East Sussex Local SEND Reform Plan 2026

Annex A: Local SEND Reform Plan

Developing a Local Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Reform Plan is an important first step for local areas to set out how they will lay the foundation for reform, and design an approach tailored to their local context. A shared plan which focuses on co-designing the local approach as system partners and with children, young people and families will help foster collective responsibility for delivering the reforms.

It is critical that all system partners, including health, education and childcare settings, work together to design and deliver the Local SEND Reform Plan, under the local authority’s leadership. It is also crucial that representative family carers e.g. the local Parent Carer Forum, are involved in the development of the plan.

The expectation is that this plan is discussed, agreed, and signed off at your relevant SEND Governance Board. As a minimum, the plan must be formally signed off by the Local Authority Chief Executive (Ceo), the Integrated Care Board (Icb) Chief Executive, the Local Authority Director of Children’s Service (Dcs), the Icb National Health Service (NHS) Place Director, and the Local Authority Chief Financial Officer (Cfo/Section 151 Officer). We encourage other colleagues and partners who have contributed to also review and sign-off the plan, particularly early years, school, college and trust leaders.

Name of Local Authority: East Sussex

Name of Integrated Care Board: NHS Surrey and Sussex Integrated Care Board Local SEND Reform Plan Sro: Carolyn Fair, Director of Children’s Services, Escc

Executive Summary A brief summary of your local system ‘change story’ – your local context, where you are now, where you want to get to in the next 3 years, how

you know you are succeeding and how you will know you have achieved your vision for the next 3 years. Please include a brief qualitative summary. This summary should also include your assessment of current and forecast performance against the headline metrics.

Please structure your ‘change story’ using the following aims:

• Build a 0-25 system where children and young people receive support to achieve and thrive through (a) more inclusive settings and (b)

stronger local partnerships

• Improve capacity and capability of the mainstream and specialist workforce to identify and meet need
• Improve confidence of children, families, and stakeholders in reform and readiness of the system
• Stabilise finances and improve value for money

East Sussex is well positioned to deliver the Local SEND Reform Plan. In preparation for the Schools White Paper, partners came together to agree a clear, values-led definition of inclusion for the county: “Everyone working together so that all children and young people access education and are supported in their safety, wellbeing, and learning to belong, thrive and achieve.” This shared definition provides a consistent foundation for collective action and system-wide change.

Across the county, many of our settings already demonstrate inclusive practice aligned to this definition. These strengths provide a solid platform for reform. However, the experience of children, young people and families is not yet consistent. Families moving between localities can encounter variation in the level of support they receive, and inclusive practice is not embedded uniformly across all settings. Addressing this variability is a central ambition of our reform programme. Success will be realised when inclusion is no longer dependent on geography or individual provision but is experienced as a consistent and reliable feature of the whole system, with local partners working seamlessly together to support every child and young person to belong, thrive and achieve.

East Sussex also benefits from a skilled workforce spanning both mainstream and specialist provision. This includes strong expertise in identifying and responding to need. However, these strengths are constrained by workforce capacity pressures and compounded by the complexity of existing pathways. Navigating the system can be time-consuming, limiting the impact of specialist expertise and placing pressure on professionals.

Through this plan, we aim to redesign how expertise is accessed and mobilised. We will know this work has been successful when the Experts at Hand offer has released capacity across key services and specialist knowledge is deployed in a timely way where it is most needed. Alongside this, a clear and well understood ‘navigator’ function will support settings to move smoothly through the system, reducing delay and ensuring access to appropriate support for children, young people and families.

The reform programme is grounded in a longstanding commitment to co-production with parents, carers, children and young people. Successive SEND strategies have been shaped by lived experience, with a clear focus on building confidence and trust. This commitment is embedded through strong links between the SEND Governance Board, the Parent Carer Forum (Pcf) and the Young Ambassadors programme, ensuring decision making remains informed by those who experience the system directly. We will know this approach has been successful when families who have previously felt frustrated report a meaningful shift: a system that feels easier to navigate, less fragmented, and more responsive to need.

A further key indicator of success will be a sustained reduction in high cost out of area placements at independent non maintained special schools (Inms). Current placement patterns have created financial pressures and, in many cases, removed children and young people (Cyp) from their local communities. Work to develop specialist bases within the county is already well established, and the reforms provide an opportunity to accelerate this approach. Success will be demonstrated when specialist bases are embedded within a coherent local system, supporting smooth transitions across phases, improving outcomes and strengthening community belonging. This will then continue the trend of the strong financial management by East Sussex, demonstrated by its management of SEND pressures within departmental budgets until the end of 2024/25.

Section 1 – Vision and Goals

• What the local area partnership is trying to achieve?

Please set out your goals for your local system. These should be clear, aligned to the vision set out in the Schools White Paper, small in number and measurable. These goals should include clear reference to:

• Outcomes for children
• Confidence of parents, carers and young people in the system
• Management of finances to secure value for money

We will know we have achieved our three‑year vision when:

Mainstream settings, schools and colleges demonstrate consistent inclusive practice, with more Cyp with Education Health Care Plans (EHCPs) remaining in their local settings, improved attendance in line with or above national averages, and reduced permanent exclusions below the national average.

• Sufficient, high‑quality post‑16 and post‑19 provision is in place, leading to improved engagement in education, employment or training.
• The Experts at Hand model is fully embedded and providing consistent support across the partnership.
• Targeted investment in specialist bases has increased local capacity and reduced reliance on high cost out‑of‑area placements.
• Children with the most complex SEND needs are well supported to access the right placements and the healthcare they need in a timely way.

These metrics set out clear, measurable improvements:

• By 28/29, attendance will rise: Special Educational Needs (SEN) support +2.9%, EHCPs +2.2%, special schools +2.1%.
• By 28/29, permanent exclusions for pupils on SEN support will fall by 33% in primary and 25% in secondary.
• By 28/29, Not in Education, Education or Training (Neet) rates will drop: SEN support −3%; EHCPs −2.4%.

By 28/29, Full-Time equivalent (Fte) workforce growth: Speech and Language Therapists and support workers +169%; Occupational Therapists and support workers +325%; Educational Psychologists (Ep) and support workers +44%.

• By 28/29, specialist places across mainstream primary and secondary will increase by 89% which will support our goal for long term financial stability post-2029.

Service user feedback from children, young people and families shows year‑on‑year improvement in access to services and timeliness of support, strengthening feelings of belonging and being understood which will be measured via survey and through a focus group with Cyp.

Section 2 – Strategy

• Where the local area partnership expects to be in the next 3 years

A description of what your local system would look like in the next 3 years in line with the national vision set out in the Schools White Paper and set within the context of where you are starting from as a local system.

In particular, as commissioning system partners, you should reflect on and agree what your fully fledged Experts At Hand Offer model should be and how this will be deployed via mainstream settings and providers (including those not based in your area – e.g. further education colleges attended by your young people) to build their capacity as well as identify and meet the needs of children and young people earlier and without the need for a statutory assessment for Education, Health and Care.

To help you fully consider the scope and scale of change required, you may find it useful to structure your response using these 4 building blocks of an inclusive system, reflecting on what is working well in your system, what you are most worried about, what needs to change, and how the enablers will help you achieve your 3 year vision.

When summarising where your local area partnership currently is, please include an assessment of where you are in reference to the core minimum requirements above and how you bridge the gap, making reference to and attaching additional documents that provide underlying evidence for your summary.

Local blueprint for the next 3 years Where we are (a short summary of where you are now including a reflection on what is working well, what needs to change and the status of the enablers that underpin your system)

Where we will be in the next 3 years (a short summary of the vision for your local system in the next 3 years including the system enablers, reflecting how your Experts At Hand Offer model will underpin this vision, helping you scale and enhance what is working well and change what is not working so well)

Building Block 1: Strengthening inclusion across education settings

i) Developing the overall vision for inclusion and improving the consistency of inclusion practice through the universally available provision (Uap)

We have co-produced a shared vision for inclusion with school leaders and practitioners and produced a new version of our Uap document which has been developed with schools (including multi-academy trusts (MATs)) and stakeholders. The Primary, Secondary and Joint Board are committed to inclusion and have led these developments. The next step is to work with schools to ensure that Uap is consistently delivered across all schools.

All schools, settings and post-16 providers will have fully embedded our vision for inclusion and Uap so that we have consistent shared expectations and practice around inclusion across all schools, settings and colleges with evidence of improved parental confidence in mainstream schools and settings as a result.

ii) Supporting and challenging schools to develop effective inclusion strategies

We already have many schools, early years settings and post-16 providers with strong inclusive cultures and practice. Our challenge has been ensuring consistency and seeing the impact of inclusive practice reflected in outcomes for pupils with SEND. We know from young people and parental feedback that not all schools, settings and providers have inclusive culture and practice that meets the needs of their children.

All schools and settings will have developed and implemented inclusion strategies with appropriate support and challenge around their Uap and culture of inclusion. All East Sussex County Council (Escc) staff working with schools will have undertaken further training and development around the Uap and our shared expectations for universal/targeted support, to ensure there is rigorous and consistent challenge and support around the development of inclusion strategies. iii) Sharing and promoting strong inclusive practice – learning from the best within and outside East Sussex

A range of networks already provide a forum in which strong inclusive practice can be shared across schools, early years settings and post- 16 providers. The networks include SEND specific ones for: specialist facility leads, governors, Special Educational Needs Coordinator’s (SENCOs), early years practitioners and a Sussex wide post-16 group. The SENCO network is led by Lead SENCOs recruited for their experience and expertise in inclusion and are well attended by schools and played an especially important role in supporting new to role SENCOs.

We will have learnt from schools, trusts, early years providers and post-16 settings outside of East Sussex to raise further our shared ambition of what strong inclusive practice looks like. We will undertake ongoing “study visits” to other local areas with identified strengths. We will have shared the best inclusive practice using peer networks and cross school and setting collaborations through models of peer review and other peer learning.

iv) Developing our local partnership arrangements to strengthen cross-school/setting working on inclusion

We have strong local partnership structures which enable all schools (Local Authority maintained and academies) to work collaboratively together in local alliances and Education Improvement Partnerships (Eip) for primary schools and early years and in Area Groups (Ag) for secondary and post-16 providers. This has been successful in enabling schools to work together on agreed priorities and allocating resources for continuing professional development (Cpd), shared projects and school to school support. Over the last few years, an agreed priority for all these partnerships has been improving outcomes for SEND pupils.

We will have developed stronger local cross-phase cluster arrangements within the existing EIPs, in which mainstream and special schools can come together to share and develop their inclusion practice and potentially pool and share expert resources. These local cross-phase clusters will provide access to support from Experts at Hand moving forward.

v) Strengthening transitions across the system from early years to post-16

Transition is already a shared priority across our school partnerships. Local Authority services provide dedicated support for transition between phases for children with SEND. We recently funded a series of Inclusion projects which focused on supporting earlier intervention and transition and good practice has been shared and sustained. Good practice and ways of working need embedding across all schools and settings. At post-16, work is ongoing through a Sussex Post-16 SEND Group to improve provision for SEND learners at further education colleges.

Children and young people will transition successfully and with confidence to their next phase of learning. There will be consistent practice of supporting transition in all schools and settings and improved parental confidence. Information sharing will be supported by secure digital solutions that provide easier access and improved data. Progression routes post-19 will be clear and preparation for adulthood will be embedded from secondary school onwards. Strong connections with Adult Social Care will ensure that this preparation is sequenced correctly and that services are joined up.

Building Block 2: Access to specialist support and local placements i)

Designing and implementing our new Experts at Hand offer to make it as easy as possible for schools and settings to access support.

East Sussex was part of the Change Programme piloting the Local Inclusion Support Offer. This has given us a strong foundation and important learning for how we plan to develop our new Experts at Hand offer including building on the key role of the navigator who will act as the connector for schools and settings to help them to access support at the right time to meet identified needs. The Sussex Post-16 SEND group is well established and will enable us to explore how the model can work for post-16 providers.

All schools, colleges and settings will have access to our new Experts at Hand offer. They will be clear about how and where they can access specialist support and more confident in their own ability to identify and meet needs themselves. Our model will be based on support from a ‘navigator’ to help education providers access support more easily; a ‘team around the school’ approach to implementation; and a model of working with locality groups of schools wherever possible to build their collective capacity for improvement. We have set out more details about our planned implementation model for the Experts at Hand model in the attachment. ii) Commissioning additional expert capacity within the new Experts at Hand offer in identified priority areas and developing a navigator role to ensure fair access to the offer.

East Sussex already has a strong support offer for non-statutory specialist support from a range of different internal services and partners. This includes a dedicated internal Communication, Learning and Autism Support Service (Class), a jointly commissioned Children’s Integrated Therapy and Equipment Service (Cites) and a strong core and traded support offer from Educational Psychologists. We are currently piloting a new outreach offer from one of our special schools and will evaluate and learn from this offer to develop this element of the future Experts at Hand offer. Our analysis of needs from past and projected future EHCPs as well as feedback from schools during the Local Inclusion Support Offer (Liso) pilot has helped to identify initial priorities for building additional support through Experts at Hand.

We will have a well-established Experts at Hand offer that provides schools, settings and providers easy access to:

- Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Physiotherapists through an expanded Cites. - Education Psychologists. - Specialist teachers for Social Emotional and Mental Health (Semh) - Training and advice through an outreach offer from Special Schools - Alternative Provision Specialist Task Force (Apst) offer and alternative provision (AP) outreach offer iii) Extending the Apst pilot to strengthen integrated specialist support and develop a sustainable, system-wide Alternative Provision outreach offer. Alternative provision | Czone

The East Sussex AP Provider offering statutory day 6 provision transferred to a new trust on 1 September 2025, this AP is now known as the East Sussex Academy. In 2025/26 the Local Authority commissioned 220 places at the East Sussex Academy, a 96% increase on the number of places commissioned the previous year. This was part of our strategic plan to ensure sufficient high quality AP places. Our AP provision is not constrained, and this arrangements are working well. We also have an AP Directory that schools use to commission AP. East Sussex piloted the Apst as part of the change programme to improve access to specialist support and strengthen local alternative provision. This has established a multi-disciplinary, co-located model within the East Sussex Academy, enabling rapid assessment, earlier identification of SEND and more coordinated support for children with highly complex needs. As a result, more pupils who were previously out of education are now on roll and engaged in learning, with improved attendance and sustained placements. The model has strengthened outreach and partnership with mainstream schools, reducing exclusions and increasing local capacity, although challenges remain around sufficiency and consistent access across all areas.

Our Apst will be delivering a sustainable, locality-based model of specialist support, outreach and reintegration. The reintegration model will be fully implemented, ensuring all pupils have a clear, staged pathway to appropriate placements, including mainstream. AP outreach will strengthen mainstream inclusion in schools and reduce reliance on exclusion and high-cost placements. Earlier access to integrated specialist support, through the Apst will improve identification and intervention, preventing escalation. As a result, more children will be educated successfully within their communities, with improved outcomes, greater system capacity, and a more consistent and equitable local offer.

iv) Strengthening early identification of SEND and inclusive practice in the Early Years through the implementation of the Best Start In Life Strategy (Bsil) and integrated support from Family Hubs

East Sussex has strengthened early access to specialist support through its Best Start in Life (Bsil) strategy and the development of our eleven Family Hubs, providing integrated support from pregnancy to school age. Family Hubs bring together education, health and early help services, improving access to advice, assessment and early

We will deliver early identification of SEND and inclusion through the Best Start in Life Inclusion Practitioners (BSIPs) working across early years settings and Family Hubs. These roles will provide targeted support for children aged 0–5 with emerging SEND,

intervention for children with emerging SEND. Practitioners work directly with families and settings to support inclusion, build parental confidence and improve school readiness. While this has improved coordination and access, early identification and consistent specialist support across early years provision remains variable, with opportunities to further strengthen workforce capacity and earlier intervention pathways.

delivering early intervention, strengthening the graduated response and building workforce confidence. Integrated working across Bsil, Family Hubs and education will ensure earlier, more consistent access to specialist support. As a result, more children will have their needs identified and met earlier, improving school readiness, reducing escalation to statutory services, and enabling more children to access inclusive local provision from the earliest stage. v) Work with the Icb and NHS providers to reduce waiting times for key health provision and to improve support whilst waiting

The Area Special Educational Needs and Disability (Asend) Inspection in November 2024 highlighted a need for improvement of waiting times for wheelchairs, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) interventions and neurodevelopmental pathways. Work to date has had some impact on reducing waiting times and improving support whilst waiting but this continues to be a priority area for the local partnership and families.

There will be a reduction in waiting times across key NHS provision, including wheelchairs, CAMHS interventions and neurodevelopmental pathways. Families will report increased satisfaction in the support received whilst waiting.

Building Block 3: System leadership, local partnership collaboration and co-production i) Ensure SEND governance structures support collaborative multi-agency working and hold all partners accountable for improving outcomes for children and young people

We have a well-established SEND Strategy Governance Board and good commitment across partners. The East Sussex SEND Strategy sets out our shared vision and ambition and a new strategy will be in place from September 2026. There are some partners in Adult Social Care and Public Health who we need to improve and embed engagement with.

Multi-agency collaboration will be embedded across all partners, and the SEND governance structures will include representation from Adult Social Care and Public Health partners. Data Dashboards that are easy to access and understand will support the work of the Board in holding partners to account and measuring the impact on outcomes for children and young people. Robust data sharing across partners will facilitate multi-agency working ii) Strengthen co-production processes working with Pcf to build greater parental confidence in mainstream inclusion

We have a strong working relationship with the East Sussex Parent Carer Forum (Espcf), and they have been instrumental in developing a shared approach to co-production across our partners. We co- produced an East Sussex SEND Co-production Handbook and Charter with the Pcf. Further work is needed to embed co-production across all partners and ensure the Pcf has sufficient capacity and resources.

Effective co-production and work with parents, families, children and young people will be embedded within the inclusion approaches of all schools, settings, colleges and providers. Insights from work with families, children and young people will be shared across locality clusters to inform the priorities for support that are being identified and will be fed into the Joint Board and SEND Strategy Governance Board to inform oversight, assurance and continuous improvement across the system. iii) Further develop engagement and co-production with children and young people

A dedicated SEND Reforms Focus Group for children and young people will provide sustained insight by tracking the experiences and perspectives of a defined cohort as reforms are implemented, ensuring that the lived experience of children and young people directly informs refinement, assurance and system learning throughout delivery.

We already have a Children and Young People’s SEND Co-production Commitment in place which guides our work in this area. The Children and Young People Participation Team currently engage with over 300 children and young people with SEND each year through established focus groups and the Young SEND Ambassadors scheme. Distinct engagement methodologies are used to ensure that the views of children and young people are captured separately from those of parents and carers, and that participation is inclusive across all age ranges, from Year 1 through to post-16, supported by close collaboration with schools and settings

iv) Strengthen the arrangements in place for providing independent information and advice to parents and carers and increase the focus on early resolution approaches

We have a well-established, externally commissioned Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (Sendiass) with robust contract management arrangements in place. The service is well regarded by families. Increases in demand over the last few years are putting pressure on their capacity. We are part of the South East Mediation Group who jointly commission

Families will continue to be well informed and supported with high quality independent information and guidance. Families will report that support and discussion have resolved issues at an earlier stage. There will be the start of a reduction in complaints and tribunals.

SEND mediation and dispute resolution services. Local Mediation/Dispute Resolution liaison meetings are held with the Pcf to discuss feedback on the service recommendations for improvement. Children and young people and families are actively supported to participate in mediation. This year we implemented changes within the Local Authority to our management of disputes and complaints, with additional capacity for earlier resolution. Building Block 4: Encouraging inclusive culture and behaviours i) Managing increases in demand for EHCPs whilst ensuring we are on trajectory to reduce our High Needs Block (Hnb) deficit

The increase in the Hnb deficit will have been mitigated by the actions set out in this plan and there will be signs of a downward trajectory from 2029/30.

East Sussex has a track record of good financial management, including the Hnb. It was not until 2024/25 that the Hnb recorded a deficit. The in-year Hnb deficit at the end of the 2025/26 financial year was £23.187m and the cumulative Hnb deficit at year-end was £26.103m. Over the next three years, before the full implementation of the SEND reforms, we expect requests for ECHPs to increase at a greater rate and this will mean increased pressure on the Hnb. The work set out in this plan will support the move to a more inclusive education system and start to mitigate these pressures. The High Needs Block working group regularly meets to discuss key financial issues and report to Schools Forum. The group provides robust and appropriate financial challenges and have supported in developments including single value top-up (Svt) calculations, exceptional funding and additional notional funding allocations. Regular discussions take place around the financial pressures within the system.

ii) Managing business as usual at a time of increased demand for EHCPs and improve the timeliness of EHCPs

Timeliness of EHCPs will be increasing and we will be beginning to see a slower rate of requests for EHCPs. Partners will be working collaboratively to implement multi-agency approaches.

With the increases in demand for EHCPs, we are experiencing challenges in issuing EHCPs within statutory timelines. Delays in the timeliness further exacerbate the dissatisfaction of families and lead to increases in tribunals and complaints. We have agreed strategies in place across partners to improve timeliness, but the impact of these mitigations is taking time to be seen in improved rates due to the back- logs in the system.

iii) Using High Needs Provision Capital Allocation (Hnpca) to ensure there is sufficiency of places including in specialist bases in mainstream schools and for children and young people with the most complex needs

There will be sufficient places in special schools for children and young people with more complex needs that require specialist provision. There will be a reduction of pupils who require places at Inms and a decrease in spend on this provision. An increase in specialist bases will mean more children are able to access provision at their local school.

We have a clear strategy for SEND Place Planning as detailed in the School Organisation Plan and the annual Childcare Sufficiency Assessment. Capital funding has been used strategically to develop provision in areas of geographical need and for children and young people with the most complex needs, alongside the development of specialist bases. We work in collaboration with MATs to develop specialist bases on suitable sites. Specialist Bases in East Sussex Mainstream Schools A high percentage of children attending Inms puts further pressure on the Hnb and SEND transport budget; ensuring sufficient places in our special schools has been an important way of mitigating this pressure. Gaps in specialist provision remain for post-16 pupils and we are working with our special schools and Further Education (Fe) Colleges to develop new provision.

Education Plans | East Sussex County Council – Excellence for All and the School Organisation Plan 2025-2029 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2026 | East Sussex County Council

• What is the local area partnership’s strategy for delivering on the above?

A brief summary of your local system’s theory of change or reform strategy. Reflect on the output of your Local Partnership Maturity Assessment Tool, particularly your Local System ‘change story.’

East Sussex is committed to delivering inclusive, high-quality SEND provision that enables Cyp to achieve meaningful education, health and wellbeing outcomes and to prepare effectively for adulthood.

Our system operates within a context of rising demand, increasing complexity of need, workforce pressures and significant financial challenge within the High Needs Block. Partners have worked collaboratively to manage pressures within available resources and avoid inter-block transfers wherever possible. Recently, growth in EHCPs and rising Inms costs have required agreed transfers to maintain financial sustainability. National SEND reforms therefore present a critical opportunity to reset the system.

Since 2023, East Sussex has participated in the SEND and Alternative Provision Change Programme, enabling the development of the Uap and the establishment of an Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce. These developments provide a strong foundation for improvement.

However, too many Cyp continue to experience delayed access to support and variable quality of provision. Reliance on statutory processes and specialist provision has increased, indicating that early identification and inclusive mainstream practice are not yet embedded consistently across the system. Parental confidence and trust remain mixed, and resources are not always aligned to the interventions that most effectively improve outcomes.

The system must therefore rebalance towards earlier identification, strengthened universal provision and inclusive mainstream practice, with clearer accountability for outcomes. By investing in workforce capability, delivering the Uap offer, expanding local sufficiency and embedding co-production with families, demand for escalation and high-cost placements with associated high transport costs will reduce. Strong system leadership and shared data will support a sustainable SEND system. This work will coalesce around the idea that Cyp will feel a deeper and more meaningful sense of belonging in the system, their wellbeing will be enhanced and their outcomes will improve.

• Please upload a completed copy of the Local Partnership Maturity Assessment Tool.

See attachments

• What is the local area partnership roadmap for the next 3 years?

Reflecting on the broad timescales and expectation for deliverables set out in the Schools White Paper, key documents and core minimum requirements set out in this document, please provide a high-level roadmap for the next 3 years. Please highlight key milestones and a trajectory to the target metrics identified above, including leading indicators.

In the 2026-27 column, in particular, please reference how you plan to meet the core minimum requirements in your narrative, including details and evidence in supporting documents.

You can insert or upload supporting documents including graphics/visuals that illustrate your data trajectory.

Experts at Hand Narrative: Please see at Annex D Success Measures:

• What will the local area partnership deliver in the first year?

Please outline the key workstreams, milestones and trajectory your local area partnership will deliver and achieve in 2026-27 as well as how you plan to spend the investment allocation that will help fund this year’s delivery. Please share key milestones and anticipated dates, success measures, cost breakdown and category. These should incorporate the core minimum requirements, be mapped to the building blocks above and should reflect a more detailed trajectory to the narrative, milestones and target metrics outlined in the 2026-27 column above.

Projected Investment Spend per quarter Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

Transformation staffing/leadership £66,000 £66,000 £66,000 £199,285

Eah management/leadership £60,000 £60,000 £60,000 £180,000

Eah Workforce £900,000 £900,000 £900,000 £2,700,000

Workforce Development/Training £20,000 £35,000 £35,000 £90,000

Data/Digital £26,000 £90,000 £90,000 £206,000

Information and advice for parents/Co-production £28,000 £28,000 £28,000 £84,000

Total £1,100,000 £1,179,000 £1,179,000 £3,459,285

• How will the local area partnership deliver the first-year plan?

Please set out how you will ensure the required capacity and capability is in place from organisational corporate functions to support implementation of the plan. This could include reference to how you plan to build or bring in project delivery capability to manage delivery against the plan, support prioritisation, and effective use of resources; and how you plan to build the capacity and capability in data and analytics to support effective tracking against the measures in the plan and reporting that informs decision making.

To ensure the Local Authority has the organisational capacity required to deliver meaningful improvement through our plan, two additional posts will be established within Children’s Services: Strategic Lead: SEND Reforms and Project Officer: SEND Reforms. These roles will provide clear strategic oversight and day-to-day programme management of the SEND Reform Plan, working across education, health and care partners to coordinate activity, manage dependencies and remove barriers to delivery. Together, they will be responsible for ensuring that progress against agreed milestones is regularly reviewed and reported through established governance arrangements. Both posts will be funded through the SEND Transformation Fund.

In addition, the funding will be used to strengthen capacity within the Local Authority’s Finance Team and to improve data capabilities. This investment will enable more robust financial oversight, improved demand and cost modelling, and stronger performance intelligence to support timely, evidence-based decision-making. Enhanced data capacity will ensure consistent tracking of progress against the measures set out in this plan, support identification of emerging risks and pressures, and provide clear, reliable reporting.

The funding will also be used to strengthen capacity within the Joint Commissioning Team, enabling closer and more effective collaboration with the Icb as the Experts at Hand model is developed. This additional capacity will support coordinated commissioning approaches, ensure alignment of priorities across education, health and care, and enable timely input into the design and delivery of the model.

The funding will be used to second a senior leader from one of our schools to provide additional system-level capacity and expert practitioner insight to support delivery of the reforms. This role will strengthen the connection between strategic decision-making and lived experience in schools, embedding a consistent feedback loop within our organisational and governance structures.

Working across the Icb, with other local authorities, Universities, the Skills East Sussex Board and their related sector specific task groups, we will develop a recruitment campaign and pathways for therapists and Educational Psychologists. Alongside an Advanced Practitioner role and fully qualified Educational Psychologists our plans also include the development of assistant roles that will enable progression and build capacity in the workforce over time.

8. Other funding Local Authorities.

Block Transfers: If you have made a block transfer (Schools Block to High Needs Block) for 26-27, please set out how your plans for this funding align with the activities outlined above.

N/A – no block transfer was made in 26/27 Capital: We have announced at least £3 billion in high needs capital between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to support children and young people (Cyp) with SEND, or those requiring alternative provision (AP). This funding is intended to support place delivery across the full 0-25 age range, including early years and post-16. We expect funding to support the following outcomes: a. Inclusion at the core of high needs sufficiency strategy, resulting in more children and young people with SEND accessing suitable places in mainstream settings, across all phases of education b. Every child or young person who needs a place in an inclusion base can access one c. Fewer children and young people with SEND needing to travel a long way to access a suitable placement d. Improved suitability of the mainstream estate to support children and young people with SEND, with adaptations to improve inclusivity and accessibility of the physical environment We also welcome innovative uses of high needs capital to drive inclusion, for example, investment in assistive technology for use in mainstream settings.

Please outline your strategy for how this funding will meet the outcomes above, with reference to the core minimum requirements and other workstreams in this reform plan where appropriate. We would like to see detail around your plans to increase capacity for inclusion bases (formerly known as SEN units, resourced provision and pupil support units – Su/Rp/PSUs), such as schools, colleges or early years providers identified, engagement with relevant settings and trusts, and target cohort of needs.

If your plans include increases to places in special schools or specialist post-16 institutions, please include a clear rationale, showing the need that is being met, and why it cannot be met through other types of provision, such as inclusion bases.

If you are receiving additional capital funding to replace one or more planned special or AP free schools, please set out how this funding will meet need in your area, and plans for engaging relevant trusts in your sufficiency planning.

Our SEND place planning strategy is focused on delivering a financially sustainable and inclusive system that enables more children and young people with SEND to access high-quality provision locally, with mainstream inclusion as the default wherever appropriate. Investment decisions are aligned to this strategy and our wider SEND reform programme, ensuring a coordinated approach across education, health and care.

A key priority is the expansion of specialist bases within mainstream schools across all phases. This approach strengthens inclusive provision while increasing local capacity and reducing the need for children to travel long distances. In recent years, over 100 new specialist base places have been delivered. Currently, 8% of primary schools and 38% of secondary schools host a specialist base. Building on place planning analysis and demand forecasting, we are working with schools and multi-academy trusts to deliver a further 224 places by 2029/30 through new and expanded specialist bases and satellite provision (subject to future Hnpca funding).

These developments will focus on geographic areas of greatest need, particularly Autistic Spectrum Disorder (Asd) and Speech, Language and Communication Needs (Slcn) with an increasing emphasis on provision for children and young people with Semh needs. We will develop a travel impact assessment to be used as part of evaluations of expressions of interest to ensure new provision reduces pupil travel time and transport costs. Engagement with schools, trusts and post-16 providers is ongoing to ensure solutions are co-designed and locally owned.

Capital investment will also continue to support adaptations to the mainstream estate, improving accessibility and inclusivity and enabling schools to better meet a wider range of needs. We have an existing group that oversees requests from schools and decisions will continue to be informed by speech and language, and occupational health therapists, and other new Experts at Hand professionals as they are recruited to.

East Sussex continues to have a high reliance on independent and non-maintained special schools (Inms). In 2025, 10.4% of pupils with SEND were placed in Inms, 3.9% above the national average, ranking the authority 13th highest nationally (Mime, March 2026). Reducing dependence on these high-cost placements through increased local provision is a core strategic aim.

The 2024 Asend inspection highlighted the need to strengthen alternative provision and post-16 pathways for pupils with SEND. Where expansion of special school or specialist post-16 provision is proposed, this will be based on robust evidence that needs cannot be met through inclusive mainstream approaches, even with enhanced support. Provision for highly complex cohorts will complement rather than displace inclusive practice.

Within this context, we are working with the Southfield Trust to deliver 70 new post-16 places at Summerdown School through joint capital investment. In parallel, plans are underway to secure a new site for Glyne Gap School’s post-16 provision ahead of its current lease expiry in 2029. Both projects respond directly to identified gaps in provision and will support pupils with the most complex needs ensuring appropriate pathways to adulthood.

Overall, the strategy embeds inclusion at the heart of the system and ensures pupils with SEND can access high-quality provision as close to home as possible. This strategy has served us well over several years in managing our High Needs Block without a deficit and it is central pillar of our mitigations for reducing further pressures in the High Needs Block and on home to school transport.

For full details of the East Sussex School Organisation Plan, follow this link: Education Plans | East Sussex County Council For full details of the East Sussex Childcare Sufficiency Assessment, follow this link: Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2026 | East Sussex County Council

9. System partner and stakeholder engagement, and co-production.

Please outline how the local area partnership plans to engage system partners and stakeholders to develop and implement the plan – include planned engagement with schools and early years settings, alternative providers, Fe and post-16 providers (including those your young people attend that are not within your local area), Parents and Carers and children and young people with SEND, with reference to the core minimum requirements. Consider changing roles and responsibilities in the context of the Schools White Paper and how you work collaboratively to manage the transition. Please indicate where additional support is required to engage partners or stakeholders - senior officials at the Department for Education will be available to contribute to summer term events with education leaders and parent carer forum leaders.

Our Local Area Partnership has embedded a co‑production approach from the outset, ensuring that system partners with lived and professional experience are actively shaping both the development and implementation of the plan. Two multi‑agency co‑production workshops were convened in March and May 2026, bringing together representatives from our SEND Governance Boards, Lead SENCOs, parents and carers, children and young people, health providers and social care colleagues. These partners have made substantive contributions to the local area maturity assessment and provided targeted, outcome‑focused input into the Uap, directly influencing priorities and actions. This partnership group will continue to be convened on a biannual basis to provide ongoing strategic challenge, feedback and assurance, and to collaboratively respond to emerging intelligence and dynamic updates to delivery, ensuring the plan remains responsive, owned and effective across the system.

We will build on our established school‑led system arrangements to support the co‑development and delivery of the plan. The Joint Board, Secondary Board and Primary Board provide system‑wide strategic leadership and oversight of school‑led improvement across all phases, including primary, secondary, post‑16 and SEND. These boards will act as the core mechanism for engaging the education system in the reforms, ensuring consistent communication, shared understanding and collective accountability, with key messages and expectations cascading through strong local partnerships between schools. The boards will play a central role in shaping and overseeing elements of the reform relating to Uap and targeted support in schools. These priorities will be embedded as standing themes within board agendas and will be further developed through phase‑specific leadership conferences, supporting professional dialogue, shared problem‑solving and aligned implementation across the system.

To ensure that effective co‑production practices are consistently embedded across the system, the Pcf will be commissioned to deliver a structured programme of co‑production training for early years settings, schools, colleges and providers. This programme will build shared understanding and capability, clarifying the role and responsibility of each system partner in meaningfully engaging children, young people, parents and carers in the implementation of the reform plan at a local level. Partners will be expected to demonstrate how stakeholder insight is actively shaping delivery within their settings, with learning and feedback systematically escalating through established governance routes, including the SEND Governance Board and the SEND Strategy and Reforms Implementation Group, to inform oversight, assurance and continuous improvement across the system.

The SEND Participation Team currently engages with over 300 children and young people with SEND each year through established focus groups and the Young SEND Ambassadors scheme. Distinct engagement methodologies are used to ensure that the views of children and young people are captured separately from those of parents and carers, and that participation is inclusive across all age ranges, from Year 1 through to post‑16, supported by close collaboration with schools and settings. Building on this established infrastructure, a dedicated SEND Reforms Focus Group for children and young people will be established, managed by the Participation Team and overseen by the Strategic Lead for SEND Reforms. This group will provide sustained insight by tracking the experiences and perspectives of a defined cohort as reforms are implemented, ensuring that the lived experience of children and young people directly informs refinement, assurance and system learning throughout delivery.

10. Risks and Mitigations

What are the key risks that could affect the successful implementation of your Local SEND Reform Plan, and what mitigation strategies are in place to manage these risks? Please include a maximum of 5 risks with impact and likelihood Rag for each risk. See Annex C for suggested risk matrix.

£117.7m by 2028–29. Without a supported by Departmental Capital Boards that permanent funding increase, Efs will focus on priority areas.

likely be required beyond this period.

Our plans reflect known risks, including social, This position excludes Dedicated economic, policy, demographic, and financial Schools Grant (Dsg) deficits and the pressures. However, we continue to operate in a end of the statutory override in March highly uncertain environment. Ongoing economic 2028. Dsg deficits are forecast at challenges create a difficult financial outlook for both £52.8m in 2026–27 and £93.0m in the Council and residents. These include the long- 2027–28. Even with Hnb recovery term impacts of Covid-19, cost of living pressures, grant assumptions, Escc will face and wider national and international factors. We use significant accumulated Dsg deficits the latest available data to inform our planning. A without sufficient reserves, risking long- resilience and governance review by Cipfa term financial sustainability unless confirmed that effective processes and governance further government support is secured.

arrangements are in place, with further improvements implemented in response to recommendations.

We continually review performance targets, priorities, service delivery models, and financial plans, adapting as required. This includes mitigating pressures through the use of new technology, workforce investment, efficiency measures, and ensuring services remain effective and provide value for money.

We continue to lobby, independently and with partners, for a sustainable funding regime for local government, particularly in children’s and adult social care. To address the forecast funding gap for 2026–

This is compounded by an existing indicates that individuals who undertake assistant workforce shortage, particularly within roles are more likely to return to the area following Educational Psychology, where a completion of their professional training, thereby strengthening longer-term workforce stability and national supply gap persists.

capacity.

11. Dependencies

Please detail the key areas of the local area partnership’s proposed SEND future state and roadmap that may be impacted by wider reforms nationally and locally and outline how you will manage these. We expect these will include but not be limited to:

• NHS reforms
• Local Government Re-organisation
• Reforms to Children’s Social Care – multi agency working and capacity building
• Best Start in Life, including Family Hubs
• Best Start In Life Strategy
• Curriculum and Assessment Review

- NHS reforms – From April 2026, Sussex Icb transitioned to NHS Surrey and Sussex Icb. This organisational change represents a significant system dependency for the reform programme, particularly in its early stages. The greatest impact is expected during the first year of implementation, as new governance, leadership arrangements and strategic priorities are embedded. Any emerging risks will be proactively identified and managed through the SEND Governance Board, which will provide a formal escalation route, maintain assurance over joint decision‑making, and ensure continuity of strategic objectives. Ongoing engagement with Icb leadership will support alignment of commissioning intentions and workforce planning.

- Local Government Re‑organisation (Lgr) – In March 2026, government confirmed it would consult on a variation of the One East Sussex proposal rather than make an immediate decision on the future structure of local government. The original proposal, published in September 2024, set out a single‑council model for East Sussex, while the government’s variation proposes transferring Peacehaven and Telscombe to Brighton & Hove. Elections are expected in May 2027, with new unitary arrangements operational from April 2028. Given the scale and timing of this reform, Lgr represents a medium‑term strategic dependency rather than an immediate operational risk. The programme will therefore focus on maintaining delivery momentum under existing structures, while scenario‑planning for potential accountability changes. Strategic oversight arrangements will ensure continuity of SEND reform priorities and enable smooth transition planning once the future operating model is confirmed.

- Central government funding strategy for local authorities – The Fair Funding Review 2.0 had a negative impact on the funding available for East Sussex over the next three years. Our Core Spending Power increased by 10.2% over the settlement period, significantly below the national average of 15%. Capital funding uncertainty, inflation, supply chain issues and high interest rates could all constrain our ability to implement our Capital Strategy and further increase the pressure on the revenue budget via increased borrowing costs. The council is currently in receipt of Efs from Mhclg, and when the Dsg statutory override ceases in March 2028, the remaining East Sussex reserves will not be sufficient to cover the remaining forecast Dsg deficit. Remaining mitigation available to us includes robust business planning, annual review of the Capital Strategy, review of performance targets and service delivery models, lobbying for a sustainable funding regime for local government, and application for future Efs.

- Best Start in Life Strategy and Family Hubs – The Best Start in Life Strategy and Family Hubs programme is closely aligned with the SEND reform agenda, sharing common aims around early intervention, integrated service delivery and improved outcomes. There are clear interdependencies, particularly in relation to service design and workforce development. These will be managed through a defined and proactive governance approach. The Strategic Lead for SEND Reforms will be embedded within the Local Best Start Partnership Board, with responsibility for coordinating delivery and managing cross‑programme risks and overlaps. Regular reporting, shared performance oversight and joint review cycles will ensure dependencies are actively monitored.

- Curriculum and Assessment Review – The government’s commitment to supporting schools to adapt the new curriculum to better meet individual needs represents an important dependency for inclusion and SEND outcomes. Successful implementation will require local translation of national policy into school‑level inclusion strategies. We will work strategically through established school partnership and system‑leadership structures to ensure the curriculum reforms are well understood and aligned with wider SEND reforms. This will include targeted engagement with school leaders, and ongoing feedback loops to share learning across the county.

Section 3 – Monitoring and Evaluation

• How will the local area partnership know delivery is on track?

Please set out how you will monitor and track progress referencing:

• Monitoring tools and processes - the specific tools, systems, and data you will use to track delivery milestones and measure the

impact on outcomes.

Some Local Area Partnerships hold data in a central SEND operational dashboard. This is used by teams on a weekly basis to identify trends in demand or inform conversations with local school or setting leaders.

In some Local Area Partnerships, a view of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is reviewed monthly by a SEND Board to take decisions on prioritisation, resourcing and delivery of services informed by regular data.

Please set out how you will use data to track demand (e.g., EHCP applications for assessment), Service delivery (e.g., Speech and Language Specialists deployment; places created), Service quality (e.g., parental satisfaction) and outputs (e.g., pupil attendance; pupil exclusions)

• Feedback and adaptation mechanisms - what feedback loops and stakeholder input you will use to review progress and adjust your

approach.

The Local Authority maintains a central SEND dashboard, which will be used as the primary mechanism for monitoring delivery of the plan. The dashboard tracks key performance indicators and demand metrics, including (but not limited to) EHCP applications and timeliness, tribunal activity, and placements in specialist provision. This will be supplemented by partner data from the Icb to provide a comprehensive, system‑wide view of performance, demand, and pressure points across the county.

Additional capacity for data and digital will enable data from across the partnership to be integrated more effectively, ensuring that intelligence is cohesive, timely, and reported in consistent, accessible and dynamic formats. This will strengthen the authority’s ability to identify trends, assess impact, and support evidence‑based decision‑making at pace. We will also build on the work we are doing with the South East Sector Led Improvement Partnership on SEND data and the creation of a regional dashboard to inform our local dashboard and use of data.

Performance data will be reviewed monthly by the SEND Strategy and Reforms Implementation Group, a formal subgroup of the SEND Governance Board. The group will provide focused oversight of delivery, monitor emerging risks and mitigations, and ensure that issues requiring escalation are reported promptly and transparently across the partnership.

Regular and rigorous financial monitoring is conducted. Finance officers and budget managers meet on a monthly basis and forecasts are reviewed by the Children’s Services and the East Sussex senior management teams. Quarterly performance reports are escalated internally to Full Council, before being published on the council website. Schools Forum also receives regular High Needs Block forecasts and oversees decision-making via the High Needs Block working group, aligned to the broader SEND strategy for the county.

Alongside embedded feedback loops through ongoing co‑production with schools, families, children and young people, the Local Authority will adapt its existing quality assurance framework to align with the reforms. This will ensure that all individuals accessing services developed through the programme are routinely invited to share feedback on their experience and the impact of support received. Insight from this activity will be used to inform continuous improvement and ensure that the reforms remain responsive to lived experience as they are embedded into practice.

13. Reporting to the Department for Education (DfE)

Using the attached data template, the local area partnership is required to provide quarterly data returns to DfE against selected key metrics. DfE will, in turn, provide quarterly data reports with visualised analysis and benchmarking that will support your local delivery, monitoring and evaluation. This will include data the department holds on Attendance, Exclusions, and Unauthorised absence.

Please use the attached data template to upload your initial data return to DfE.

See attachment

Section 4 – Governance

• How will the local area partnership ensure delivery of plans remain on track?

Please outline the governance structures in place to oversee delivery. Clearly set out who is responsible for overseeing reform delivery, what each governance group or individual is accountable for, and how these arrangements ensure progress is monitored and decisions are made transparently. Please identify where the named Sro for the Local SEND Reform Plan sits within the governance structure and ensure your response incorporates the core minimum requirements.

Various agenda items are presented at Schools Forum, during the year, including items in relation to High Needs Funding.

It is a statutory board.

High Needs Block This is an informal sub- Representatives from Varies Help shape Schools Forum Working Group group of Schools Forum.

Schools Forum, and proposals, made by The purpose of the group is specifically a cross section of the LA, in relation to to act in a consultative way, representatives from Primary certain High Needs with the Local Authority, on and Secondary mainstream funding elements relevant matters in relation settings and Special Schools.

with a view to the to High Needs. These group agreeing matters are subsequently proposals prior to presented at Schools Forum.

Schools Forum presentation.

If you have a diagram to show the relationship between these governance mechanisms, please upload this here.

Partnership Structure:

Section 5 – Central Government Support

15. How can we help you?

Please outline any practical support you need from central government to implement your plan effectively.

This may include:

• Access to specialist expertise or advisory support
• Help with workforce development or recruitment challenges
• Tools or templates to support data collection, reporting, or evaluation
• Facilitation of peer learning or regional collaboration
• Support with system-level coordination across education, health, and care
• Guidance on navigating regulatory or policy barriers

To maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of implementation, it would be beneficial for central government to ensure that any newly developed tools or templates for data collection, reporting, or evaluation are aligned with existing statutory and operational frameworks. For example, financial data requirements should, wherever possible, align with established returns such as the Section 251 submission. This will reduce duplication, minimise administrative burden, and support consistency and accuracy in reporting.

Review and confirmation of long-term funding for statutory local government services would be extremely welcome, with consideration given to both revenue and capital. We encourage the DfE and Mhclg to work together to respond to council financial pressures, and for the DfE to consider councils’ overall financial positions when confirming what will be done with the remaining Dsg deficits at the end of the statutory override in March 2028. All local authorities and schools will face continual pressure on their Dsg until the SEND reforms are fully implemented and notice of future funding arrangements is vital to plan and implement government required reforms.

Peer learning and regional collaboration can provide valuable support when delivering large-scale system reform. However, for this to be effective, such arrangements should remain proportionate, informal, and light touch. Given existing capacity pressures within the partnership, it will be critical to prioritise delivery and robust monitoring of the plan, rather than introducing additional layers of formalised collaboration.

Stronger central government support in facilitating engagement with health partners would significantly enhance delivery. Clearer national expectations and accountability mechanisms for health partners would help ensure consistent commitment and alignment across the system, enabling more effective joint working as the reforms evolve.

The most effective way for us to build the Ep team and increase capacity would be for the DfE to increase the number of funded training places for EPs.

Finally, clarity of accountability across the education sector will be essential. Schools, settings, and colleges need a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities within the reform programme. This should be underpinned by consistent, aligned messaging from the DfE and Ofsted, particularly in relation to how activity in this area will be inspected and assessed. Greater clarity will support coherent implementation and reduce uncertainty at the frontline.

Annex B - Supporting Documents

Annex C – Risk Matrix

Annex D Developing the Experts At Hand offer in East Sussex Background and work done to date through the Change Programme East Sussex was part of the national change programme which was testing elements of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms prior to publication of the White Paper. East Sussex’s work had a particular focus on testing a new model of supporting schools to access support through the Local Inclusion Support Offer (Liso). There has been important learning from the pilot of the Liso both about the way in which schools can access support and school’s priorities for the support offer which we have shared and discussed with our schools, settings and colleges and other partners through our joint Governance arrangements. This has helped to inform the approach we have taken to developing our Experts at Hand (Eah) offer and ensured that we have engaged all system partners in agreeing the optimal delivery model for Eah given our starting point. The key learning from the Liso pilot that has informed the design of our Eah offer was:

• Schools have welcomed having a single point of contact to discuss all their inclusion support needs rather than having separate conversations

with services - it has helped them to understand the support on offer and how to access it

• Schools need regular and ongoing signposting to what support is available and how to access it – changes in school leadership and changes in

Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) / other inclusions roles within schools means that knowledge and understanding built up over time can be lost quickly. Having a regular contact point helps schools understand the support available is helpful

• Schools have been clear that they find it most useful when support services provide practical in-school modelling of how best to meet specific

types of needs that helps teachers to develop their own practice and build their confidence rather than simply providing advice or training

• A Team Around the School approach to joining up the support offer to schools has proved an effective way of different support services working

together both individually and collectively with schools. For instance, we have piloted a new model of supporting Speech, Language and Communication Needs (Slcn) by bringing primary and secondary schools together in a local area. They have worked simultaneously with our universal speech and language support service, the Communications, Learning and Autism Support Service (Class), and the specialist support Service, Children’s Integrated Therapy and Equipment Service, (CITEs) which is commissioned through the Integrated Care Board (Icb). They have discussed a range of different Slcn issues facing schools, with schools able to share with each other what they are doing within their schools, as well as the support services being able to offer immediate and practical advice. In addition, they have signposted schools to potential follow up support at an individual school level.

• The issues which schools identified where they need most additional support have related to either Slcn or Social, Emotional and Mental

Health (Semh). The latter included issues relating to family relationships and parenting and complex mental health needs, indicating a need to connect the developing Eah offer to our wider Early Help offer and existing Mental Health support offer. Slcn and Semh are some of the

priority areas we will look to address in developing our Eah offer, as well as delivering Alternative Provision Special Taskforce (Apst), Alternative Provision (AP) and Special School outreach offers which schools also see as a priority.

How do we see Eah working and how do we make it as simple as possible for schools, settings and providers to access support? We have set out below our broad thinking about where the Eah offer fits within the different tiers of support, how schools will access it and which services we think are in scope for the Eah offer. How will schools access the Eah offer? Building on the learning from our Liso pilot, we envisage a model in which schools are working together on inclusion within cross-phase, locality- based school clusters organised within our existing partnership structures of Alliances, Education Improvement Partnerships (EIPs) and Area Groups (Ag). Each cluster, and each school within that cluster, will be supported by a dedicated “navigator” who will meet with school leaders and senior inclusion leads, including SENCOs to discuss their approach to inclusion (set out in future through their published Inclusion Strategy) and priorities for support. We expect the “navigator” will also convene other services in “Team Around the School” meetings to discuss the specific inclusion needs and support priorities for that school. Having other services around the table when discussing the inclusion priorities for the school, will also help to strengthen the challenge and support for the schools universal and targeted provision and ensure services are better co-ordinated and joined up in providing any further support to that school. We think this role of the “navigator” acting as a connector and signposting to support remains critical within the Eah offer. We see this role being played by individuals with school-based experience and credibility so they can also provide support and challenge around universal and targeted support and help schools identify where they might need additional support. We also see this role and the “Team Around the School” discussions acting as a front door for access to more specialist support that will come from the Eah offer. What level will Eah be working at and what types of support will Eah provide? We see Eah primarily working at the Targeted Plus and Specialist Levels of support where schools have already put in place their own inclusion support in line with the expectations set out in our updated Universally Available Provision (Uap) document. We expect there will be some schools and/or clusters of schools where we identify the need for support around strengthening their overall approach to inclusion to enable them to better meet our shared expectations for universal and targeted provision. In these cases, the Inclusion Advisor may call on support from Eah to work with schools/clusters of schools on strengthening their overall approach to inclusion at a universal and targeted level. Primarily, we expect Eah support to be working at Targeted Plus level and in line with the vision set out in the White Paper, we expect Eah to be working in the main at a whole school or cohort level or working across groups of schools to help build their confidence and capability to address particular types of needs. However, we recognise there will also continue to be an element of the Eah offer that will need to operate at on an individual child level where there are particularly complex needs which are not yet being addressed through agreed Specialist packages of support. Which services do we see as part of the Eah offer? East Sussex already has a strong support offer for non-statutory specialist support from a range of different internal services and partners. This includes the following services:

• An internal Inclusion and Alternative Provision team (Incap) that supports schools to prevent exclusions wherever possible and ensure the right support is in place when they do occur
• A core and traded offer from the Educational Psychologists Service (Eps)
• Speech and Language Therapists (SaLTs), Occupational Therapists (OTs) and Physiotherapists through Cites jointly commissioned with the Icb
• An Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce (Apst) support offer which we piloted as part of the Change programme and intend to continue with and a developing AP outreach model
• Specialist teachers for Semh
• We are currently developing a new outreach offer from the Southfield Trust, one of our leading Special Schools Trusts, and will deliver this offer through our school clusters as part of the Eah offer.

We see all of these services as being part of our future Eah offer. In addition, there is an important link to be made to our wider Early Help support services and Family Hubs, as part of our Best Start in Life (Bsil) strategy. We are currently recruiting new Best Start in Life Inclusion Practitioners (BSIPs) who will start working with families and parents in the 0-5 age range. BSIPs will be embedded within Family Hub localities, with clear referral pathways agreed across health, early years settings, and early help services. Delivery will focus on targeted support for children aged 0–5 with emerging SEND, prioritising areas of greatest need. Practitioners will begin direct work with families, model inclusive practice, and contribute to multi-agency planning. As the model of delivery matures BSIPs will act as coaches and trainers, improving inclusive practice across the workforce. Multi-agency working will be more coordinated, reducing fragmentation between services. Impact will be demonstrated through improved inclusion, increased parental confidence, and better school readiness. There will also be early indications of reduced demand on specialist services, alongside improved engagement and outcomes for children with SEND. We have also been testing through our Liso pilot a different model of connecting schools within a locality cluster with our existing Team Around the Family early help support offer in East Sussex and will be evaluating and learning from this element of the pilot to determine how best we can continue to build stronger links between schools and this element of the early help offer. Although the focus of our Liso pilot has been working with schools, we are clear that we want the Eah offer to be an all-age service that supports young people from birth into school and into successful post-16 and post-19 destinations. Through our work on the Change Programme we are working with Further Education (Fe) and Sixth Form colleges across Sussex on provision and support for SEND learners in colleges. We will work with colleges through this group to help develop the model for Eah for colleges. What are our priorities for developing additional Eah capacity initially? In addition to the feedback from schools involved in our Liso pilot which highlighted Slcn and Semh as the two priority areas for additional support we have also looked at our recent Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP) data and trends in terms of primary types of need to consider what we think should be the priorities for additional Eah capacity initially.

The table below which is taken from our School Organisation Plan 2025-29 shows that Autistic Spectrum Disorder (Asd), Slcn and Semh are the primary areas of need that have shown the biggest increases since 2019/20 and which are projected to keep increasing until 2028/29. This has informed our decisions about where we should focus our initial Eah capacity. Key to primary need designations: Asd Autistic Spectrum Disorder Ds Down Syndrome Hi Hearing Impairment Mld Moderate Learning Difficulties Msi Multi-sensory Impairment PD Physical Disability Pmld Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties Sld Severe Learning Difficulties Semh Social Emotional and Mental Health SpLD Specific Learning Difficulties Slcn Speech, Language and Communication Needs Vi Visual Impairment

EHCPs by primary need group (school aged children) from 2019/20 to 2028/29

Our initial priorities are to focus on building additional capacity in five main areas:

• Eps – our aim is to create additional capacity for EPs to offer core support to schools working alongside “Navigators” and through the “Team

Around the School” model. We will do this in part by increasing our use of locum EPs and recruiting additional assistant EPs to help manage the additional statutory caseloads we are forecasting. As set out in the data template we will create an additional 10 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) (split 6 Assistant EPs and 4 fully qualified EPs).

• CITEs – commissioning additional capacity from our jointly commissioned Cites contract to recruit additional SaLTs and OTs to help address

the priorities schools have identified around Slcn. This will include at least two Advanced Practitioner at Band 8A who will be recruited in the first year, and Band 4 assistants. We envisage allocating this additional capacity to local clusters of schools to be used across the cluster as well as supporting individual schools. As set out in the data template we will create an additional: 38.22 SALTs and 35.78 OTs.

• Continued delivery of the Apst. The multi-disciplinary team includes at least a day a week from the following: Speech and Language Therapist,

Assistant Psychologist/SENCO, Youth Engagement Worker, EPs, Early Help Practitioner (qualified social worker), Skills and Employability adviser, Mental Health specialist.

• AP Outreach model – this will provide specialist outreach support from staff employed by our AP provider to schools, to help schools reduce

suspensions and prevent permanent exclusions.

• Specialist Teachers for Semh – we want this support to complement the support that is already available through the Mental Health Support

Teams (Mhst) and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHs).

• Special School Outreach – we will develop a model for an outreach offer from our Special School Trusts building on the pilot we have with The

Southfield Trust which we will evaluate so we can extend to other trusts/areas. We will also explore the model of satellite classes where special schools have a class that is located in a mainstream school as another form of outreach to mainstream schools.