Agenda item

The service was working closely with SCST to make improvements. The report provided to the Panel covered the last 3 years, which had seen significant changes in legislation and the picture in Slough.

The Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) compiled by the service currently covered a range of service users from 2 – 25 years of age. This was a broad age range. The service was benchmarking itself on a national and regional basis. In terms of attainment, outcomes were above average whilst in other areas outcomes were in line with averages. However, it had been recognised that more SEND places were needed; hence the decision by Cabinet to fund these on 20^th March 2017.

The Panel raised the following points in discussion:

·  The proposed National Funding Formula could increase the pressure on SEND services. At present, schools were making decisions on the numbers of Teaching Assistants they could afford, the class sizes they could maintain and the areas of the curriculum they could cover; SEND provision would also be a challenge. However, there was no reason to believe that legal duties and responsibilities would change.

·  SEND children with higher level abilities may need to be placed outside of the area in some cases. The service was working with state schools in all suitable cases to ensure the best placements for children.

·  Funds allocated under EHCPs is dedicated to the recipient, and must be spent on their needs alone.

·  The supportive environment created by local schools and the level of practice in place were valued greatly by the service.

·  The potential cuts to the Education Support Grant had been anticipated and were being managed. As a result, any lowering of their level would not give rise to a sudden drop in available funds. The Dedicated Schools Grant could also assist in making good any shortfall.

·  The Progress 8 measure was negative for SEND children, but less negative than either national or regional averages. Given the nature of the measure, this indicated that children in Slough were being kept at a level of attainment which more closely resembled those in mainstream education than comparator local authorities. This did not mean that the results were seen as optimal, and systemic approaches would be maintained to assist with improving performance. The fact that this was a new measure meant that there were not previous years with which to compare.

·  The service was confident in the ability of Early Years Foundation Stage and Primary School staff to detect SEND with a high level of accuracy. Joint working with SBC’s Public Health team also assisted with this; however, it was recognised that 100% accurate diagnosis was virtually impossible to achieve in such an area. However, it was hoped that treating parents with greater respect in the system and valuing their views and knowledge was contributing to a positive and supportive culture. The stability visible within patterns of diagnosis offered further support for this confidence.

Resolved:  That the report be noted.