Appendix – 2024 SEND post-inspection improvement plan

Our vision

We want all children and young people in Southampton to have a good start in life, live safely, be healthy and happy and go on to have successful opportunities in adulthood.

Context

The Southampton Local Area SEND partnership had a full SEND Inspection in May 2024 and the judgement was as follows:

“The local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements.”

This finding was in line with the local partnership’s own self evaluation prior to the inspection.

Our aim is to improve experiences and outcomes for children with SEND and this SEND Improvement Plan identifies the actions required to respond to the inspection findings and support this aim.

The Improvement Plan has been co-produced with a range of stake-holders. We will continue to co-produce the delivery elements of the Plan as we move into the delivery phase and as elements of the Plan become more specific. Whilst this is not explicitly referenced throughout the plan it is intrinsic to all areas.

Southampton SEND Improvement Plan Governance arrangements

The improvement plan below, responding to the five recommendations in the Inspection Report, (50252575 (ofsted.gov.uk) will be monitored through the appropriate accountable boards and forums as identified in each action table.

Overall the responsibility for ensuring the timely delivery of the improvement plan will be held by the Southampton SEND Partnership Board.

The Southampton SEND Partnership Board is chaired by the Director for Children’s Services (DCS) and reports into the Southampton Child Friendly Board which is also chaired by the DCS.

The Terms of Reference for the SEND Partnership Board have been updated to include the five report recommendations and the relevant excerpt now reads:

Oversee the development and delivery of the Strategic Improvement Plans following the 2024 Local Area Inspection:

• The local area partnership should continue to embed their approach to inclusion and SEND strategy so that practitioners have the skills and expertise to work together effectively to better meet the needs of children and young people across all services.
• The local area partnership should improve the quality of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), so that they are of value to all agencies to better drive the provision offered . This should include: improved joint working of practitioners across education, health and social care more timely and precise annual review process more precise action and support for children and young people with an EHC plan who are not on a school roll
• Health leaders need to work at pace to improve the uptake of the antenatal contact, one year and two year healthy child programme mandated reviews.
• Health commissioners and leaders need to further develop strategies to reduce waiting times for neurodiverse assessments and ensure children and young people receive attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medication when needed. There should be clear processes in place to monitor and report on progress made so that there is evidence of performance against the trajectory on improvements of waits from referral to treatment.
• The local area partnership should review and further strengthen their strategic approach to transition at each point including preparation for adulthood in a timely way so that children and young people consistently receive the right help and support they need to lead successful lives.

In addition, the clinical responsibilities held by NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight are overseen by the Children’s Care Oversight Group and the Clinical Performance and Improvement Committee. This feeds directly into the Southampton SEND Partnership Board.

Data Dashboard

To enable the Board to monitor progress effectively a range of KPIs and data collation measures are being developed as a single dashboard.

The dashboard identifies KPIs from each of the SEND Strategic Priorities outlined in the SEND Strategy 2022 – 2027:

Appendix 1 - Southampton SEND Strategy 2022-2027.pdf

• Early Years
• Right Support, Right Time
• Inclusion
• A local offer that meets the wide range of needs in the city
• Mental and Physical Wellbeing
• Preparing for Adulthood

The dashboard goes beyond the requirements of the post-inspection action plans and reflects the broader SEND agenda and priorities in the city.

We aim to have the dashboard in place by the end of the autumn term.

SEND Strategy 2022 - 2027

Our SEND Strategy identifies that:

We want all children and young people in Southampton to get a good start in life, live safely, be healthy and happy and go on to have successful opportunities in adulthood

This is our vision for all children and young people with special education needs and disabilities in Southampton and is the same as the vision in the overarching Children and Young People’s Strategy.

We want to be aspirational and ambitious for our children and young people with SEND, encouraging them to achieve and lead happy and fulfilled lives.

We will particularly focus on taking actions to reduce inequalities and closing the gap between those who already do well and those who need extra support to thrive. Where safe and appropriate, we want every child and young person to be supported in the community where they live. To achieve this we will ensure children and young people have access to high quality local early years provision, schools and further education settings.

In addition to the right learning opportunities, we will ensure that children and young people with SEND and their families have access to appropriate health and care support in response to their assessed needs.

Southampton is committed to early intervention and prevention, providing early help in a timely way so that the needs of children and young people are met and do not escalate. We will provide training and support to our frontline staff to enable needs to be met at the first point of contact without the need for referral on to more specialist intervention. This will involve embedding a strong SEND early help offer within each locality as part of the extended locality model in line with Southampton Children and Young People’s Strategy.

Findings

What does the Partnership need to do better?

Children and young people are waiting too long for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnostic assessments.  Following a diagnosis of ADHD, there can be a wait of over 2 years before initiation of ADHD medication for children who need this.  Although children and young people are supported while they wait and plans are in place to address the long waits, many do not receive the timely medical intervention they need.  

Area for Improvement 

Health commissioners and leaders need to further develop strategies to reduce waiting times for neurodiverse assessments and ensure children and young people receive ADHD medication when needed.  There should be clear processes in place to monitor and report on progress made so that there is evidence of performance against the trajectory on improvements of waits from referral to treatment. 

Outcomes

• Practitioners across all settings are better able to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with Neurodiversity
• More children are able to receive the support they need at an earlier stage to achieve positive outcomes and wellbeing without the need for a diagnosis
• There will be a reduction over time in demand for ADHD/ASD diagnosis
• Waiting times for diagnosis and treatment will reduce

Evidence that Outcomes are being met

• Reduction in numbers of children on waiting lists and waiting times for ASD/ADHD assessment and diagnosis
• Increased number of neurodiversity (ND) profiles completed
• Increased percentage of schools completing ND profiles and Increased percentage of schools implementing Autism in schools
• Increased number of families accessing support which helps them to meet the needs of their child/young person (e.g. parent courses)

Strategic Workstream Priority

Findings

What does the Partnership need to do better? 

• The quality of transition support for children and young people depends on the settings they are moving on from, and to. This leads to variable levels of success in sustaining placement following transition, particularly at phase transfer. For some, a lack of joined-up thinking at key points of transition means their needs are not identified and met. There are examples where this has led to parents removing their child from school. For others, across primary and secondary, their unmet needs results in a disrupted education due to suspensions or permanent exclusion.  
• The experiences that some young people have across the partnership do not prepare them for adulthood. Planning and help often do not come early enough. They do not gain the appropriate information, advice, guidance, and appropriate assessment, including Care Act assessments, to ensure their transition is effective and well considered. 
• Although there is an improving picture in the uptake of annual health checks a substantial number of eligible children and young people with a learning disability are not receiving this check with the General Practitioner (GP).  This is a missed opportunity for early identification of health needs. 

Area for Improvement 

The local area partnership should review and further strengthen their strategic approach to transition at each point including preparation for adulthood in a timely way so that children and young people consistently receive the right help and support they need to lead successful lives.  

Outcomes

• All professionals working with children will have a joint understanding of needs and will work collaboratively to ensure the right support is available.
• Educational professionals will have the right professionals involved to support transition planning at all stages.
• All children and young people with SEND will have clear pathways to transition into adulthood that are supported by comprehensive and effective plans.
• Transitional planning will happen as early as required to meet the needs of the young person.
• Services across the Council and key partners will work together to provide a seamless service delivery for those young people who are transitioning into adulthood and who will require services.
• As a result, more young people will receive the support they need to achieve positive outcomes in the following areas:
  • Employment/meaningful occupation
  • Independent Living
  • Friendships, Relationships and Community
  • Good Health and Wellbeing

Evidence that outcomes are being met

• Reduced numbers of young people with SEND who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET).
• Increased number of young people aged 14-17 years identified on GP registers and % who have had annual health check.
• Decrease in number of pupils suspended or excluded as a result of their END needs not being met.
• Decrease in pupils being Electively Home Educated (EHE) due to not having the right support available to meet their SEND needs.
• A collaborative multiagency process will be evident to support transition for the most vulnerable.

Strategic Workstream Priority

Findings

What does the Partnership need to do better?

Too many children do not receive their mandated healthy child programme developmental checks. Nearly a third of children do not have a 12 month and 2-year review and the process is reliant on parents making appointments. This results in missed opportunities for the prevention and early identification of emerging SEND. Leaders have targeted finite resource to children and families with the most need. For example, those experiencing homelessness and children with identified health needs. There is more to do to ensure all children receive developmental checks. 

Area for Improvement

Health leaders need to work at pace to improve the uptake of the antenatal contact, one year and two year healthy child programme mandated reviews. 

Outcomes

• Most children in Southampton receive their mandated healthy child programme development checks – working to 85% for 1 year and 80% for 2-2.5 years
• As a result, more children receive the help and support they require earlier
• Higher rate of children with ‘good’ rate of development at Health Review (HR) 2 and end of Reception
• Increased educational attainment

Evidence that Outcomes are being met

• Increased coverage rates for each of the mandated healthy child programme development checks
• Increased rates in school readiness (children who are at or above a ‘good’ level in all five areas of development)
• Lower numbers of previously unidentified children with developmental concerns at HR2 and time of starting school
• Increased levels of improvement in levels of development between HR1 and HR2 and/or HR2 and end of Reception

Strategic Workstream Priority

Findings

What does the Partnership need to do better? 

• Young people are beginning to have more opportunities to share their lived experiences about growing up in Southampton with leaders. This is evident in the collaborative work to improve the local offer on the local authority website, and to promote the visibility and inclusion of children and young people in their communities. However, as yet, not all children and young people have the same opportunities to have their voices heard. The ‘Framework for Participation’ aims to improve this but is in the early stages of implementation.   
• While children and young people receive education health and care (EHC) plans in a timely way, these plans do not always precisely outline all the support they need. This includes ensuring all agencies work together to appropriately review and then drive provision across education, health and social care. While health practitioners have some effective quality assurance processes, these have not been bought together across the multi-agency partnership to improve the quality and consistency of plans meaning EHC plans do not yet consistently meet the needs of children and young people.  
• There is quality assurance and oversight for children with a high level of need who receive a social care service and are in out-of-area settings or residential special schools, and they are seen regularly; however, the system and processes for those who are placed for educational needs only is not as robust. While this represents a small cohort, these continue to be vulnerable children out of area.  

Area for Improvement 

The local area partnership should improve the quality of EHC plans, so that they are value to all agencies to better drive the provision offered.  This should include:

• Improved joint working of practitioners across education, health and social care
• More timely and precise annual review process
• More precise action and support for children and young people with an EHC plan who are not on a school roll

Outcomes

• The experiences of children with special educational needs and disabilities will be consistently good because there is a robust quality assurance framework in place, overseen by the SEND partnership. 
• The quality of EHC plans will be consistently good clearly demonstrating needs and provision in health and care as well as education.
• Service planning will be responsive to the feedback of young people and their families.

Evidence that Outcomes are being met

• A co-produced SEND quality assurance framework will be in place.
• Annual review of good quality as evidenced via the quality assurance process. This will include the quality from advice givers in education, health and social care.
• Improved quality of EHCPs throughout all key stages as evidenced via the quality assurance process.
• The child’s voice will be evident in all EHC plans and annual reviews.

Strategic Workstream Priority

Findings

What does the Partnership need to do better?

Some education professionals do not always have the skills and expertise to meet the increasing complexity of need. Leaders acknowledge the need to implement a workforce development plan. However, this is not yet at the co-production stage of strategic planning.  

Area for Improvement 

The Local area partnership should continue to embed their approach to inclusion and SEND strategy so that practitioners have the skills and expertise to work together effectively to better meet the needs of children and young people across all services.

Outcomes

Practitioners across all settings will be better able to identify and meet the needs of children and young people early and in a consistent way.

Evidence that Outcomes are being met

• Overall improvement for School attendance for CYP with SEND.
• Increase parental confidence in SEND needs being met at school level without an EHCP.
• Reduction in suspensions and exclusions for pupils with SEND
• No reduced timetables in place to manage behaviour

Strategic Workstream Priority