Local and Area SEND Inspections and reviews

Southend SEND Peer Review - November 2021

The council asked the Local Government Association (LGA) to undertake an independent peer review into:

  • aspects of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and;
  • the Children with Disabilities (CWD) team

The review specifically focussed on council-run aspects of the service. However, SEND services are offered jointly by:

  • Southend-on-Sea City Council
  • NHS Southend Clinical Commissioning Group (as it was then known)
  • Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT)
  • schools
  • other partners

The review took place between 23 and 26 November 2021. It focussed on 4 areas:

  1. the progress made against the remaining area of weakness from OFSTED/CQC: joint commissioning
  2. the work of the Children With Disabilities service relating to thresholds of assessment
  3. scrutiny of the process around, and the relative performance of, EHCP needs assessments
  4. how the area has engaged with all families of children with SEND

The LGA report and the draft action plan explaining what steps would be taken against the 15 recommendations, were discussed at cabinet on Thursday 13 January 2022.

Some of the strengths identified in the report:

  • leaders across all areas of education, health and social care want to create a joined-up, outward looking support offer to children with SEND and their families
  • there is strong partnership working with Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF), the local parent carer forum, who hold the council to account
  • there is a `strong, multi-agency Education Health Care Needs Assessment panel, with clear terms of reference and decisions are made following well-structured discussions`
  • staff in the CWD team are child-centred and `clearly care about the children and families with whom they are working`

Areas identified as needing further work:

  • too many Education Health Care Needs Assessments have been refused
  • parents of children with disabilities feel defensive because they are assessed through a `safeguarding`; lens, which they feel unfairly questions their ability as a parent
  • parents and carers need `what happens next` explained in a clear and understandable way, to make the `maze` of SEND services easier to navigate
  • some parents feel significant anger and distress at their lived experiences and lack of support, some of which are historic. Some also feel they have to `battle` for services

Letter from Michael Marks

A letter was sent to parent carers from Michael Marks.

Date: 11 January 2022

Email: michaelmarks@southend.gov.uk

Dear parent or carer,

You may already know, but Southend-on-Sea Borough Council requested an independent review be carried out into the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and children with disability (CWD) services provided by the council.

All councillors agreed to go ahead with the review, which was carried out by the Local Government Association (LGA). They appointed six peer reviewers, from different SEND related backgrounds, working in or with local authorities in other areas of the country, to do the review.

The reviewers spent more than 300 hours investigating areas of our SEND and CWD services that we felt or had been told, needed improvement. They also spoke to 110 people including parents and carers like yourself, stakeholder groups and council officers, before writing their report and making their recommendations.

The report is going to be discussed by cabinet on Thursday 13 January and the papers for that meeting are already on our website, so by the time you receive this letter, there may have already been some media coverage and social media posts about the review and its outcomes.

I wanted to write to you personally and let you know that the 15 recommendations that form part of the report have been developed into an action plan, with timelines that we will be working towards. There is a heavy focus on improving communication with our parents and carers, whilst making SEND and CWD information clearer and easier to understand so parents and carers know what services are available and where and how they can be accessed. We acknowledge there are some historic issues, however we want to make sure that we are focussed on the future and making the improvements necessary: so that all children with SEND and their families, get the right support at the right time.

The report highlighted the strong partnership working with Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF), the local parent carer forum, who hold the council to account. It also acknowledged that leaders across all areas of education, health and social care want to create a joined-up, outward looking support offer to children with SEND and their families.

There were some areas highlighted which need further work, which includes the fact too many Education Health Care Needs Assessments have been refused and that parents and carers need `what happens next` explained in a clear and understandable way, to make the `maze` of SEND services easier to navigate. It also highlighted that some parents feel angry and distressed about their past experiences and lack of support, some of which are historic. Some also feel they have to `battle` for services.

You can read the report in full, and the action plan that will be discussed by Cabinet on Thursday 13 January, on the council's website.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and using the feedback and recommendations from the peer review, I look forward to providing a continually improving SEND service to you and your family.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Marks

Executive Director (Children and Public Health)

December 2022

The People Scrutiny Committee In-Depth Scrutiny Project 2022/23 agreed to review progress following the Peer Review. This included assessing the impact of the 15 recommended actions set out in the plan which responded to the findings and recommendations.The review was to focus on the experiences of parents and carers of children and young people with SEND.