Attendance
- Amy Bickford, Senior Participation Officer, Devon County Council
- Angie Sinclair, Director of Finance and Public Value, Devon County Council
- Councillor Lois Samuel, Cabinet member for SEND, Devon County Council
- Donna Manson, Chief Executive, Devon County Council
- Gary Patch, Head of Adult Social Care Operations, Devon County Council
- Julia Bonell, Co-chair of Parent Carer Forum Devon (PCFD)
- Keith Bennett, Executive Principal of Marland School and Chair of Devon Special School Heads (DSSH)
- Kellie Knott, SEND Improvement Director, Devon County Council
- Keiron Kilbride, Digital Services Manager, Devon County Council
- Mike Bomford, Media and PR Manager (Strategic), Devon County Council
- Paul Walker, Chair of Devon Schools Leadership Service (DSLS) and First Federation CEO
- Rachel Shaw, Devon School Leadership Services
- Shayna Stanbury, SEND Programme Officer/minutes, Devon County Council
- Stephen McShane, SEND Strategic Director, Devon County Council
- Stuart Collins, Director of Children and Young People’s Futures, Devon County Council
- Su Smart, Deputy Director of Commissioning – Out of Hospital, NHS Devon
- Trevor Doughty, Chair of SEND Improvement Partnership Board, Independent
- Vinnie Grist, Programme Manager, Devon County Council
Apologies
- Beverley Mack, Children’s Alliance Director, Devon County Council
- Melanie Coleman, Project Manager for SEND Transformation Programme, Devon County Council
- Nigel Acheson, Chief Medical Officer, NHS Devon
- Tandra Forster, Director of Integrated Adult Social Care, Devon County Council
- Victoria Mitchell, Co-chair of Parent Carer Forum Devon (PCFD)
1. Welcome, introductions and apologies
T Doughty welcomed the group to the board and a round of introduction took place.
2. Review of previous meeting minutes and actions
The group agreed accuracy of the minutes of the previous meeting, actions were discussed, and updates provided. Director of Children and Young People’s Future advised board members the Safety Valve has now been agreed.
3. SEND Transformation programme progress report
Progress update
V Grist shared work which is going well and progressing in the SEND Transformation and barriers in the programme.
Questions:
- Safety valve – clarity around the Devon County Council contributions, how will we keep track of those savings and where will that be reported to? SEND Improvement Director advised the data dashboard is being expanded to include KPIs linked to safety valve work which will be reported to this board. In addition, there is Department for Education monitoring for the Safety Valve.
- It has been raised in reports, senior responsible officers have suggested capacity is an issue to carry out their role and the work under the SEND Transformation programme. SEND Improvement Director advised there are challenges in capacity but also more work to do on clarity of role and reporting, therefore work is being done around how we structure the governance underneath the board and reporting arrangements.
- The report indicates there is a fee saving in the Independent Special School strand through block contracting, it would be helpful to understand what those savings are – Action: Programme team.
- Suggestions were raised to move the timeframes forward to June for the Special School Outreach work package as July is a difficult time for schools.
- In a previous meeting K Bennett has raised the importance of schools being involved in the design and build of new school buildings. From this K Bennett has been contacted by NPS designers for the Cranbrook site to work together in designing, logistics, how they operate, flow and numbers and review their schools which he noted as a positive step forward.
The SEND Improvement Director provided an update on the SEND Statutory Processes work strand, advising members of some changes in the team structure.
PCFD raised the importance of the members understanding that families are seeing and experiencing the impact of those amber and red RAG rated actions in the Accelerated Action Plan and that impact needs to be felt. The chair agreed it is key to keep challenging on the impact.
4. SEND Statutory Processes
K Knott shared an update on EHCP data to board members.
Key decision. Discussions were held around the numbers of initial requests for an EHC assessment and agreed it would be helpful to do a deep dive into cases to better understand the numbers and highlight the drivers.
In addition the percentages to refusal to assess, members agreed it would be helpful to understand the reasons referrals are being refused to tailor this into feedback and where else support can be provided.
Board members discussed the need for a cultural shift, the work around relational practice, meeting children and young people’s needs, with the child/young person at the centre rather than focus being primarily on procedures. Action: P Walker suggested a new approach to working together being tested in 1 or 2 schools.
K Kilbride shared information on the work which has been carried out in the SEND Statutory Processes work strand. K Kilbride informed members the team has committed to usability testing when considering new tools/software.
Discussions were held around the use of Egress and the difficulties it causes parent carers, young people, and schools.
Action: K Kilbride to review the use of Egress to identify if there are any quick wins.
Members thanked K Kilbride for an insightful and great piece of work.
Timescales were discussed, with this piece of work moving forward in June to improve work flow management. Devon County Council Chief Executive questioned the timescales and the importance of this work sooner.
R Shaw raised concerns around SENDCos not being seen as professionals, a cultural shift is required to change this outlook. Discussions were held around the link between relational practice with schools.
5. Stakeholder update
M Bomford shared an update on media stories and the forward plan.
6. AOB
Devon County Council Chief Executive questioned members on the next set of engagement events with parent carers and young people. SEND Improvement Director advised conversations are being held with PCFD regarding this.
Date for next meeting: Thursday 16 May 2024