Shropshire Local SEND Reform Plan 2026

Classification: Official

The Local SEND Reform Plan

March 2026

Annex A: 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: Shropshire

Name of Integrated Care Board: Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin

Local SEND Reform Plan Sro: Natasha Moody

Signatories

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
• 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

Shropshire’s Local SEND Reform Plan aligns with national SEND reform and builds on the Shropshire SEND and AP Strategy and Outcomes Framework, which have established a shared local vision, outcomes and priorities for improvement. This plan is the next phase of reform in Shropshire: translating national policy and existing local improvement activity into a coherent three-year programme that is practical, measurable and grounded in local context. Shropshire’s rural nature, pockets of deprivation, history of having a single Special School and the reality of children travelling significant distances provide unique challenges which have shaped our plan. In addition, funding for schools in Shropshire is the 15th lowest in the country, which places additional pressure on mainstream capacity and currently makes it harder for settings to resource early help, specialist advice and inclusive provision consistently across the county.

Our plan reflects a balanced partnership between the Local Authority, Icb, education providers and parent carers, with shared leadership, shared accountability and a clear commitment to co-production. The Local Authority and Icb will act as joint accountable partners for strategic leadership, commissioning, delivery, monitoring and evaluation, while parent carers will help shape priorities, review progress and influence improvement throughout implementation.

There will be a clear focus on delivering a continuum of support from 0–25, working alongside Best Start in Life, Families First Partnership and Learning, Youth and Transitions to ensure all age ranges are included and families experience a more joined-up offer. By 2029, support will be available earlier, closer to home and through clearer pathways across education, health and care. Mainstream settings, early years providers, specialist provision, post-16 services and locality teams will operate as part of one connected system, supported by a fully embedded Experts at Hand offer, stronger ordinarily available inclusive practice, expanded inclusion base capacity and clearer access to specialist support where needed. This is especially important in Shropshire’s rural context, where reform must reduce long travel times, strengthen local provision and reduce reliance on high cost Independent Non-Maintained Special Schools (Inmss).

Over the three-year period, the partnership will strengthen workforce capacity through recruitment to Educational Psychology, EHCP, Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and locality inclusion roles, alongside a stronger Cpd and outreach offer for schools and settings. Experts at Hand, support bases, specialist outreach and improved pathways will help staff identify need earlier, use ordinarily available provision more effectively and access specialist advice without unnecessary escalation.

The partnership will strengthen co-production, broaden participation and establish clearer feedback loops through locality engagement, the Big Listen, Sendiass intelligence and stronger routes for children and young people’s voice, including through the Pcf. Sendiass and the Pcf will be recognised as core parts of the local SEND infrastructure, providing independent advice and challenge, building trust and helping families influence design and delivery.

The current pattern of demand, increasing use of high-cost placements and long-distance travel is not financially sustainable. Reform will strengthen financial grip through better understanding of demand, unit costs and placement drivers; tighter oversight of commissioning and top-up funding; and closer links between financial decisions, sufficiency planning and outcomes. Strengthened oversight arrangements and additional capacity in the finance team will improve financial modelling and ensure demand, costs, placement decisions, commissioning activity and reinvestment are routinely reviewed with service leaders and linked to clear accountability for value for money and long-term sustainability. Expanding local provision, improving mainstream inclusion and reducing avoidable escalation will reduce reliance on high-cost placements and enable reinvestment in prevention, workforce development and local capacity.

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

“In Shropshire we want all children and young people with SEND to be healthy, happy and safe, and able to achieve their potential to lead a fulfilling life. We want them to have, and to expect, the same opportunities in life as other children and young people. We want them to thrive and live their best life.”

Our goals (2026-2029) 1: Improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND age 0-25

• Improve attainment, progress, attendance and preparation for adulthood.
• Reduce exclusions, suspensions and persistent absence.
• Improve timeliness and quality of EHCP processes and access to health support.

2: Strengthen mainstream inclusion and local capacity across 0-25 providers

• Increase the proportion of children and young people with SEND thriving in mainstream settings.
• Expand local capacity through Inclusion Bases, specialist outreach and Local Inclusion Support Offers (including Experts at Hand) across the 0-25 age range
• Reduce reliance on Inmss, out-of-area placements and excessive travel.

3: Increase confidence and positive experiences of families, children and young people

• Improve parent, carer and young person satisfaction with SEND services.
• Increase participation in co-production and decision-making.
• Reduce complaints, disputes and resolution times.

4: Embed effective partnership working and co-production

• Strengthen multi-agency governance and shared accountability.
• Strengthen co-produced approaches to service design and commissioning.
• Improve consistency of pathways and support across education, health and care.

5: Secure value for money and long-term financial sustainability

• Reduce expenditure on high-cost independent and out-of-area placements.
• Improve understanding and management of costs across the SEND continuum.
• Reinvest resources into prevention, workforce development and inclusive local provision to support a sustainable High Needs system.

We will develop our offer across the 0-25 age range, working with Family Hubs, Ey settings, schools and post-16 providers to develop a continuum of support as part of a Children’s Services Transformation Plan which brings BSil, Ffp, Lytp and SEND Reforms under one transformation umbrella with high quality co-production which has a clearer impact on decision making, service design and improvement.

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.

Key target metrics from the maturity matrix are as follows:

• Statutory 20 week timescale timeliness will improve from 20% to >90% by end of 2028/2029.
• Slcn and Nd waiting list times will be at agreed targets
• Attendance for pupils with SEND will improve year on year and in 3 years’ time will be at least in line with statistical neigubours.
• Inmss placement rate will stabilise year on year and in 3 years’ time will account for no more than 9% of our EHCP cohort.
• The number of children accessing support from an Ep, Slt or Ot (or their assistants) will increase by at least 10% from baseline figures each year for the first 3 years as the Eaho grows.
• Satisfaction measures for parent carers and Cyp will be established in Year 1 and will show rapid, annual improvement thereafter.

These are in green throughout the following plans.

• 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.’

Please refer to full ‘Theory Of Change’ document provided – Appendix H Shropshire’s strategy for change is to move from a system grappling with the costs (human and financial) of moving to earlier intervention/prevention whilst still seeing higher levels of acute demand than should be expected, to one that is more inclusive, timely, locally responsive and sustainable. Our local theory of change is aligned with our ‘one plan’ approach to all Children’s services reforms, and believes that if partners strengthen inclusion in mainstream settings, improve early access to advice and targeted support, build local provision, and use shared outcomes and evidence to drive decision-making, more children and young people with SEND will have their needs met earlier, closer to home, and with less reliance on escalation, diagnosis, statutory plans or high-cost specialist placements. This reflects the Local Partnership Maturity Assessment, which shows an emerging to developing partnership with stronger strategic intent, improving collaboration and co- production, but inconsistent use of data, feedback loops and children and young people’s voice. The change story demonstrates that inspection, self-evaluation and targeted investment have already created greater clarity, stronger governance and a more shared direction. Planned activities now focus on embedding ordinarily available inclusive practice, expanding Inclusion Bases and locality support, developing Experts at Hand, improving EHCP timeliness and quality, strengthening workforce capacity, and aligning provision, commissioning and capital planning. These are supported by collaboration across education, health and care (with the local authority and Icb jointly accountable for commissioning, oversight and delivery of reform priorities), parent carers, Sendiass, Cyp and the voluntary sector, with the Outcomes Framework providing a common spine for accountability. Together, these reforms are designed to build a system where inclusion is the default, support is easier to access, partnership working is routine, and children and young people experience better outcomes through a more consistent, financially sustainable local offer.

• Please upload a completed copy of the Local Partnership Maturity Assessment Tool.
• See Appendix I: Shropshire Maturity Matrix
• 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.

Please refer to the following attachments for further detail and supporting evidence:

• Appendix A: EHCP Team Recovery Plan
• Appendix C: EHCP and Ep Team Growth Modelling
• 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.

Nb: The detail above has been mapped against our existing core workstreams: WS1: Inclusive Practice (this will incorporate a new Eah Steering Group) WS2: Commissioning and Quality (this will incorporate the new Education Inclusion Group and Specialist Sufficiency Board) WS3: EHCP Timeliness and Quality

Nb: In Shropshire, all workstreams will have a focus on:

• Participation and high-quality co-production
• Comms
• Data

Nb: exact spend not yet known as dependent on recruitment and on possible sharing costs with other transformation programmes for core roles (e.g. data, digital, comms and Pmo). Slt costs may go up if some Band 6 posts have to be Band 7. Some underspend currently due to this but we anticipate it will be allocated.

Please refer to the following attachments for further detail and supporting evidence:

• Appendix D: Eah and Workforce Reform
• Appendix G: Shropshire Liso Infographic
• Appendix J: Eah and Transformation Costings
• 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 are currently recruiting to a new Assistant Director for Education Inclusion within the Local Authority. This is an important development which will provide dedicated senior leadership for inclusion, strengthen partnership oversight, and support more coherent delivery across mainstream, specialist and alternative provision. Pmo support is already in place, with a Pm assigned to each reform area (BSil, Ffp, Lytp and SEND), all working as part of the wider Children’s Transformation Team. This is overseen by the Adcs, who is also Sro for the SEND reforms. A SEND Transformation Lead is in post, alongside a Comms Officer working across the wider transformation programme. Where possible, digital, data and comms capacity will work across the Children’s Transformation Team to maximise resources, support joined-up delivery, and reduce silo-working, duplication and gaps. A SEND Commissioner will be recruited in Q2 to work closely with Icb commissioners and regional partners to improve value for money and embed a robust commissioning cycle. Jointly commissioned services will operate through an Mou or contract variation. Additional finance support will strengthen Dsg recovery planning, financial modelling and cost analysis, providing greater challenge and assurance on the financial impact of investment decisions. Additional data capacity will be recruited to strengthen oversight of progress and risks. Additional finance capacity is also being recruited to support Dsg recovery and strengthen accountability for the impact of investment. A new digital lead, recruited in Q2, will build the Liso platform and strengthen the digital offer for settings, parent carers and Cyp. The Children’s Transformation Team is scoping improved systems integration and automation of manual processes. In parallel, the data and insight team is developing dashboards to integrate with existing systems, automate data collection, and improve oversight of KPIs and key metrics. With the Icb, we will recruit a SaLT Advanced Practitioner to provide strategic therapy leadership within Eah, strengthen partnerships, and support workforce growth. The partnership will also work with the Pcf and Sendiass to scope activity supporting reform delivery and parent carer engagement.

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.

In 2026/27, Schools Forum agreed to transfer 0.5% of the Schools Block to the High Needs Block (£1,165,244) to help manage rising demand and cost pressures in the High Needs system. The transfer will support delivery of the SEND and alternative provision reforms by strengthening inclusion and early intervention in mainstream settings, reducing reliance on statutory processes where needs can be met earlier, and improving consistency of support across schools. Funding will be used to sustain and scale targeted programmes that align with reform priorities, including:

(1) Step Into School funding to provide timely, short-term support for children and young people at key transition points or where an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is not appropriate or is still being assessed; (2) Inclusion Development Grants to build school capacity, develop inclusive practice and workforce skills, and implement evidence-informed approaches that improve outcomes for pupils with SEND, allowing them to be successfully educated and included within their local mainstream school; (3) Graduated Support Pathway (Gsp) funding to embed a consistent “assess, plan, do, review” approach, enabling earlier identification of need, more effective interventions, and clearer routes into specialist support when required.

Together, these investments are intended to moderate demand for EHCP assessments and specialist placements over time, while ensuring pupils’ needs are met in the right place at the right time. This therefore represents reinvestment into prevention. We expect a similar block transfer will be requested for 27/28 unless significant change to funding methodologies are implemented.

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.

High Needs Capital Strategy (2026–2030) High needs capital funding will be deployed to enable local sufficiency and support the Dsg recovery strategy, with inclusion the default expectation across the 0–25 system. Decisions will be informed by demand forecasting and aligned to SEND and alternative provision (AP) reforms and the core minimum requirements, so that investment improves outcomes and long-term financial sustainability.

In September 2015, Shropshire opened its first ‘Hub’, the Kettlemere Centre, at Lakelands Academy in Ellesmere for pupils in Y7-Y11 with communication and interaction needs. It took some time for the model to have the intended impact but since September 2022, following on from the success of Kettlemere, Shropshire has embarked upon an ambitious SEND Hub (now Specialist Bases) expansion project, creating a network of LA commissioned bases to meet the needs of our SEND cohort more locally. There are now 15 Primary Specialist Bases, one Ey Base and 3 Secondary bases in Shropshire. In September 2026, we will open 1 more primary base (Burford) and 2 more secondary bases (The Marches and Bridgnorth Endowed) with a further secondary base being scoped for September 2027. In addition to opening new bases, we have also committed to commissioning additional spaces at existing bases, where capacity allows. Of the 162 additional spaces being created over the next 3 years, 34 of them are at existing provisions.

* Nb this figure is likely to rise but we are still at an early stage of considering what provision is needed post-16; this is therefore a conservative estimate. The focus to date has been on primary and then secondary provision. The opening of our first Ey provision in April 2026 marks the start of our Ey expansion plan with post-16 provision the next focus. Post-16 plans are not yet finalised; a meeting with all mainstream post-16 providers is planned for June of this year to look at co-producing the post-16 element of our sufficiency strategy and plan. In addition to developing LA Commissioned Specialist bases, we are continuing the work started through the Change Programme to support schools with both capital funding and training/guidance to set up their own support bases. Capital funding will support targeted adaptations to improve accessibility and inclusivity in mainstream settings, including environmental adjustments, sensory and therapy-ready spaces, reconfigured accommodation, and assistive technology to strengthen inclusive practice and reduce escalation to specialist provision. Current projects with Natalie Packer and Whole Education are supporting settings to consider what high quality provision will look like and these projects will produce case studies that will underpin national and local guidance to ensure we develop a network of support bases that are fit for purpose and in lien with the SEND reforms. Our move towards locality-based working will provide opportunities for groups of local schools to work together to develop support bases and other inclusive spaces that meet the needs of Cyp across their local area, particularly where creating support bases in very small schools is not an efficient use of funds. Settings have been identified through place-planning to address geographic gaps, reduce travel distances and respond to patterns of need. Where possible, schools with space due to falling roles will be utilised but this needs to be balanced with creating provision where it is needed. In addition, we are working with the Asset Disposal Programme lead to ensure we are able to make the best use of available capital assets across the county in developing provision. Delivery will be progressed with maintained schools, academies, colleges and trusts to ensure provision is clearly defined, sustainable and integrated in mainstream

environments. Once implemented, our vision is for every Cyp who requires a specialist place (inclusion base or maintained Ss or academy) to be able to access one locally. Where needs cannot be met through inclusion bases or mainstream adaptations, specialist provision remains necessary for some children. At present, a number of children have to travel excessively, including out of county and to Inmss, in order to access the provision they need. Not only does this create a financial strain on the system, it means that children are not able to be educated close to home. Over the next 3 years, we will create more specialist provision in both the north and the south of the county to reduce reliance on our provisions located within Shrewsbury. An all-through satellite provision is being explored as a possibility in St Martins (north), working in partnership with one of our specialist academies to create around 20 new specialist places. This school has been identified as a possible suitable site due to patterns of need in the north of the county and also because it is an all through school with its own swimming pool which provides the opportunity to create a provision that will meet the needs of a wide range of children with more complex needs. In addition, we are exploring potential for creating more specialist provision in the south of the county (Ludlow), utilising an existing school which may relocate. This could potentially create an additional 120-150 place special school that would meet the needs of children in the south of the county. This in turn would free up some capacity and physical space at our central special schools by relocating some children closer to home; this could provide us with the opportunity to create more bespoke provision for the small minority of children for whom our special schools cannot currently meet need and who have to access high cost Ooc and Inmss provision, as well as creating much needed additional capacity where Inmss is being used due to a lack of special school places being available. AP Provision has not yet been identified as requiring capital spend in order to meet needs but if identified as doing so in the future, capital planning will be adjusted, reflecting a responsive approach. Expanding inclusive capacity is central to the Dsg recovery trajectory and has already been formally agreed by Cabinet on 19.11.26. Increasing mainstream and inclusion-based provision will reduce reliance on high-cost independent and non-maintained placements, improve local sufficiency and support more efficient use of high needs funding over time. Special and AP Schools will be located more strategically over the next 3 years to ensure there is access to a mix of provision within each local area. Please refer to the following attachments for further detail and supporting evidence:

• Appendix B: Specialist Schools and Inclusion Bases Map

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.

The local area partnership will deliver engagement and co-production through a structured programme linked to Shropshire’s Children’s Transformation Programme. Engagement will include all stakeholders, including out of county settings where required, to secure shared ownership of reform, clarify responsibilities, and ensure implementation is shaped by operational experience, family feedback and local need. Meaningful co-production will be visible at all levels for both parent carers and children and young people. This work is already underway. A series of online and in person events has brought together education leaders, local authority representatives, the Icb, health partners and Pcf leaders to test the practical implications of reform, consider changes in partner responsibilities and identify priority actions for transition. The outputs informed the maturity matrix and established a shared baseline for reform planning. In parallel, targeted focus groups have been held with mainstream schools, early years settings, AP and Fe/post-16 providers to gather intelligence on barriers, effective practice and implementation risks. Surveys have been issued to settings and to parents and carers to test the feasibility and likely impact of key proposals, including the Experts at Hand offer, inclusion expectations and sufficiency planning. Responses have been reviewed alongside Sendiass intelligence and wider local feedback to identify common themes, challenge assumptions and refine delivery priorities. This evidence has informed planning sessions, workstream design and successive iterations of the maturity assessment. We will explore how we can utilise expertise within Pcf and Sendiass to provide support and advice to settings in developing relationships with parent carers and providing early intervention to prevent escalation to tribunal. Implementation will now move from consultation to a defined engagement cycle. Schools, settings and trusts will be engaged through existing leadership forums, locality meetings, SEND networks and targeted workshops linked to workstreams such as Eah, AP, sufficiency and inclusive practice. Parent carer engagement will continue through the Parent Carer Forum and wider participation routes, with a focus on extending reach beyond existing representatives. Sendiass intelligence will be used as a standing source of feedback on lived experience, pressure points and communication gaps. Joint training and co-design sessions will be used where changes require shared understanding, particularly in relation to ordinarily available provision, access to support and commissioning changes. Direct co-production with children and young people is less developed and is a year 1 priority. The partnership will establish a youth advisory group, co-produce an accessible participation approach and create regular feedback routes so Cyp can influence design, implementation and review. The group will be aligned to the wider youth transformation programme so that it reflects a broader and more representative mix of mainstream experiences, alongside linked routes for children and young people in specialist provision so they can contribute in ways that are meaningful to them while remaining connected to the main group. This will remain distinct from parent voice and will be linked to governance so feedback is visible in decision-making and reported through “you said, we did” updates. An annual cycle of engagement, starting with family locality events in summer 2026, will be used to gather baseline feedback, review progress and identify actions. A recently developed Children’s Services communications plan will support this work by coordinating reform messages, updates and opportunities for involvement across the wider transformation programme. This will help ensure communication is timely, consistent and proportionate, reducing duplication and mixed messaging. The partnership will maintain continuous engagement through governance, workstream delivery and routine feedback; a newly appointed Comms Officer will provide the required additional capacity.

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.

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
• Best Start in Life, including Family Hubs
• Best Start In Life Strategy
• Curriculum and Assessment Review

Delivery of Shropshire’s plan depends on several reforms and programmes outside the direct control of the SEND Partnership. These dependencies will be managed through one programme plan, one Raid and dependency log, named owners, clear timescales and agreed escalation routes. The Pmo will update the log weekly, chase overdue actions and issue a monthly highlight report setting out status, slippage, decisions required and impact on milestones. Qag will review dependencies and linked risks at each meeting, agree corrective action and escalate unresolved issues to the SEND Partnership Board, Children’s Transformation governance or Icb governance where required. Any dependency that threatens a quarter-end milestone will trigger an exception report and recovery plan within 10 working days.

NHS reforms and Icb change are a critical dependency for Experts at Hand, waiting times and the timeliness and quality of statutory health advice. To manage this, the partnership will agree a joint LA-ICB workforce plan covering therapy, psychology and specialist practitioner capacity, with named leads and monthly review of vacancies, commissioned capacity, sessions available and priority gaps. A single triage route will be established for Eah requests and statutory advice, with agreed response standards, prioritisation criteria and urgent escalation routes. Delivery will use a blended model of consultation, group training, targeted intervention and statutory contribution so that specialist time is used consistently across the system. Weekly monitoring will cover capacity against demand, health advice timeliness, open backlog and use of commissioned capacity. If standards are missed for two consecutive cycles, the Sro will escalate to Icb Place leadership and require a joint recovery plan with actions, timescales and named owners.

Local Government Reorganisation and Children’s Social Care reform, including Family Help, create dependencies in pathways, thresholds, workforce availability and management capacity. SEND reform will therefore sit within the wider Children’s Services Transformation portfolio, with one Raci, shared programme support and aligned milestones across SEND, Best Start in Life, Family Help and participation work. A monthly stop-start-continue review will identify duplication, re-sequence activity and protect critical milestones. Where staffing in key delivery roles falls below minimum safe capacity, transformation funding will be used to backfill priority functions and Qag will consider pausing lower-impact activity.

Best Start in Life and Family Hubs are a key dependency for earlier identification, locality engagement and demand moderation. SEND pathways will be built into Family Hub arrangements through a clear front door for advice, consistent referral routes into early years support and Eah, and locality-level feedback loops using “you said, we did”. Hub-level demand, repeat contacts, waiting times and referral conversion rates will be monitored, with additional support targeted to localities showing sustained pressure or under-representation of families and young people.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review may affect attendance, behaviour and identification practice. To reduce variation, the partnership will use Oaip expectations and the Inclusion Quality Mark as the operational baseline. The Eqa team will use attendance, exclusion, escalation and EHCP request data to trigger targeted Qa visits and deep dives, with clear follow-up actions, peer support and escalation where settings do not engage.

Data, finance and sufficiency dependencies will be managed through tighter controls. A Kpi dictionary will set out agreed definitions, reporting dates and named owners. Reporting will be automated where possible and supported by a monthly insight summary. Financial dependencies will be managed through phased investment gates, unit-cost baselines, placement oversight and explicit tracking of cost avoidance. The sufficiency programme will operate through short-, medium- and long-term phases, including repatriation planning, while local capacity is developed.

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 and Icb will act as joint accountable partners in monitoring and evaluating delivery, using shared data, quality assurance and lived experience to review impact and drive improvement. The local area partnership will keep delivery on track through a single performance management framework bringing together quantitative data, quality assurance and lived experience to support improvement, not just report activity. A partnership dashboard will be the core tool for monitoring delivery against reform milestones, success measures and agreed outcomes. It will include a focused set of priority outcome measures, each with baselines and trajectories, so the partnership can judge clearly whether reform is making a tangible difference. These will include the following headline metrics:

• EHCP timeliness: from 20% to over 90% by end of 2028/29
• Slcn and Nd waiting list times will be at agreed targets
• SEND attendance: improving year on year to at least in line with statistical neighbours
• Inmss placements: stabilising at no more than 9% of the EHCP cohort
• Eaho reach: children accessing Ep, Slt and Ot support increasing by at least 10% each year for the first three years
• Parent carer and Cyp satisfaction: measures established in year 1 and improving annually thereafter

The dashboard will combine lagging indicators, such as attendance, placement profile and spend, with leading indicators, such as referral volumes, waiting times, Qa findings, complaints themes and escalation patterns, so pressures can be identified early. Data will be reviewed monthly at operational level and quarterly through partnership governance, with analysis by locality, phase and cohort to test equity across Shropshire’s rural geography. Where metrics or feedback indicate deterioration, this will trigger a defined response: immediate review of the issue, identification of contributory factors, targeted support and improvement actions, named accountability, and follow-up through the next reporting cycle. Escalation routes through governance will be used where progress is not secured.

Quality assurance will form the second strand of the framework. In year 1 the partnership will implement a co-produced Qa cycle, overseen by the Eqa Team and reported through Qag. This will include multi-agency audit of EHCPs and SEND support plans, thematic reviews of inclusion practice, transitions and health contributions, and peer review across settings. Qa will look not only at the technical quality of plans, but also at communication quality, parent partnership, early resolution practice and the extent to which support is helping to prevent escalation. In schools and settings, monitoring will provide both challenge and support, helping to build capacity for improvement rather than simply identifying underperformance.

Lived experience will form the third strand of monitoring. Parent carers, children and young people will provide regular feedback through surveys, Big Listen activity, co-production forums, Pcf and Sendiass. Sendiass will contribute intelligence, thematic interpretation and learning about where communication, expectations or relationships are driving escalation. Qualitative evidence from families, Pcf, children and young people and Sendiass will be considered alongside quantitative data in decision-making, so the partnership responds to the whole picture, not metrics alone. Governance will provide accountability through a single delivery plan with milestones, trajectories, named leads and clear oversight arrangements.

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.

• Appendix K: Shropshire Local SEND Reform Plan Data template

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.

Shropshire’s SEND Reform Plan will be delivered through a single partnership governance framework, with the Local Authority and Icb providing joint strategic leadership, shared accountability and aligned decision-making across education, health and care. This is central to our reform approach, reflecting our commitment to one prioritised plan, collective responsibility and an integrated system capable of delivering sustainable improvement for children, young people and families.

• Stepping Stones Senior
• Dct Team Manager
• Autism Commissioning Officer
• Participation Officer – Cla
• Lead Education Officer – Cla
• Principal Social Worker
• Young Carer Lead
• Dh Virtual School (LA)
• Lct - Academies
• Co-Production Lead (LA)
• Team Manager Adoption Support
• Social Work Manager - Assessment Team
• Shrewsbury College
• Residential Quality Lead
• Mpft

Dco SEND and Inclusion Partnership Board

Core Membership Co-Chairs

Hal termly Strategic Decisions Children’s Ambitions Board Health and Well being board

Director of Children's Services (LA)

Chief Nursing Officer (Icb Executive Lead for SEND) Parents Lived Experience

• Shropshire Parent and Carer Council (Pacc)
• Sendiass Manager

Cyp Lived Experience

The SEND and AP Partnership Board is the principal programme governance forum for the SEND Reform Plan. It oversees delivery against the plan, reviews milestones, performance and risks, approves key delivery and commissioning decisions, agrees corrective action where progress is off track, and maintains oversight of jointly commissioned priorities and outcomes.

• Tbc Strategic Health and Care

• Director of Adults Social Services (Dass)
• Director of Public Health (Dph)

Commissioning Representatives

• Director of Strategic Commissioning (Icb)
• Service Director Commissioning

Business Intelligence and Data Insights

• Business Intelligence and Insight Manager (LA)
• Icb Lead

Co-Chairs of the Quality Assurance Group (Qag)

Assistant Director of Children's Services Reforms Associate Director of Nursing and Quality (Priority Populations) Sro SEND

Associate Membership Education Representatives

(16-25) Vice Principal Shrewsbury College

(16-25) Director, Finance and Client Services, Derwen College

(Secondary and Multi Academy Trust) Headteacher

(Secondary and Single Academy Trust) Headteacher

(Primary phase Trust, Trust includes SEND Hubs) Ceo

(Primary Federation, includes SEND Hubs) Executive Headteacher

(Mixed phase Trust, includes Woodlands special school) Ceo

(Mixed phase Trust, includes Severndale special school) Director of SEND Health and Social Care Representatives

• Scht
• Clinical and Care Director, Shropshire Mpft

Social Care Representatives

• Service Director - Children and Young People

Observers

DfE Representative

DfE SEND Reform Delivery Lead

Improvement and Transformation Lead, Vulnerable Children’s Unit Quality Assurance Group (Qag)

Chair: (Ad Children’s Services and Sro) Deputy Chair: [Associate Director of Nursing and Quality Priority Populations, Icb SEND Sro]

Monthly Check and challenge Decided what needs to be escalated Operational decisions

SEND and Inclusion Partnership Board

• EHCP Team Manager,
• Head of Virtual School and Access to Education,
• Head of Education Quality and Safeguarding,
• Principle Ep and Preventative Lead,
• SEND Transformation Lead.
• Icb SEND Senior Responsible Officer
• Dco (or deputy),
• Relevant provider representation from health as required
• DSCO
• Commissioning: Tbd
• Data/insight/analytics representation: Tbd
• Senior Integration Development Officer

Additional attendees: subject matter experts and provider representatives invited depending on agenda (e.g., early years, post16, therapies, AP, relevant children’s disability / transitions leads). Co-production routes (standing input): Children, Young People and Families are engaged and/or specialist groups when the theme relates to an area of interest.

Qag provides routine performance oversight and assurance to the SEND and AP Partnership Board. It triangulates quantitative data, audit evidence and lived experience to assess progress, identify variation, challenge underperformance and escalate concerns. It assures whether reform activity is changing practice and outcomes, not just whether activity has taken place.

• Senior Eqa for SEND and AP, Chair
• Lead for Access to Education, Vice Chair

Workstream 1: Inclusive Practice

Every 6 weeks Operational decisions

Qag Develop a continuum of high-quality local provision in

• Sendiass
• Education Quality Advisor, Shropshire Council
• Designated Social Care Officer – SEND
• Senior Ep
• Adult Social Care Representative
• Early Help Representative
• Nursery representation
• School age representation
• Post 16 representative
• Special School representation
• Parent Carer group representation

is responsible for interrogating the data, taking rapid action to improve EHCP timeliness, and contributing to the programme’s routine assurance and escalation cycle through regular reporting to Qag.

defects and ensuring services meet established standards.

Please refer to the following attachments for further detail and supporting evidence:

• Appendix L: Governance Chart
• Appendix M: Tor SEND and Inclusion Partnership Board

Section 5 – Central Government Support

14. 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

➢ For the Department for Education (DfE) to understand that funding calculations are based on demographics rather than demand, and that there must be flexibility in funding arrangements to allow areas to target specific needs. ➢ Support with multiagency auditing to develop an effective Multi-Agency Audit system that drives quality assurance (currently working with Wakefield on sector-led improvement work). ➢ Further work and investment required to develop the infrastructure needed to create and align dashboards and datasets, and to align reporting to the Outcomes Framework for measuring impact. ➢ Support to improve systemwide sharing and interpretation of data, including transparency with partners, to facilitate shared planning and decisions. ➢ Support to develop internal specialist support capacity so schools can access timely expertise for assessment, evidence gathering, and implementation of inclusive practice. ➢ Support to strengthen joint commissioning across partners and improve alignment of commissioning and workforce planning for sustainable services. ➢ Support to improve the timeliness of waiting times for any service offer, including ECHNAs, Annual Reviews, Early Years support via the Cdc, and health waiting lists. ➢ Support to further develop the post-16 offer for young people. ➢ Support to embed a shared, systemwide understanding of ordinarily available provision and tiered support, ensuring clarity and consistency across the system. ➢ Support to improve mental health services for the SEND community, including neurodivergent children and young people, as part of wider inclusion and partnership improvement activity. ➢ Support to continue sufficiency work with Wakefield, focusing on understanding universal, targeted, and specialist capacity to meet outcomes. ➢ Support to ensure our data lines up with DfE’s published data and to understand where there are discrepancies