Draft
These are the draft minutes of the SEND Strategic Partnership Board. This note will be removed once the minutes are signed off at the next meeting.
Attendance
- Amy Bickford, Senior Participation Officer, Devon County Council
- Councillor Denise Bickley, Cabinet member for SEND, Devon County Council
- Debbie Westlake, Programme and Project Manager, Devon County Council
- Donna Manson, Chief Executive, Devon County Council
- Emma O’Connell, Acting Director, Children and Family Health Devon
- Hannah Smart, Executive Headteacher, Devon Special School Heads
- Hannah Wicks, Senior Media and PR Officer, Devon County Council
- Julian Wooster, Director of Children and Young People’s Futures, Devon County Council
- Katrina Harverson, Principal Accountant, Devon County Council
- Kellie Knott, SEND Strategic Director, Devon County Council
- Mark Tucker, Senior Learning Disability and Autism Programme Assurance Manager and SEND Lead, NHS England and NHS Improvement South West, NHS England
- Mike Bomford, Media and PR Manager (Strategic), Devon County Council
- Oria Breheny Smith, Parent Carer Forum Devon (PCFD)
- Sally Heath, Deputy Director Transformation and Business Service BS, Devon County Council
- Victoria Mitchell, Co-chair of Parent Carer Forum Devon (PCFD)
Apologies
- Amy Carey-Jones, Information Advice & Support Lead, Devon County Council
- Jack Newton, Deputy Director – Education and Schools, Devon County Council
- Melanie Coleman, Programme Manager for SEND Transformation Programme, Devon County Council
1. Welcome, introductions and apologies
2. Review of previous meeting minutes and actions
Minutes of the previous meeting were reviewed and agreed as accurate.
3. Co-production- facilitated by PCF
- The session opened with powerful testimonials which each Board member read out from Devon families reflecting both challenges and areas of where things have worked well.
- PCF leads talked through their various involvement in helping to shape DCC with SEND. They talked through the various cultural issues, their worries on attending and engagement in the past and how transformation needs to continue to drive change. Reflected on meetings not always easy to understand. Reflected on positive changes which PCF have influenced e.g. removing egress. There was praise for Kellie and the team working with PCF.
Listed a range of further improvements which need to be addressed such as transportations, accessibility, carer duties, single parents, EWMH, parents without strong support network. - Reflected on challenges faced by families – parents not knowing or too exhausted to engage, or not having the confidence to speak out.
- Co-production key – SEND improvement strategy and focus on Four Cornerstones is bedrock to supporting this. Already some changes made e.g. changing language and approaches. k on language which was dismissive through Four Cornerstones work; reimbursed for involvement – brings meaningful acknowledgement.
- Partnership and co-production – still in early stages but Four Cornerstones is helping to drive this and a need to continue to find creative ways to engage and communicate with parents who cannot be around this table.
- Strategic planning discussions here is still not interpreting into day-to-day experiences on the ground – we are not there yet – recognise the gap. An opportunity to use Four Cornerstones framing to think how we move change forward and strengthen co-production.
Actions
- Request to share the testimonials and look creatively – Comms to take this forward. Lead: H. Wicks/M.Bomford
- Cllr Bickley – suggestions for boards to take place in different setting and in less formal settings – Programme Board to consider this for further meetings in different settings
- Focussed discussion needed to be built into transformation around transitions and embedding Four Cornerstones across the council more broadly. Recognition that children and young people and their families do not just touch Children’s services and this need a wider adoption – Donna and Denise (supported by programme team) to take this away and wider discussion into Cabinet as well as looking at how this can be built into DCC council values refresh as well. Lead: D.Manson / Cllr D.Bickley / M.Coleman
- PCF has a role to play in socialising report and outcomes. Look at how DCC can support the PCF – programme team and comms team to consider. Lead: PCFD
4. The Four Cornerstones report
Agreement to sign off report and publish.
Actions
- Delivery plan to be developed (including identifying leads) by Four Cornerstones working group with written updates come back to Strategic Partnership Board on delivery and impact.
- Sarah Lord – The Four Cornerstones lead role to provide support across the partnership
5. PINS welcome letter
Recognition of all the good work undertaken.
6. SEND Delivery plan
- Agree how we would communicate on progress – we have done what we have said we will do – a bit light on impact and then a longer term look back.
- Back slide – bring to the front as an executive summary or some elements for consideration – being realistic of what we have done, time for impact – Kellie to lead.
- Tighten up the opening slide – being clear on intention – Kellie to lead.
- Look at summary videos for the report. Call out for local images and getting support from partners so we have repository – comms team to take forward working with Kellie.
- Donna asked question even though we are making progress, where does this sit in regard to statistics and narrative that will go with it. Acknowledge partners and local system and White Paper coming. Much more we need to do in national context. Services are radically changing, better engagement of partners, DFE and CEOS from schools – inclusion is being understood better and a step change, we do have some good practice and scale and address inequity. Rurality specific issues – small schools, funding. This is about wider community on inclusion beyond children’s services.
- Change in govt policy to inclusion is shifting the way we work. Moved along away nationally.
- Note of concern raised by Donna on measuring performance in the changing policy environment and consideration to look at how we measure going forward. Clarification from DfE colleagues on the future approach and expectations on the White Paper and linked to future inspection. We will as a Board write on this after White Paper is published and ahead of inspections. We can also use the self-assessment to show what we are doing.
- Question about when White Paper due – Board to put a formal letter in asking when the paper is due. Action Partnership Board Chair.
7. Transformation work
- Summary of workstream reported
- Multi-agency working group will be folded into 4 strands by end of the year – Action: Sally/Kellie/Su to discuss the transition.
- ToR agreed – Action: S Smart to confirm representation.
- Donna also mentioned wider strategic change and transformation board to keep track of 5 strategic programmes – which includes SEND. This is wider feedback and grip and control.
- Donna mentioned about wider transport support and for us to consider as part of SEND agenda. Action: Sally to pick up with transport services specific to SEND agenda, timeliness of knowing what support is, when planning. Look at where we would like to be in terms of change.
8. Multi-agency group update
- Health processes for EHCPs – changes are being embedded.
- QA processes built in working with DCC colleagues.
- Health performance progress continues to be made.
- Mental health – new EWMH, contract went live summer 25 – Young Devon and third sector- launching this week.
- MHSTs – further roll out, progressing through governance.
- CFHD making progress with 18 weeks – slipped by a few months due to demand and complexity.
- SLT – draft strategy working with through multi-agency group and will come to future board.
- CFHD started drop ins and ling therapies – from Jan 2026 – linking with Jack and linking with locality teams.
- ND – signed off strategy a few months. Autism recovery – further investment, ND navigators in place and how to amend based on learning so far and building on from experience in Plymouth.
- Implementation ND pathway – co-facilitated workshop in Sept.
- Work underway with health colleagues on the approach Devon could adopt in regards to 1) Taking on diagnosis by private provider and 2) taking on recommendations – it is complex.
- Action: M Coleman to share latest health performance reports update as part of APP.
9. Performance report
- Kellie drew attention to KPI 6 – some system challenges. Need to also understand CYP experience – need to link with MHST as well as currently excludes children not in education settings.
- Health working on tightening up KPIs – e.g. autism recovery group – looking at automating reporting.
- Ofsted just done thematic inspection on children not in education – linking to system response- more coming through inspections.
- KPI 15 new QA approach – will be reported into the board. Action: Data Team and K Knott to provide more detail next month.
- KPI 9 – high area and work to be done. Action: Data team and K Knott to provide more details on refusal for next board.
- Annual overdue reviews – missing quality.
- Board fed back positively on layout of performance – benefits of laying in national position and benchmarking v local performance and controls.
10. Comms key messages
- Social media and comms newsletter as ongoing mediums
- Hannah seeking support from Board members to think differently- more appetite from the Board. We will also report back to board members on upcoming stories – timetable in after the Board to speak with comms and share thoughts and messages to parents. Action: Comms to take this forward.
11. AOB
- Ensuring we have right representation and people giving apologies.
- Trevor Doughty stepping down as Chair of this board – two candidates interested and we will host a process to involve Board members in the appointment.
Date for next meeting: Tuesday 4 November 2025