Our SEND Partnership - What We Talked About

Updates on who is part of the Board

The Chair welcomed everyone. A new senior NHS leader, Hayley Kendall, will now help lead work on Speech and Language and Neurodevelopmental (ND) support. Paula Simpson has stepped down.

Checking progress

The Board checked the list of agreed actions from the last meeting. Only one task was still open — recruiting new health coordinators — and this is now progressing.

How we are improving SEND services

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

• More new Education, Health and Care Plans are being checked for quality.

• The team is reducing delays, but plans still take too long.

• Some families prefer to wait longer if it means the plan meets their child’s needs.

Annual Health Checks and careers guidance

• More young people with learning disabilities are having their annual health checks.

• Careers advice for young people with EHCPs has improved.

• Parents raised worries about work experience. Some employers say they cannot offer placements because of insurance rules. The Council will look into this.

Support for children waiting for neurodevelopmental (ND) or Speech and Language help

• More children are waiting for ND assessments than before.

• A new digital tool called This is Me will help share information earlier and reduce delays.

• There will be training for parents, school staff and health teams will continue.

• Speech and Language Therapy wait times have improved, and more children now get their first appointment on time.

What the data tells us

• More EHCPs were issued this month than before.

• Waits for some NHS services are improving.

• ND waiting times remain the biggest challenge.

• Permanent exclusions for children with EHCPs remain low.

Graduated Approach and school support

• Schools now have clearer guidance on the “Graduated Approach,” which is a step‑by‑step way to support children early.

• Schools asked for clear messages to parents so families understand that not every strategy is possible in every school.

• The Council will add health and early years information so everything is in one place.

How services are working together

• Groups working on SEND improvement are updating their workplans.

• Each group will report progress more clearly so families can see what is changing.

Improving how we share information with families

• A new communications group has met for the first time.

• They will make a clear plan for sharing news and updates with parents and carers.

• The Board wants to share good news more often.

• Work is taking place to improve how different parent groups receive information.

What parents and carers told us

• Parents said learning disability assessments feel less personal because they are no longer done by specialist nurses.

• Parents want clearer information while waiting for ND assessments.

• The Board agreed to write to Wirral University Teaching Hospital to ask for an update on ND improvement work.
  

  The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 16 December 2025.