Our SEND Partnership - What We Talked About

Updates on SEND improvement work

The Director for Children, Families and Education explained progress on the area’s agreed improvement actions.

Key points:

• Work continues to improve Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) so they are timely, high quality, and meet each child’s needs.

• There are some staff shortages, including in Health Coordinator roles and in the team that runs the SEND Local Offer website (SENDLO). This may slow some tasks.

• Parent carers raised worries about missing or unclear information on SENDLO. The Assistant Director for SEND and Inclusion said a plan is in place to update the site with families.

• Health partners agreed to meet soon to move forward with recruitment.

• Everyone agreed the recent ND session helped identify solutions together.

Planning for future SEND improvements

The Director explained that the Government now requires every area to write a Local Area SEND Reform Plan. This plan must be based on five principles:
early, local, fair, effective, and shared across partners.

A checklist tool has been provided to support this. The Director will bring a plan in January explaining how the work will be carried out.

How Schools are making a difference

This section focused on real‑life impact in schools.
Three schools shared how they use the Graduated Approach (a step‑by‑step way to identify and meet needs) and how things have changed since January 2025.

Ganneys Meadow School and Family Hub: What is working well

• Ganneys Meadow is an early years school with strong inclusion.

• They have different types of provision, including support for children who find bigger classes difficult.

• Staff work closely with parents and carers and follow a “stage not age” approach, meaning support is based on need, not age.

• The school works with local primary and special schools to help children move smoothly to their next school.

• The Board praised the positive practice and suggested tracking children over time to see long‑term outcomes.

Gilbrook School: How we support emotional and social needs

• Gilbrook is a primary special school for children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs (SEMH).

• All pupils have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

• Staff focus on building trust with families, especially when a child’s previous placement has broken down.

• Their approach focuses on routine, structure, and emotional wellbeing.

• Staff provide a wide range of SEMH strategies.

• Tribunal challenges have reduced due to better communication with Caseworkers.

• Board members liked the presentation and want to improve how health teams link in.

Grove Street Primary School: A whole-school approach to inclusion

• Grove Street is a mainstream school with strong inclusion and a family hub.

• They support families from birth and offer things like a social supermarket.

• Many children have complex needs, so the school has six Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) and ten trained therapeutic assistants, which families find very helpful.

• The school uses sensory rooms, calm spaces, and softer lighting to help children feel safe.

• The Graduated Approach is used every day in school and is also shared with families through workshops.

• Annual reviews are now quicker, and support from Caseworkers has improved.

• Local “clusters” of schools have begun meeting and this has been positive.

  The next meeting is on 27 January 2026.