Agenda item

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Neighbourhood Working, the Joint Assistant Director, Commissioning, Performance and Inclusion, Children and Young People’s Services and the Head of Service, Inclusion attended the meeting to present a progress report on the outcomes of the SEND Peer Challenge.

The report stated that the Peer Challenge process had been developed for Children’s Services across the Yorkshire and Humber region and built on the peer review model that had been developed by the Local Government Association.

The Joint Assistant Director noted that the SEND inspection had reviewed how the Council was supporting children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities to achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes, such as being able to live independently, secure meaningful employment and be well prepared for their adult lives.  The Joint Assistant Director advised that the process had been designed in order to not only to hold local areas to account, but also to assist local areas in improving and developing processes and support systems in order that they could become more effective and deliver better outcomes for children and young people.

It was noted that the SEND Peer Challenge had taken place in Rotherham between 28 February and 3 March 2020. It was noted that the findings of the Peer Challenge had been summarised in a letter that had been structured to identify headline strengths and areas for further consideration.

The Joint Assistant Director advised that the Peer Challenge Team had noted the following headline strengths in the feedback letter:

·       Children and young people were at the heart of the services that were provided.

·       There was a long-standing and collective ownership of the SEND agenda at Rotherham.

·       Senior leaders, from across the system, knew their services well. They understood the strengths, areas for improvement and what needed to be done to secure the best possible outcomes for children and young people.

·       There was an ambition to continuously improve, evidenced in part by an openness to scrutiny, by the commissioning of external organisations to support improvement activity and by internal and system strategies and plans, which demonstrated a commitment and drive for better services.

The following areas had been highlighted for consideration and further improvement:

·       That SEND priorities should be considered across the Council more broadly, especially with regards to public health, early help, adult services and social care. 

·       That further consideration be given to autism and how it was managed and to its place in the broader system, both before and after a diagnosis in order to ensure that children and young people with autism had their needs met effectively.

·       That a clearer method of recording and documenting the impact of SEND activity be developed in order to capture the value of the work that was being carried out with children and young and to provide a basis for developing further meaningful activity.

The Head of Service, Inclusion advised that the Council’s Strategic Leadership Team and Rotherham Clinical Commissioning Group’s Operational Executive had both received the report and had approved the identified actions to address the areas that had been identified for development. The Head of Service advised that the Terms of Reference for the SEND Strategic Board, who would oversee the development of all key actions had been refreshed and noted that the Health Select Commission would had just received their  first annual update focused on Children and Young People’s Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health. 

A detailed analysis of the findings and activity required to address areas for development had been identified and was attached as an appendix to the officers’ report. The Head of Service provided a summary of the actions included in the appendix to the meeting.

The Deputy Leader and the Strategic Director, Children and Young People’s Services noted the peer review and the actions that had been identified for implementation would enable the SEND Service to be in the best possible position for a formal inspection at a future date.

The Joint Assistant Director noted the peer review had highlighted the important role that scrutiny carried out in monitoring the work of the SEND service at Rotherham and that the openness of the service to scrutiny by members had been seen as a real strength.

Members welcomed the outcome of the peer review and noted their approval for how well SEND services were being delivered and the readiness of the service for a future formal inspection.

The Vice-Chair noted how well informed the commission was on the work of the SEND service due to the monitoring of the service and the open channels of communication between managers and members of the commission. The Vice-Chair noted how well the use of resources was being maximised across the service in order to deliver the best possible outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities in Rotherham.

The Chair asked how the areas for development highlighted in the review were being brought together with other strategic activity in the SEND service. The Joint Assistant Director advised that these would be brought together and monitored by the SEND Strategic Board. The Strategic Director noted that the identified actions from the peer review had been incorporated into the wider service improvement plan and advised that this document would be circulated to members of the commission for information.

The Chair thanked the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children's Services and Neighbourhood Working, the Joint Assistant Director, Commissioning, Performance and Inclusion, Children and Young People’s Services and the Head of Service, Inclusion for attending the meeting and answering members’ questions.

Resolved: -

1.    That the report be noted.

2.    That a progress report on the actions arising from the SEND Peer Challenge be presented at the December 2021 meeting of the Improving Lives Select Commission. How are future updates received? Discussion on this?

3.    That service plan, with dates for the completion of the be circulated to members of the Improving Lives Select Commission.