Agenda item

Consideration was given to a report of the Director of Children’s Services which provided an overview of the recent SEND Inspection in Oldham and the actions that the Council and Partners have undertaken to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

Members were informed that, between 2 - 6 October 2017, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the arrangements within Oldham to meet the needs of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). The Inspection letter containing the findings of the inspection was published on the Ofsted website on 28 November 2017 and required the Council and the CCG to develop with key stakeholders a Written Statement of Action (WSOA) within 70 working days. The statement was to be co-produced with parents/carers, children and young people and be submitted to Ofsted by 2 March 2018.

Following the Ofsted feedback meeting on 6 October 2017 a number of immediate actions had been put in place, as detailed in the report.

The co-produced WSOA was submitted to Ofsted on 2 March 2018. It explained how the local area would be tackling the following areas of significant weakness;

·         Any illegal practice that maybe happening in the local area.

·         The lack of effective leadership and joint partnership in leading, developing and evaluating the SEND reforms.

·         The dysfunctional EHC process and inadequate quality of plans.

·         The defective transport arrangements for children and young people who have SEN and/or disabilities.

·         The significant underachievement of children and young people who have SEN and/or disabilities, including the high rates of fixed-term exclusions and persistent absenteeism.

The WSOA was a high level plan and consisted of a number of priorities identified against each area of significant weakness. Each priority was ‘owned’ by a senior officer of the Local Authority, CCG or NHS Health Provider organisations with a date by which it should be achieved.

Members were informed that significant progress had been made in all areas and, at the last meeting, performance had been assessed as green in 4 out of 5 areas.

Members noted that any areas of practice that had been drawn into question had been immediately addressed and a robust model of governance had quickly been put in place.

Significant additional permanent revenue funding of £500,000 had been agreed to secure sufficient staff capacity at an appropriate level and with the requisite skill set in order to complete all legal requirements within mandated timeframes and to the appropriate quality standard. This had equated to an 80% increase in EHC officer capacity.

At the conclusion of the 13 July monitoring visit by DfE and NHS England, it was agreed that, since the previous monitoring visit, a step change had been seen in the progress of key tasks. These included;

·           Critical areas where it could be seen that Oldham partners were now working together effectively to drive forward change;

·           The appointment of key staff across the partners and the recruitment strategies, including the Open Day, leading to a new staff dynamic which provided greater capacity to drive the cultural change forward;

·           Examination of EHC plans which were judged to be significantly better than those seen previously.

Members noted that, following the SEND Inspection of October 2017 and the publication of the requirement for a WSOA, Oldham Council and partners had worked hard to improve the system and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. This hard work had been recognised by positive feedback from DfE and NHS England officials, parents and young people. The performance figures on key metrics whilst challenging were demonstrating improvements and, whilst there was a considerable journey still ahead, a way forward had been developed which is showing progress.

Members asked for and received further information on how communications with young people were being improved to obtain their feedback.

Members asked for further information in relation to exclusions and were informed that that significant work had been undertaken and progress had been made on early identification of issues and faster re-integration.

Members sought and received clarification in relation to EHC Plans. They were informed that there was an emphasis on quality. A completely new team was in place that had received intensive training, and better links were established with health care practitioners. A Health Co-ordinator had been appointed to work closely with the new team.

Members asked how families and young people had been involved in the process and were informed that parents had been involved in the development of the written statement of action. Organised SEND events enabled family engagement and consideration was being given as to the best way to gather feedback from the young people, as the questionnaire had only received a small response.

Members asked for further information as to whether lay people were involved in assessing progress and how far the third sector was involved. They were informed that lay people were not yet involved in assessment and engagement with the third sector was developing. In particular, it was hoped to involve the third sector more in the area of mental health.

Members noted that, in view of the substantial progress made, it was expected the bi-monthly meetings with the DfE and NHS England would be replaced with a more standard inspection regime.

RESOLVED that:

1.         The report be noted.

2.         Half-yearly updates on progress be provided.