Decision - Review of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) including Behavioural Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD)

The Children and Young People Committee agreed the following:

(1)            That the review of the services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) is noted;

(2)      That the recommendations to be considered by the Health and Wellbeing Board (the Board) in relation to the review are noted;

(3)      That in the future development of services for children with special educational needs and disabilities, and behavioural, emotional and social difficulties there shall be a commitment to integrated and inclusive service delivery across education, health and care/ disability services, with families at the heart of the service offer;

(4)      That proposals to integrate provision for children with disabilities in the Early Years by creating inclusive specialist nursery provision within one or more existing mainstream nurseries, with relevant health and care services be developed for further consideration by the Board and the Committee;

(5)      That proposals to integrate provision for children with disabilities and complex, severe and profound special educational needs of school or college age, by extending the remit of specialist and mainstream provision to include greater opportunities for inclusion, extended day/respite and potentially residential facilities with relevant health and care services co-located on site, be developed for further consideration by the Board and the Committee;

(6)      That proposals to integrate existing educational, health (including mental health) and care provision, for children and young people with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, so as to provide extended day and potentially residential facilities, with a strong focus on further education and vocational routes, be developed for further consideration by the Board and the Committee;

(7)      That schools and colleges with lower than expected outcomes for children with SEND and wider achievement gaps receive challenge and support visits from expert advisers commissioned by the LA, with a view to raising standards and promoting vocational and further education opportunities for young people with SEND and BESD and especially in secondary and post 16 provision;

(8)      That the SEN education and learning support services in the city (Educational Psychology Service, Pre-school SEN Service, Behaviour and Inclusive Learning Team, Literacy Support Service, Speech and Language Service, Autistic Spectrum Condition Support Service, Sensory Needs Service) are co-located and combine to form one ‘communication and support service’ with unified professional leadership and management;

(9)      That there is agreement to the co-location of relevant health professionals and particularly speech therapists and occupational therapists with the combined communication and support service, to enrich the integrated support on offer;

(10)    That the combined new communication and support service shall promote partnership working between families and schools by offering support to both as routine, enabling planning across home and school, and involving parents as well as school staff in training, support, advice and guidance; and

(11)    That a refreshed cohesive and well-publicised workforce development offer for mainstream and special schools and associated professionals across all relevant services is developed by the new communication and support service, and that this programme is open to parents as well as professional staff, and where appropriate is co-produced with parents and young people.

The Health and Wellbeing Board agreed the following:

(1)            That the Board notes the review of the services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD), and agrees the response to the autism report contained therein.

(2)      That the Board notes the recommendations to be considered by the Children and Young People Committee (the Committee) in relation to the review.

(3)      That the joint strategy for children’s health and wellbeing services currently being developed by the LA and the CCG for consideration by the Board in 2015 will incorporate the provision of services for children with SEND and BESD, and transition services through to 25 years, informed by the review.

(4)            That in the future development of services for children with special educational needs and disabilities and behavioural, emotional and social difficulties there shall be a commitment to integrated and inclusive service delivery across education, health and care/ disability services, with families at the heart of the service offer.

(5)      That proposals to integrate provision for children with disabilities and complex, severe and profound special educational needs of school or college age, by extending the remit of specialist and mainstream provision to include greater opportunities for inclusion, extended day/respite and potentially residential facilities, with relevant health and care services co-located on site, be developed for further consideration by the Board and the Committee.

(6)      That proposals to integrate existing educational, health (including mental health) and care provision, for children and young people with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, so as to provide extended day and potentially residential facilities with a strong focus on further education and vocational routes, be developed for further consideration by the Board and the Committee.

(7)            That an extended specialist family support service be developed from within existing services so that professionals will work alongside families to tackle in situ the challenges linked to significant special needs and associated challenging behaviour.

(8)      That the Director of Children’s Services is delegated to publish a clear and transparent set of criteria for determining the basis on which families of disabled children receive respite and short break services, and other disability and care support, and that these criteria are fairly and consistently applied by means of a representative panel.

(9)      That the direct payment budget for families of children with disabilities is increased to include the budget for most respite and short break services provided by the council and the community and voluntary sector, such that real choice is extended and services can market themselves directly to eligible families.

(10)          That a joint agency policy on direct payments to families across education, disability, care and health services in both Children’s and Adult Services is published, so that families and young adults can make more holistic choices about provision in all areas of their lives.

(11)    That the Children’s Services Directorate of the City Council will work in partnership with the CCG to support the forthcoming Joint Strategic Needs Assessment in the area of emotional and mental health, and the forthcoming review by the CCG of emotional and mental health services for children and young people, including young adults, across the city.

(12)    That the Children’s Services Directorate of the City Council will seek to address the serious concerns being raised by schools and families about resources for promoting emotional and mental health by strengthening the support via the Early Help Hub and from the council’s community CAMHS team to further develop skills and expertise amongst school staff via training, support and guidance.