Evaluation
Governance
In March 2023 the Southend-on-Sea Local Area Partnership was subject to a focussed Area SEND inspection from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The inspection found that “The local area partnership's arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements.”
The inspection outcome followed the extensive work completed on the development of the priorities in the Southend SEND strategy which was approved at Cabinet in February 2023.
The Southend SEND Partnership commits to ensuring that children and young people with SEND achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes, such as being able to live independently, secure meaningful employment and be well prepared for their adult lives. The area has produced a single SEND strategic action plan which sets out the local area's plans to jointly deliver its priorities and improvements. Recommendation 6 in the plan includes actions relating to the SEND Local Offer and the work of the SEND Local Offer team.
The implementation of the strategic action plan is monitored by the Department for Education (DfE) and at a local level by the Southend Health and Well Being Board (HWBB). Activity and progress against the plan are monitored at 4 monthly intervals and reported through the Southend SEND and Alternative Provision (SENDAP) Operations Group.
SE7
Information on the SEND Local Offer is reviewed against the requirements set out in the SEND Code of Practice using a tool called the SE7 template. The template provides a helpful checklist of the required content for the Local Offer.
The latest SE7 evaluation has shown a need to further develop:
- preparing for adulthood information, including pathways to employment and housing options
- some aspects of our social care information
- information about early help support
- information about emotionally based school avoidance
- information about different conditions and support for those conditions
- information about capacity, power of attorney, appointees, and childrens rights when they reach 16
- information about EHCP processes for those moving into the area
- information about support for young carers