Issue - meetings

The Chair welcomed Sarah Callaghan, Director of Education and Skills and Dr Sally Richardson, Head of Inclusion to the meeting.

The report sets out the preparation for the forthcoming Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) re-visit due to take place by the end of October 2019, including the production of a self-assessment. In presenting the report, the committee noted that out of the twelve areas of concerns identified during the Ofsted inspection in November 2017, the following five areas of concern still required improvement:

1.  The transitioning from primary school to secondary school;

2.  The quality of the Education Health and Care Plan's (EHCP);

3.  The needs of the offer to local areas;

4.  The neurodevelopment pathways; and

5.  The educational outcomes for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

To improve these areas, members were informed that a task group had been formed to help scrutinise these areas and to make improvements.

Responding to the report, the following key issues were raised by the committee:

Members raised concerns about the Education Health Care (EHC) plans. Among the concerns raised were;

·  The EHC plans not following a child during the transition period between primary and secondary school;

·  The lack of EHC plans in place for a child during nursery and before the child enters mainstream school;

·  The shortage of Education Psychologists; and

·  The results of the EHC plan quality audit outlined in the report.

Responding to these concerns, members' were informed that this was an improving picture and changes had already been made to address these concerns. These included implementing a new Electronic Information System to record all the information coming into the local authority on a child to ensure it is all recorded centrally, engaging more with early years to ensure additional assessments are being carried out on a child at nursery level and the training of additional Educational Psychologists.

Addressing the concerns of the results of the auditing of the EHC plans, the committee were informed that the quality of the EHC plans had already substantially improved.

Additional concerns were raised by the committee on the access to CAMHS in Lancashire. In response, members' were informed that additional investment had been made to address this and the number of mental health workers available had been increased. 

Recognising that the level of exclusions in Lancashire were too high, members' were informed that work was continuing to reduce the number, such as carrying out additional work to identify a child's individual needs an early stage to ensure a plan is in place to address those needs before an exclusion is warranted.

Resolved: That;

i.  The information presented on the preparation for the forthcoming re-visit by Ofsted and the CQC be considered; and

ii.  The feedback on the self-assessment attached at Appendix 'B' of the report be discussed and agreed.