Big steps being taken on long road to reforming special educational needs

In July 2021, a team from Lincolnshire County Council analysed the work we do within SEND. They made nine recommendations which we immediately started to implement. Since then, a huge amount of work has been done to improve what we do. In fact, we have greatly widen our improvement plan to encompass all of SEND, rather than the focused review carried out by Lincolnshire. Some of the our key improvements include more effective communication to families, 42 new members of staff to bolster capacity and further recruitment is planned with an additional £1.1million, new staff training, strengthened SEND data and greater partnership work.

Another piece of work which is making such a difference to the lives of hundreds of Suffolk families is the opening of new SEND places. So far 500 new places have opened with another 325 due to open between now and 2024. Planning for the next round of new units and placements is also already underway. The growth in numbers of children with SEND, especially those with EHCPs (around 6,400 in Suffolk), means we must continue to build new specialist places, either aligned to mainstream schools or as new special schools. I have visited some of the new units and seen first-hand what a difference that can make. Children and young people often have very different needs and we must ensure that we provide them with the right education in the right place. Sometimes mainstream schools allow SEND children to flourish, whereas other children are happier and do better in a specialist unit. In Suffolk we, rightly, offer a mix of provision.

I am confident with the progress of reform taking place, but this is not an easy or quick reform. We have a long way to go and I recognise that many families are still unhappy with the provision they have. I can only offer my reassurances that this is priority of the council and the team is working incredibly hard to improve our services. The provision of special educational needs has challenges nationally. A recent Government Green Paper concluded that the current system of SEND provision is not working as well as it should. A consultation is now open after which the Government will present national reform measures. Here in Suffolk, we have already embarked on an all-encompassing reform of the services we offer, but, of course, we are limited to a certain extent by the parameters of the national system in which we operate. An issue within Suffolk, which is also acutely felt nationally, is a shortage of education psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. We continue to address this and work with our colleagues in the NHS who provide this provision, but this shortage will take time and effort to rectify, especially if not supported by national plans.

I also want to add reassurance that our reform progress is being monitored by other people. A recent visit by colleagues from the Department for Education reported they were happy with the pace and content of reform. SEND reform has also been reviewed by the Education Scrutiny Committee twice since the Lincolnshire Review. The committee is made up of cross-party councillors who, quite rightly, robustly hold us to account on everything we do. We also work daily with the Suffolk Parent Carer Forum, who are our link to families and help us co-produce our work, and with whom we have many constructive and honest conversations. We are grateful for the work of these volunteers.

Finally, I just want to thank staff within the SEND team, who share my determination to turn around this provision. We are unified in our desire to make sure all children and young people in Suffolk get the best start in life. Staff are working really hard to make very positive improvements to the way we do things.