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Devon’s SEN 0-25 Team carries out Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessments and maintains and reviews Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for children and young people with SEND.
Assessments
These are multi-agency assessments of education, health and care. An assessment will:
- establish and record the views interests and aspirations of the parents, child, or young person
- provide a full description of the child or young person’s special educational needs and any health and social care needs
- agree outcomes across education, health and social care based on the child or young person’s views and aspirations
- specify the provision required and how education, health and care services will work together to meet needs and support the achievement of agreed outcomes
The SEN Team gets professional advice and information and brings it all together into an EHCP.
Maintenance and review
Once an EHCP is in place the special educational provision is secured by the SEN Team. This is either through a place at a special school or additional funding at a mainstream school. The schools are consulted with and agree to deliver the provision in the plan.
The school will hold an annual meeting to review the plan and the report of this meeting is sent to the SEN Team who will decide to either continue, cease or amend the plan.
If an amended plan is needed, then these are done with professional advice and information. Amendments can be needed because something has changed and the description of needs requires updating or because changes are needed to the specified provision required – which includes a change of school.
The SEN staff are divided into two teams; they will either manage assessments or EHCPs but there are different roles in each of these areas.
There are other parts of the SEN Team that don’t necessarily work directly with children and families but do support the team.
You can contact the SEN Team by calling 01392 380434 and you can check the current status of your assessment/review by using the Devon County Council EHC Hub.
What roles are there?
Area education commissioning officer
We manage teams and oversee the assessment process and reviews of EHCPs. We engage with parents, carers, young people, schools, colleges and professionals to provide the special educational support for children and young people in Devon and find the most suitable placements for their education.
We liaise with families, professionals, schools and colleges to make decisions about where a child or young person with SEND should learn.
We manage a team of staff who are responsible for assessments, issuing plans and the maintenance and review of plans.
We are responsible for managing any difficult situations that may occur or bringing them to the attention of SEN senior managers.
Area education officer
We will be the named contact point during an EHC needs assessment and then during the review decisions for an EHCP.
We draft plans and make decisions about the education provision required in an EHCP. We also work with schools, families, and other professionals to find the most suitable places for children and young people with SEND to learn.
We consider the recommendations made following an EHCP review meeting, again working with schools, families, and other professionals to make any amendments to the EHCP.
SEN area co-ordinator
We work with schools, colleges and other professionals in health and care to place and monitor children and young people in education.
We ensure that schools have the information and reports provided abut children in their schools and supporting them in issues raised about school provision.
We liaise closely with the area education officers and area education commissioning officers to provide support.
SEN assessment co-ordinator
We make sure children and young people go through the assessment and reviews as smoothly as possible and support the rest of the team in completing tasks on time. Our work involves chasing information and working with professionals across education, care, and health.
We will usually be the people who answer queries over the phone.
Who does what and where?
EHC Needs Assessment Team: develop the plan
Exeter, Mid and South Devon – postcodes starting EX1-EX7, TQ1-TQ14, PL6-PL21
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| David Edmondson david.edmondson@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Commissioning Officer (Exeter, Mid and South Devon) |
| Catherine Venn catherine.venn@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – TQ1-TQ6, TQ9, PL6-PL9 & PL19. TQ12 (Shared) |
| Janette Noerr janette.noerr@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX1, EX3 & EX4 |
| Nicola Warburton nicola.warburton@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX2 & EX5 |
| Kate Lentern kate.lentern@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – TQ7, TQ8, PL15, PL16 & PL21 |
| Julie Guest julie.guest@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX6, EX7 & TQ14 |
| Deborah Blackler deborah.blackler@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – TQ10, TQ11, TQ13 &PL20, TQ12 (Shared) |
| Catherine Edwards catherine.edwards@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
| Sally Bibby sally.bibby@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
| Richard Geare richard.geare@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
East and North Devon – postcodes starting EX8-EX23, EX31-EX39
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Gail Bailey gail.bailey@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Commissioning Officer (East and North Devon) |
| Kate Williams kate.williams@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX15, EX16, EX17 (Shared) & TA |
| Mackenna Stevenson mackenna.stevenson@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX9-EX14, EX24 & DT |
| Steve Simms steve.simms@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX8 |
| Sarah Bickell sarah.bickell@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX31-EX34 |
| Alison Gill alison.k.gill@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX19, EX21-EX23, EX37-EX39 |
| Lucy Cator lucy.cator@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX17 (Shared), EX18, EX20, EX35 & EX36 |
Maintenance and review: look after the EHCP
North Devon – postcodes starting EX18-EX23, EX31-EX39
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Amanda Graham amanda.graham@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Commissioning Officer |
| Andrew Payne andrew.payne@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX19, EX20, EX21, EX22, EX23, EX38 |
| Jessica Powell jessica.powell@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX39 and all children at Kingsley |
| Harriett Pope harriett.pope@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX33, EX34, EX35 |
| Gilly Clark gilly.clark@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX18, EX32, EX36, EX37 |
| Angela Haysom angela.haysom@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Area Co-ordinator |
| Gemma Cran gemma.cran@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Area Co-ordinator |
| Nykayla Whybra nykayla.whybra@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
| Morwenna Griffiths morwenna.griffiths@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
East Devon – postcodes starting EX8-EX17, EX24
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Ryan Merchant ryan.merchant@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Commissioning Officer |
| Jane Martin jane.e.martin@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX11, EX16, DT7, TA21 & TA22 |
| Samantha Jones samantha.x.jones@devon.gov.ukJennifer Griffen (Secondment) jennifer.griffen@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX8, EX13 |
| Jacqueline Rundle jacqueline.rundle@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX9, EX10, EX12, EX14 |
| Rebecca Nutt rebecca.nutt@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Area Co-ordinator – EX15, EX17, EX24 |
| Rebecca Moran rebecca.moran@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Area Co-ordinator |
| Hazel Martin hazel.martin@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Area Co-ordinator |
| Katie Gilks katie.gilks@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
| Lia Eleftheriadou http://lia.eleftheriadou@devon.gov.uk> |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
Mid Devon – postcodes starting EX1-EX7, TQ14
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Kathryn Lake kathryn.lake@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Commissioning Officer |
| Emily Colley emily.colley@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX4 (1-8) |
| Jonathan Duckworth jonathan.duckworth@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX2 |
| Nick Pinnock nick.pinnock@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX3, EX5, EX6, EX4 (9) |
| Jo Mcdade jo.mcdade@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – EX1, EX7, TQ14 |
| Javeed Hanware javeed.hanware@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer |
| Melanie Alder melanie.alder@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer |
| David Sanders david.sanders@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Area Co-ordinator |
| Daisy Oshea daisy.oshea@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Area Co-ordinator |
| Freya Macdonald freya.macdonald@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
| Karen Bowden karen.bowden@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
South Devon – postcodes starting PL5-PL9, PL16, PL19-PL21, TQ2-TQ13
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Kate Twelves kate.twelves@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Commissioning Officer |
| Bethany Gibbons bethany.gibbons@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – TQ11, TQ12 (except primary) |
| Gillian Puxley gillian.puxley@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – TQ13, PL5, PL6, PL20, PL21 |
| Hayley Dymond hayley.dymond@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – TQ2, TQ3, TQ5, TQ6, PL7, PL16, PL19, TQ12 (primary only) |
| Laura Merritt laura.merritt@devon.gov.uk |
Area Education Officer – TQ7, TQ8, TQ9, TQ10, PL8, PL9 |
| Sally Bibby sally.bibby@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Area Co-ordinator |
| Michael Holding michael.holding@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Area Co-ordinator |
| Helen Parsons helen.parsons@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
| Lucy Sugden lucy.sugden@devon.gov.uk |
SEN Assessment Co-ordinator |
Please remember that you can find out the contact details of the case officer and also key information about your case, by logging into the EHC Hub.
Other roles in the SEN Team
SEN data and resource
We manage top up funding for EHCP into mainstream schools, colleges, and special schools as well as budget monitoring of the High Needs Block.
We also monitor the data on EHC Plans and assessments, providing statutory returns to central government each year and manage the development of the SEN database that holds records of all our EHCPs.
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Carol Northey | Data and Resource Officer |
| Sharron Elwell | Data and Resource Officer |
| Nick Goodwin | Support Officer |
| Sharon Parnell | Support Officer |
| Jacqui White | Support Officer |
| Sue Lewis | Support Officer |
| Caroline Lamb | Support Officer |
| Susan Eaglesfield | Support Officer |
| Daisy-Rae Wynn | SEN Support |
| Jim Whitehart | SEN Support |
Quality, planning and contracts
We manage the quality assurance of the independent schools and colleges in which the SEN team place children and young people. This involves ensuring there is legal contracts in place to protect the rights of children and families as the SEN regulations intended.
The quality of EHCPs is also our responsibility and includes working with health and care to improve the standards of the professional advice and reports that contribute to these statutory documents.
Tribunal and mediation
We will always try to resolve issues and concerns in assessments and reviews but sometimes we cannot reach an agreement about the plan and this may involve an appeal that is managed by the tribunal and mediation officers. They will seek to reach a resolution without the need for a hearing but for a small number of cases we do reach that point.
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Rebecca Holmes | Tribunal and Mediation Officer |
| Katy Haynes | Tribunal and Mediation Officer |
| Molly Hill | Tribunal and Mediation Support |
County-wide officers
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Sarah Miller | Speech and Language Therapist |
| Sam Plumb | Planning and Contracts Officer |
SEN senior managers
SEND Senior Manager
Julia Foster: Strategic leadership of SEND in Devon
SEN Team Manager
Ailsa Barrett:
- Management of staff within the EHC Needs Assessment and Maintenance and Review Teams.
- Special schools placements and quality assurance.
- EHC assessment and review processes including guidance and communication.
SEN Team Manager
Beatrice Beer:
- Independent schools, contracting and quality assurance
- Further education colleges, guidance, and quality assurance
- Post-19 communications and processes
SEN Tribunals and Mediation Manager
Julia Foster
- Local Authority tribunals and mediation
- Guidance for the SEN 0-25 team on legal processes
SEN Data and Resources Manager
Gill Loman:
- Budget Monitoring and SEN funding for all schools
- Data returns and the SEN database
- Complaints
- HR/recruitment for the wider team
- Special school place planning