SPOTLIGHT

A zero sum game?

The number of SEND tribunal cases is rising and the proportion of appeals ‘lost’ by local authorities is at a record high. Lottie Winson talks to education lawyers to understand the reasons why, and sets out the results of Local Government Lawyer’s exclusive survey.

Council issued with improvement notice over “significant” SEND concerns

Plymouth City Council has been issued with an improvement notice by the government following an inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, which found “significant concerns” around the quality of the local authority's support for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The inspection, carried out in June 2023, concluded that there are “widespread and/or systemic failings” which the local area partnership “must address urgently”.

The Department for Education (DfE) said the council’s improvement plan must cover:

  • Arrangements for improving the sharing of information between partners to enable the earlier identification of children and young people with SEND.
  • How children and young people with SEND who also have social care needs get the care and support they need, particularly relating to the vulnerable children identified in the inspection report.
  • Provision of training for all social care, health and education practitioners to enable consistent identification, care and support for children and young people with SEND.

The council was informed it must ensure there is an improvement board, with the chair agreed by the Department and attended by “key leaders across education”.

“Reports to the improvement board should include data, analysis and evidence of the impact of improvements on the lived experience of children and families”, said the DfE.

The inspection found that the identification of children and young people’s needs is not happening early enough, and that not all young children and their families benefit from the checks carried out as part of the ‘Healthy Child Programme’.

Further, the poor attendance of pupils with SEND in secondary school is, for some children, causing their needs to increase.

The report noted that leaders and practitioners in Plymouth “do not have a shared understanding of the role and purpose of education, health and care (EHC) plans”.

It added that this confusion “increases the risk of poor outcomes for children and young people”.

The DfE revealed that the council should aim for actions included in the improvement plan to be delivered by the end of December 2024 or sooner.

A spokesperson for Plymouth City Council said: “Our priority is to improve services for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), ensuring they receive the best possible outcomes and that their lived experience is at the heart of all improvements.

“We have been working closely with our partners in health and education to rapidly make improvements following Plymouth’s local area SEND inspection from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission in June 2023."

They added: “Together we have developed a robust Improvement Plan and established a new SEND Improvement Board to hold the partnership to account and ensure we’re delivering the positive changes needed for children, young people and their families.

“We welcome the additional support provided in the form of a Government adviser, who will help us to progress and monitor improvements.”

Lottie Winson