Nottinghamshire SEND improvement programme
The local area partnership is committed to continuous improvement to deliver the best outcomes for children and young people with SEND. Our action plan reflects our key partnership priorities. Between 16 January and 3 February 2023, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) undertook a joint inspection of the Nottinghamshire local area.
The purpose of inspection was to:
- provide an independent, external evaluation of the effectiveness of the local area partnership’s arrangements for children and young people with SEND
- where appropriate, recommend what the local area partnership should do to improve the arrangements.
The SEND improvement programme and the supporting action plan will take forward the learning from the Ofsted and CQC inspection process and the areas for improvement identified through the inspection.
Nottinghamshire’s SEND Partnership spans a broad range of partners, services and stakeholders. This includes the Integrated Care Board, Healthcare Providers, education settings (from early years, through to FE including mainstream maintained, academies, special schools and independent and alternative provision (AP) providers), local authority services, parents and carers and our key stakeholders, children and young people. To deliver positive change, it is essential that areas for improvement, improvement activity and accountability is shared across this complex partnership.
The priorities for improvement across the partnership and wider SEND system in Nottinghamshire relate to the timeliness of identification, assessment and provision of support to effectively meet the needs of children and young people with SEND and improve their outcomes and experiences. This includes a focus on the graduated response pathway and education, health and care (EHC) planning process, including annual reviews, as well as access to health services and therapies. Key to this is strengthening our partnership arrangements to commission the most effective services for children and young people based on an accurate understanding of needs, performance and gaps in provision.
To ensure delivery of our key priorities for improvement at pace, and evidence impact on the outcomes and experiences of children, young people and families with SEND, we will strengthen our governance, oversight and accountability across the partnership. Evaluation and future planning for improvement, informed by the views of children and young people with SEND and their families, will be a key feature of revised governance.
Our Partnership Improvement Programme identifies the actions the Nottinghamshire local area partnership will undertake to address our most important areas of improvement, how we will measure success and what difference this will make to Nottinghamshire’s children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers.
Our plan focuses on ensuring that:
- Children and young people’s needs are identified accurately and assessed in a timely and effective way.
- Children, young people, and their families participate in decision-making about their individual plans and support.
- Children and young people receive the right help at the right time.
- Children and young people are well prepared for their next steps and achieve strong outcomes.
- Children and young people are valued, visible and included in their communities.
To learn more about the action plan, visit Nottinghamshire SEND Improvement Plan
