Worcestershire Local SEND Reform Plan 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: Worcestershire County Council

Name of Integrated Care Board: NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire and Coventry & Warwickshire ICBs Local SEND Reform Plan Sro: Adam Johnston, Director of Children’s Services, Worcestershire County Council

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

This plan sets out Worcestershire’s three-year approach to reforming support for children and young people with SEND by creating a more inclusive, joined-up and sustainable system across education, health and care. The overarching aim is to intervene earlier, strengthen mainstream inclusion, improve access to specialist support, and ensure that children, young people and families experience a system that is easier to navigate, more consistent, and more focused on outcomes that matter to them.

The need for reform is being shaped by increasing demand. Total population projections for 0-25-year-olds in Worcestershire are forecast to rise from 625,745 in 2026 to 635,580 by 2029, excluding major housing growth. In addition, around 41,000 new homes are planned across Worcestershire between 2025 and 2041, which is expected to generate a further circa 12,000 children and young people. At the same time, 21.3% of all children and young people educated in Worcestershire had identified SEND in January 2025, underlining the scale of need across the local system.

In response, the plan focuses on strengthening inclusion in mainstream education and community settings, improving local capacity, and reducing escalation to high-cost or out-of-area provision wherever children and young people’s needs can be met safely and effectively closer to home. This includes building workforce confidence, improving ordinarily available provision, embedding the Experts at Hand model, and making better use of data, co-production and partnership accountability to drive improvement.

The plan also reflects an important shift in placement patterns. The proportion of children and young people with an EHCP educated in mainstream settings is increasing, while the proportion educated in special school provision is decreasing. This supports the strategic direction of the plan: to enable more children and young people to thrive in local mainstream provision with the right support in place, while continuing to develop specialist capacity for those with the most complex needs.

Across the three years, Worcestershire aims to move from strong strategic intent to more consistently embedded practice - with clearer accountability, better joint working, improved access to therapies and specialist support, stronger co-production with families, and a more equitable experience for children and young people across the county. Success measures over the next three years will reflect: improved lived experience, belonging and participation; greater confidence in inclusive practice and local support; reduced variation, delay and unnecessary escalation; stronger co-production, trust and shared accountability; more consistent access to specialist support and smoother transitions; and better alignment of investment, commissioning and outcomes.

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

Our partnership vision is that every child and young person is respected, included, heard, and supported to achieve their goals and live a fulfilled life. This reflects SEND reform and the Schools White Paper, promoting inclusion, early intervention, and participation.

Our goals are aligned to the outcome statements co-produced with children and young people – what is important for children and young people:

• I feel welcome, included and part of a community where I belong

We will strengthen ordinarily available provision, build workforce confidence, and increase local capacity. Progress will be measured through data on placement types, participation in education and enrichment, and feedback from children and families.

• I feel safe and supported

We will improve early identification, coordinated multi-agency support, and transitions. Progress will be measured through attendance, exclusion and timeliness data, alongside evidence from multi-agency audits and case tracking. Parents and carers feel confident, informed and supported by a system they can trust.

• I am listened to, understood and involved in decisions about my life

We will embed co-production, improve the quality of plans, and make the system easier to navigate. Progress will be measured through parent and young person feedback, quality assurance of plans, and monitoring of complaints and resolution pathways.

• I am helped to be healthy in my mind and body

We will improve access to therapies and joined-up pathways. Progress will be measured through waiting time data, access to services, and audit of health advice within assessments and plans.

• I enjoy life, have fun and am supported to reach my full potential

We will improve attendance, engagement and outcomes, and expand pathways into adulthood. Progress will be measured through education, employment and participation data.

We will use our collective resources efficiently and transparently to support earlier intervention, strengthen local provision and reduce reliance on high-cost specialist services. Value for the use of public and taxpayers money will be demonstrated through good quality collaboration and commissioning, improved outcomes, cost-effective placement patterns, reduced escalation of need and investment into inclusive, preventative support. See Appendix 1 for a visual document to further support this narrative: Vision_co_pro and outcomes booklet

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.

Summary table: key milestones, success measures, governance activity and minimum

requirement deliverables

This table sets out the reform model by building block. This is a summary of the detailed document included as appendix 2.

to specialist or statutory routes.

• increase local capacity of

provision so that more children and young people can attend state funded provision.

• decrease in proportion of

children and young people awaiting specialist placement not on roll at a setting.

Year 1 strengthens shared governance and co-production foundations;

• increased leader

confidence in shared accountability and joint decision-making;

• increased proportion of

children, young people and families reporting that they feel listened to and involved;

• reduced escalation linked

to disagreement, delay or poor communication;

• improved confidence and

trust in SEND services;

• clear evidence that co-

production feedback is

Use of SEND and AP Executive Board, Partnership Committee, dashboard reporting, revised terms of reference for key stakeholder groups, shared governance routes, commissioning oversight, and escalation arrangements to monitor impact and hold partners to account.

Co-production benchmark and expectations; improved Local Offer and clearer communication routes; clearer partnership terms of reference; shared dashboard and reporting arrangements; clearer expectations for plan quality and person-centred planning.

Building Block 2: System leadership, partnership and co-production

Year 2 embeds co- production and shared accountability beyond strategic forums;

Year 3 demonstrates embedded joint ownership, routine co- production and stronger system navigability.

shaping service design, priorities and decisions.

• Number and percentage

of districts with an established Mdt model;

• reduced variation and

improved quality assurance findings across specialist provision;

• increased percentage of

transition plans completed on time;

• reduced number of

transition breakdowns; improved continuity of support during key transitions;

• earlier access to

specialist support and more consistent delivery of specialist provision across the county.

Year 1 refines the Mdt prototype and defines

shared standards and a transition framework;

Funding and financial model for Mdt rollout; shared standards and quality assurance framework; 0–25 Transition

Governance arrangements and terms of reference for Mdt rollout; partnership

Building Block 3: Access to

Year 2 rolls out Mdt and transition

oversight for transition planning and shared accountability; assurance processes aligned to shared standards and quality review.

Framework; minimum standards for transition planning; service specifications and practical delivery requirements that support consistent specialist provision.

specialist support and local placements

arrangements more consistently;

Year 3 shows county- wide Mdt coverage, stronger continuity and more consistent specialist support.

Year 1 Establish stronger shared accountability, clearer financial oversight and baseline evidence on

Routine joint oversight of demand, spend, quality and outcomes through partnership governance, commissioning and assurance arrangements,

Shared dashboard for demand, spend, quality, outcomes and lived experience; joint governance arrangements for oversight of financial

Building Block 4: Encouraging inclusive culture and behaviours

Increased proportion of leaders reporting confidence that inclusive values are reflected in

decision-making across agencies

demand, spend, inclusion and lived experience.

with collective challenge where practice or investment is not aligned to SEND priorities, inclusion and value

sustainability, inclusion and value for money; agreed investment and commissioning principles aligned to early

Increased proportion of investment directed toward early intervention, inclusion and local provision

Year 2 Embed more for money.

intervention and local inclusion; clear partnership review arrangements for investment decisions and their impact on escalation and high-cost provision.

consistent alignment between funding, commissioning and inclusive practice, with earlier evidence of prevention and joint decision-making.

• Increased proportion of

children and young people with EHCPs attending mainstream settings

Year 3 Demonstrate an embedded, prevention- focused system where inclusive practice, shared accountability and value for money are working together more consistently.

***Insert Document Upload Link*** See Appendix 2 – Detailed blueprint and three-year road map document (combined into one)

• 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.’

Worcestershire’s strategy for delivering SEND reform is to move from a system showing improvement, but with variable experience, to one that delivers more consistent inclusion, earlier support and stronger outcomes for children and young people with SEND across the county.

The self-evaluation and Local Partnership Maturity Assessment both show that the partnership has strengthened governance, co- production, data visibility and targeted improvement activity, but that these are not yet embedded consistently enough in everyday practice. They identify a system with strong strategic intent and developing structures, where the next phase is to translate shared vision, outcomes and accountability into more reliable lived experience for children, young people and families.

The partnership’s strategy is therefore to build reform through four connected building blocks. First, Worcestershire will strengthen inclusion across education settings by improving ordinarily available provision, expanding local capacity and embedding an Experts at Hand model so mainstream settings can access earlier, multi-disciplinary support. Second, the partnership will strengthen leadership, co- production and shared accountability so that children, young people and families more consistently influence planning, review, commissioning and improvement, and so that partners jointly own outcomes, quality and financial sustainability. Third, Worcestershire will improve access to specialist support and local placements through earlier identification, better transitions, more timely therapies and emotional wellbeing support, and stronger health and social care contributions. Fourth, the partnership will align investment, performance oversight and quality assurance with inclusive practice, using shared dashboards, effectiveness reporting, self-evaluation and lived- experience feedback to reduce escalation, improve value for money and support local solutions.

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

The partnership maturity matrix assessment 10/06/2026

• 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.

See Appendix 2 – Detailed blueprint and three-year road map document (combined into one) See also summary table above Please also see Appendix 3 SEND Reform Worcs Visual v3 Appendix 4- Eah developing year 1 model, rationale and approach Appendix 4a_Worcestershire system partnership summer meeting Appendix 4b_ Summary of intended outcomes and impacts of 3 year roadmap

• 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.

Summary table and overview of Worcestershire’s Year 1 SEND Reform Plan This table provides an overview of Worcestershire’s Year 1 SEND Reform Plan, showing the milestones, trajectory, investment, resource deployment and measurable outcomes for each building block. This is a summary of the detailed document included as appendix 5.

for mainstream inclusion across Worcestershire. ➢ Survey responses,

and community inclusion actions, and plan to increase local inclusion base

school/service-level feedback and co- production participation data on belonging, trust and participation ➢ Inclusion support

provision.

Q4: Review Year 1 reach, equity and impact of the local inclusion model, including access to Experts at Hand, Best Start Family Hubs early inclusion support, ordinarily available provision and local inclusion routes; confirm priorities for Year 2 scaling and improvement.

access and referral data for Experts at Hand, ordinarily available provision and Best Start Family Hubs early inclusion support ➢ Variation analysis by

locality, setting type and need profile, showing equity of access and consistency of route use ➢ School, family and

partner feedback, audit evidence and settings engagement showing confidence in local support and a stronger foundation for mainstream inclusion

• Stronger shared

accountability and governance arrangements are being established across the partnership to support joint oversight of outcomes, quality, risk and financial sustainability.

• Co-production with

children, young people and families is becoming more systematic, visible and influential in planning, review, commissioning and service improvement.

• A clearer and more

consistent approach to high-quality, person-centred and outcome-focused plans is being developed across the system.

Q2: refresh governance, co- production and planning standards;

Q2 investment focuses on governance, revised partnership arrangements, existing

define shared dashboard and joint decision-making routes.

shared dashboard and reporting development, establishing co- production infrastructure, Local Offer and communication pathway design, and planning and quality standards.

Programme leadership, governance and assurance capacity, dashboard and reporting support, co- production infrastructure, communication and navigation redesign, quality assurance and audit, commissioning review capacity, and strategic partnership development across education, health and care.

Moves from creating the enabling conditions for stronger leadership, co- production and accountability in Q2, to embedding these through routine governance and service improvement in Q3, to reviewing their effectiveness, consistency and influence on quality, commissioning and reform delivery in Q4.

Q3: implement governance, local offer and communication arrangements, co- production and joint commissioning arrangements in live delivery.

2. System leadership, partnership and co- production

Q3 funding supports implementation of governance, communication, co- production and joint commissioning arrangements in live delivery, alongside change management and partnership

Q4: Review effectiveness, consistency and influence on governance, co- production,

communication, quality and reform

capacity.

• The local SEND

system is becoming easier for families to navigate, with clearer communication, improved routes to support and earlier resolution of issues. ➢ Governance records,

delivery, and confirm priorities for Year 2 improvement.

Q4 supports review of effectiveness, consistency and influence on quality,

commissioning and reform delivery, alongside improvement planning and reprioritisation for Year 2..

meeting papers and leader feedback on shared accountability and joint decision- making ➢ Participation and

representation data, co- production reporting and evidence of influence on planning, review and commissioning ➢ Plan quality audit /

moderation findings and feedback on person- centred, outcome- focused planning ➢ Family feedback on

communication and navigation, Local Offer /

route usage data, and complaints / escalation trends

• A clearer and more

consistent approach to specialist support, quality assurance and joint review is being developed across education, health and care.

• A clearer and more

coordinated approach to 0–25 transitions is being established, with clearer responsibilities across services and improved foundations for person-centred planning.

• Access to health,

therapy and emotional wellbeing support is beginning to improve, with clearer pathways

Q2: refine Mdt and transition models, confirm health and therapy baselines, mobilise neurodivergent and therapy pathways, and agree shared quality standards.

Q2 funding supports service mobilisation, workforce recruitment, pathway redesign, baselining, shared standards, transition framework development and implementation planning.

Mdt workforce; locality implementation capacity; transition coordination and support leads; therapy and emotional wellbeing pathway capacity, including West; neurodivergent support service staffing; specialist provision support capacity; and health advice capacity linked to Experts at Hand.

Moves from refinement of Mdt and transition models, baselines and shared standards in Q2, to phased implementation of specialist support, transition and locality pathways in Q3, to Q4 review of consistency, sustainability and Year 2 readiness for wider rollout

3. Access to specialist support and local placements

Q3: Begin phased rollout of MDTs, transition support, health pathway improvements, neurodivergent support and revised health advice arrangements, in line with agreed standards and Year 1 implementation priorities

Q3 profile increases to support phased implementation of MDTs, transition support, therapy and emotional wellbeing pathways, neurodivergent support and revised health advice arrangements.

Q4 funding shifts to review, refinement and Year 2 readiness for

and early evidence of reduced variation.

• A clearer and more

consistent health contribution to earlier support, needs assessments and plans is being established, with improving timeliness and accountability. ➢ Quality assurance,

Q4: complete Year 1 reviews and refine models for scale, consistency and

wider rollout, including any updated commissioning and delivery requirements.

sustainability.

audit and joint review evidence on consistency of specialist support across education, health and care ➢ Transition audit, case

review and partner feedback on timeliness, coordination and clarity of responsibilities across 0–25 transitions ➢ Access, pathway and

variation data for health, therapy and emotional wellbeing support

➢ Audit and timeliness evidence on the health contribution to earlier support, needs assessments and plans

• Shared

accountability for outcomes, quality, sufficiency and financial sustainability is becoming more embedded across education, health and care.

• Funding and

commissioning decisions are becoming more aligned to inclusion, earlier intervention, local provision and value for money.

• Senior leaders are

using assurance, challenge and escalation more consistently to reinforce inclusive

Q2: Align governance, funding and commissioning decisions to inclusion; establish shared accountability, financial oversight and baseline evidence on demand, spend, inclusion and lived experience

Senior leadership time; governance, assurance and partnership oversight capacity; financial analysis, dashboard and reporting support; commissioning and investment review capacity; targeted improvement capacity to challenge misalignment in practice or spend; and leadership development to support inclusive decision-making and accountability

Q2 investment emphasises governance alignment, funding framework development, inclusive leadership and local improvement infrastructure. Q3 supports active deployment of resources against inclusive priorities and culture-building activity. Q4 supports review of impact, value for money and future investment choices.

Moves from establishing shared accountability, financial oversight and evidence-based decision-making in Q2, to applying governance, funding and assurance frameworks in live decision-making in Q3, to reviewing their effect on behaviour, investment, accountability and value for money in Q4.

4. Encouraging inclusive culture and behaviours

Q3: Apply funding, commissioning and assurance frameworks in live decision-making, embed leadership challenge, and use demand, spend and

outcome evidence to test alignment with

values and respond where practice or spend is misaligned.

• The partnership is

improving how it reviews impact and value for money, using outcomes, lived experience, equity and financial data together to inform Year 2 change. ➢ Governance records,

inclusion and value for money.

Q4: Review which governance, funding and assurance levers are shifting behaviour, investment, accountability and value for money, and confirm Year 2 priorities..

decision logs and leader feedback showing stronger shared accountability for outcomes, quality, sufficiency and financial sustainability ➢ Commissioning,

investment and assurance evidence showing closer alignment to inclusion, earlier intervention, local provision and value for money

➢ Assurance, challenge and escalation records showing how leaders are responding where practice or spend is misaligned ➢ Review and reporting evidence using outcomes, lived experience, equity and financial data together to inform Year 2 priorities The Year 1 costings of implementing Worcestershire’s Expert at Hand model have been produced with the following overarching assumptions: - that Worcestershire’s SEND Reform plan is accepted by the DfE and work can confidently begin at pace to enact the plan - that all posts within the plan are recruited to and filled when expected (for Year 1, the start of each staff costing has been phased accordingly to when we expect staff to be in place) - that future years’ Worcestershire allocated funding will be increased in line with current documentation that outlines the overall budget for Experts at Hand increasing for 2027/28 and 2028/29 There are some inherent risks within Year 1 including (but not limited to) changing Eah guidance that require amendments to our proposed operating model, the SEND plan not being accepted by DfE and requiring further amendments before implementation, difficulties with recruitment and retention meaning that posts may not be filled in the timelines expected, and therefore the difficulty in spending this grant within the expected timeframe.

Without grant carry forward requests being granted, and the lack of known funding amounts for future years, the likelihood of being able to recruit to specialist posts on limited fixed term contracts (especially given that the demand for those with this skillset is going to increase across all authorities) is extremely low. Cost Breakdown

Appendix 5 -First year delivery detailed Appendix 6 – SEND reform programme plan overview Appendix 7_SEND reform building blocks KPIs 11062026

• 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.

Worcestershire will deliver the first-year plan through its partnership-wide SEND improvement programme, building on strengthened joint working across education, health and care, with further system alignment to deliver the SEND reform plan. Delivery will be supported through established governance and shared accountability. There will be continued oversight from partnership leaders via the SEND and AP Committee and Executive Board, to ensure that progress is monitored closely, risks are identified early, and decisions are taken in a timely way. The terms of reference of these groups will be reviewed to align with the objectives of the SEND Reform Plan. The work will be organised through a formal change programme, with named leads, agreed priorities, milestones and reporting through the effectiveness reporting mechanism. There will be capacity allocated to coordinate activity across different workstreams and partners, so that education, health and care contributions are aligned. Progress will be actively managed, including tracking actions, identifying slippage and dependencies and escalating risks. The partnership will use programme management to prioritise activity and focus resources. The weekly core group will continue to enable decision-makers to receive regular information on delivery so they can challenge, unblock issues and adjust plans where needed Corporate functions, including finance, commissioning and performance information, will play an important role in underpinning delivery and ensuring the plan is sustainable. Worcestershire will ensure that delivery capacity is clearly identified and aligned to the reform programme. This will include dedicated programme and project management support to coordinate workstreams, manage dependencies, monitor delivery and escalate risks. Corporate functions including finance, commissioning, Hr, communications, legal and governance will be aligned to implementation so that delivery is affordable, sustainable and properly governed. Where required, transformation funding will be used to build additional capability, particularly in programme delivery, change management and analytical support. The partnership will also strengthen data and intelligence capacity so that delivery is informed by a clear set of baselines, measures and regular reporting. This will bring together performance, quality, lived-experience and financial information to support operational oversight, strategic decision-making, prioritisation and resource allocation. This will enable leaders to identify variation, track impact and take timely action where delivery is off track. Co-production will remain central throughout implementation, ensuring that the voices of children and young people, parent carers and partners continue to shape delivery and improvement

See appendix 8 – Evidence of partnership progress - visual – Local Area Partnerships SEND improvement journey April 2024 – April 2026

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.

We have agreed a block transfer for 2026/27 of £2.4m with full support of the Schools Forum. This funding will directly support delivery of the priorities set out in our Local Delivery Plan. Consistent with our strategic approach, the funding will be used to strengthen early identification and intervention, improve inclusivity within mainstream settings, and reduce reliance on high-cost specialist provision.

A key focus will be investment in building capacity across mainstream schools through enhanced training, outreach, and specialist support, enabling settings to better meet a wider range of needs. This aligns with our commitment to improving Ordinarily Available Provision and ensuring that children and young people can access support at the earliest point, reducing escalation to statutory services.

The funding will also contribute to the development of targeted interventions and alternative provision pathways, supporting children at risk of exclusion or placement breakdown. This will help stabilise placements and improve outcomes, in line with our inclusion objectives.

In addition, we will continue to strengthen our graduated response through investment in integrated services and multi-agency working, particularly across education, health, and care partners. This will support more coordinated planning and delivery around the needs of children and families.

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.

The Worcestershire Strategy for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) 2023-2026 includes a clear commitment to the effective and efficient use of resources, with a priority on ensuring sufficient and effective SEND provision. Our strategic approach is to improve and develop provision for children and young people with SEND in ways that improve outcomes, strengthen mainstream inclusion, provide value for money, and enable children and young people to live and learn in their local communities wherever possible. Worcestershire’s ordinarily available provision for state-funded mainstream schools is set out in the SEND Graduated Response and aligns with the Department for Education’s Area Guidelines for Mainstream Schools. Improving ordinarily available provision in mainstream schools and settings is a key part of our established inclusive practice approach and supports Building Block 1 by enabling more children and young people with SEND to access suitable places in mainstream settings across all phases of education. The Worcestershire Education Accessibility Strategy 2026–2029 complements this by supporting schools to make adaptations and reasonable adjustments to the physical and wider school environment so that more children and young people can attend their local The annual SEND Sufficiency Report sets out Worcestershire’s analysis of the supply and demand of provision to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND. It identifies priorities for additional provision for children and young people with Autism; primary- aged children with speech, language and communication needs and cognition and learning needs; and secondary-aged children and young people with social, emotional and mental health needs.

Worcestershire’s capital strategy is designed to strengthen inclusion first through improving ordinarily available provision, increasing accessibility in mainstream settings and expanding Specialist Inclusion Bases. This approach is reflected in Building Block 1 through the planned increase in local state-funded mainstream and inclusion base capacity, and in Building Block 4 through the alignment of capital investment, sufficiency planning and value for money. Alongside this, we are planning targeted growth in state- funded special school capacity where sufficiency analysis shows that children and young people’s needs cannot be met safely and effectively through mainstream provision and inclusion bases alone. This is supported by local data showing that 40% of children and young people in independent specialist provision have Semh as a primary need and 33% have Asd, alongside the increasing proportion of children and young people with EHCPs educated in mainstream settings. This means that investment in special schools sits alongside, and does not replace, mainstream inclusion investment as part of a single, balanced sufficiency strategy to increase local state-funded options, reduce reliance on independent and out-of-area placements, and enable more children and young people to access the right support closer to home.

The SEND Provision Plan sets out the programme of work and capital investment required to identify schools and settings across the 0– 25 phase with the capacity to develop or expand Specialist Inclusion Bases, through co-production with education settings, including

multi-academy trusts. Inclusion Base capacity will be planned in line with local sufficiency need, the size of the area served and, where feasible, the size of the mainstream setting. This will help reduce the distance children and young people need to travel to access education. Additional Specialist Inclusion Base places will increase the proportion of children and young people who can access local state-funded mainstream provision with the right support, reduce reliance on special school places for children and young people with Autism, speech, language and communication needs, cognition and learning needs, and Semh, and reduce the proportion awaiting appropriate provision. Alongside the expansion of Specialist Inclusion Bases, outreach from specialist provision will support mainstream settings to strengthen inclusive practice and respond earlier to need, helping to reduce future demand for specialist placements where needs can be met safely and effectively in local mainstream provision.

Additional state-funded special school places are proposed where specialist provision is required to meet needs that cannot be met through mainstream provision and Specialist Inclusion Bases alone. Worcestershire’s nine special schools provide for children and young people with the most complex needs, including profound and multiple learning difficulties, severe learning difficulties, and physical disabilities or medical needs requiring specialist facilities and support. Local analysis shows that 40% of children and young people in independent specialist provision have Semh as a primary need and 33% have Asd. Targeted growth in state-funded special school places, particularly for Semh and Asd, will help reduce reliance on high-cost independent and out-of-area placements, reduce travel times, and increase access to appropriate provision closer to home. Enterprise Academy will also strengthen local specialist capacity in Malvern, where there is currently no special school provision, and support a reduction in the number of children and young people with Asd attending independent specialist provision. A proportion of High Needs capital has therefore been earmarked for growth in state-funded specialist provision, recognising that this requires a higher level of capital investment per place than inclusion provision attached to mainstream settings.

As more mainstream settings improve their inclusive provision and more Specialist Inclusion Base places become available, we expect confidence in local provision to grow and reliance on more specialist placements to reduce. However, there will continue to be a need for state-funded special school places, and for a smaller number of independent specialist placements, for children and young people with the most complex needs. Capital investment will therefore continue to be reviewed and adapted in line with sufficiency analysis, changing patterns of need and the effectiveness of local provision.

Worcestershire has been a proactive participant in the DfE SEND and AP Change Programme. This has included the Pin’s programme that requires sensory environment review and adaptations as needed, this has supported >30 schools in 2025/26. This programme is intended to cover more schools over the next 3 years. Phase 3 of this testing programme included the opportunity to test how an investment in a range of assistive technologies such as Dolphin Easy Reader and scanning pens, can strengthen mainstream inclusion, reduce the financial burden on schools and remove the risk associated with purchasing untested equipment. The pilot immediately improved access to assistive technology for children and young people across Worcestershire. This investment of grant (£100K) has enabled an innovative and impactful approach to At that has been co-produced ( See Appendix 11: Assistive tech report for SEND reform)

Worcestershire has invested in a fleet of 30 AV1( from 2024/25) telepresence robots to support children and young people who are unable to attend school, helping them to maintain access to learning, social connection and a sense of belonging. This investment has strengthened the local area’s ability to reduce gaps in education for children with additional needs, including those requiring Section 19 support. Early impact data shows increasing use of the technology, with significantly higher engagement in 2026 compared with 2025, and evidence that a number of children supported through AV1 have successfully re- engaged with school. This investment of circa £117,000 supports the partnership’s wider commitment to improving inclusion, reducing absence and ensuring children remain connected to education wherever possible. (See Appendix 12: AV1 Investment and Impact)

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.

Worcestershire’s Local Area Partnership will develop and implement the plan by building on the strengthened engagement and co- production arrangements described in the self-evaluation and taking forward the specific actions set out in the roadmap. We have been fortunate to be part of the SEND and AP Change Programme that enabled co-production with schools, settings, parent carers and young people to develop and test and learn a range of approaches to supporting mainstream inclusion including; outreach from AP schools, Pin’s programme, At Lending Library and Multi- disciplinary working around schools ( Apst). We will be building on these initiatives as part of the Reform planning.

The self-evaluation evidences that strategic co-production has strengthened significantly: two co-production officers have engaged with over 400 children and young people to develop co-produced outcomes and the partnership vision; Voices United has been established as a forum for children and young people with SEND; and Worcestershire Parent Carer Forum (Wpcf) has expanded its reach and

influence across strategic forums. The self-evaluation also shows that engagement with schools and settings is already supported through SENCO networks, education leaders and academy trust engagement, SEND strategy events and wider partnership structures, but that co-production and shared accountability are not yet consistently embedded in everyday practice.

The roadmap therefore commits us in Year 1 to use these existing engagement routes more systematically so that schools, MATs, early years settings, alternative providers, Fe and post-16 providers are routinely involved in designing, reviewing and delivering reform priorities. This includes SENCO networks, education leader events and academy trust forums, early years forums, SEND partnership events and provider relationships, including with post-16 settings attended by Worcestershire young people outside the local area where they contribute to transition planning, local sufficiency and preparation for adulthood. The roadmap also commits us to reviewing and revising partnership terms of reference, clarifying roles and decision-making routes, and strengthening education involvement in commissioning design, planning and review.

In Year 1, this will be supported by targeted engagement activity with education partners, including an Inclusion Conference for schools on 30 June 2026, which has been heavily oversubscribed, demonstrating strong sector appetite for shared learning and inclusive practice. This will be complemented by the two-day Early Years Best Start event on 26 and 27 June 2026, which will support engagement with early years providers and partners around early identification, inclusion and the role of Best Start in Life and Family Hubs within SEND reform. Together, these events provide an important mechanism for building shared understanding, reinforcing reform expectations and strengthening partnership ownership across the system.

Children, young people and families will continue to shape the plan through Wpcf, Voices United and wider participation routes, but the roadmap goes further by committing us to expand Voices United and diversify participation, adopt a Worcestershire co-production benchmark, and set clearer expectations for how services, schools and partnership groups will evidence co-production in planning, review, commissioning and service improvement. In Year 1, services and education settings will be expected to show who has been involved, what changed as a result, and how feedback has influenced decisions. “You said, we did” approaches will be strengthened so feedback loops become more routine beyond central partnership forums.

This approach reflects SEND reform and the broader elements and direction of the Every Child Achieving and Thriving White Paper, particularly the stronger emphasis on inclusion, earlier intervention and shared mainstream accountability. The partnership will work collaboratively with education leaders to manage changing roles and responsibilities by strengthening understanding of ordinarily available provision, refreshing the partnership-wide universal offer, and ensuring reform expectations are understood across education, health and care.

Additional support would be valuable in two areas. First, support from senior Department for Education officials at summer term events with education leaders and parent carer forum leaders would help reinforce shared accountability and support constructive challenge at a key implementation point. Second, support to strengthen engagement with providers beyond the local area, particularly Fe and post-16 settings attended by Worcestershire young people, would help ensure more consistent participation in planning and transition arrangements.

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.

Address any training and partnership needs relating to using data to target for actions – school level training, organisation development needs.

Risk Impact Likelihood Rag Mitigation Residual

Rag

5a. There is a financial risk to the successful delivery of the SEND Reform Plan. Delivery is dependent on Department for Education (DfE) revenue and capital funding being sufficient to meet the scale of resource required. This risk is compounded by a gap in delivery and clarity of funding guidance, including whether all necessary expenditure is allowable and whether sufficient flexibility exists to utilise grant funding across financial years. Worcestershire Schools are 38/151 in ranking of funding per pupil lowest funding ( main block Dsg) – and therefore an F40 LA. This exacerbates the risk of the principles of SEND Reform ( Fair resourcing) not being achieved and risks slowing the pace of change for schools to be able to implement accessible support and reduce demand on the Ehcna process to achieve this support. In addition, the Council’s current financial position is

Section 151 Officer Critical Possible >30- <60%

5a. Active engagement with DfE to seek clarity on funding levels, allowable expenditure, and flexibility (including carry-forward across financial years).

Moderate/ Possible: >30-<60%

Robust financial planning and scenario modelling to assess funding sufficiency and prioritise activity within available resources.

Phased delivery approach to align implementation pace with confirmed funding availability.

Regular monitoring and reporting of funding allocations and expenditure against plan to identify and manage emerging gaps early.

Exploration of alternative funding opportunities (e.g., grants, partnerships) where feasible to supplement delivery.

Clear prioritisation of reform activities to focus on statutory and highest-impact elements if funding constraints

2026.

Failure to meet gain approval of the Local SEND Reform Plan and therefore not receive the £162.7m Consequences / Impacts

Significant deterioration in the Council’s financial position and reserves

Council has not budgeted for additional borrowing costs in 2026/27 which would be c£10m excluding the loss of Treasury Management income

Inability to eliminate or manage the Dsg High Needs deficit

Increased pressure on the General Fund and wider service budgets

Potential need for unplanned savings, service reductions, across the council

Risk of statutory intervention or reputational damage

Reduced capacity to meet statutory SEND obligations, impacting vulnerable children and families

• 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

Summary of System Reforms Affecting SEND and Children’s Services in Worcestershire Significant national reforms across health, local government, education and children’s social care are reshaping the system in which SEND and children’s services operate in Worcestershire.

NHS Reforms and Icb Changes NHS England has required all Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to adopt a strategic commissioning model and reduce running costs by 50%. In response, West Midlands ICBs have formed three strategic clusters. Coventry and Warwickshire Icb is now clustered with Herefordshire and Worcestershire. While strategic functions operate at cluster level, local SEND partnerships remain unchanged. Day-to-day SEND duties continue locally, with Designated Clinical Officers aligned to each local authority. SEND capacity has been maintained and strengthened, supported by an Icb board-level executive lead, enabling shared leadership, best practice and consistent standards.

Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution The English Devolution White Paper (Spring 2025) proposes abolishing two-tier local government in favour of unitary authorities by 2028. In Worcestershire, two competing proposals were submitted in November 2025: a single county-wide unitary authority (County Council with Wyre Forest), and an alternative model proposing two unitaries (North and South Worcestershire) put forward by the remaining district councils. Government decisions are expected by summer 2026, shadow authority elections in May 2027, and vesting day set for 1 April 2028. Future devolution is likely to follow regional footprints. These changes sit alongside partner reforms, including Icb restructuring and proposals to merge police forces into larger “super forces”, all of which have implications for service coherence for children and families.

Children’s Social Care Reform The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (2024) has driven rapid reform. In April 2026, Worcestershire launched the Families First

Partnership, unifying Early Help and Children in Need services into a single Family Help model. The approach prioritises keeping families together and preventing escalation into statutory safeguarding. Multi-disciplinary district teams coordinate support through a lead practitioner. Parallel to this, Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs) are being developed ahead of mandatory rollout in April 2027, embedding police, health and education professionals directly into child protection decision- making.

Best Start in Life and Family Hubs Worcestershire’s Best Start in Life and Best Start Family Hubs strengthen prevention, early identification and coordinated support, providing a foundation for SEND reform. Priorities include earlier recognition of developmental needs, improved 2.5-year reviews, and expanded SEND roles within Public Health Nursing. Family Hubs act as a single access point for families, offering SEND peer support, navigation and a graduated, joined-up response across services.

Curriculum, Inclusion and Assessment Worcestershire County Council and partners are embedding inclusive, evidence-based approaches through national programmes such as Education Endowment Foundation partnerships, Delivering Better Value, assistive technology trials (2025–2027), and initiatives including Pins and the Woven Oracy programme. Together, these support inclusion, equity of experience and improved outcomes for all learners, including those with SEND.

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.

Worcestershire will move from monitoring progress through separate improvement workstreams to a single SEND reform reporting framework aligned to the national reform priorities, the four building blocks of the Local SEND Reform Plan and the co-produced outcomes for children and young people. This will make the reform plan the main route for oversight and accountability, bringing together existing improvement activity, reform delivery and partnership performance within one coherent framework. Monitoring will be informed through the monthly SEND Effectiveness Report, the partnership dashboard and service-level performance reports, all progressively restructured around the SEND Reform Plan. Worcestershire will adjust our performance framework to reflect an agreed core set of reform plan indicators covering leading indicators, delivery measures, quality indicators and outcome measures. Core KPIs will include demand and escalation, timeliness, access to support, deployment and reach of the Experts at Hand model, attendance, suspensions and exclusions, placement patterns, parental confidence, quality assurance findings and financial sustainability. Each measure will have a defined owner, baseline, reporting frequency and agreed escalation route where performance is off track or variation is identified. The partnership dashboard will operate at three levels. An operational layer will support frequent oversight of immediate delivery risks, pressures and service performance by operational leads and programme support. A programme layer will align reporting to the reform building blocks, workstreams and year one milestones so that delivery leads and the SEND and AP Committee can review progress, dependencies, exceptions and corrective actions. A strategic layer will provide the SEND and AP Executive Board with a concise summary of headline KPIs, quality findings, financial information, risk and lived-experience feedback to support strategic decisions. This

structure will ensure that detailed operational intelligence is translated into clear programme reporting and governance-level assurance. Ownership of monitoring and evaluation is explicit. The programme lead and relevant performance and intelligence leads will oversee the reporting framework and dashboard development, while named workstream or service leads will be accountable for the accuracy, interpretation and improvement actions relating to their indicators. Reporting cycles align to governance arrangements, with regular reporting through partnership governance, public scrutiny, and quarterly reporting to the Department for Education supported by benchmarking information, self-evaluation updates and maturity assessment reviews. The framework will track four main types of information. First, demand data will show where pressure is building and whether earlier intervention is reducing escalation, including EHCP requests for assessment, assessment volumes, waiting lists, tribunal activity, referrals into specialist services and trends in need across localities and phases. Second, service delivery data will show whether reform activity is being implemented at the intended scale and pace, including deployment of speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and educational psychology through the Experts at Hand approach, outreach activity, workforce development, EHCP timeliness, completion of agreed milestones and the number and type of local places created or expanded. Third, service quality will be monitored through quality assurance and stakeholder feedback, including EHCP audits, case file audits, provider reviews, complaints, mediation and tribunal learning, parent carer feedback and evidence about whether support is experienced as timely, joined-up and helpful. Fourth, output and outcome measures will test whether reform is improving day-to-day experience and outcomes, including attendance, exclusions and suspensions, participation, placement patterns, timeliness, reduced delay and escalation, and progress against the five co-produced outcomes for children and young people with SEND. Progress will be judged through triangulation of performance data, milestone trajectories, quality assurance findings and lived- experience evidence. Quality assurance findings will be fed back routinely to service and workstream leads, who will be expected to agree and report progress against improvement actions through the programme governance structure. Governance groups will not only receive data but will be expected to review trends, consider the interaction between quantitative and qualitative evidence, and agree action where performance is slipping or impact is not being realised. This will help the partnership understand not only whether delivery is on track, but whether it is improving inclusion, reducing waiting and escalation, strengthening co-production, increasing confidence in the system and making support easier to navigate. The partnership will use regular feedback loops with children and young people, parent carers, schools, early years settings, post-16 providers, health services and wider partners to review progress and refine delivery. This will include co-production through Worcestershire Parent Carer Forum and Voices United, feedback from SENCO and provider networks, service user feedback including patient experience routes, learning from complaints and dispute resolution, and reflections from audits, reviews and external scrutiny.

These mechanisms will be used to identify where delivery is inconsistent, where reform is not yet having the intended impact, and where priorities, resources, support or timescales need to change. To address previous inconsistency in how dashboard and feedback information has been used, reporting outputs will be routinely translated into clear actions, shared with relevant workstreams, partner forums and services, and supported by ‘you said, we did’ communication so that data and feedback are visible, understood and acted on across the partnership. Monitoring and evaluation will be used actively to influence implementation decisions. Where measures show slippage, weak impact, worsening trends or inconsistent experience, responsible leads will be expected to identify causes and propose corrective action through programme management and governance routes. This may include reprioritising activity, adjusting delivery timescales, reallocating capacity or funding, increasing support or challenge to a workstream or service, commissioning further analysis, or escalating strategic barriers through governance. In this way, Worcestershire’s monitoring arrangements will evolve from a set of parallel improvement reports into a single, integrated reform-based approach that supports delivery, accountability and continuous improvement. These reporting cycles align to the governance structure set out in Section 4. See Appendix 13 – diagram – data flow and feedback loops v2

• 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.

***Insert Document Upload Link***

See the 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.

The SEND Reform Plan will operate through a clear programme governance structure that links day-to-day delivery, operational oversight and strategic decision-making. Governance reporting will routinely cover progress against milestones and key metrics, risk and issue management, quality findings, delivery barriers and examples of effective or innovative practice that should be scaled Overall accountability for delivery of the reform plan sits with the SEND and AP Executive Board, which provides strategic oversight, receives assurance on progress, risk, impact and finance, and makes decisions about priorities, escalation and corrective action. The named Sro sits within this structure as the senior accountable officer for the reform programme, providing leadership across the partnership and ensuring that delivery remains aligned to the agreed objectives of the Local SEND Reform Plan. Beneath this, the SEND and AP Committee provides operational programme oversight. It is responsible for reviewing delivery against milestones, monitoring performance and risks, scrutinising workstream progress, and ensuring that the programme remains coordinated across education, health and care. This group receives regular reporting from the reform workstreams, core programme management arrangements and partner forums, and escalates strategic risks, delivery concerns or decisions required to the Executive Board. Delivery of the plan will take place through the building block workstreams and wider partner forums, each with clearly identified leads and responsibilities aligned to the priorities in the reform plan. These groups are responsible for progressing specific actions, managing dependencies, reporting exceptions and identifying risks or barriers to delivery. A weekly core group supports pace, coordination and grip across the programme by tracking progress, resolving immediate issues where possible and escalating matters to the Committee where broader decisions or system leadership are required. Progress against the first-year delivery plan, including milestones, KPIs, risks, dependencies and corrective actions, will be the core reporting mechanism through the Core Group, SEND and AP Committee and SEND and AP Executive Board. The governance groups will review the monitoring and evaluation outputs described in Section 3 according to the agreed reporting cycle. This structure ensures that the programme operates within existing partnership governance while providing a distinct and visible route for reform oversight. It creates a clear line of sight from delivery activity to operational scrutiny and strategic accountability, with defined

escalation routes and named leadership at each level. As governance arrangements are refreshed in Year 1, terms of reference and reporting routes will be updated to ensure they fully reflect the SEND Reform Plan, including links to joint commissioning, financial oversight and sufficiency planning.

resources to meet those responsibilities and look for opportunities to effectively deploy resources jointly for value for money and outcomes. Dsg – High Needs Deficit Management Group

Oversight of the financial impact of high needs management actions. Reports to Worcestershire School Forum

Sro Chief Financial Officer Assistant Director All Age Disability Assistant Director Education, Early Years, Inclusion and Pupil Place Planning, Lead Commissioner (Wcc) Internal Audit

Monthly Make recommendations to Schools Forum/Icog

Icog/Children’s Dlt/Wcc Slt/O & S Delivery plan partner forums including: Bsl, Provision Plan, Post 16 Neet & employment and skills, Worcestershire Schools Forum, E@H working group, Local Offer development group Operational delivery of individual strategies and strategic direction As per individual forums Various Delivery of individual plans Building Block workstreams membership If you have a diagram to show the relationship between these governance mechanisms, please upload this here.

***Insert Document Upload Link***

Appendix 14 Education Planning Group reporting visual

Section 5 – Central Government Support

13. 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

The Every Child Achieving and Thriving White Paper refers to Collaboration between schools and partners – (Chapter 6). The case for change in this chapter references the fragmentation of the education system and a lack of clarity for schools in relation to expectations around collaboration, improvement of practice and inclusive outcomes for children and young people.

In Worcestershire we have a strong relationship with our school network including both Mat’s and Sat’s. We need support from the DfE to clarify the expectation of schools and Trusts ( Ceo’s and Trust Boards) to engage with the LA ordinarily available provision,

improvement actions and SEND Reform planning comprehensive network of communication, support and engagement activities and be reminded of their part in delivering inclusive education for children who live in the school community. This is particularly important for Sat’s ( serving > 11,000 of our children ) and very small Mat’s or large Mat’s who only have one school in our LA.

The other aspect of support is a stronger accountability and communication framework from the DfE for independent schools in relation to quality assurance, attendance monitoring, and engagement with LA networks.

Annex B - Supporting Documents

Annex C – Risk Matrix