It includes an inclusive offer across all sessions and specialised activities for certain groups that have bespoke needs, such as girls, children/ young people who have a special educational need and/or disability.
Adults, 19 – 24 years who have a special educational need and disability can access a fully funded WV Active membership, which then continues to the concessionary funded scheme if eligible post 25.
All children, young people and adults who require support with accessing facilities are able to bring a carer for no additional charge.
To access the offer, WV Active account is required with a YO! Active membership.
Swimming | WV Active includes swimming lessons as well as scheduled SEND sessions.
To see more offers and activities visit www.wvactive.com and www.yowolves.co.uk.
Short Breaks update
Progress has been made with understanding the cohort of children who have been assessed or currently open to the Disabled Children and Young People Team. This includes commissioned services for community based and overnight short breaks. A significant challenge is that there are few children and young people outside of the Disabled Children and Young People Team who have had a social care assessment and unsuccessful attempts to quantify demand at a universal and targeted level has meant this service provision is underdeveloped.
To progress the short breaks offer for families, particularly at universal and targeted levels, and to act upon parents feedback and ensure families feel support throughout the short breaks process, a Working Group has been established chaired by the Head of Service for Children and Young People in Care who has lead social care responsibility for children and young people with a disability.
The 4 main areas of targeted focus are as follows:
- Data analysis of universal and targeted Short Breaks demand.
- Identify funding to develop the short break universal and targeted offer.
- A new Short Breaks Statement be produced that contains a clear definition of Short Breaks, Eligibility, Criteria and Access Routes.
- Outline of Families First for Children Pathfinder City Wide SEND Early Help offer
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Health review update
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The independent health review of SEND in Wolverhampton is now complete. Voice 4 Parents (V4P) were extensively engaged with the scope and co-production of the action plan and positive impacts in improvement of services for families.
Whilst this review is complete, health continues to work closely with V4P around co-producing actions from both the Annual Survey and Preparing for Adulthood survey.
Developing the SEND Local Offer website
 The SEND Local Offer is a single place for information, services, and resources offered to support children and young people who have special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities from birth to age 25. It also helps parents/ carers understand what is on offer to support them.
The SEND Local Offer is moving from Wolverhampton Information Network (WIN) to a new dedicated website. The draft site has been built and is starting to be populated.
User testing has started to take place from 18th March to include feedback from children and young people who have special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities and their families, as well as practitioners.
We will use this feedback to make any necessary improvements before we launch the new website.
If you would like to be involved with user testing, then please email localofferenquiries@wolverhampton.gov.uk
SEND statistics
- Demand of EHCPs within the city remains high with 7% increase compared to same period last year.
- The proportion of pupils with an EHCP in Wolverhampton has increased to 4.1% in 2022/23, continuing a trend of increase compared to 2021/22 of 3.8%. This is slightly lower than England average of 4.2%.
- The proportion of pupils SEN Support in Wolverhampton has increased to 13.8% in 2022/23, continuing a trend of increase compared to 2021/22 of 13.7%. This is above England average of 12.9%.
- Wolverhampton’s appeal rate to the SEND tribunal based on total appealable decisions for 2022 is significantly lower than England (2.33%) and statistical neighbours (2.16%) at 0.43%.
- For 2023, the year ended with high performance with 100% (20) of EHCPs completed in 20 weeks or less (excluding exceptions); Since January 2023 the collective % of completed EHCPs within 20 weeks has increased to 77%. This is above the last published national average of 50.7%.
- The percentage of requests for health advice completed and returned within 6 weeks has increased to 70.6% at the end of December 2023.
- Health indicators including Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) referral numbers/diagnosis, Learning Disability 14+ annual health checks, CAMHS waiting list and care package numbers are also being monitored through SEND and Inclusion Partnership board.
- SEND national and local published data can be found here: statistics-special-educational-needs-sen
Quality Assurance around Alternative Provision
 The Department for Education define Alternative Provision as full or part-time education arranged by:
- local authorities, either directly or working with schools, for pupils who, because of permanent exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education
- schools for pupils to improve their behaviour off-site, or during a suspension
Alternative Provision settings provide education for pupils who do not attend a mainstream school or special school full time. The education often takes place at a Pupil Referral Unit, Alternative Provision Academy or free school, but placements can also be arranged in another mainstream school, independent school or in an educational setting that is not registered with the Department for Education.
Quality Assurance
The City of Wolverhampton Council’s Commissioning team undertake quality assurance audits which typically take place initially via a visit to observe sessions in progress followed by an audit of documentary evidence such as policies and reports. These are scored against eighteen quality standards which include:
- Assessment & Understanding
- Engagement & Relationship Building
- Attainment & Progress
- Longer Term Opportunities
The quality assurance audits identify strengths and any areas of further development. These are reviewed on an annual basis. The City of Wolverhampton Council is preparing a directory of providers who have achieved a good or outstanding quality assurance score. The directory will be updated annually ready for the new school academic year in September.
It is important to note that this directory is not a City of Wolverhampton Council ‘approved list’. These are our current providers who have registered on our Alternative Provision Flexible Framework or have been quality assured by the City of Wolverhampton Council. The responsibility for carrying out appropriate checks and reviews lie with the commissioning schools.
Related news
For information about what’s on, information, awareness raising, sessions, activities and local support please see news from the following trusted sources:
Wolverhampton Local Offer
Voice4Parents
Latest News | Wolverhampton Young Opportunities (yowolves.co.uk)
WIASS E-Bulletins
Wolverhampton Voluntary and Community Action
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