To receive a report from the Director for Education Standards, Quality, and Performance.

The Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance informed the Committee that they felt the report showed that the Council recognised the importance of transition for young people in Trafford, however, admitted that the service was aware that there was work to be done.

Firstly, the Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance highlighted the importance of ‘starting early’, which should seek to understand the interests, strengths, and motivation of children with special educational need (SEN) and how this was key to securing lifelong success. The Committee was made aware of the Councils commitment to a programme of professional development, with a significant number of practitioners working in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers, having already achieved the level 3 Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCo) award. The Committee was assured of the desire for a strong pathway around transition for the youngest into school, and some data was provided in the report on the improved early years outcomes which have been seen in Trafford over the past year. 

The Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance proceeded with the transition between year six and seven, and how, in Trafford, this was an interesting and complex picture. The Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance informed the Committee that they had met recently with both the Trafford Parent Carer Forum and the new Headteacher at Sale High, with transition and inclusivity for those children with SEN being important in the secondary sector, as this was often a time which saw an increase in Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, due to worry and anxiety about what lies ahead for children with these needs. The Committee was also made aware of a drive for an inclusion collaborative between headteachers and SENCo’s across Trafford to meet the needs of these young people.

The Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance referred to preparing for adulthood (PfA), and how the service sought external validation from Paula Thompson-Jones, a SEND inspector, who was commissioned to show Trafford where they needed to improve. They referred the Committee to the findings of her report, which provided a tough reading. However, the Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance assured the Committee of how the Council had been committed to embracing and working on getting the improvements in place.

The Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance spoke about the Lived Experience panels (LEAP), which was launched by the Trafford Parent Carer Forum, and had provided an opportunity to hear the lived experience of those families. The Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance spoke on some of the data received from these lived experience interviews, with mental health coming through as a real concern for families during transition and transitioning into adulthood.

The Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance shared ambition four within her report, which was “We will ensure that our young people with SEND have the same opportunities as all young people, so that they could have the same life outcomes”. They then spoke of how this was the driving force behind those improvements. In the report, some of the pathways that were in place were provided, as well as some of the work that had been ongoing around supported internships and the SEND Employment Forum, which had received funding in recent months, and shown an improvement and action plan in place sitting around employability and the use of supported internship in Trafford. The Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance shared how they felt this was an important move going forward.

Finally, the Director for Education Standard, Quality, and Performance concluded how they felt the report showed the service was clear that things need to change, and that it had identified the steps which are to come to make sure that these improvements take place. The Committee was offered the opportunity to ask questions.

The Chair was happy to see some previous recommendations from the Committee being implemented in these improvements.

Councillor Procter asked what the delay between a request for an assessment for an EHC plan, an assessment taking place, and then the plan being implemented. The Lead for SEND and Inclusion responded that statutory time scales for a decision to be made was six weeks, however, with an increase in parental referrals in recent time which can be sent in with little detail, these can take longer. The service was aiming to make sure that information from the school was provided at the first instance to save time. Data was to be shared with Councillor Procter around how many are done in six weeks.

Secondly, Councillor Procter expressed her issue about the data from children moving to adulthood, and how they felt children were being let down. Councillor Procter insisted that they did not want to see this sort of data again and asked how the service was going to evaluate whether the plan they put in place make a difference moving forward. The SEND Improvement Lead responded that the ambitions plan which had been put together for SEND, was having its actions aligned with performance metrics. One of the problems for PfA at the time was that young people’s voices were not strong enough, so the biggest measure for success will be around how the service could understand these voices more clearly. The Director of Education Standards, Quality, and Performance came in and informed Councillor Procter that the service had strengthened governance, leadership, and oversight. Councillor Procter responded that she was most interested in the lived experience.

Councillor Sutton asked if there was enough work being done at the year six / seven stage, as they felt that more work was being done on starting early and preparing for adulthood. The Lead for SEND and Inclusion responded that there was an increased at secondary stage, however, it was a change of key stage where the increases were seen.

Councillor Sutton asked a further question regarding the transition between year six and year seven, about how things were dealt with if circumstances were to change after the February deadline for referrals, up until the end of the school year. The Lead for SEND and Inclusion responded that parents would usually contact the school or EHC coordinator if things were to change, however, most things that may come up in between would not necessarily change the destination for the children, it would rather require additional planning to look at the provision.

Councillor Sutton asked a similar question around what happens if significant changes happen in the PfA stage. The Lead for SEND and Inclusion responded that communication was key and there was an understanding that improvements needed to be made. However, it was also about managing expectation about what change of setting might have been required.

Councillor Ennis asked about Key Stage four outcomes with only 17% of children with an EHC plan achieving a grade five to nine in English and Maths, which was below the national average, but also a decrease from 2021, and questioned if this was a concern.  The SEND Improvement Lead responded that the data could often be cohort dependent and felt that when you look at the data in Trafford it was very good when compared to many other local authorities which were well below the national average. The Director of Education Standards, Quality, and Performance that the progress 8 scores, was the most significant indicator, as it showed the progress which was being made by children with SEN. They were to share the data following the meeting.

Councillor Duncan referenced ambition 4, and asked what activity and playgroups are allocated for SEND children, and what provision there was for this. The Director of Education Standards, Quality, and Performance responded that this data can be provided, but said that sometimes there was sufficiency issues, however, when this had happened, providers had been asked to help and provide support.

Councillor Deakin asked about how communication would be improved, and if there were any quick fixes which could have been had. The Director of Education Standards, Quality, and Performance replied that one piece of improvement which the service was trying to clear up quickly was the communication around transitions deadlines, so families had all the dates and arrangements to hand. The SEND Improvement Lead felt that it was important to communicate expectations and timelines, so that families know when they are to expect update. They affirmed that there was an understanding that clarity needs to be improved.

The Chair thanked the officers for the report.

Councillor Procter asked about co-opted members and if there had been any progression on this. A Governance Officer responded that there had been some interest, and the Director of Education Standards, Quality, and Performance would contact governance services to get contacts with the relevant schools.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the report be noted.

2.    That the Director of Education Standards, Quality, and Performance provide Councillor Procter with the data around decisions on EHC plans were decided within the six-week deadline.

3.    That the Director of Education Standards, Quality, and Performance provide Councillor Ennis with the Progress 8 scores data.

4.    That the Director of Education Standards, Quality, and Performance provide Councillor Duncan with the data around early years provision for children with SEN.

5.    That the Director of Education Standards, Quality, and Performance speak with governance services around co-opted members.