To consider a report from the Corporate Director of Children’s Services.

The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance opened by lifting some of the highlights of the report and the vison for the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) system.  The Council was committed to improving the experience and outcomes for all who used the service. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance informed the Committee that more needed to be done to ensure the system providing as much support to service users as possible, with areas for improvement being identified by listening to the lived experience of those service users.

The Committee were provided with an outline of the renewed governance arrangements. The governance arrangements had been reviewed in response to changing needs post-pandemic and system wide pressures within the education sector. An independent chair had been appointed to the SEND strategic board, who brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role. The board wanted to establish a co-chairing arrangement, which could involve the families and parents. As part of the SEND approach the service wanted to make sure that children received the right support at the right time.

The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance then went on to highlight the Ambitions for Children plan, how the SEND approach fitted into the plan and would be held to account against the plan. The Committee’s attention was drawn to the data within the update around growth plans and how there had been a rise in requests for very young children post-COVID. The data showed that the areas of deprivation were where the Council saw the highest SEND need. The Committee were informed that 20 weeks was the statutory time for a plan to be issued and the frustrations of families when plans were not completed in a timely manner, “There is a no 21^st week” was the mantra of the team. However, there were some cases where it was beneficial to take extra time to formulate to ensure it was as effective and robust as possible. The service also aimed to have the highest quality assurance mechanisms in place to guarantee every plan produced was effective and high quality.  

The Chair thanked the Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance, highlighting that a former Task and Finish Group’s recommendations have been implemented.

Councillor Sutton questioned why the proportion of plans issued in 2022 was much higher. The Head of SEND and Inclusion responded that it was due to an overlap of years. Councillor Sutton asked another question regarding EHC plans and how the report suggested an increase from years 4 to 5, and a reduction in years 3 and year 4. The head of SEND and Inclusion responded that the report showed a peak in year 2 as well and added that EHC plans tended to come at different key stages as schools focused on submitting referrals at the end of Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

Councillor Sutton asked about transition to secondary schools, and if there was an issue with limited school resources being focused on getting EHCPs in place before SATs. The head of SEND and Inclusion responded that transition to secondary school was an area of concern, however, both primary and secondary SENCOs were working together, and looking at what needed to be done within secondary sector to ensure that children’s needs are met. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance did not believe the trend Councillor Sutton was looking related to SATs but rather the fact that secondary school was a very different environment. It was therefore important for support to be in place to ensure a child was able to move seamlessly from Primary to Secondary School.   

Councillor Sutton asked a question in relation to ‘SEN rates by gender’, would be better titled, ‘SEN diagnosis rates by gender’. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance replied that the data covered children with an EHC plan and those who have had SEND support. Councillor Sutton was informed that the data could be looked at in relation to primary need, but it would require a significant breakdown identify any trends of males and females against specific need. Councillor Sutton responded that it would be interesting to see that breakdown as there was a known issue of gender bias and diagnosis. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance responded that they were aware there was a higher proportion of girls who were neurodivergent that may mask the symptoms. The head of SEND and Inclusion followed this by saying that with special needs they tended to talk about it as presenting need, rather than diagnosis, as those who were neurodivergent may need different levels of support. The head of SEND and Inclusion also informed the Committee that there was lot of work going on in schools around identification and girls with autism.

Councillor Sutton asked whether alternative methods of engagement had been considered to provide non-verbal children the opportunity to engage, and whether audio and visual evidence was used as well as physical evidence. The Head of SEND and Inclusion responded that this had been considered and SENCOs were encouraged to think about how they could gather information from those children. Methods such as the emotionally based school non-attendance toolkit were used to encourage young people who did not want to use their voice to use cards to represent how they felt.

Councillor Deakin asked about the status of the communication strategy, whether it had been implemented, and what it looked like. The Head of SEND and Inclusion responded that it was incorporated within the ambitions plan, although it was at an early stage. Two different models had been identified, and a decision would be made once a new member of the EHC team started. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance responded that several forums and providers were being involved in the development of the strategy including the communication engagement group, who were leading on it. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services added that a development day was due to take place with the EHCP team to evaluate best practice from other authorities, for when contact was made, to ensure service was responsive as possible. The Head of SEND & Inclusion reiterated that the communication strategy needed to be clear and as bespoke as possible for every service user, including those who did not have EHC plans accepted.

Councillor Parker what was being done to support boys with SEN in low-income families. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance responded that the organisation working to address during the early years stage. The service was aware that boys did not perform as well as girls. The team was working hard to make sure there was provision of support for the most disadvantaged children. The Head of SEND and Inclusion noted that work by the TTT was also focused on picking up the most disadvantaged families. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance highlighted how the handling of data by the team had improved, allowing the council to identify trends easier, through more regular reports from the performance team. Some of the best SENCO teams at schools in Trafford were providing good data and aiding the Council to support schools that were of greater concern through bespoke peer to peer support. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services highlighted how ongoing work with the service’s partners was important to get a richness of data captured and then understanding the data to ensure that the council was data intelligent, not just data rich.

Councillor Ennis asked what the financial impact of the government’s recent pay deal for support workers was upon SEND schools. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance responded that Trafford was within the lowest forty funded boroughs in the country and financial pressures were having an impact. Schools were finding it challenging to recruit people who could support children with additional needs, however, the council was working with schools to empower them and develop their capacity to meet those needs, without additional staffing. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services mentioned that strategic planning was being done to look at how the council could offer additional resource to schools. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance ended by saying that some schools were saying they could not meet need and that this was a challenge for the council, as it was an ambition to ensure children with additional needs could be educated at their local school.

Councillor Hirst asked what was being done so that co-production was consistent and meaningful across the service. The Head of SEND and Inclusion responded that work had started with it being discussed at the development day and at a northwest event where co-production was a theme across local authorities. Work was being done to increase involvement from all those involved in the formation of EHC plans. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance added that the communication engagement group was clear around the co-production charter and the Council was committed to the co-production ladder. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services highlighted how parents had doubts around the service in the past, but the current strategic approach was to ensure that the service was listening and acted upon the information they received. The aim was for parents and carers to be not just a stakeholder, but also a strategic decision maker.

Councillor Hirst what quality assurance was performed within the first 12 months to check if a plan was being implemented correctly. The Head of SEND and Inclusion responded that this was done on a term-by-term basis within schools, with the council’s duty being the annual review.

Councillor Acton raised concerns around funding in schools and the support given to those young people who had additional needs within schools. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services responded that there was a lobbying meeting at a national level in September and Trafford would be represented at that meeting. The Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance added that Trafford schools worked well with the council to support those who were most vulnerable and to enable schools to be as supportive and inclusive as possible. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services mentioned that recent external assurance came out that the quality of SEND support in Trafford was positive, so whilst there were pressures around finance and class sizes, there was strong support for children.

Councillor Proctor asked whether data around the percentage of fostered children within SEN was documented. The Director for Education noted that this data was monitored, and the virtual school had a dedicated SENCO to support those children. The Corporate Director for Children’s Services acknowledged the point and assured the Committee that the council went even further for children with a disadvantage in life experience and special educational needs.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.