SEND Strategic Review – capital funding 2019-20
Devon County Council is funding improvements to SEND provision in schools.
They have published the SEN plans here:
SEN Special Provision Plan Template (Excel – sharepoint)
SEN Special Provision Plan Template (Excel – Google Drive)
SEN Special Provision Plan summary (pdf)
How did you decide where to spend the money?
Stage 1: Data
We started by looking at information we already had – the data about where children and young people with SEND live and what their needs are. We also have population forecasting tools that help us calculate where demand will be in the future.
Stage 2: Asking people
We worked with a range of groups to generate a SEND Strategic Review Survey. This survey ran in 2017-18 and again in 2018-19. We asked people about special provision for children and young people with an EHCP. We asked children and young people, parent carers and professionals to participate. We got a small response, but it represented a range of needs and localities. You can see the survey report here: http://devon.cc/sendreview2017
You can see the ‘You Said, We did’ report here: You Said, We did : SEND Strategic Review
You can see our report to the School Organisation Capital and Admissions Group (SOCA) here: SOCA Report May 2019
Stage 3: Making a plan for 2018-19
We looked at the data and the information from the surveys. We used this information to make recommendations about how money should be spent. We published these recommendations online: http://devon.cc/sendreview2017 Here are the recommendations:
- Recommendation 1: Long term: detailed review of the challenges around learners with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs (SEMH). Short Term: increase SEMH Special School provision including provision in North Devon, Marland Day and Barley Lane in Exeter.
- Recommendation 2: New/additional special school provision in Tiverton (Charlton Lodge) for September 2019 to support high functioning 11-16 year old learners with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC).
- Recommendation 3: Support new special school provision in Newton Abbot, Glendinning Special School, which will create additional capacity for learners with Autistic Spectrum Disorder aged 11-19.
- Recommendation 4: Increase capacity of Dawlish/Oaklands Park school and develop proposals to support post-16 learners where Further Education is not a suitable educational offer.
- Recommendation 5: A targeted capital fund to support learners in areas of high need and deprivation.
- Recommendation 6: Consult on the future of specialist support centres, maintaining some of these centres and closing others where outreach should enable more equitable provision across Devon.
- Recommendation 7: Review all learners with EHCPs who are in Alternative Provision. Try to reintegrate them into permanent settings as soon as practically possible.
- Recommendation 8: Ensure the voice of parents/carers and learners informs future strategic reviews, in particular through learning from annual EHCP reviews and the engagement workstream of the SEND Strategy
- Recommendation 9: Develop a more detailed Post- 19 strategy and localised offer in partnership with Special Schools and FE providers. Pilot an offer through the new provision at Bodley House in Exeter which forms a part of Ellen Tinkham School.
- Recommendation 10: Review learners with EHCPs placed in the Independent Sector. Use this analysis to commission places and negotiate bespoke packages with maintained special school providers.
Stage 4: Maintaining a dialogue with families and practitioners
We published the SEND Strategic Review and Engagement Report 2017-18 and took it to parent carers on the SEND Local Offer Reference Group. We also approached young people via their advocacy workers in special schools. We used families’ feedback to change our survey so it focused on what would make a difference to children and young people with SEND. We launched another round of SEND surveys in January 2019. We also used feedback from the SEND Local Area Inspection to inform our plans.
Stage 5: Which schools to target for Recommendation 5?
We approached selected schools, based on the level of SEN learners on roll (with EHCP’s & receiving SEN support) averaged out over a 3-year period. The highest ranked 14 schools were selected for the grants. We checked with schools to see whether they felt this was an appropriate, evidence-based approach, and they agreed. We made it a condition of receiving funding that each school had to demonstrate how the voice of children and young people and their families were included in the plans. We took the plan to the SEND Local Offer Reference Group, who requested more rationale about how these decisions had been made.
Stage 6: Publishing the plans for 2018-19
We haven’t finished delivering all the recommendations from the 2017-18 SEND Strategic Review, so we have included these plans and any changes to the funding. We have added the schools selected for Recommendation 5 (the £25,000 grants). We have also included this explanation of how these investment decisions have been made so far.
For more information, please contact sendlocaloffer@devon.gov.uk 01392 383000