Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Mr M Whiting.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

RESOLVED that the minutes be approved as a correct record.

1)    Christine McInnes introduced the report. The Kent SEND system was first inspected in 2019 9 areas of weakness were identified. A revisit, which took place in September 2022, judged that insufficient progress had been made in addressing the weaknesses. An Improvement Notice was issued by the then Minister in March 2023, and required the development of an Accelerated Progress Plan. The DfE approved the final APP, which included 116 actions, in July 2023 and this was published in September alongside a parent, child and young person-friendly version. The first review of progress against the actions took place on 15^th November 2023 and was published in January 2024. KCC is now preparing for the next review, which will take place in April 2024.

2)    Christine McInnes explained that what KCC submitted in November 2023 was a snapshot of the situation at the time. The evidence that KCC submitted was very substantial.

3)    A Member asked about the current EHCPs’ assessment and annual review backlogs. Craig Chapman said that, in September 2023, there had been 1,080 cases in the assessment backlog. In January 2024, this figure had decreased to 397. The total number of outstanding cases had decreased from 2,192 in December 2023 to 2,066 in January 2024. In September 2022 there had been 12,180 annual reviews in the backlog; this had now been reduced to 8,310.

4)    In answer to a question about the proportion of EHCP requests from both parents and schools, Craig Chapman said that, in January 2024, 38.2% of the requests came from parents while 56% came from schools.

5)    In answer to a question about whether it was still the case that a Local Inclusion Forum Team (LIFT) had to be involved in order for schools to receive an EHCP, Alice Gleave said that this was not the case.

6)    In answer to a question about whether KCC would be able to clear the backlog of annual reviews waiting over 12 months by September 2025, Craig Chapman confirmed that this was still the expectation.

7)    Asked whether KCC’s recruitment capacity to deal with SEND provision was still an issue, Craig Chapman said that the new workforce structure, which had become operational in April 2023, was robust. Capacity was no longer an issue, as the DfE recognised in its last inspection.

a)    Christine McInnes added that there was virtually no churning and that staff retention was now very stable.

8)    A Member asked about the plans that had been made to improve the inclusion training offered to schools. Christine McInnes replied that inclusion training on mainstream core standards for school governors and staff was ongoing. A 3-year licence had been purchased to deliver Autism Education Trust’s training. KCC was in the process of contacting schools that had not yet attended the training to find out what support would be beneficial to them. In terms of academies, these ranged from those that worked very closely with KCC to others that were less inclusive.

9)    A Member asked  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.