Agenda item

To note the report and consider the draft Accelerated Progress Plan and to agree the establishment of a sub-committee of the Health and Wellbeing Board to scrutinise the progress on the implementation of the Plan and the associated Key Performance Indicators.

Sarah Callaghan, Director of Education and Skills, Lancashire County Council and Hilary Fordham, Chief Operating Officer, Morecambe Bay Clinical Commissioning Group introduced the item.

Lancashire local area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities services were inspected by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in November 2017 to judge how effectively the special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms had been implemented, as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014. The inspection identified two fundamental failings and twelve areas of significant concern.

Partners in Lancashire were required to produce a Written Statement of Action, setting out the immediate priorities for action. The Written Statement of Action was subsequently updated and progress on the implementation of these actions monitored by the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England. Progress has been reported regularly to the SEND Partnership Board and the Health and Wellbeing Board.

An inspection revisit by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) took place in February and March 2020; the report was published on 5 August 2020 and circulated to members of the Board on the same day which set out that of the 12 areas of significant concern, seven the inspectors believed, had been sufficiently addressed and five still remained with some issues outstanding.  The areas where there had been sufficient progress made included the strategic leadership and vision across the partnership, engagement with parents and carers, although it is always acknowledged that there is more to do on that particular agenda and the quality of the Education, Health and Care plans with further details included in the report which was circulated with the agenda.

For the five areas where sufficient progress had not been made, there is an expectation to produce an Accelerated Progress Plan which will be submitted to the Department for Education/NHS England (DfE/NHS(E)) on 28 September 2020.  Due to the tight timescales to prepare, the plan is currently in development and a working draft was attached to the report circulated with the agenda.  This Plan will be formally monitored by the Department for Education/NHS England (DfE/NHS (E)) and progress reported to the SEND Partnership Board and Health and Wellbeing Board. 

The five areas where sufficient progress had not been made were:

(i)  Leaders understanding of the local area – the inspectors felt that progress had been made, although there were still some issues with sufficiency of data and ensuring that it is utilised to make the correct decisions for the benefit of Lancashire's children and young people.

(ii)  Weak joint commissioning arrangements – again this reflects some of the issues around the data provision and the need to appropriately monitor the Services that are commissioned.

(iii)  The absence of effective diagnostic pathways for young people on the Autistic spectrum disorder – the inspectors felt that it had been addressed at primary level which was the diagnostic pathway itself, however it was found that there were some long waiting lists in some parts of the County and these will now have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

(iv)  Poor transitions from Children's Services to Adult Services within Health Care.  This area was acknowledged as part of the introduction to the inspection that more needed to be done.

(v)  Inaccessibility of the Local Offer – again work has been done to develop a revised Local Offer and work has been undertaken with parents and carers around that, however the feedback to the inspectors was that it still was not sufficiently accessible for parents and carers.

For each of the five areas which require monitoring due to sufficient progress not being made, there needs to be an Accelerated Progress Plan and it is essential going forward, to be able to demonstrate clear key performance indicators (KPIs) which evidence that the actions being taken are having a significant impact on the lived experience of children and young people who are accessing the service.  Further details of the targets can be found in the Accelerated Progress Plan for each of the five areas.

As the accountable body for the Accelerated Progress Plan it is proposed that the Health and Wellbeing Board establish a formal sub-committee to ensure robust oversight of the Plan on behalf of the Board, so that progress achieved to date is maintained.  The formal sub-committee has powers delegated to it by this Board.

Following discussions it was:

Resolved:  That the Health and Wellbeing Board:

(i)  Noted receipts of the report from Ofsted/Care Quality Commission following the joint area SEND inspection re-visit;

(ii)  Considered the draft Accelerated Progress Plan to address the five areas where it has been judged that sufficient progress has not yet been achieved;

(iii)  Established a sub-committee of the Health and Wellbeing Board and Terms of Reference to scrutinise the progress on the implementation of the Plan and the associated Key Performance Indicators.