Recommendation 3
Local area partnership leaders should improve the effectiveness of joint working to support the co-production of EHC plans and annual reviews so that at each stage the provision that is planned takes full account of children's and young people's current and changing needs.
What we want: EHC plans describe a child or young person's current needs and arrangements.
What we will do: Implement an improvement programme with service standards so that all plans accurately reflect the child or young person's stage and phase of education.
Where are we now: Some EHC plans do not describe the child or young person's current needs and arrangements. Plans are not consistently reflecting preparing for adulthood outcomes. There is no service standard for updating plans routinely. Some plans are significantly out of date.
What we will see: Up to date plans that accurately describe needs, arrangements and support enabling clear monitoring of progress and outcomes.
The difference this will make: Children and young people's needs are accurately identified and met, with arrangements and resources in place to support progress and improved outcomes.
What we want: Multi-agency annual reviews that fully capture a child or young person's current and changing needs and which are completed within statutory timescales.
What we will do: Implement multi-agency recovery programme for the timely processing of annual reviews, recruiting additional staff to support recovery. Audit current contributions in plans and identify future commissioning and workforce needs.
Where are we now: Annual reviews do not consistently have contributions from all the agencies involved with the child or young person. Some areas of the workforce are facing severe recruitment challenges. There is a significant delay in completing the annual review process particularly in amending plans.
What we will see: Timely and high-quality annual reviews that fully address the child or young person's current progress and changing needs so that arrangements are co-ordinated effectively. A multi-agency workforce contributing to the monitoring and review of plans.
The difference this will make: EHCPs which accurately reflect a child or young person's needs, arrangements, and outcomes. Improved reviews, monitoring and targeting of resources will lead to better outcomes for children and young people.
What we want: Multi-agency co-produced EHC assessments with the child or young person's voice at the centre.
What we will do: Training delivered to all statutory advice givers so that those who are assessing and supporting children and young people understand the importance of co-production, the voice of the child and the EHC assessment process. Training will also enable all LA advice givers to be able to access the EHC Hub.
Where are we now: Not all services providing support to children and young people consistently provide timely assessment advice which reflects the voice of the child.
What we will see: EHC needs assessments will reflect the multi-agency support and advice which the child or young person needs. Plans will be coproduced with the child or young person at the centre. All services working with the child or young person will be fully involved in the assessment.
The difference this will make: Children and young people's needs are fully identified with arrangements coordinated and in place, following a multi-agency assessment. Children and young people experience being listened to and understood, with plans co-produced with them and their families/carers, so that they are well supported. Those providing the support within the plan know what they are expected to do and when they need to do it.
What we want: High quality, person centred multi-agency EHC plans.
What we will do: Establish a multi-agency quality assurance process, auditing EHC plans and advice against an agreed framework. Evaluating areas for improvement, workforce training and commissioning.
Where are we now: Individual services have their own quality assurance process. Multi-agency quality assurance of the whole plan does not take place regularly and this can lead to inconsistency. The team around the child or young person, at times, lacks a shared understanding of the joint impact of the arrangements on the outcomes for the child or young person.
What we will see: EHC plans and advice are quality assured with high support and challenge offered which drives improvement. A shared approach to supporting the child/young person's needs and outcomes.
The difference this will make: The child or young person experiences greater multi-agency co-production and co-ordination of support. There is increased confidence that the EHC plan process identifies the full range of needs, with everyone working together effectively and with arrangements in place to support the child or young in reaching their outcomes.
What we want: EHC plans will be up to date, reflecting current needs and arrangements.
What we will do: As part of the recovery programme, implement a project to ensure all EHC plans in schools are current and can be reviewed through the EHC Hub accurately.
Where are we now: EHC plans are not routinely updated, though amendments are made to some plans following annual reviews. However, the timeliness of amendments is variable and some sections within plans remain unchanged for a significant long period of time. Access to the EHC Hub for reviewing plans is not available for some and some EHC plans have not been updated to reflect changes.
What we will see: Annual reviews will be completed on the hub within timescale and plans amended where necessary. Plans will be current, and no older than three (3) years.
The difference this will make: Improved transition and preparation for adulthood. Plans reflecting current and changing needs, leading to better informed and improved outcomes.