SEND frequently asked questions

What improvements need to be made?

The Nottinghamshire report, published on 16 May 2023, identified two priority actions that the Nottinghamshire Local Area Partnership should address urgently. 

1. identify, assess and provide for the needs of children and young people with SEND. This includes an assessment of needs, timely issuing of education and health and care (EHC) plans, and holistic oversight of these plans through annual reviews.

2. act urgently to identify and address the delays and gaps in access to some health services, particularly speech and language therapy, neuro-developmental pathways and equipment services. NHS leaders are also required to work together better to use available performance data to identify where gaps exist and whether actions taken to address these are effective.

Do you have a timeline for these improvements?

Ofsted/CQC will undertake a monitoring visit of the local area within 18 months of publishing the inspection report. The focus of this monitoring visit will be the two Priority Actions identified. There will then be a full inspection three years after the original inspection. The priority action plan has timescales against each improvement activity.

Is health in Bassetlaw fully included in Nottinghamshire?

Yes, Bassetlaw is part of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System (ICS). Bassetlaw sits across two ICS footprints and will have some commissioned services provided by South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), particularly services delivered by Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS trust and Sheffield hospitals. Health services commissioned arrangements from Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB for Bassetlaw may differ from arrangements across the rest of the Integrated Care System.

What is going to change in occupational therapy (OT) and speech and language therapy (SALT)?

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB commissioners and providers will be working collaboratively with children, young people, families, local authority partners and stakeholders as part of the priority action area identified by the Ofsted & CQC inspectors to understand  the challenges and gaps currently being experienced by children, young people and their families, to inform future decision making and approaches to what is needed to improve their experiences. Work will also include how to improve pathways to access support with therapy services and the neurodevelopmental services.

What will be done to improve the therapy service in mainstream schools?

An area identified by the Ofsted & CQC inspectors is to understand the challenges and gaps currently experienced by children, young people and their families. This will inform future decision making and approaches, to identify what is needed to improve their experiences. This work will also include how to improve pathways to access support with therapy services and the neurodevelopmental services.

Why is sensory integration occupational therapy not being commissioned through the NHS?

This approach is not currently recommended by Royal College of Occupational Therapy (RCOT), or used by the NHS, because of the lack of evidence about its effectiveness to change underlying conditions. Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB commissioners are committed to exploring sensory integration and work around this will commence towards the end of 2023.

Will the extra funding in schools be ringfenced for SEND?

The increase in the High Needs Block funding is specifically for children and young people with SEND, to provide provision in mainstream schools. The money given to schools is monitored by the local authority.

How do schools share experiences in regard to use of their funding from a professional and personal perspective?

The SEND priority action plan includes the co-design of a tool which SENCos can use in their conversations with parents and carers to make explicit their child’s areas of need and the provision the child will be receiving.  The SEND-review tool will support schools in their requests for specialist support and additional funding.

Are there plans to use the additional funding for children whose needs can be met in a mainstream setting?

The amount of funding which has been made available to mainstream schools through the Additional Family Needs (AFN) funding route has increased by 30% for the 2023/24 financial year. This recognised the need to strengthen and increase the capacity of mainstream schools to effectively include and make provision for pupils with SEND. The local authority is also planning to increase the number of mainstream schools which host an enhanced provision unit.

Why is a graduated response a prerequisite before applying for an EHCP?

The EHC assessment process is described in the DfE’s Code of Practice which is the guidance to schools, local authorities and other key partners about how the needs of children and young people with SEND are identified, assessed and supported. The Code of Practice recommends a graduated approach, followed by the EHC Assessment process when earlier efforts by the school have not proved effective in enabling a child with SEND to make progress.

How do we keep supporting children and young people moving through the stages of education, including post-16?

We fully acknowledge that transition points can be stressful for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and for their parents and carers. Currently, the preparation for adulthood pathway and protocol are under review to make the journey easier to navigate. Improvement to education, health and care plans will ensure that preparation for adulthood outcomes are embedded from Year 9. Schools must provide information, advice and guidance to all young people with SEND and there is a wide range of post-16 options available across Nottinghamshire. Like schools, mainstream colleges can access additional funding without needing an EHCP to be in place. The largest Nottinghamshire mainstream colleges all have specialist units to support children and young people with significant additional needs. The SEND local offer provides a wealth of information about transition pathways and support and more information can be found here.

Education psychology reports seem to be causing a lot of delay. Are there plans to accept privately-obtained reports to relieve the pressure?

Yes, the Educational Psychology Service is already commissioning private agency educational psychologists to carry out the equivalent of 30 assessments each month. There are plans in place to double this to 60 a month and this is in addition to the assessments already being completed each month by our own educational psychologists.

How are schools supported to widen their workforce knowledge of SEND within schools to improve inclusive practice?

One of the priorities for the local area will be workforce development, including the workforce in educational settings. 

The local authority offers centrally delivered training on a range of SEND related topics. These may be related to specific primary needs – Autism; specific learning difficulties (e.g. Dyslexia, Dyscalculia); cognition needs arising from an acquired brain injury, foetal alcohol syndrome, chromosomal deletions or additions; and sensory needs arising from deafness and/or visual impairment. It may focus on strategies to support children and young people with additional needs, for example emotional literacy support assistant training, ATTEND training, use of specific software and/or apps, supporting transition. It may also be offered to help schools understand central government policy and practice e.g. understanding the graduated response, implementing the pre-key stage standards.

As well as central training, services will also respond to bespoke requests for training by schools and/or families of schools for specific needs that may be identified through case work.

The training offer is supplemented by the new SENCO and Family SENCO networks which allow a two-way flow of information, advice and support. There is an annual SEND conference which explores themes from nationally recognised keynote speakers and an interactive workshop programme.

How is information shared with schools to improve practice within settings?

The local authority has developed collaborative working groups to bring together a range of practitioners who support schools and schools themselves, to share information and support. Networks for Family SENCOs and Secondary SENCOs are meeting regularly for training and guidance. 

How are you supporting and increasing communication with parents and carers to ensure their views are heard?

We are increasing staffing capacity in our services to improve communication and support with families. We want to ensure the voices of parents and carers are heard to inform service provision and delivery, through a bi-annual parent/carer survey and working with the Nottinghamshire Parent Carer Forum. One of the areas of improvement for the local area identified by Ofsted/CQC is to continue to gather a wide range of views from children and young people with SEND and their families, and to use these views to inform the planning of services.  A communications and co-production plan is in place to ensure we are keeping parents and children and young people up to date, but more importantly, involving them in the improvement journey. We want children, young people and parents to work with us and tell us what they need to improve SEND services in Nottinghamshire.

What is Nottinghamshire County Council doing to respond to the issues for specialist school places?

The increase in demand for special school places has meant the local authority has not been able to place children and young people in specialist provision as quickly as we would like to.  Ofsted / CQC noted in their inspection report that ‘most CYP awaiting a specialist placement receive suitable education in a timely manner’.  There are plans in place to increase the number of placements, but it is the case that Nottinghamshire’s special schools are full, and this is same with the independent sector.

In September 2021, the Nottinghamshire SEND Place Planning Strategy (2021-2026)[PDF] was approved. This identified that an additional 490 places in specialist provision is required by September 2026. Between 2019 and 2026, the number of new places in Nottinghamshire’s special schools will have increased by over 30% but there is further work to be done.