SEND services in Cambridgeshire need to improve as children face delays and ‘inconsistent experiences’
Services to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in Cambridgeshire need to be improved, according to a recent inspection.
Regulators Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have highlighted concerns around delays putting support plans in place for children, and a lack of coordinated support in some areas.
Cambridgeshire County Council and the NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Integrated Care Board (ICB) are responsible for planning and commissioning services to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND across the county.
The authorities said the feedback from the inspection will be used to “drive the work of the partnership to improve experiences and outcomes for all children and young people with SEND in Cambridgeshire”.
An area SEND inspection was carried out by Ofsted and the CQC in January.
In a report published this week, the inspectors said the county council and ICB partnership arrangements led to “inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND”, and improvements need to be made.
The report recognised that some children in the area had positive experiences and were getting the support they needed.
Examples were given in the report of the social care and early help teams delivering “sensitive, bespoke support” for children, and how in cases where children with SEND struggle to attend school, there has been “well-coordinated support” put in place.
However, the report said there are delays in completing education, health and care (EHC) plans that identify and set out what support children need.
The report said: “The timeliness and quality of EHC plans and annual reviews are poor for many children and young people.
“Their voices are included routinely in EHC plans. For many, this captures their aspirations accurately.
“However, too often EHC plans do not fully reflect a child or young person’s needs or the provision they require to achieve the outcomes intended.
“As a result, many professionals do not have the information they require to give the best support.”
The report also highlighted concerns about the support available for disabled children to help them prepare for adulthood.
It said there are small teams in place who do this work.
However, it said there is “not enough coordinated support to develop the knowledge and skills they need to move on confidently to education, employment or training”.
The report added that delays with annual reviews of EHC plans also “exacerbates this lack of coordinated support”.
The report also said choices made in the past meant there is not enough specialist provision in the area, leading to a high number of children with SEND being placed in out-of-county provision.
It added that inspectors recognised work is underway to try and enhance “appropriate local mainstream and specialist provision to rectify this”.
Inspectors also recognised that a “clear and coherent strategy” has recently been put in place to resolve the challenges being faced, and the report said there are some signs of a “positive impact” from this.
The report also highlighted that reviews for looked-after children and young people with SEND are “thorough and inclusive” and are ensuring they have “stable placements” and “positive experiences”.
The county council and the ICB have been told there are a number of specific areas that need to be improved.
This includes improving the “timeliness and quality of the statutory EHC plan processes” to make sure children are getting the support they need at the right time.
The report also said the partnership needs to improve access to and reduce waiting times for specialist mental health pathways and neurodevelopmental assessments.
The council and ICB have been told to develop better opportunities for children and young people with SEND to be able to share their views on the design of support and services.
The partnership also needs to improve the support it offers for young people with SEND to prepare for adulthood.
Inspectors also said the communication with schools, services and families needs to be improved.
Martin Purbrick, executive director for children, education and families at the county council, said ensuring children with SEND get the best possible education and support is a “top priority”, but acknowledged there is more work that needs to be done.
He said: “We take the findings of the Area SEND inspection very seriously and are fully committed to making the necessary improvements.
“We will continue to work closely with our partners, particularly parent carers, to ensure that all children in Cambridgeshire can achieve their best possible outcomes.
“We are taking positive steps to improve the timeliness and quality of our EHC plan provision.
“We have already invested £500,000 to manage the increased demand for EHC plans and the council has approved a further £920,000 annual investment in February this year, which will increase the capacity of our frontline services.
“We have a very strong parent carer forum delivered by Pinpoint, and we all recognise that more work must take place to engage with harder to reach groups.
“The families of children and young people with SEND are often not aware of the full range of support services we offer.
“We’re working with our partners to improve accessibility to information, including making greater use of technology.”
Carol Anderson, Chief Nurse at NHS Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, said: “We welcome the recommendations made by inspectors and are working closely with partner organisations as well as parents, carers, children and young people to improve and modernise services so they better meet the needs of local people.
“Improving access and reducing waiting times for children and young people with SEND is a top priority within our Integrated Care System.
“We are moving towards a truly needs-led model, shaped by the experiences and voices of families, where children and young people receive the right support at the right time, in school, at home, and in the community.
“To lead this work, we are establishing a new Children and Young People Learning Disability Autism Strategic Board which focuses on reducing waiting times and strengthening the support families receive while waiting.”
Sarah Conboy, Chief Executive of Pinpoint which runs Cambridgeshire’s parent carer forum, said: “Pinpoint were pleased to be able to help so many parent carers have their voices heard during the inspection visit and welcome the planned parent carer co-operation that will take place as post-inspection actions are implemented.”
