All of the services supporting children and young people with SEND were inspected in December 2018. As a result, the Local Authority and NHS Devon were asked to make improvements in four areas:
Understanding of our strategy
Improving communication
Timeliness and quality of education, health and care plans
Improving support for children with autism
Devon’s Written Statement of Action explains what we are going to do to make improvements.
An updated version of the plan will be published regularly.
We take accessibility seriously. However, some of the information presented in these documents may not be fully accessible to someone using assistive technology such as a screen reader. If you need guidance, or an alternative format, email childsc.sendimprovementprogramme-mailbox@devon.gov.uk with details of any preferred format and the assistive technology you use.
We are committed to strengthening our communication with parents and want to reinforce our dedication to working in partnership with parents and their representative groups to improve the SEND system in Devon.
Over the past few months the Local Authority and the NHS Devon CCG have been working closely with our partners, education providers and parents/carers to develop the Local Area Written Statement of Action. This engagement consisted of two phases.
Phase one consisted of a series of workshops and meetings to inform the content of the plan. A wide range of groups took part in these activities including:
SEND Local Offer Reference Group
Devon Parent Carers’ Voice
1:1 conversations with individual parents
1:1 conversations with parents at local support groups
Children’s Scrutiny
Adults Scrutiny
Devon Education Forum and phase associations
SEND improvement board
Education whole service meeting
Information gained at these meetings was then used to create a draft Written Statement of Action.
Phase 2 involved detailed discussions around the draft plan that covered the actions identified, the outcomes we were looking for and the timescales we would work to. The draft plan was published online with a form that parents and other stakeholders could use to feedback to us. Meetings also took place with a number of partners and stakeholder groups. Input to and feedback on the draft plan came from:
The SEND Local Offer Reference Group
A range of parent carers from established groups/forums
Individual parents and carers
Online submissions through the website form which was open to the public
Department for Education
SEND Improvement Board
Devon Children & Families Partnership Executive
Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Quality Assurance Committee
Devon County Council Corporate Leadership and staff
Devon Education Forum and Schools Phase Associations
Children’s and Health & Adult’s Scrutiny Committees
Sustainability & Transformation Partnership
SENCO forums
Babcock LDP
Children and Family Health Devon
Individual schools and special schools, early years and other educational settings
This feedback was collated by the Senior Leaders into a final Written Statement of Action which was subsequently approved by the Local Authority Corporate Leadership team and the NHS Devon CCG Quality Assurance Committee.
We are extremely grateful to everyone who contributed ideas and suggestions.
Between 10 and 14 December, inspectors from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission visited Devon. They met children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their parents and carers, as well as staff in schools and settings, Local Authority and NHS staff. Inspectors also scrutinised data, strategies and plans.
Jo Olsson, who chairs the Devon Children and Families Partnership (DCFP) Executive, has written to all parents, her letter can be found here. In her letter she affirms the commitment of partners to continue the programme of improvement, which Inspectors confirmed was on the right track. Nadhim Zahawi MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families has written his views in a letter to Devon County Council.
If you would like to find out more about how you can participate in the improvements, please email sendlocaloffer@devon.gov.uk.
The local area inspection took place from Monday 10 December to Friday 14 December.
Thank you to all parents for your input. We really appreciate the time taken to provide your views and experiences. The inspection team acknowledges receipt of all the emails and webinar feedback. In addition to the feedback through the webinar and emails, inspectors have been meeting with groups of parents, children and young people throughout the inspection to seek their views. The lead inspector has ensured all comments and feedback have been read and have been taken into account to inform the inspection in Devon.
Following the implementation of the SEND Reforms outlined in the SEND Code of Practice, the government has asked Ofsted and the CQC to find out how well the new law is working and to say what more needs to be done in local areas. Ofsted and CQC inspectors will visit local areas to do this and will look at how good the local area is at:
identifying children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities
assessing and meeting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities
improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities
Inspectors reviewed the support provided by the local area to better understand how well it meets its responsibilities for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The inspection team included the lead HMI, Care Quality Commission (CQC) Inspector and an Ofsted Inspector.
During the inspection week:
A series of focus groups meetings took place with commissioners, providers and leaders
A focus group specifically for parent carers took place on the Tuesday
