Update on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities:

The full text of the motion is below. It focuses not just on the funding crisis for SEND, but makes the link with Home To School transport and the need to work together with public, private and not-for-personal profit bodies in getting things done with children, young adults and parents/carers living with SEND. 

We know the motion is long. But we know that SEND services and SEND needs are complex with many factors that need to be included. 

This Council recognises the challenging situation faced by many families in Warwickshire regarding SEND provision and recognises the need to prioritise children and young people with SEND.   

The current financial situation cannot continue forever and financially this Council is actively considering ways in which we can more effectively control the spiralling cost of SEND provision whilst ensuring that we are meeting our legal obligations towards SEND children and families, improving the quality and accessibility of SEND services, and protecting the outcomes and life chances of the children and young people who rely on them. As this is a national problem, we are also urging the Government in Westminster to come to a timely decision about funding SEND in Warwickshire before the statutory override ends on 31 March 2028 and the financial burden overwhelms the otherwise secure financial position of the Council. 

This Council acknowledges that only 21.2% of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are currently being completed within the statutory 20- week deadline, far below the national average of 50%. We recognise the distress this causes families and commit to improving timelines and transparency in the EHCP process.

That the previous administration’s expansion of SEND Resourced Provision is now starting to allow some pupils to remain closer to the community they live in.

This Council:

1. Declares that the government's approach to SEND and Home to School Transport funding is an emergency for the sector which unjustly impacts Warwickshire is placing unacceptable pressure on schools, families and the Council. The urgency of the situation requires the Council to come together and work cross-party to deliver for families with SEND children and young people.  

2. Agrees to write to the Secretary of State for Education urging them to publish the upcoming Schools White Paper ahead of schedule and seeking answers in relation to how the government proposes to deal with the issues regarding SEND funding, and seeking a fairer funding formula for the Dedicated Schools Grant and High Needs Block.

3. Resolves to engage meaningfully with families, schools, Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice and professionals and to ensure that the voice of families is heard, and timely and high quality support is provided, in pathways to SEND work and to report this activity back to the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee on a regular basis

4. Recognises that prevention is also part of the solution in providing extra support and considering how the delivery of additional provision for special educational needs and family support such as forest schools and outdoor education could be prioritised within the currently available funding. Evidence shows this is making a difference to children's and young people's outcomes.

5. Agrees to a review of staffing to ensure that the backlog as well as the rising demand is met; whilst recognising that the MTFS each year seeks to do this, that we undertake a part year review to ascertain the demand in relation to staffing.

6. That the Warwickshire SEND and Inclusion Member Panel membership comprises members of all political groups.

Warwickshire SEND Local Offer Manuela Perteghella for Stratford-on-Avon