Wakefield Local Area Management of SEND

Introduction

This page of the website gives you some more information about the governance arrangements of the management of SEND in the Wakefield Local Area and includes our strategies and documents which aim to improve the lives of children and young people with SEND.

We have also included our first Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) Local Area Inspection reports which was carried out to evaluate how effectively the local area is in:

• identifying and assessing the needs of children and young people who have SEND; and
• meeting the needs of these children and young people so that their outcomes and chances of participating fully in society improve

Governance Arrangements

The SEND Strategic Partnership Board is a subgroup of the Children and Young People Partnership Board.  It also reports into the Health and Wellbeing Board and Connecting Care Executive, where appropriate and applicable.

 

The focus of the group is the management of the operational delivery of the significant reforms for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities as required by the new duties outlined in the Children and Families Act 2014 and amplified in DfEs Code of Practice for Special educational needs and disability 0 to 25 years. The Board responsibilities are:

Leading on Wakefield’s response to Government policy directives, legislation and guidance in respect of disabled children, young adults and their families.

• Leading on the integration agenda and ensure a unified, multi-agency approach to the development and commissioning of high quality support and services for disabled children, young adults and their families.
• Developing, implementing, monitoring and reviewing an integrated strategy for disabled children, young adults (aged 0-25 years) and their families that is fit for purpose.
• Providing a strategic overview on how young adults receive support through adult services and develop a stepped, personalised approach to transition into adult services.
• Overseeing, reviewing & monitoring publication of the local offer and ensure that it adequately represents services across Education, Health and Care sectors
• Ensuring that there is appropriate stakeholder engagement in all aspects relating to the transformation agenda, with a particular focus on engaging directly with disabled children, young adults and their families.
• The Children & Young People Partnership Board (CYPPB) meet quarterly. Therefore SEND Strategic Partnership Board meet 2 weeks prior to CYPP.

Inspections

Wakefield had their first Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) Local Area Inspection 12 June to 16 June 2017.

 

The joint inspection was carried out to evaluate how effectively the local area:

• identifies and assess the needs of children and young people who have SEND
• meets the needs of these children and young people so that their outcomes and chances of participating fully in society improve

 

The inspection found that the Wakefield Local Area has a number of strengths in the way the SEND Reforms have been implemented and some areas for development. The inspectors noted that there are plans in place to make further improvements such as greater involvement of parents and carers to co-produce the local offer of resources and support for children, young people and families.

 

Inspectors found significant weaknesses in the local area’s arrangements for completing specialist diagnostic assessments of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). As a result, the local area had to produce and submit a Written Statement of Action which explains how this will be dealt with to make rapid and sustained improvement.

 

The Written Statement of Action has now been reviewed by Ofsted and CQC and they have agreed the plans included are now fit for purpose, giving recommendations where these could be further improved. The recommendations made have been taken into account and the final Statement has now been produced.

 

Dr Phil Earnshaw, Clinical Chair of NHS Wakefield CCG said “The Wakefield Statement of Action is a cross system partner response to the recent Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspection into disability and special educational services. The response shows a commitment from all partners to transforming the experience of children, young people and families across the area, and making a truly positive impact on their lives. The plan detailed in the response supports our goal of helping make sure children and young people to achieve well and lead healthy and happy lives.”

 

You can download copies of the Inspection Report, Written Statement of Action and letter confirming the Statement is fit for purpose below.

 

• Wakefield Local Area SEND Inspection Final Report
• Wakefield Local Area - Fit For Purpose Letter
• Wakefield Local Area - Written Statement of Action
• Wakefield Local Area - Written Statement of Action - Update July 2018
• Wakefield Local Area - Department for Education Letter from Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families - September 2018
• Wakefield Local Area - Written Statement of Action - Update April 2019
• Wakefield Local Area - Written Statement of Action - Update 22 May 2019

You can give feedback about the Wakefield Local Area at any time and TEAM (Wakefield Parent Carer Forum) host Listening Events, which provide an opportunity for key services to listen to the views of parents and carers regularly.  The Listening Events are advertised on the TEAM Facebook page @Teamwakefieldparentforum or you can email them at teampcf@hotmail.com.

You can also email the Council at SEND@wakefield.gov.uk or post to SEND Development Team, Room 230, County Hall, Wakefield, WF1 2QW.

To find out more about the SEND Local Area Inspections, you can download a leaflet for parents and carers from the gov.uk website here.

SEND Inspection Re-Visit 3 - 4 June 2019

Wakefield’s autism services for children and young people heading in the right direction.

Wakefield is making sufficient progress in improving autism services for children and young people, says OFSTED and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Following an OFSTED and CQC inspection in June 2017 and a revisit in June 2019, Wakefield services have been assessed as making significant progress to improve autism services for children and young people aged 0-14 year’s living across the area and on the waiting list for an autism assessment.

The inspection visit in June 2017 identified that the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) pathway had significant areas of weakness and that improvements were needed to reduce waiting times for children and young people.

Two years on, OFSTED and CQC revisited the area to hear direct from children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), parents, carers, council and NHS organisations about progress being made via a series of events, workshops and conversations coordinated by NHS Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group.

This included information on the significant reductions in the number of children and young people waiting for ASD assessments, length of waiting times and the action plan in place to deliver change at pace.

In June 2017, 614 children and young people aged 0 to 14 were waiting for ASD assessments – the average waiting time was almost two years. By June 2019, this had been drastically reduced to 57 children and young people aged 0 to 14 waiting for an ASD diagnostic assessment with a waiting time of no more than 26 weeks.

Similar results have been achieved for those young people aged 14 and above. In June 2017, 72 young people were waiting for ASD assessments, with an average waiting time of 45 weeks. By June 2019, 55 young people were currently waiting for an assessment, with an average waiting time of 43 weeks.

Local health, council, schools and community partners will now focus on their learnings from the under 14’s programme of work, which made up around 88% of all referrals across the district; replicating ideas and changes, where appropriate, to ensure waiting times for over 14’s are reduced in the future.

For more information on the Wakefield written statement of action, alongside all the programmes of work described in the press release, please visit: https://www.wakefieldccg.nhs.uk/home/patient-in-wakefield/get-involved/written-statement-of-action-for-wakefield

Strategies and Documents

Listed here are all our strategies and documents which aim to improve the lives of children and young people with SEND.

NEW! SEND Provision Plan and SEND Strategy 2020-2024 are now available to download:

SEND Provision Plan.PDF

SEND Strategy 2020-2024.PDF