Suffolk leader says it's “too early to tell” if there have been SEND improvements
A report previously found ‘widespread and/or systemic failings’ in how the local authority delivers its SEND services
A local leader in Suffolk says it's 'too early to tell' whether there's been improvement in SEND services in the county, after the latest data was revealed.
Members of the county council’s education and children’s services scrutiny committee met last week to discuss the latest data on children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services.
The data followed several measures and extra money set up to address January’s Ofsted/CQC report which found ‘widespread and/or systemic failings’ in how the local authority delivers its SEND services.
“It’s important we are held accountable"
Cllr Andrew Reid, who is responsible for education and SEND, said the problems were complex but he was confident in the work being carried out.
He said: “I want to reiterate strongly that improving the way we deliver send services is our top priority and we will not deviate from our strict timeframe.
“It’s important we are held accountable, remain on task and deliver what we set out to deliver.”
The data showed a dip in the number of new education, care and health plans (EHCPs) issued in April within the statutory 20 weeks, with 16 per cent, compared to 17 per cent in February — last summer, zero had been issued within this time frame.
The council said the reason for last month’s decrease was staff absence within family services.
At the same time, the number of ECHPs which have taken more than a year to be issued rose from 15.9 per cent in March to 17.6 per cent last month — in April last year, the figure was 20.8 per cent.
Delays in the delivery of these EHCPs can have severe effects on children and their families, with SEND children struggling to perform well in school and some even being left without education for long periods when the council was not able to provide alternative educational provisions.
“We need to expect fluctuations"
Addressing the data, Cllr Reid said: “We need to expect fluctuations in those figures because it’s not an even path and there’s been a big influx of requests — we fully expect that to improve and correct itself.
“It’s too early to tell and I trust we will see progress through the summer and into the autumn. That’s when I think the tangible benefits of our work will be coming through.”
In the local authority’s own forecasts, around 50 per cent of EHCPs were expected to be delivered within the statutory 20-week period by September, and close to 70 per cent by April next year — the national average for this is 49.2 per cent.
Earlier this week, Cllr Reid also revealed plans to ask cabinet members for more investment into the services, although details about the amount and where the extra money would come from have not yet been revealed. They are expected to be discussed in July.
This would follow a £3.4 million rolling investment in February alongside £1 million in one-off funding meant to hire 60 new staff, including 46 full-time posts.