Oxfordshire Local SEND Reform Plan 2026

Oxfordshire Local SEND Reform Plan Developing a Local 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 Integrated Care Board 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: Oxfordshire County Council Name of Integrated Care Board: Thames Valley Local SEND Reform Plan Sro: Annette Perrington, Deputy Director of Education & Inclusion

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

Oxfordshire’s local area partnership enters SEND reform from a stronger foundation following the lifting of the DfE improveme nt notice in 2026, however the local system continues to face significant pressure, demand for assessment and support is rising, particularly in autism, Semh, and speech, language an d communication needs. Too many children and young people still do not have their needs met at the earliest opportunity or locally, placing strain on mainstream schools, specialist provision, therapy services and out-of-county placements, and confidence among families is not yet sufficiently positive. This plan sets out a three-year programme of whole-system reform designed to improve outcomes, build confidence, collaboration through partnerships and place services on a more sustainable footing. Our ambition is to create a more inclusive 0-25 system in which more children and young people with SEND are supported to thrive in their local communities, with less reliance on escalation, diagnosis or distant specialist placements and where parents show confidence in local provision through their choices and reported experiences and where children and young people will feel prepared for their adult lives.

Delivery will focus on a clearer shared standard for inclusion; stronger, consistent ordinarily available provision to meet most needs, earlier support, wider outreach, and locality-based multidisciplinary Experts at Hand teams supporting 0-25, aligned to new school and Family Hub clusters so that children’s needs can be identified and met earlier; improving transitions; reducing exclusions and strengthening attendance, re-engagement and reintegration into education with a focus on mainstream. Expanded specialist capacity is required for children who need on-going and continued support across education, health and care, to ensure children are accessing education suitable to their needs, return to education and to reduce long travel times and reflects the lower than national average of special school provision and is needed alongside the development of inclusion hubs in all secondary schools to meet the needs of most children. Expanding the continuum of provision, deployment of Experts at hands, and stronger collaboration throughout the system will create the optimum conditions for system and culture shift towards inclusion and a wider universal offer at mainstream schools.

Workforce capability will be developed through cluster and joint training, improved access to specialist advice, resources and tools, and stronger quality assurance. By year three, we expect more consistent needs-led and inclusive practice across the system and less dependence on EHCPs as the main route to support. By year five there will be a reduced need for specialist provision due to a comprehensive wider mainstream offer, created through our expanded continuum of provision, system shift, Eah, collaboration and stronger partnerships and joint accountability.

Oxfordshire will deliver SEND reform through a local area partnership model, embedding integrated education, health and care delivery within locality clusters aligned to Family Hubs and the neighbourhood health framework. This ensures equitable, community-based access for all children, young people and families. At the core is a co-designed Experts at Hand (Eah) multi-disciplinary team (Mdt) model, bringing together Educational Psychologists, therapists and specialist practitioners to deliver a graduated, needs-led offer across all levels of provision. This model will:

• Shift support earlier into mainstream settings, reducing the need for escalation to statutory services
• Strengthen inclusion and collaboration through workforce development, outreach and system capacity building
• Provide a single, coordinated front door with centralised triage for access to Eah
• Enable joined-up delivery and accountability across education, health and care
• Use needs-led data to target resources and drive impact

Delivery will be driven by the local area partnership, maximising existing local authority, education and NHS provision and engaging wider Vcse community partners. Clinical services will be delivered through established joint commissioning arrangements, supported by clinical leadership, governance and quality assurance. The model also strengthens cross-border arrangements, ensuring continuity of support and coordinated pathways for children and young people accessing provision across local authority boundaries and through strengthened relationships with Out of Local authority schools.

Overall, this represents a system-wide shift to early intervention, integrated delivery and improved outcomes, reducing demand on specialist services while improving experience and access for families.

The intended impact is a SEND system that is joined up, easier to navigate, and more trusted by children, young people and fa milies, supported through a co-designed SEND strategy, clearer communication, an improved Local Offer, stronger parent carer and youth engagement, and visible feedback showing how lived experience is driving improvements. Over time, we will increase consistency in mainstream provision, expand early intervention, improve attendance and reduce suspensions, exclusion s, supporting children and young people's needs locally from the earliest point and strengthening preparation for adulthood.

Financial sustainability is a central success measure. Oxfordshire’s Dsg high needs deficit is £136.6 million on 31 March 202 6, the plan therefore shifts the system towards earlier intervention, stronger local inclusion and better targeted specialist capacity, supported by improved joint commissioning and better use of data. This will deliver better value for money by reducing avoidable escalation and enabling more children and young people to be supported successfully closer to home.

Developed jointly across local areas partners including health, education and parent carer representatives, this plan brings together SEND improvement, inclusion and financial recovery within a single three-year programme: mobilisation in year one, implementation in year two, and embedding and scaling in year three. It provides a clear strategic direction for reform while retaining the flexibility to respond to national policy changes and the evolving needs of Oxfordshire’s children, young people and families. 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 Pa per, 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 have co-designed our vision and key eight commitments for SEND and inclusion, working across our local area partnership and with chil dren, young people and families. This underpins our new SEND strategy, informs our ongoing SEND improvement work, and provides the bedrock for SEND reform in Oxfordshire. Our vision: As a Local Area Partnership, we are committed to taking accountable and purposeful action to ensure that children and young p eople with SEND, along with their families, are valued, respected and empowered to thrive in an inclusive and supportive community. Together, we embrace a holistic approach that celebrates individuals’ strengths, aspirations and achievements. Through partnership, involvement and collaboration, we support children and young people with SEND, their f amilies and carers to fulfil their wishes and aspirations. This is underpinned by eight core, shared commitments (see SEND strategy appendix). To support fulfilment of this vision and SEND reform we have identified five core inclusion measures. Each of these is underpinned by a detailed suite of targeted KPIs as outline d later in this plan. Our core inclusion measures:

• IM1 More inclusive mainstream settings
• IM2 Improved confidence in mainstream settings
• IM3 Meeting children’s and young people's needs locally
• IM4 Meeting children’s and young people's needs earlier
• IM5 Using the views of children, young people and families to inform system transformation

We know that if we are successful in progressing these inclusion measures (and the KPIs that inform them), our local SEND system will improve outcomes for children, boost confidence of parents, carers and young people, and become financially sustainable. 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 th ese 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 Where we will be in the next 3 years

• Embeds inclusive practice through whole‑setting training, coaching and support, while also delivering timely, targeted, targeted plus and specialist interventions at individual and cohort level where needed
• A single front door and centralised triage will enable coordinated access, equitable delivery across localities, and more effective use of data to drive continuous improvement without reliance on diagnosis or statutory processes.

Early years settings, schools and colleges will have access to and training for a range of digital screening and profiling tools such as WellComm for communication and language needs (Elsec) and Neurodivergent / SEND screening tools based on Pins modelling to identify needs to provide targeted resources through the graduated approach, building on the learning from Pins programme. Alternative Education Provision will be an integral part of the graduated response, with strengthened expectations around planning, quality and reintegration and a clear Outreach offer. This will follow the 3-tier model, with a focus on reintegration and engagement and transition into mainstream schools and college and will ensure that placements are purposeful, time limited and focused on securing successful reintegration wherever possible, and where appropriate focus on transition and pathway planning. Early years SEND transitions are strengthened through a whole-system approach that builds capacity, consistency and partnership working across settings. The transition support will establish clear, standardised approaches, enhance workforce capability through training and specialist support, and tests improved models—including enhanced funding and cross-phase working—to better meet the needs of children with more complex needs. Over time, this delivers more seamless transitions, earlier support, and improved outcomes within a more inclusive and sustainable SEND system. Finally, transitions will be strengthened across all phases. Transition toolkits will be embedded within early years and between primary school to support consistent approaches to school readiness, aligned with Best Start in Life principles. Transitions to secondary school will be further enhanced through improved cross phase collaboration, earlier planning and better information sharing, ensuring that all children and young people experience continuity and a positive transition, supported by clear plans in every setting. Transition to Post-16 will be strengthened through improved cross-phase collaboration between secondary schools, alternative provision and further education colleges, including those out of local area. This will include earlier and more coordinated planning, stronger relationships between providers, and improved data sharing systems to better track and support young people through transition. Fe colleges will expand their programme offer to meet a wider range of needs, supported by clearer pathways between education phases. Young people at risk of being Neet, including those supported by youth justice services, will receive targeted support from a dedicated team working with schools and colleges to identify appropriate study programmes and ensure readiness for transition, drawing on Experts at Hand and Vcse support where required. In summary, early identification and support will be strengthened through locality-based, multi-disciplinary Experts at Hand teams, bringing specialist expertise closer to settings and families. These teams will work across clusters aligned to Family Hubs and

Local blueprint for the next 3 years

Where we are Where we will be in the next 3 years

capital allocation decisions are explicitly linked to sufficiency priorities, service deliverability, and health system capacity (including therapy provision.) Resources are being increasingly targeted towards early intervention and preventative approaches, supporting more sustainable demand management. This is complemented by closer alignment between SEND reform activity, Dsg management and capital programmes, alongside more integrated planning of health resource implications, such as therapy provision, to ensure that services are fully sustainable. The sufficiency strategy linked to the SEND Reform Plan is funded by a mixture of existing capital allocations for the provision of additional Special School places and use of new allocations of Hncpa capital. The first allocation of Hncpa (£11.299m) has already been announced and it has been assumed that two further tranches of the same value will be forthcoming. This assumption is based on the overall national allocation announced and Oxfordshire’s “usual” percentage allocation. The Hncpa allocations have been initially allocated as below:

Early Years Support Bases: twenty bases per Cluster (five Clusters) each with a pupil capacity of six pupils over three years. This will be supported by an active bidding process with a maximum allocation per base of £10,000. Total allocation of £1m.

Support Bases – Schools: support for 42 Secondary schools' bases built over a three-year period on a bid basis. Funding is assumed to be 80% at £75,000 and 20% at £125,000. This will create capacity for 1720 pupils over across all Oxfordshire’s Secondary schools and an allocation of £3.57m has been provisionally made.

New Specialist Units – Secondary Schools: This is a combination of an additional 88 Resources Base places funded from existing capital funds (original July 2025 Dmp) and the creation of an additional c. 10 Specialist Units within Secondary schools spread across the Clusters according to need. These will create 467 new places by 2030/31 and have been costed using the Oxfordshire’s Ebdog Extension rate of £34,173 per pupil. £15.959m Hncpa funding has initially been allocated for this activity.

New Specialist Units – Post 16: Provision of an additional 126 capacity within Further Education over the next three years costed using the Ebdog Extension rate of £34,173 per pupil. Initial allocation for this activity is £4.3m. Sufficiency will operate as a whole-system lever for SEND reform rather than solely as a

capital or place-planning function. It is defined as ensuring the right support is provided, in the right place, at the right time, so that more children and young people have their needs met in local mainstream provision, closer to their home, increased local choice for parents so specialist placements are planned rather than default, and pathways into support are predictable rather than crisis-led.

Over the next three years, Oxfordshire will implement a phased sufficiency model delivering a coherent 0–25 continuum through strengthened mainstream inclusion; targeted inclusion and support bases in mainstream secondary schools for pupils without need for an EHCP; specialist bases within mainstream schools for those with an EHCP;

Local blueprint for the next 3 years

Where we are Where we will be in the next 3 years

continued special school expansion and new SEND free schools; and development of early years and post-16 provision. The sufficiency strategy is underpinned by a clear and consistent set of demand indicators which have informed both commissioning and capital investment decisions. These include sustained increases in EHCP requests, particularly for specialist provision at phase transfer points and an increased reliance on independent non-maintained special school (Inmss) placements. Given our lower than national level of special school places relative to the EHCP population, these pressures require immediate system stabilisation alongside longer-term transformation. The strategy therefore recognises the need to address current demand and “level up” local specialist capacity, before full system transformation can be achieved through scaled mainstream inclusion and prevention models. A sustained programme of capital investment (covering refurbishment, adaptation and new build) will increase local capacity and enable more children and young people to access high-quality support within their communities. Inclusion and support bases in mainstream secondary schools will provide targeted provision for pupils at risk of escalation, delivered through school and MAT-led proposals with council oversight and supported by investment in adaptations and assistive technology. A core enabler of this model is ensuring that the physical environment supports inclusive practice. Capital investment will therefore prioritise refurbishment, adaptation and targeted new build to create appropriate learning environments, including reconfiguration of space within mainstream schools to enable inclusion and support bases, provision of sensory environments, therapy-informed spaces and physical adaptations and deployment of assistive technology to support access to learning. This recognises that additional and adaptable space is required for successful inclusion and that well-designed environments reduce escalation by enabling children’s needs to be met locally. Delivery will be undertaken in partnership with schools, trusts and providers. Occ will work with schools and MATs to identify suitable sites for expansion and new provision, through cluster-based arrangements, prioritising opportunities where space is released through falling rolls or estate rationalisation. The Oxfordshire property team will work closely with schools and MATs in localities to maximise existing internal and external capacity before building new. This approach will be complemented by a tailored strategy for rural areas and for schools with lower numbers that play a critical role in sustaining local communities. Occ recognises that smaller rural schools are often central to community cohesion, access, and parental choice, and may not benefit from economies of scale in the same way as larger settings. As such, the Council will work proactively with these schools and their trusts to explore flexible and innovative solutions, including shared provision across clusters, satellite or hub-and-spoke models, and the use of surplus space to support inclusion, early help, or SEND outreach.

Local blueprint for the next 3 years

Where we are Where we will be in the next 3 years

In areas of declining rolls, particular care will be taken to balance efficiency with sustainability, ensuring that decisions about estate use and capacity do not inadvertently undermine the viability of small schools that are essential to local access. Occ will provide strategic and technical support to help rural schools and MATs review their estate, optimise use of space, and identify opportunities for adaptation or diversification,

including co-location with community or family services where appropriate. This will ensure that sufficiency planning supports both system efficiency and the long-term resilience of local provision, particularly in rural and sparsely populated areas. Early Years settings will be supported to apply for capital grant funding to improve inclusive provision across childminders, Pvi and school-based settings. Investment will be prioritised in line with identified sufficiency needs in specific geographies. In addition, Vcse sector will be able to access smaller grants where they deliver inclusive

stay-and-play and early support for children with additional needs. We are working in partnership with our three Fe colleges in Oxfordshire to expand provision through capital grant applications, including development of inclusion bases and increased capacity for young people to access education and training locally. This will include development of specialist provision for young people with complex needs to reduce reliance on independent specialist placements and out-of-county provision. The Council will also work with neighbouring authorities and explore pooled investment approaches where cross-border attendance is needed to ensure all young people can access appropriate local pathways aligned to their programme of study. Critically, sufficiency will be underpinned by a strengthened system of outreach, multidisciplinary support and workforce development, ensuring that physical capacity is matched by capability. Specialist bases within mainstream schools will increase capacity for pupils with EHCPs, typically ranging from 16 to 40 places, with early delivery prioritising sites with existing capacity. Taken together, this model supports a shift to a needs-led system, where provision is shaped by children’s needs rather than thresholds or availability. By year three, most children and young people with SEND will access high-quality local mainstream provision Reliance on out-of-county and independent provision will reduce significantly as local pathways strengthen and access to specialist support improves within mainstream and local settings. Families will no longer need to seek provision outside the county to access specialist expertise, strengthening confidence, choice and community connection. Reductions in out-of-county placements, improved access to local provision, shorter travel distances, and increased inclusion within mainstream settings are our key success indicators for this building block and Capital enabler. In doing so, sufficiency will directly support SEND reform—reducing crisis demand, improving outcomes and contributing to the long-term sustainability of the high needs system.

Local blueprint for the next 3 years

Where we are Where we will be in the next 3 years

Alongside this, special school and Alternative Education Provision (AP) outreach will be expanded as a core element of the sufficiency model, enabling expertise within specialist settings to be deployed systematically across mainstream schools. This will provide targeted advice, modelling of practice and direct support at universal, targeted and

targeted-plus levels, strengthening inclusion and reducing escalation into specialist placements. Existing outreach arrangements will be scaled and aligned to locality clusters to ensure equitable access and consistent delivery. We will see reductions in suspensions and exclusions, and more children attending school. This will be complemented by the development of the Experts at Hand (Eah) offer, which will act as a key delivery mechanism within the sufficiency model. The Eah model will provide a coordinated, multidisciplinary route for mainstream settings to access specialist expertise from education and health, including educational psychology, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and specialist teaching support. Through cluster-based delivery aligned to Family Hubs and locality partnerships, the Eah offer will enable settings to access advice, triage, training and targeted intervention at scale, strengthening whole setting practice and reducing reliance on individualised, high cost provision. This integrated approach, combining sufficiency, outreach and Eah, will ensure that support is delivered earlier, more consistently and closer to home. Capital development will go alongside workforce development ensuring capacity and capability of the workforce corresponds and aligns with additional capital investment and will create a system where expertise is shared rather than concentrated, enabling mainstream settings to meet a broader range of needs confidently and effectively and create conditions where expertise is shared rather than concentrated, enabling mainstream settings to meet a broader range of needs confidently and effectively. Provision will be planned at district and locality level to ensure equitable access. Over the next three years, every secondary school will be supported to deliver inclusive provision, with sufficient specialist capacity across each district. This will create a balanced and responsive continuum aligned to local need and community infrastructure, including Family Hubs and partnership networks. Alternative provision will form part of this continuum, mapped by district and delivered through a three-tier model at targeted and targeted-plus levels. Outreach, reintegration and Eah models will support engagement and prevent escalation, underpinned by

relational and trauma-informed practice. This building block provides clear evidence that Oxfordshire’s sufficiency model is aligned with and delivers against the core minimum requirement to deliver a coherent 0–25 continuum of provision and a sufficiency-led local offer. It further evidences the systematic scaling of special school outreach to build capacity within mainstream settings, alongside a structured and integrated approach to workforce development and joint

workforce planning. The model is underpinned by place-based delivery through locality

Local blueprint for the next 3 years

Where we are Where we will be in the next 3 years

strengthened cluster networks across all phases, it will strengthen professional capability and reinforce inclusive leadership across education, health and care partners. Inclusive leadership across schools, settings and Fe will be strengthened through visible representation, locality-based governance and clearer partnership arrangements, ensuring collaboration across all phases of education. Shared data, feedback and annual review will support collective responsibility for local children and sustained progress against shared ambitions, monitored through the success measures and suite of KPIs. Schools will develop internal mechanisms to ensure SENCOs, attendance leads, DSLs, DTs and pastoral teams are working closely together, identifying needs earlier and offering holistic support to children and young people, accessing Eah and wider community support where required to keep children in school, removing barriers to attendance and supporting transition planning. Capital investment, commissioning and governance will be aligned to strengthen locality- based inclusive provision across early years, schools and Fe, improving access to support closer to home. Family Hubs, Eah and Best Start arrangements will provide a more integrated local offer, with partners working together around children and families through clear collective accountability. Transitions will be a key focus and for all partners, demonstrating commitment to planning forward and preparing for adulthood. Pathways between early years and schools will be place, with access to extended transition support from Eah and wider community teams. Secondary schools and Fe colleges will have stronger relationships and will work together to develop a transitions toolkit with a core offer for young people with an Isp or EHC, supported by Eah. New pathways will be developed in line with a wider programme and curriculum offer, to enable more young people to access their local Fe colleges. Connectivity between colleges, Training providers and employers will develop the careers offer and pathways, from secondary school to employment. Existing partnerships such as the Oxfordshire inclusive economic partnership will take a more central role in connecting schools, colleges and businesses to offer wider ranges of work experience and employment opportunities including supported internships. Post-16 representation will be strengthened and include Fe Colleges, training providers and Alternative providers collaborating with skills and businesses to support a more connected system for young people at risk of or experiencing Neet. Data sharing between schools and colleges will be in place to support transition planning, reintegrating or reengaging young people as required. New programmes offering entry level 1 and 2 will be developed, widening curriculum accessibility and providing opportunities for more young people to attend Fe colleges, supported by expanded post-16 inclusion provision and clearer pathways into employment and training will improve transition, independence and preparation for adulthood. Alternative provision will operate through a clear locality-based framework, with shared responsibility across schools, colleges and partners for early intervention, reintegration

Working together as a local area partnership, we will build inclusive capacity in mainstream settings, strengthen early identification and support, improve communication and trust with families, and use evidence consistently to guide investment and practice. This collaborative approach will mean that more children will have their needs met earlier and locally, avoiding the need for escalation to EHCPs or specialist placements, unless needed. Children and parents’ experiences will be more consistent and positive, and outcomes for children and young people with SEND will improve sustainably, and more children will be in mainstream schools local to their homes.

We have strong foundations and infrastructure in place in Oxfordshire to deliver this strategy collaboratively and to hold ourselves to account. Our SEND improvement journey means we have established good partnership working and already have multi-agency delivery groups clustered around key themes. We have created an Oxfordshire Education Partnership, drawing together education settings and schools, from early years to post-16, and an associated education & inclusion strategy which aligns closely with the approach to SEND reform. Our approach to delivery will be pragmatic, collaborative and child and family-focused, seeking to draw on existing partnerships and what is working well, while addressing key new areas at pace and with robust accountability.

Our theory of change focus on four key elements, which need to be tackled in tandem and as a partnership to achieve success, supported by measurable KPIs to monitor deliver and drive accountability for success:

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

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.

We will deliver our first-year plan through a programme management approach, with robust project plans breaking down key actions, assigning clear roles and leads, tracking monthly progress and escalating risks/issues for senior leaders to unblock. We will make use of existing partnership governance structures where appropriate and relevant. Key partners are already engag ed at a system leadership level, for example through the Oxfordshire Education Partnership, our Education Executive, Schools Forum and SEND Improvement & Assurance Board. Delivery groups will need to be established to progress key priorities, such as Experts at Hand and locality clusters – reporting into governance as outlined in the later section. Where possible, existing groups will be utilised, for example we already have multi-agency groups working on Alternative education provision and Preparation for adulthood, these will become the forums for SEND reform delivery of these themes in addition to existing improvement work. We have scoped at pace the capacity and capability needed to deliver this major system change and developed an internal busin ess case requesting support in key areas. This business case has now been approved and we are progressing to recruitment. We have already brought in additional expertise in our performance team and finance function as we identified these as essential to preparing this plan. The additional posts will be fixed term to support through the duration of SEND reform, funded in part through DfE SEND reform transformation monies, although this is insufficient to cover the necessary capacity. These posts include: - Project/programme management - Sufficiency and capital projects capacity - Hr capacity including to support with system redesign, change management, learning & development and talent acquisition - Commissioning capacity. These posts will sit within existing management structures, drawing on the expertise of key officers who have been involved i n this work and who understand Oxfordshire in depth and making use of existing systems/infrastructure, such as the Power Bi dashboards we have already begun to develop.

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.

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: 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 Every child or young person who needs a place in an inclusion base can access one Fewer children and young people with SEND needing to travel a long way to access a suitable placement 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. Oxfordshire County Council will use high needs capital, including the £11.3m 2026/27 allocation, to address rising EHCP deman d, increasing complexity of need (especially autism, Semh and speech, language and communication needs) and unequal access to local specialist provision. These pressures have increased reliance on out-of-area and independent placements, with higher costs and longer travel. Our strategy prioritises inclusion-first investment by expanding mainstream capacity so more children can be supported locally. We will grow inclusion bases fro m the current 16 bases (207 places) through a phased programme across all districts, delivering 72 new places in 2026/27 and rising to 408 places by 2031/32. This includes additional primary and secondary bases, including in West Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse, where sufficiency gaps are greatest. Inclusion bases will span early years, school and post-16 provision, with cluster-based commissioning to reflect local need. Delivery through five district clusters will help us respond to rurality, local variation and falling rolls, while identifying suitable sites within existing estates. We will adapt and repurpose current buildings where we know there will be ongoing surplus space due to natural demographic changes, before considering new build to secure value for money and sustainability. Capital will also improve mainstream suitability through accessibility adaptations, sensory-friendly spaces and assistive technology. We will support inclusive practice through technology- enabled approaches, including profiling and screening tools such as WellComm, alongside multidisciplinary delivery aligned to Experts at Hand, so physical investment is matched by stronger outreach, transition support and early intervention. Where mainstream adaptation and inclusion bases are not sufficient, we will progress special school expansion and new provisi on. Our modelling shows that some cohorts, including children with complex autism and Sld/Pmld, require highly specialist environments that mainstream settings cannot provide safely or effectively, even with enhanced support. Planned

growth and new provision in Didcot and Faringdon will help meet these needs and reduce dependence on costly independent placements. The Didcot provision in particular will enable us to meet the needs of the expected population growth in the sou th of the county due to large-scale housing development in the area. The 2026/27 allocation will be fully used for priority inclusion bases and mainstream adaptations, with years 2 and 3 funding supporting later phases, including further specialist units and targeted special school expansion where needed. This phased approach will help meet projected demand and reduce long-term system costs. We are modelling the travel impact of all capital schemes. Increasing local capacity, particularly in West Oxfordshire and the south, will reduce journey times, lower transport dependence and improve access to education within local communities. Reduced travel should also impact directly on the well-being of children, with their needs met in the local community. Delivery will depend on our existing strong relationship and collaboration with MATs to jointly identify sites and developmen t co-investment models and standardised MOUs to ensure consistent quality, clear expectations and shared accountability. 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.

Together, the Local Area Partnership (Lap) is committed to a proactive engagement approach that consistently seeks, hears and respects the views of system partners, especially children and young people with SEND including their families, as set out in our SEND strategy. The partnership has a strong foundation for working together, reflected in both the SEND Strategy and Improvement Journey, which emphasise proactive engagement, co-design of key commitments, and clear feedback loops such as ‘You said, we did’. Our approach aligns with the NHS England ladder of co-production, by working in partnership with system partners, and with children, young people and families, to inform service d esign, delivery and evaluation, and recognising the value of lived experience alongside professional expertise. We are embedding this framework through structures such as the Youth Forum, OxPCF engagement, and co-production training across the partnership. We recognise further development is needed to strengthen consistency and impact, particularly in ensuring, where possible, true co-production is followed at the earliest stages of design, is applied consistently across all workstreams, and more clearly evi dences how lived experience directly shapes transformation, decisions, and outcomes across the SEND system.

We have developed our SEND reform plan through system partner engagement. We have held a series of workshops with both education partners (including Schools Forum, our Oxfordshire Education Partnership and Mat CEOs) and members of our SEND local area partnership (including health partners and our Parent Carer Forum). This has shaped the proposals set out in this plan. We will continue this collaborative approach as we develop and launch key initiatives as part of SEND reform. Our SEND local area partnership and education partners will continue to play a key role, both through established board meetings and new delivery groups/workshop s as required on key themes.

We will also continue to work with our SEND Youth Forum to hear the views of children and young people in our SEND reform pla nning process and implementation. The SEND Youth Forum has recently been extended to include 8 new satellite forums in schools/settings across the county. s where we will continue to gather views and feedback to further inform SEND reform. We are implementing a strong feedback loop through regular ‘You said we did’, with the first being published during July 2026.

We have been working to strengthen engagement with parents and carers with children and young people with SEND and we will bu ild on this further as we progress SEND reform. Particularly, again, implementing a strong feedback loop through a ‘you said, we did’ approach so families can clearly see how their feedback has influenced change. We will use surveys and SEND Connect sessions run by OxPCF to gather parent and carer views on what is needed in the plan and how best to impleme nt change, adapting our approach to feedback as we go. We will review the funding needed to support SEND reform co-production activity with partners such as the Pcf, to help ensure reform actions are co-produced wherever possible.

In the context of changing roles and responsibilities set out through the Schools White Paper, Oxfordshire Education Partnership is working collaboratively towards a strategic partnership role focused on ensuring a "collaborative network" exists, ensuring all schools and settings engage in local, inclusive, and improvement-led actions. By moving schools and education settings into cluster arrangements, aligned with family hubs and neighbourhood care we will extend feedback gathering through education , health and social care, from 0-25, ensuring

feedback is central to the ongoing developing SEND system and service design and delivery. We will work collaboratively to co-design an Mou for district clusters, setting out an equitable core offer.

We will strengthen Fe engagement on key boards and ensure that Fe partners are a key partner in designing and delivering acro ss the SEND system, identifying opportunities for widening local provision and working with and through school and setting cluster arrangements, widening the choice and access to appropriate study programmes and ensuring the Fe workforce have access to appropriate training and development from Eah.

We are planning a roadshow approach to share the full SEND reform plan once finalised and to engage a wider group of practiti oners and families in understanding what SEND reform will mean for them and how they can be involved. The roadshow will include events in each district (eventually cluster) and ensure that the widest group of stakeholders are included (parents, carers, children, young people and professionals). We would welcome DfE support with this. 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.

Adequate timelines, clear guidance and sufficient funding from Government are vital to support with this area

Bringing partners and families with us on this journey

Critical Possible Amber Joint working, including with our Oxfordshire Parent Carers Forum and SEND Youth Forum, to develop how SEND reform can work in Oxfordshire Ongoing feedback loops, through representatives on key boards, to hear how this is landing and respond accordingly Including parent/ carer reps on working groups and commissioning boards to shape the design of services Our refreshed SEND communications and engagement strategy, as outlined in section 9 Support needed from Government in communicating about SEND reform nationally and how this is framed to families

Green 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 including neighbourhood teams Local Government Re-organisation Reforms to Children’s Social Care Best Start in Life, including Family Hubs Best Start In Life Strategy Curriculum and Assessment Review 500 word count limit There is substantial change being progressed at pace across the Oxfordshire SEND local area partnership. Throughout this chan ge, we will continue to be guided by this SEND reform plan, remaining consistent to our co-produced SEND strategy & vision and reflecting key national policy expectations and direction. Our key partnerships will continue on a pan- Oxfordshire footprint – even though individual partners may go through change, our commitment to this direction of travel and our shared role as system leaders will continue.

On 1st April 2026, the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (Bob) Icb ceased to exist and the Thames Valley Icb was established as a new organisation. For Oxfordshire, this change does not have a material impact on the Oxfordshire County Council-hosted Health, Education and Social Care Joint Commissioning Team and the proposed changes retain the current Designated Clinical Officer (Dco) arrangements. The Oxfordshire SEND Local Area Partnership will w ork closely with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care as functions and responsibilities from 2027/28 are laid out.

We await the Government’s minded-to decision about local government reorganisation, with options on the table including splitting Oxfordshire into two or thre e unitary councils which would significantly affect delivery of this plan. Some readiness planning has begun and the planned new arrangements have been developed with future decisions to mitigate impact on the SEND reforms. Once we know the decision we can understand in more detail the impact and, if necessary, make plans to continue delivery of SEND reform while local authority SEND services are disaggregated.

Reforms to children’s social care are being progressed successfully in Oxfordshire, with a Families First Partnership test an d learn pilot underway in our South locality. The need for coordinated assessment, specialist expertise and alignment with education and health creates clear dependencies with SEND reform around workforce capacity, assessment pathways, and system coherence, requiring joint planning to manage sequencing and implementation risk.

We have published our Best Start in Life strategy and are developing proposals to open a network of Family Hub sites across the county. These are positive changes which align with the direction of travel of SEND reform – for example the emphasis on multi-agency working and early intervention – and many of the same system leaders are involved through partnership governance. We are using the same five district clusters to plan across all these initiatives which will strengthen our locality working and future-proof us in the event of local government reorganisation.

We will continue to work closely with schools, partners and stakeholders to ensure that the principles of the Curriculum and Assessment Review (inclusion, excellence, and relevance) are embedded across all phases of education within our area. Our newly formed Oxford Education Partnership has established an ‘Outcomes for All’ subgroup, and this review will form part of its first focused initiative. This clearly aligns with the direction of SEND reform and we will work closely with our Oxfordshire Education Partnership to bring forward both changes in tandem to create a coherent and inclusive system for children and young people. 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.

We will use a programme management approach to monitor and track delivery of the activities in this plan. All actions will be assigned to a thematic delivery group, with monthly reporting of progress and KPIs (linked to the success metrics in this plan) as well as escalation of any risks/issues/barriers to the SEND reform delivery group. In turn, the SEND reform delivery group will report to and escalate matters as needed to the SEND Executive. This gives us straightforward governance and a clear line of sight, so all members of the partnership are kept appraised of delivery.

In addition to the monthly highlight reports, we will further develop our existing Power Bi SEND dashboard to include new key metrics relating to SEND reform. We have already made good progress in developing real-time Power Bi dashboards for managers and senior leaders to use including to track demand and service delivery, and with some additions these will become a key tool for monitoring the impact of SEND reform work. We are already working with our data team to develop this.

Our multi-agency quality assurance forum and multi-agency audits are an important part of ow we understand service quality, and we will develop these existing mechanisms to capture the emerging impact of SEND reform on families.

We have feedback mechanisms in place including with our Oxfordshire Parent Carer Forum and SEND Youth Forum. We have plans to further develop and expand the reach of these feedback mechanisms which will provide vital input as we progress SEND reform. Our Parent Carer Forum maintains a feedback tracker, collating themes and feedback from across their engagement activities with local families. This feedback is then shared with relevant stakeholders/theme groups and incorporated into our SEND project plans where appropriate.

We will continue to use these feedback mechanisms, and as set out in our maturity assessment we will develop and implement a clear partnership-wide feedback framework, setting out how feedback is gathered, analysed, escalated and responded to through governance so that this is a shared, system -wide approach.

Our new satellite SEND youth forums and Youth partnerships will share feedback with the central SEND youth forum team, to ide ntify common themes and to report at our SEND Improvement & Assurance Board. We will use the full range of boards outlined in the governance section to engage key local stakeholders, encouraging frank and reflective conversation to hear feedback and use this to inform our approach.

These activities will enable us to have an in-depth and responsive picture of delivery of this plan, through both qualitative and quantitative data sources. Monthly monito ring and a clear governance framework will enable us to adapt and change our response as we go in response to emerging feedback.

Reporting to 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.

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 refo rm 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.

Improvement & Assurance Board Theme group chairs Children’s Transformation Special School Reps OxPCF If you have a diagram to show the relationship between these governance mechanisms, please upload this here. Section 5 – Central Government Support 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

Strengthen regional support: successful delivery of these reforms requires substantial capacity and support at a regional level, for example through the regional director’s office, shared peer learning, and regional resources tailored to the local context across all Education partners

National workforce planning to address key pipeline issues with hiring to specialist roles e.g. Educational Psychologists and Speech and Language Therapists

Resources to support co-production, including the creation of national resources and appropriate funding to support meaningful co -design

New guidance and information for local areas to roll-out to be published in good time with sufficient notice and support for local areas to implement

Coordination across the various policy areas that are interlinked with SEND reform, eg Families First, Best Start in Life, curriculum review, local government reorganisation, NHS reform and more, as well as regulatory inspections (e.g. Ofsted).