Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Mr P Cole, Ms J Hawkins and Mr M Whiting. Mrs S Prendergast substituted for Mr Whiting.

There were no Declarations of Interest.

RESOLVED that the minutes be approved as a correct record.

1)    Mr Love introduced the report. He explained that the information in the report was based around work that was set out in the Accelerated Progress Plan.

2)    A Member asked a question about the working definition of ‘co-production’ and how co-production was put into practice in the development and improvement of SEND activities in Kent. Alison Farmer explained that KCC was working with the Council for Disabled Children and on the development and refreshing of the Co-production Charter. Its starting point was precisely the need to define ‘co-production’ but also to explore other areas in which KCC consulted and engaged with children and young people with SEND and their families.

3)    In reply to a question about what criteria were used to define ‘co-production’, ‘consultation’ and ‘engagement’, Alison Farmer referred to p35 of the report (Refreshing the Co-Production Charter in Kent – Workshop Summary).

a)    In reply to a question on whether the workshop was co-produced, Christine McInnes confirmed that it was co-produced, as the DfE recommended that KCC worked with the Council for Disable Children, and Kent PACT was involved in this work as an active partner.

4)    In response to a question about where KCC would use co-production to help drive policy standards, Christine McInnes said that this would be defined in the Lived Experience Framework, which also defined what was an appropriate form of engagement for the different tasks that KCC had to fulfil.

5)    In reply to a question on where parents of children with SEND would be engaged and where they would be involved in co-production, Christine McInnes said that that depended on whether there was a management decision to be made.

a)    Alison Farmer gave the example of the Autism Education Trust training, where KCC shared the training with a panel of young experts who had autism and, as a consequence of this initiative, a young person with autism is now successfully co-delivering this training alongside the professional trainer.

6)    Mrs Hannon said that Kent PACT was involved in the co-production of the Lived Experience Framework. Kent PACT was also engaged in the Research & Improvement for SEND Excellence partnership (RISE) programme, although Kent PACT was not involved in the co-production of their presentation.

a)    Christine McInnes said that the Framework, which was co-produced with Kent PACT, set out when it was appropriate to consult or to co-construct.

7)    Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) Area of Weakness 1: The widely held concern of parents that the local area is not able, or in some cases not willing, to meet their children’s needs -  A Member pointed out that, in relation to 1A3 (Develop plan for celebrating successes and good outcomes through our network of communications channels to build trust and confidence in parents and young people) and 1B1 (Finalise and implement the communications plans to build trust and confidence in parents in the ability of local schools to support children and young people with SEND by explaining the benefits of inclusion for all pupils,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

All the meetings will be held in the Council Chamber, Sessions House, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 1XQ.

• Thursday 7 December, 2pm
• Wednesday 7 February, 2pm
• Thursday 21 March, 2pm