Agenda item

The Director of Education and SEND submits a report providing detail on the HNB Management Recovery Plan that forms part of the transformation plan.

The Director of Education and SEND submitted a report providing detail on the HNB Management Recovery Plan that forms part of the transformation plan.

The Chair acknowledged that this item had been awaited for some time. Also, the Commission were made aware that the report had gone to the Executive on the 10th October 2024.

The Assistant Mayor for Education and SEND introduced the segment and

highlighted recommendations from the recent National Audit Office report on

Support from Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs. It had stated that England’s SEND System was in urgent need of reform. The final recommendation had been to develop a vision and long-term plan for

inclusivity for SEN children, across mainstream education, where the setting

could best support those with SEN requirements. It was suggested that

committee members read the report as it linked in with the HNB report.

The Director of SEND and Education reminded the Committee that SEND Education is funded through the High Needs Block, the money is ringfenced and there is currently a statutory override in place meaning that funds cannot be transferred from the general fund and vice-versa. The demand for SEND had been rising nationally and government funding had been struggling to keep up with demand. Leicester City Council is one of the Local Authorities experiencing funding deficit. The Government had put two programmes into place to attempt to mitigate the situation for those authorities with larger deficits than Leicester. However, the Education and Skills Funding Agency had requested that Leicester City Council submits a formal deficit recovery plan. As part of this, a management and transformation plan had been developed. Without this, it has been predicted that by 2030, there would be a cumulative deficit of over a hundred million pounds. 

The transformation plan now had six aims:

• Implementing DFE reform - this was in response to the SEND consultation.
• To develop the ordinary offer in educational settings – inclusive practise to include children in Mainstream schools. The Local Authority is already several years into this plan.
• To examine and review internal processes and systems.
• To increase parental confidence – working with families & stakeholders.
• Reviewing placements.
• Examining how the Local Authority works with stakeholders.

The Chair welcomed the committee to ask questions – none were raised by Officers. Councillors raised a number of questions and it was noted by two members that the report had brought a welcome level of honesty.  Other key points included:

• In response to a question on potential increasing strain placed upon mainstream schools to support SEND, The Director of SEND and Education replied that the emphasis is on creative spending and that extra support from the government could allow for innovation. The SEND Inclusion Transformation Manager advised that when considering placing SEND children within mainstream settings, a range of programmes, initiatives and resources are employed to support staff members. The Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity (PINS) and Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) initiatives are embedded within this strategy. 
• The Director of SEND and Education replied to a question on SEND timescales, advising that the statutory duty from parental request for an EHCP is six weeks to decide if the statutory assessment is necessary.  If Statutory assessment was agreed the process in which a EHCP should be finalised is 20 weeks.  Leicester City Council has an approximately 60% success rate of meeting this target. The national figure was 40%
• In terms of children awaiting a specialist school place, The Director of SEND and Education advised that there were children waiting for a significant time, these were mainly being supported in mainstream education whilst awaiting the SEND provision. The Head of Service for SEND commented that whilst these children wait, some of the schools were advising at Annual Review that the children were thriving and might not actually require a SEN school. The Director of SEND and Education felt that a better working solution would be to have a graduated response to supporting children in school before an EHCP is requested. Children who do need a Special School would be accommodated but if needs are met adequately within a mainstream school, then they should receive relevant support there.
• The Chair asked for clarification on the SEND crises for the Local Authority. The Director of SEND and Education advised that there were around 300 children awaiting a specialist placement post EHCP. Complexities arose due to lack of sufficient capital funding and revenue funding. The Local Authority were looking to expand special schools and applied to have a DFE Free-School, but this wasn’t successful, despite two submissions. The vast majority of the 300 children were currently receiving extra support in Mainstream schools and around six children were receiving home tuition pending consultation. Other influencing factors such as City move-ins requiring placement were impacting on the situation.
• A national crisis of specialist independent special schools was discussed, and it was explained how spaces were becoming limited and placements could result in significant journey times If places were not available in the city, independent places were considered.
• Responding to a query on the previous SEND strategy, The Director of SEND and Education advised that a piece of work had been completed on Mainstream top up funding. Special school banding and residential provision had been examined amongst other workstreams, but the SEND picture was ever changing.
• Regarding forward planning, despite the drop of in birth rates, factors such as migration resulted in problematic forecasting.
• The Strategic Director Social Care and Education discussed the collective SEND deficit, advising it was forecast to reach £8 billion nationally. He advised that the 2014 legislation did not match local finance so the Local Authority is constantly trying to redress the balance.
• A suggestion was made for a Task and Finish group to look into HNB spending and the SEND Inclusion Transformation Manager referenced the National Standards Programme pilot work where head teachers share best practice along these lines.
• The number of yearly tribunals was queried, and it was explained that there are around 80 annually - The Strategic Director Social Care and Education advised that the spending figures could be forwarded for reference.
• An action plan would sit beneath each key area covered by the report. A board, chaired by The Director SEND and Education was set up, each workstream target would be examined. This could be brought to scrutiny.
• Replying to a question on Early Years support, The Strategic Director of Social Care and Education emphasised early identification and advised that statutory checks by health visitors can pick up on issues initially. There is a wide support network available such as the Children’s centre provision.
• Answering a question on HNB underfunding and the recent change of Government, The Assistant Mayor for Education and SEND advised that the Local Authority would be lobbying the government.
• Responding to a question on continued funding for Post 16 SEND school transport, The Strategic Director Social Care and Education advised that as it was not a statutory offer it would be unlikely and there had not been any indication that this would be the case.
• The Director of SEND and Education advised on the six strands added to the recovery plan, saying that they wouldn’t need to consult with the DFE, they were meeting with them again in February but this shouldn’t impact on the plan.
• Regarding financial challenges faced by other Local Authorities, The Director of SEND and Education advised that there were two levels of DFE Programmes, these being ‘The Safety Valve Project’ and the ‘Delivering Better Value toolkit’. Leicester City Council examine these documents and can see the value, many of the suggestions were already in place.
• Replying to discussion of residential provision at Millgate School, the Director of SEND recommended a range of provision tailored to the child’s changing needs.
• A request was agreed for a HNB Management Recovery Plan and Transformation Project Case Study be brought to the Commission.

AGREED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account by the lead officers.

3)    That a task group on the HNB be undertaken.

4)    That a report on sufficiency in mainstream and special schools be brought to the Commission.

5)    That a Case Study Report be brought to the Commission.

6)    That a report to be brought on sufficiency in Mainstream and Special Schools.

7)    That further comments and questions could be sent to officers for consideration.