HPCI Member update 17 January

Welcome to the first update of 2025. SEND is increasingly in the news, with reports and requests for input coming thick and fast. We believe that keeping the focus on children and young people with SEND is key and will be making sure that happens wherever we can.

One way to support us in this work is by considering becoming a volunteer Director of HPCI. We’re looking for people who are passionate about SEND and driving improvements. If you think this might be you, please click here for more information (the deadline for applications is 7 February 2025).

Also in this newsletter:
• Next steps following the Local Area SEND inspection
• Survey: Parent carers supporting their child’s mental health
• Survey: Young Carers
• National developments

Next steps following the Local Area SEND inspection

The Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England (NHSE) have written to the Hertfordshire partnership, commenting on progress following Hertfordshire’s summer 2023 Local Area SEND Inspection. The letter (based on a “stocktake” last term) was published today on the Local Offer website and you can read their response here.

The letter reflects on the progress made against the Priority Action and Improvement Plan. It generally paints a positive picture, highlighting developments such as better data collection, staff increases and better joint working. When HPCI met with the DfE/NHSE, we shared our view that the changes made to date are yet to lead to a significant impact on the day-to-day experiences of children with SEND and their families. This is touched on in the “Impact” section of the letter. As always, we continue to focus our engagement on improving the experiences and outcomes for all children and young people with SEND.

Meanwhile, the national Ofsted review of the Local Area SEND inspection process is underway. HPCI have been asked to meet to discuss how the views of parents were captured in the Hertfordshire inspection.

Ofsted have also recently announced that monitoring inspections (that were paused recently) will be starting again in the summer term. We think the Hertfordshire monitoring inspection will probably happen before the end of the school year and will keep you updated.

Survey: Parent carers supporting their child’s mental health

Hertfordshire’s Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services have put together a survey, as they will be commissioning a new service to help parent carers support their child or young person’s mental health and wellbeing. You can complete the mental health services survey here – it will be open until Sunday 26 January.

Survey: feedback wanted from Young Carers

Hertfordshire County Council want to hear from young carers (YC) and their parents about ‘Young Carers Services’. They want to understand what YC need and want from a service aimed at them. There are 2 surveys:
– one for young carers aged 10-18 to complete themselves, with help from an adult if needed,
– the second aimed at parents of young carers under the age of 10

National Developments

As mentioned above, there is a huge amount going on at the national level. We know that most parents don’t have the time or capacity to follow every report or consultation. We’ve included some information below for those of you who are keen, but please know that HPCI and the National Network of Parent Carer Forums will be feeding in the parent voice where we can on these.

Education Committee call for evidence – closing on 30 January

Last month, the Education Select Committee announced their new inquiry, “Solving the SEND Crisis”. They say that it “will focus on how to achieve both short term stability and long-term sustainability for the SEND system to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people”.

As a first step, the committee has issued a “call for evidence”. They aren’t looking for evidence on the the problem as that’s already been recognised and documented, but they welcome submissions from parent carers that focus on solutions.

This committee is very influential and it is really important that the views of families are heard. We consider that it’s vital that the legal rights of children and young people with SEND are not “watered down” but instead that government sets out clearly who is responsible for what, what resources are available, and where accountability lies. We also think it is vital that SEND is addressed as a cross-government priority, not just an education issue.

If you want to read more, the call for evidence page is here and the blog Special Needs Jungle have created a guide to help parents submit their thoughts.

Other national developments include:

• Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill which has two parts: one on children’s social care and one on schools. The section on schools contains measures on breakfast clubs; the requirement for parents to get consent to home educate certain children (including those at special schools); and the requirement on local authorities to keep a register of children not in school. The Bill is currently going through parliament and the Public Bill Committee has issued a call for written evidence. If you want to share your views, you can do so here.

• Public Accounts Committee Report published this week on Support for children and young people with SEN. It has a number of recommendations which cover a range of issues, such as defining inclusion, setting out provision that should be available, ensuring SEND is a priority for local health commissioners, and tackling local authority financial challenges.

• Review into Carer’s Allowance overpayments – details of the independent review have been announced and the review is expected to report to ministers by this summer. The charity Contact is running a survey for families to share their overpayment experiences, if this has affected you.

• The Law Commission consultation on reforming social care law for disabled children in England (closing date has been extended until 31 January).