This month’s Devon’s special educational needs and disability (SEND) Improvement Partnership Board news update has been published. Devon SEND Improvement news is for children, young people, parents, carers and professionals. Here are the key stories from this month’s edition.
Devon SEND Improvement plan now available
We have published the Devon SEND Improvement plan on the SEND Local Offer website. The plan has been co-produced by Devon County Council, NHS Devon and Parent Carer Forum Devon. We have also sought views from other parent groups and partner organisations. This is a working document, which means it will change over time.
Spring family engagement sessions
We have held two family engagement sessions so far, in Exeter and Willand, and will be holding more in April.
Book a place at the Bishops Nympton session on Monday 24 April.
Unfortunately, we had to postpone the planned session in Willand: we are looking to rearrange this as soon as possible and will advertise it as soon as the details are finalised.
Thank you to everyone who has attended so far: the conversations have been challenging and constructive. We’re working on how we can make a virtual version which creates the same safe and collaborative space.
News from the SEND Improvement Partnership Board
The SEND Improvement Partnership Board met on Wednesday 29 March. You can read the minutes of the meeting on the SEND Local Offer website.
The Board focused on EHCPs, reviewing benchmarking data from across England to put Devon’s current performance in the context of the national picture. And they reviewed the workforce plan for DCC’s 0-25 team which covered both recruitment and training.
0-25 team recruitment
Our plan includes an action to recruit more permanent staff into Devon County Council’s 0-25 team. This team are responsible for organising the EHCPs which are a crucial part of the SEND provision. We currently have vacancies in the team which are being covered by temporary staff. In the latest round of permanent recruitment, we received 44 applications for the caseworker roles, and 32 applications for the co-ordinator roles. We’re now in the process of reviewing these, interviewing candidates and appointing people to the team.
Our aim is to reduce the number of permanent vacancies by 50 per cent by the end of January 2024 so we will continue to recruit throughout 2023. By increasing the number of permanent staff in the team we can improve the consistency of service that families receive as well as the timeliness and quality of the plans themselves.
More information
You can read the full newsletter online.
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