Agenda item

The Board gave consideration to a report of the Director of Education and Early Years which informed of the recent Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) inspection in Oldham and the positive actions that the Council and its partners had undertaken to improve outcomes of children and young people with SEND.

The Interim Director of Children’s Services, accompanied by the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Designated Clinical Officer, attended the meeting to present the information and to address the enquiries of the Board Members.

It was reported that, following the Ofsted inspection in October 2017, the Council and the CCG, with other stakeholders, had been requested to develop a Written Statement of Action (WSOA). The document had been written and it outlined Oldham’s vision for children and young people with SEND, the five key areas of concern that had to be addressed and the related outcomes. The WSOA had been signed off by Ofsted early this year.

It was explained that the SEND governance structure had been revised in order to strengthen joint partnership and to improve effective leadership. Staff capacity had been increased by 80%. The Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England conducted by-monthly monitoring visits to assess Oldham performance on the five key areas. The outcome of the latest review (i.e.: July 2018) had been positive; although some challenges still existed, significant progress had been made in all areas, as Red, Amber and Green (RAG) rating indicated:

·         Area 1: Illegal Practice - Green

·         Area 2: Leadership – Green

·         Area 3: Process and Quality – Amber/Green

·         Area 4: Transport - Green

·         Area 5: Attainment and absenteeism - Green

It was also reported that the CCG and other Council partners were represented across the local authority at various boards. The (CCG) Designated Clinical Officer post had been created to ensure operational strategic oversight. The organisation engaged with GPs, DfE and NHS England to find innovative ways of working in Primary Care to develop outcomes for young people with SEND. CCG and the Council wanted to ensure that the Oldham Carers Forum was pivotal in this process and it continued to be involved.

Members sought and received clarification / commented on the following points:

-       Review of Local Authority SEND assessment service capacity and securing additional resources – It was explained that in the WSOA, Appendix 1 of the report, this criterion was RAG (Red, Amber, Green) rated “Red” to indicate the starting position. However, improvements had been made and the staff capacity had increased significantly. Currently, it was RAG rated “Green”.

-       Alternative provision, overspend and young people Out of the Area (OOA) – It was explained that a robust multi-agency system was in place to find opportunities to keep young people in the Borough. When this was not possible and their educational needs could not be met in Oldham, OOA placements had to be found.

-       Extra capacity for special provision – It was explained that there was a SEND work stream led by teachers on how SEND support could be enhanced in the schools. The needs of a young person were reviewed by a Panel to identify early provision to reduce complex intervention at a later stage.

-       Voice of the Child, questionnaires and other tools to catch young people’s ideas – It was explained that an event had been hosted recently at MAHDLO and over 200 families had given feedback to ensure that different tools were in place to allow young people and their carers to express their views on services. Work was taking place with the Youth Council, Breaking Barriers and schools to catch people’s view via the Slido system (i.e.: audience interaction tool for meetings and conferences).

-       Questionnaires and strategy to receive feedback from everybody and not just young people – it was explained that consultation with family members was necessary as they provided a valuable contribution to shaping services.

-       Historic data in the report – It was explained that this was the first time that this report was presented to the Overview and Scrutiny Board and it was officers’ view to give members the flavour of how the journey to improve SEND services had started.

-       Barriers to reducing the time to complete the assessment process – It was explained that, following the inspection, work had been done to ensure that the infrastructure was robust to deliver plans of high quality within the right time. Additional investment had been requested and obtained to deliver this change. The SEND work force had increased significantly and a SEND assistant director had been recruited to drive the agenda forward. DfE and NHS England had looked at the Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) and commented how good they were compared to what they had inspected the previous year.

-       EHCP assessment and child’s needs and low percentage of questionnaires completed by the child / young person – It was explained that the sample size was very small and the tool itself needed to be tested.

-       Waiting time to access Mental Health services – it was explained that figures would be provided at the next meeting. Work was ongoing to have an integrated approach through the Early Help service, so all referrals came through one channel and support was available immediately.

-       WSOA and empowering members of staff to improve services - It was explained that many practitioners and a head of service had recently joined the SEND team which also relied on existing and very experienced workers to drive forward the SEND agenda. Significant resources had been dedicated to training and development (each member of staff had a development plan) to ensure the delivery of quality Education Health and Care Plans to provide timely and appropriate services to young people and their families.

-       Area 3 - Process and Quality – “Amber” - Staffing issues and sustainability of the current position – It was explained that it had been ensured that additional funding was built in the budget to look at additional capacity, if necessary. Early Help and Intervention services had been strengthened to provide an overall system approach rather than only looking at the Education and Health Care plans. The leadership team intended to reach “Green” rating by the end of the year.

-       Budget issues - The Committee was reassured that the budget issues had been addressed and regular budget monitoring meetings were taking place, as well as the use of Early Help service and other early intervention strategies to ensure that the service remained within the budget parameters.

-       Oldham’s Education and Health Care Plan figures in comparison to statistical neighbours – It was explained that the figures would be provided with the progress report in January 2019.

-       Mental Health intervention and Whole School Approach training – It was explained that social opportunities, integration with peers (e.g.: MADHLO), volunteering and other social networks were all part of a wider inclusive strategy. 

RESOLVED that:

1.    The content of the report be noted;

2.    A progress report be presented in January 2019. The report to include:

a.    Information about the Voice of the Child and how this would be captured - methodology;

b.    Early Help and Children and Adolescents Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and waiting times for intervention;

c.    Percentage of Young People with an Education and Health Care Plans in Oldham and comparison to statistical neighbours;

d.    If feasible, to invite a young person with his/her parent to attend the meeting of the Board in January 2019.