Agenda item

Report from the Executive Director of Children and Young People’s Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Note the performance and progress to date on SEND Sufficiency in line with the commitments within the Safety Valve Agreement.

2.    Approve the SEND Sufficiency Strategy 2026-2029 (Appendix 1) for implementation from April 2026.

Consideration was given to the report which provided a review of performance against the current Special Educational Need and Disability (SEND) Sufficiency Strategy as set out in the Local Authority’s Safety Valve Agreement (2021-2026). It established that the actions set out within the Safety Valve agreement had been achieved, contributing to the Council’s wider ambition that children and young people achieve their potential. The report also outlined the key activity undertaken in developing the new Strategy, including a comprehensive needs analysis, engagement and consultation. Approval was sought for the new SEND Sufficiency Strategy 2026-2029. A timelines for implementation of the associated delivery plan was also outlined in the report.

In Rotherham 17.1% of pupils are receiving SEND support with 6.2% of pupils having a statutory plan for SEND known as an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). Nationally 14.2% of young people were receiving SEND support with 5.3% having an EHCP. In order that the educational needs of children and young people in the Borough with SEND continued to be met, the Council had a responsibility to create a sufficiency of education provision to meet the needs of all pupils.

The current SEND Sufficiency Strategy was set out in the Rotherham Safety Valve Agreement (2022 – 2026). The key strategic aim of the Safety Valve Agreement was to enhance mainstream and specialist SEND capacity within the Borough to meet a wider level of need across all schools, promote inclusive practice and mitigate the need for children, young people, and young adults to be educated in settings outside the Borough. To achieve the aim of enhanced SEND capacity within the Borough the current strategy included implementation of the schools’ Accessibility Funding Framework across mainstream and special schools.

Reports to Cabinet in July 2024 and December 2024 had given approval for additional increases in places as part of the continued development of Elements Academy (SEMH Special School) since its opening in September 2023. Approval was also granted for capital investment to address sufficiency challenges at Newman School and Aspire Pupil Referral Unit. The capital programme to create sufficiency of provision locally across the Safety Valve period had resulted in an increase of 336 special school places and 144 resource provision places from 2021/22 to November 2025. A resource provision was attached to a mainstream school providing specialist therapeutic input and support for pupils with a specific SEND need type. Pupils accessed support from the resource provision based on their individual need whilst also accessing mainstream classes and curriculum.

The report demonstrated that the actions set out within the 2022-2026 Safety Valve Agreement, and the associated phases of SEND Sufficiency delivery, had been achieved, contributing to the Council’s wider ambition that children and young people achieved their potential.

The Safety Valve Agreement provided a clear and ambitious framework for developing enhanced inclusive provision to meet children’s SEND across the Borough with progress against the 9 conditions detailed in section 2.1 of the report. The current SEND Sufficiency Strategy aligned to Safety Valve ran until the end of 2025/2026. A new SEND Sufficiency Strategy was required so the Council could fulfil its statutory sufficiency duty and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

Planning for the new SEND Sufficiency Strategy had included key activities over the past 12 months, including stakeholder consultation and engagement, needs analysis, comparison to national datasets and policy and a review of the resources available locally. The Strategy had been developed alongside the Rotherham SEND Strategy (My Life, My Rights 2024-2028). The Plan aligned to the increased focus on inclusion in mainstream schools as outlined in the refreshed Ofsted Inspection Framework (November 2025). The Sufficiency Strategy had been developed in line with the principles of the Rotherham Charter (Four Cornerstones): 1. Welcome and care 2. Value and include 3. Communicate 4. Work in partnership. The ambitions of the Strategy, based on the analysis of local need, were detailed in paragraph 2.2.6 of the report.

Resolved:

That Cabinet:

1.    Note the performance and progress to date on SEND Sufficiency in line with the commitments within the Safety Valve Agreement.

2.    Approve the SEND Sufficiency Strategy 2026-2029 (Appendix 1) for implementation from April 2026.