A maximum of 15 minutes will be allocated to public questions submitted in writing to Democratic Services (democratic.services@trafford.gov.uk) by 4 p.m. on the working day prior to the meeting. Questions must be relevant to items appearing on the agenda and will be submitted in the order in which they were received.

One question was received in advance of the meeting from Mr. S. Stonehill;

From reviewing Trafford’s Children and Young People's Online Scrutiny Meetings, it is evident that there are significant delays in implementing Education Health and Care (EHC) plans for students. These plans should be completed within a 20-week timeframe. Out of 2,237 students identified for EHC plans, only 52% are receiving their care plans within this period. In some cases, the process is extended to as long as 30 weeks, which is concerning given that the school year consists of approximately 39 weeks. These delays leave students without timely support, which in turn impacts their educational experience.

Does anyone know if the reason for achieving only 52% of these 2,237 EHC plans within the timeframe is due to an increase in the number of learners requiring them compared to previous years, or if it is due to a lack of adequate resources to process them quickly enough? Or is it a combination of both factors? If it is the latter, is there an urgent recruitment program in place to support the EHCP team? Furthermore, if there is a year-on-year increase in students requiring EHC plans, will additional recruitment be undertaken to support the hardworking EHC teams Including teaching staff who often have to adapt teaching and learning strategies to facilitate the needs of learners).

From these online meetings, there seems to be a strong focus on data analysis recruitment. While this is important, perhaps a ‘back to basics’ approach to improving headcount should be considered. Trafford may not rank as high as other boroughs, but considering its size, this number is particularly significant.

The following response was provided in writing after the meeting from the Director of Education, Standards, Quality and Performance;

1. As at the end of August, there were 3147 EHCPs in place which shows the continued growth in the number of EHC plans issued.  This reflects the national position where there has been an 11.4% increase.  The growth in Social, Emotional & Mental Health needs has been significant since the pandemic.
2. Despite the ongoing increase, Trafford's timeliness figure of 56% for issuing plans has improved from the 2023 reported data and continues to be higher than the national position of 50.3%.  Performance is monitored regularly and an action plan to improve our position is in place.  This focuses on more targeted tracking and ensuring professionals' reports are in place in a timely way from across education, health and social care.
3. Caseloads for the EHC co-ordinators are comparable with other areas across the Northwest.
4. Although there hasn't been any additional capacity into the EHC team most recently, a review of the structure of the team has taken place in order to support them in being more effective and efficient, which we hope will enable our timeliness position to continue to improve.
5. With regard to the recruitment of teaching staff, it is up to individual school leaders and their governing bodies to make those decisions in line with their budget.  The Local Area already provides a comprehensive training package for teaching staff which continues to be adapted according to the needs of our children and young people