Agenda item

To update the Schools Forum on the Delivering Better Value (DBV) in SEND programme.

Sharon Buckby, Head of Inclusion and Brent Virtual Schools introduced the report from the Corporate Director of Children and Young People to update the Schools Forum on the Delivering Better Value (DBV) in SEND programme. The following key points were highlighted:

·                The Forum was reminded of the background of the DBV Programme whereby Brent was among a number of other local authorities invited by the DfE to take part in the programme with the objective to identify local and national opportunities to improve the outcomes of children and young people with SEND.

·                Brent had successfully submitted a bid for £1m of grant funding to support the reform of high needs systems in Brent with the aim of improving the delivery of SEND services for children and young people whilst achieving efficiencies going forward.

·                The Forum was advised that the funding could not be used to support the deficit, however through improved efficiencies over time, it would support the return to an in year balanced budget through associated cost savings.

·                The DBV programme had identified that a significant cohort of children could make good progress with targeted support without the need for an Education, Health Care Plan (EHCP). It was felt that with earlier identification of targeted support when children started mainstream school, less support would be needed over time.

·                Where EHCP’s were necessary, it was felt that more could be time limited, with children receiving targeted support and remining in mainstream provision where appropriate.

·                In response to the themes the DBV programme had identified, the grant in Brent would be spent on establishing an Inclusion Assurance Team for a year to review provision and provide guidance on improving outcomes through time limited plans and the closure of plans on the achievement of outcomes and the use of a provision based model instead of hours based support.

·                The grant would also be used to support the engagement with an SEN commissioner and analyst to ensure effective use of resources across the system, including a review of the current EHCP banding system and the development of a test and learn intervention first model to improve early intervention for 0-7 year olds to improve their ability to thrive in mainstream schools without the need for an EHCP.

·                The Forum’s attention was drawn to the findings from the 1st Tranche of 20 LAs of which Brent was a part, as detailed in Section 6.1- 6.3 of the report.  This had shown that the single highest impact objective to pursue in order to provide improved support for children and young people and reduce the demand for EHCP’s or a special school placement, was increasing the ability of local systems to support children in a mainstream setting.

The Chair thanked Sharon Buckby for the update provided and invited The Forum to ask questions in relation to the information reported on the Delivering Better Value (DBV) in SEND programme, with the following queries raised by the Forum:

·                The Forum felt it was a positive step to increase early intervention with targeted support to improve outcomes for children, however required further clarity on what “targeted support” looked like in practice. Officers advised that targeted support would respond to children’s specific needs through a series of intervention programmes both offsite and in specifically identified school settings. This support may also include wrap around support from the Educational Psychology service, Speech and Language and Child Development specialists.

·                The Forum queried how the funding methodology would work if it changed to basing costs on provision rather than allocated in hours. Officers advised that this was still in the early stages of development and would need to be thoroughly consulted on with parents, schools, and health to ensure the best model of support was achieved. A working group would be convened to look at the evidence where this was model was already working well in practice in other parts of the country.

·                In response to a query regarding additional support for secondary schools training costs, it was clarified that the DBV targeted group work was initially focused on the under 7’s age group, however it remained a priority to explore how the 500k of funding for secondary school training could be used to support SEN support work to ensure that all children and young people in Brent were effectively supported.

·                The Forum was advised that an update on the delivery of the DBV programme would be brought to the Schools Forum in January 2024.

As there were no further queries, the Forum RESOLVED to note the outcomes of the DBV Programme and the next steps in delivery of the programme.

Action Point 90:

Schools Forum to receive an update on the delivery of the DBV Programme in January 2024.