Agenda item

To Follow

1.    Mr. Love presented the report which was the second quarterly report on SEND to the Scrutiny Committee.

2.    In response to a question about realistic achievements within the service, Ms. McInnes stated that there had been an improvement in the culture of the team and consequently staff productivity had risen whilst maintaining a focus on quality of service provided. Despite recruitment challenges for Educational Psychologists in Kent and nationally, response rates to annual reviews had improved alongside the implementation of various quality assurance measures. Significant investments in staff training, coaching, and peer reviews had been made, and work in these areas continued.

3.    Ms Gleave stated that a strategic decision had been made to address overdue and new statutory assessments, fulfilling a moral obligation to complete late ones. The number of weeks overdue was reduced to 26, and backlogs were removed. Emphasis on thoroughness and quality of plans continued, with regular training sessions and process improvements. Managers actively managed officer caseloads and held regular meetings to address issues. Liaison between Health and Social Care had improved, with ongoing enhancements.

4.    Mr. Love highlighted the significant cultural shift in the organisation over the past 14 to 16 months and how much it had driven improvements.

5.    Regarding questions referring to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and their review process, Mr. Love highlighted that KCC were currently issuing more EHCPs than the national average and almost double the long-term national average. Ms Gleave continued by explaining that children were given broad outcomes over a Key Stage within their EHCPs, which were reviewed annually. Schools monitored progress through provision planning, data, and regular meetings if a child was at risk of not progressing. If concerns persisted, schools or parents could request an early review. Typically, an early review would not be held less than six months after the last one, but it could be requested.

6.    Ms. McInnes also noted that there was a capacity issue with the increase in annual reviews, making it difficult to balance, but improvements had been made. EHCPs typically ceased for older age groups, such as when a young person went to university. Few families returned to KCC after an EHCP ceased.

7.    Ms Gleave explained that even if an EHCP was not issued, the assessment still provided valuable information. This information was used by SEN Inclusion Advisors to help schools plan provisions and inform meetings with parents. She continued to explain that there was a very small minority of children that did not attend schools, and in that instance, the local authority had the responsibility to arrange a review.

8.    Ms. McInnes highlighted a sophisticated tool that was being developed to create a five-point scale for each outcome in the outcomes framework, allowing development to be tracked over time. Discussions were held to obtain permissions to use AI for processing the large amount of data.

RESOLVED that the Scrutiny Committee note the report.