Autumn Term 2020

This is an update of some of the progress we have made in recent months based on what you have told us you need. We will continue to work to achieve positive change and improvements for families and will keep you updated on progress.

Annual Reviews and Education, Health and Care plans

"There is a long backlog of Annual Reviews and Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs) are not updated."

In response, we've:

  • recruited two additional SEND managers, four additional SEND officers and two educational psychologists
  • processed all annual reviews, received in the school year 2019/2020 and known to us, up to 1 July, 2020; these are on track to be finalised by the end of the spring school term
Reduced Timetables and support for Home Schooling

We do not have a clear overview of pupils on reduced timetables and there needs to be more dedicated SEND support for elective home school children.

So, we've:

  • dedicated two officers to EHCPs with reduced school timetables, who will escalate any concerns when needed
  • provided new guidance to schools who are now expected to refer, through an online portal, all children on part-time timetables (those with EHCPs are passed on to the two officers above by our access and inclusion team)
EHCP quality

The quality of the EHC plans are not consistent.

In response to this, we:

  • are making regular calls to parents/carers of children requesting feedback on finalised new EHC plans to help make improvements
  • are reviewing quality assurance processes of EHC plans to identify improvements
  • have an independent team to audit every EHC plan; this will be completed by end of January 2021 and a report will be shared with to SNAP Parent Carer Forum (SNAP PCF) and key partners during by February 2021
  • are training all of our SEND officers through the annual review training programme from IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Education Advice) and an online course via a company called Enhance EHC
  • have established a more robust management process that is more responsive and will have a clear role in improving quality assurance
Communication from our SEND team

Communication from the SEND team is poor.

We:

  • are calling parents and carers when an EHC needs assessment is received, working directly with parents to ensure the assessment process is fully understood and explained
  • are working closely with SNAP Parent Carer Forum (PCF) and attend the SNAP PCF Parent Panels to listen and continually improve practice in the teams
Who does what in our SEND team

It is not clear who does what in the SEND service.

We:

  • updated our Local Offer so that roles, responsibilities and contact details of each team in the SEND service are clear
  • are developing a contact directory for SEND services; this will be completed and published by April 2021
Accessing Therapy Services

It is not clear how to access the range of therapy services you need.

In response:

Bedfordshire Community Health Services now have an online single point of access for all local health services, which includes information on therapy services.

Waiting lists for Therapy Services

There are long waiting lists for therapy services, particularly speech and language therapy (SALT).

To address this:

  • additional provision is now in place to improve access for speech and language therapy (SALT) in special schools, from September 2020
  • a SALT toolkit (one of several SEND toolkits for education), has been developed and was launched in March 2020 to help build capacity at the early stages of need for professionals and parents.
Training and knowledge around Speech and Language Therapy

There is not enough training or knowledge in schools around speech and language therapy (SALT) and special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) do not have time and capacity to meet with parents.

So, we:

  • will provide accredited Elklan training to SENCOs, teachers, and teaching assistants over the next 18 months; this will provide staff with the tools and knowledge to improve children/young people educational learning
  • have developed an e-learning module to help professionals support parents of children and young people with speech, language and communication needs
Support for Young Children

More support for young children at SEND support stage is needed.

We have recruited five additional early years specialist teachers and two additional early years practitioners to support schools from September 2020. The extra staff were recruited to extend the team's remit to include children at SEND Support in the reception year from September 2020.

No Jigsaw Centre in the north of Central Bedfordshire

The Jigsaw Centre provision is in the south, there is no provision in the north.

In response:

  • Jigsaw has recruited extra staff, so that there is an extended outreach offer across all of Central Bedfordshire
  • a second potential site has been identified and more details will be shared as this progresses
Local Offer effectiveness

The Local Offer is not effective. Parents do not know where to go for information.

So, we:

  • are producing a new Local Offer website, with input from SNAP Parent Carer Forum, children and young people, schools and partners
  • introduced a fortnightly SEND News bulletin with events, news, Local Offer updates and information about SEND services in Central Bedfordshire (over 6,000 people are now signed up to this)
  • have launched a new Local Offer page on Facebook with updates about SEND services in Central Bedfordshire
Training and Guidance for Schools

Schools need training and guidance from Central Bedfordshire Council on how to better support children/young people with SEND.

We developed SEND toolkits for schools with the aim to guide schools to better support children and young people with SEND.

We also:

  • support termly SENCO study sessions for the north and the south, with the 2020 autumn term meetings already receiving positive attendance and engagement
  • co-produced an online training programme, which can be used by parents, carers and professionals
  • launched a monthly e-bulletin for SENCOs and school-based professionals to share good practice, information, advice, and guidance
  • work with the Department of Education (DfE) Whole School SEND service on a training offer for our staff and school leaders, including governors
How to get support

We are not clear who to call for support.

In response, we:

  • have published all information about services and support for children and young adults with SEND, including contact details (this is being redesigned to make it easier to find and more engaging; the redesign for the Local Offer website is underway and we aim to launch our new one in the autumn term 2021)
  • launched SEND coffee mornings in our children's centres for parents and carers to offer help and support to each other, as well as receive information and advice from professionals such as health and early years SEND services
  • funded a new HomeStart parent mentoring support service, run by trained volunteer parent mentors, who have experience with children with SEND and offer one-to-one support for families with SEND.
School Places

There are not enough appropriate school places in Central Bedfordshire for children/young people with SEND.

We're:

  • planning how many special school and alternative resource provision (ARP) places are needed, as part of our Schools for the Future programme, so we can meet this need
  • developing plans for schools, as we deliver the Schools for the Future programme, to provide support spaces away from traditional classrooms for children and young people with a range of needs including SEND

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