Agenda item

1.    Ms Atkinson, introduced the report and highlighted key aspects throughout, explaining that further information had been added to scorecard such as the rates of permanent exclusions and severe/persistent absences.

2.    Mr Love highlighted the KPI for the number of EHCP’s issued within 20 weeks, emphasising the importance of ensuring improvements within this process were long term and sustainable. Additionally, noting that there has been significant improvements in progress, Mr Love was confident that for February, Kent would be within the top quartile of performers in England.

3.    In response to comments and questions it was said:

a.    Ms Atkinson shared that the backlog of cases had decreased and the timelines of EHCP’s was under control. The idea of quarterly targets had been raised to have a continuous improvement approach. Regarding the take-up of early free education places, Ms Atkinson explained that it was seasonal, there were significant changes within the early years sector that was affecting take-up rates. Further indicators for early years were going to be explored to provide more information. Mr Love added in October 2023 the oldest EHCP case was 124 weeks old, compared to updated figures where the oldest case was around 20 weeks old. The service was significantly improving, there was an aim to chase targets but not compromise quality.

b.    Mr Chapman shared that the volume of available Educational Psychologists was limited, there was an intention to make better use of staff time rather than increasing the numbers, additionally Educational Psychologists were aiming to increase their availability.

c.    In order to tackle persistent absences in schools a multi-disciplinary approach was required, there had been more challenges in schools since the COVID-19 Pandemic. There was research going into emotional based school avoidance, how to support schools with this and ensure front line staff understanding. The was going to be a session with Assistant Directors about absence, and how to make sure all those involved had a full understanding of the causes, the way to address it and the support that could be offered. Last year training was developed for front line staff, there was a desire to refresh and expand this. Ms Chandler added that school avoidance was a key issue for early help teams and that there was work being done to tackle this issue. Ms Hammond added that there was an annual meeting with two South East local authority colleagues for peer review, the topic for the upcoming meeting was long term school absences.

d.    A Member noted the importance of clear thresholds and criteria for the balance of mainstream inclusion and special school places, explaining that national Government and the Tribunal System needed to define these. Mr Love agreed that there was a need for further collaboration with the Government to refine and strengthen guidance. Additionally, the Tribunal Service needed to consider the broader responsibilities of Local Authorities in resource allocation. The thresholds for EHCP’s used by KCC were those outlined in the SEND Code of Practice. Mr Love was to continue his dialog with Head Teacher’s and Principal’s around this topic. Ms McInnes added that guidance was needed, Officers had been supporting school leaders in Kent to develop that guidance and descriptors, the document was in its final stages. There was a working group of special school Head Teachers who were developing the criteria for the different types of special needs, to help identify which children were best placed in special schools, the document was to be published in May 2025.

e.    Ms McInnes recognised the issue of Educational Psychologists not receiving required information in a timely manner from schools. To combat this, termly Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) briefings had been established, there were separate briefings for early years, primary and secondary to address individual issues. These briefings had been running for 18 months, the benefits of the SENCO’s work was being seen.

RESOLVED that the Committee noted the update.