Southend SEND Area Partnership: Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Strategy 2023 to 2026

Southend SEND Area Partnership:

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Strategy 2023 to 2026

Helping children and young people with SEND in Southend.

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Contents

1. Introduction 4

2. What are special educational needs and disabilities? 5

3. Local context 6

4. The Southend SEND Partnership 13

5. Our aims 14

6. Developing the priorities 15

7. Agreeing the priorities 16

8. Developing our actions 19

9. Making it happen – what we will do 20

10. Measuring impact and progress 24

11. Keeping you informed 25

12. Thanks 26

13. Legislation and Policy 27

14. Glossary of terms 28

1. Introduction

Welcome to the 2023 to 2026 Southend Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Partnership Strategy for children and young people aged 0 to 25.

This SEND partnership strategy outlines our five key priorities and our aims and ambitions, all of which focus on improving the lived experiences of children and young people with SEND and their families.

Much has been done to improve services for children and young people with SEND since October 2018, when the Care & Quality Commission (CQC) and Ofsted carried out a Local Area joint inspection of the SEND offer in Southend. Four areas of weakness were identified, and the Southend SEND Partnership was formed to oversee the journey of improvement, so that children and young people with SEND in Southend and their families have better experiences.

on existing work and shows what will be done to ensure the SEND offer continues to improve. There is a commitment to increase co-production over the lifetime of this strategy and beyond.

Feedback from families tell us that the priorities set out here are important to them. We expect that children and young people with SEND and their families will feel the impact of the work of the Southend SEND Partnership.

The Area SEND revisit in May 2021 and the Area SEND Inspection in March 2023 confirmed the progress made and the difference was recognised, but the need to

The Southend SEND Partnership works together to drive high standards and continuous improvement and is committed to improving the experience of our children and young people with SEND aged from 0–25 by providing the right help and support at the right time.

keep improving remains.

This strategy has been informed through public engagement, consultation and some co-production by the SEND Strategic Partnership. Details of which can be found at www.livewellsouthend.com/ DevelopingTheStrategy The strategy builds

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2. What are special educational needs and disabilities?

A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or a

physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

This is a combined definition from the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Equality Act 2010. These Acts guide the responsibilities and statutory duties of the Southend SEND Partnership to

ensure that children and young people have the support they need.

We asked some local children and young people “What does having SEND actually mean

for you?”

They told us:

“I am comfortable and

“Having special

“You feel the

happy at home or at school but outside in the community it is more difficult.”

needs affects your confidence

need to prove yourself.”

quite a lot.”

“Having SEND is

“People judge

helpful in school as people understand and I have support to get involved.”

before getting to know you.”

They told us they want…

“To be in control and choose what I want to do, feeling welcome.”

“Look forward to each day as it comes!”

“A feeling of belonging and inclusion in the school and local community”

The Southend SEND Partnership is committed to working together to make things better for children and young people with SEND.

3. Local context

Southend-on-Sea City Council (Scc); the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (Ics) and Essex Partnership University Trust (Eput) work alongside a range of schools and settings, providers, partners, voluntary organisations, and other stakeholders to provide high quality provision for all children and young people with SEND.

To understand the prevalence of special educational need across Southend this section provides data about the numbers of children and young people with SEND and their needs* and some context on the range of provision available across education, health, social care and local services at a universal, targeted and specialist level.

Specialist level – services or provision that is highly specialist and usually for children or young people with significant and complex needs

Targeted level – services or provision that is offered to children and young people who need targeted support for a specific type or level of needs

Universal level – services or provision that is offered and is available to all children and young people.

Specialist

level

Targeted

level

Universal level

* Different time points for data collection and reporting periods mean that there is not a consistent time point at which data is reported, for example a mixture of calendar, academic and financial years. The published schools census and the DfE SE2 return provides the major source of data collected on children and young people with SEND. This data has been used alongside with Southend’s internal reporting dashboard. Some figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to comply with suppression rules.

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• The largest cohort of pupils with an EHC plan are in year 7 (10.8%).

SEN Support

Pupils who have an identified special educational need and require additional (targeted) provision in school are categorised as receiving SEN Support.

• Pupils with an EHC plan that are eligible

for free school meals is 44.3%, compared to 41.1% nationally.

• 73.8% of pupils with an EHC plan are male

which is consistent with the national picture (72.4%).

Data from the January 2023 schools census shows us those pupils who are recorded as receiving SEN Support in Southend:

• The percentage of pupils who have an

Education Health and Care plan attending Southend schools is 4.0%. This is similar to the national average of 4.3%.

• There were 3225 children at SEN support

in our local schools; this equates to 9.9% of the school population.

• This is 3.10% lower than the national average of 13.0%.
• 13 pupils with an EHCP are Electively Home Educated.
• 64.3% of those pupils at SEN support are

male, which is consistent with the national picture (62.8%).

As of August 2023:

• Southend maintained 1641 EHC plans.
• The largest cohort of pupils at SEN Support are in year 4 (9.9%).
• Approximately 180 pupils with a Southend

maintained EHC plan attend out of area schools.

• Pupils at SEN Support eligible for free

school meals is 41.9%, above the national average of 37.5%.

• Of all pupils in Southend special schools, 80% have a Southend maintained EHC plan.

When looking at the combined picture of all pupils at SEN Support and with an EHC plan we know that prevalence of SEND in Southend is highest amongst pupils at the end of primary school and start of secondary school, and this has been consistent over the past 3 years. The percentage of all SEND pupils in Southend schools categorised as having a Social, Emotional and Mental Health primary need is 22.1% and is the most prevalent need in Southend.

Education Health and Care Plans

Education Health and Care Plans (sometimes called an EHC plan or EHCP) are for children and young people up to the age of 25 who require special educational provision (over and above that which is provided at universal and targeted level), to meet their special educational needs.

Data from the January 2023 school census shows those pupils who have an EHC plan in Southend schools:

Education Provision

In Southend there is a wide range of educational provision to meet pupil need at a universal, targeted or specialist level:

• 45 mainstream schools spanning infant to secondary age
• 4 independent schools
• 5 special schools
• A special free school, colleges, and a university

As of August 2023, 91% of LA Maintained schools (all primary phase) were judged Good or Outstanding in addition to 94% of Primary phase, 83% of Secondary phase and 80% of Special schools (published on the Ofsted website).

Special Schools in Southend cater for a range of needs and age groups:

Alternative education provision in Southend is made by the 2 following registered settings:

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In addition to mainstream and specialist settings Southend Local Authority commission a number of Resource Bases (sometimes called Enhanced Provision) that provide targeted support for pupils with:

• Autism
• Speech, Language and Communication Needs
• Learning Difficulties

The SEND Strategic Partnership commits to increasing the number of Resource Bases in

The local area encompasses:

• School sixth forms (both mainstream and special schools).

Southend during the life of this Strategy.

There are a number of pupils that are Electively Home Educated (Ehe) in Southend.

• South Essex College – a further education

college offering a variety of courses, apprenticeships and supported internships.

As of July 2023, there were 507 pupils recorded as Ehe.

• Southend Adult Community College offers

apprenticeships and SEND provision in addition to their specialist Westcliff Centre for 19–21-year-olds.

In Southend there is a range of Post 16 education, Apprenticeships, Traineeships and Supported Internships offering As/A- levels, vocational qualifications at all levels, apprenticeships, traineeships, supported internships and bespoke packages of learning. There are also 16 to 19 academies, and vocational learning and training providers.

To view the range of educational provision in Southend visit the www.southend.gov.uk/ sendlocaloffer website and search for the type of setting you are looking for.

Social Care and Early Help

Health provision

There is a range of support available for families requiring Social Care input.

Health services for children and young people including those with SEND are also delivered at a universal, targeted and specialist level and include the following services:

• At a universal level 0-19 the Early Help

Support Service provide for children, young people and their families with a range of targeted needs including parenting, family support and youth work. All children and young people are assessed and supported according to their individual specific needs, whether that is SEND, diagnosed or not.

• Universal care is provided by Primary

Care Networks and Gp services. Visit www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/gps for more information.

• A Better Start Southend (Abss)

offer targeted Speech and Language Therapy through the “Let’s Talk” programme provided in 6 Abss ward areas of Southend. Visit abetterstartsouthend.co.uk/lets-talk

• Children’s social care provide services

under a statutory framework of the Children Act 1989 and Working Together 2018 which include the Children with

Disabilities Team. The team provides advice, support, and practical help to families with children up to the age of 18 years with a disability, who are substantially affected in their everyday living by profound and severe disabilities.

for more information.

• The Family Nurse Partnership (Fnp)

provides a targeted offer for those under 20 expecting their first baby. A family nurse offers pregnancy support, after the birth advice and guidance for up to 2 years. Visit abetterstartsouthend.co.uk/fnp for more information.

• The Children with Disabilities team

supports children with various care packages that may consist of direct

• The multi-disciplinary team at The

Lighthouse Child Development Centre provided by Essex Partnership University Foundation Trust (Eput) offer targeted and specialist services for:

payments for Personal Assistance support, care or activities at home, care or activities away from home such as after school or holiday clubs; or overnight (short term) breaks away from home.

| Specialised outpatient care for children

• The Children with Disabilities Team will link

closely with all professionals involved in the young person’s life from Health, Education and Adult Services and facilitate a transition for a child/young person into adult services beginning preparation from the age of 14 years to the transfer to adult services.

and young people up to the age of 19 years of age with significant delay or concern and have, or are likely to require, the support from more than one service or discipline.

| Targeted and specialist support from Community Paediatricians, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech and Language Therapy.

To view the range of social care support and provision in Southend visit the www.southend.gov.uk/sendlocaloffer and search social care support.

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| An integrated pathway for

• Southend University Hospital delivers

support as part of Mid and South Essex Partnership Foundation Trust (Mseft). The hospital offers targeted and specialist services from urgent and emergency treatment, acute paediatric care, outpatient, and audiology services. Visit www.mse.nhs.uk/southend-hospital for more information.

neurodevelopmental assessment for children and young people with suspected Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Adhd) pathways or other neurodevelopmental needs.

Visit eput.nhs.uk/our-services/the- lighthouse-child-development-centre for more information.

| Specialist referral routes with regional

• The core mental health service for children

and young people is Southend, Essex and Thurrock Child and Adolescence Mental Health Service (Set CAMHS). Set CAMHS offer targeted and specialist community- based assessment and treatment. The service is provided by North East London NHS Foundation Trust (Nelft) and includes a central single point of access (Spa) for referrals providing clinical triage leading to; advice and guidance, onward referral to specialist teams (i.e., Eating Disorder, Learning Disability etc.), locality teams and signposting to other services. Visit www.nelft.nhs.uk/set-camhs for more information.

condition specific tertiary centres such as Great Ormond Street, South London & Maudsley, Evelina and Addenbrookes NHS Foundation Trusts.

• Essex Partnership University Trust (Eput)

offer a range of targeted and specialist community paediatric services to support the needs of children and families in Southend:

| The Paediatric Community Nursing Team provides clinical nursing care for children with complex and on-going health needs.

| An integrated Diabetes Service (in partnership with Mseft).

• Nelft also provide targeted support in

Southend through schools Mental Health Support Teams (Mhst). Targeted support is currently offered across 8 mainstream school settings and one further education setting as part of a national pilot. Visit www.nelft.nhs.uk and search mental health support for more information.

| Continence Service.

| Paediatric Asthma & Allergy Service plus dedicated asthma, eczema and allergies training for patients and families.

| Epilepsy Nursing provision.

| Service provision is also in place for Specialist School Nursing and Specialist Health Visitors.

| Community Learning Disability Services.

Visit eput.nhs.uk for more information.

• Children, Young People and Families 0-19

Public Health Services (Southend-on-Sea City Council) offers a universal service for all families, children, and young people which includes Southend Health Visiting Team and the School Nursing Service. They also offer targeted services for the following:

Support Services and the voluntary sector

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Information, Advice Support Service Sendiass Southend is jointly commissioned by Education, Health and Social Care is well established and well used by families who require advice and support on SEND issues. You can find out more about their service by visiting www.sendiasssouthend.co.uk

| The Health Visitor targeted pathways for those children that have specific needs.

| Specialist Public Health Nurse (Scphn – Ehe) for children who are Home Educated.

The Department for Education funded parent carer forum; Southend SEND Independent Forum (Ssif) were established at the end of 2020 and provides a great deal of community support and advice to SEND parent carers. To find out more about the parent carer forum visit www.southendsendindependentforum.co.uk

• Targeted provision from Gp practices for

Annual health checks for people with a learning disability (from 14 years of age).

• The Development and Play Children's

Service (Jigsaws) is part of the specialist health visitor service and are part of the wider Lighthouse Child Development Centre team. They offer specialist support to families from maternity to age 5.

There is also a range of voluntary sector organisations based in or local to Southend that provide a range of universal, targeted and specialist services to support children and young people with SEND and their families. The Local Offer website provides information, advice and guidance on local services and details of organisations and groups in the local area.

For more information on School Nursing, Health Visiting, Annual health Checks and Jigsaws search the www.southend.gov.uk/sendlocaloffer website.

Visit www.southend.gov.uk/sendlocaloffer to find out more.

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4. The Southend SEND Partnership

The Southend SEND Partnership consists of:

The Southend SEND Partnership commits to listening to the child and young person’s voice and hear about their lived experiences. Everything we do will be shaped by better understanding of the individual needs of all children and young people with SEND and their families, no matter their circumstances or need.

• Southend-on-Sea City Council teams

responsible for SEND services across Education, Early Years, Children’s and Adult Social Care and Public Health.

• Health partners from Mid and South Essex

Integrated Care Board (Icb), including The Lighthouse Child Development Centre as part of Essex Partnership University Trust (Eput) and Southend University Hospital.

Our ambition is for all children and young people to thrive and be happy in communities where families and services work together to help them achieve their potential and fulfil their dreams.

• Southend SEND Independent Forum (Ssif),

the Department for Education funded Parent Carer Forum for Southend.

We will achieve this ambition as a whole system partnership, with shared aims and values. Working together we will focus on improving the lived experiences of children and young people with SEND and their families.

• Representatives from mainstream and

special schools, early years and further education settings.

• The voluntary sector and representatives

from a range of community initiatives including A Better Start Southend (Abss) and Healthwatch.

Visit www.livewellsouthend.com/send-local- offer/southend-send-partnership-1 for more information.

5. Our aims

We know that children and young people with SEND, and their families need additional support, and a strong local partnership is essential to achieve our shared ambition.

We want Southend to be a place where all children and young people with SEND and their families:

• Feel welcomed, are listened to and are

equal, respected and valued partners in decision-making.

Our aim is to:

• Have high aspirations, choice and control

over their future and can make a positive contribution to the wider community.

• raise aspirations.
• improve outcomes and opportunities.
• have high quality, accessible, local services.
• Are communicated with sensitively and compassionately.
• support a successful transition into

adulthood, enabling independence and resilience.

• Feel safe, and are supported by skilled

education, health and care practitioners who understand individuals needs and how these can be best met.

• ensure children’s wishes, dreams and

aspirations are at the heart of decision making.

• Have access to consistent high-quality

childcare, health care, education and training opportunities and employment.

• have an easy to navigate, open and transparent SEND system.
• Benefit from evidence-based practice.
• make a real and measurable impact on the

lives of children and young people with SEND and their families.

• Benefit from a system where practitioners

support children and young people to be the best version of themselves and have inclusive and equal access to services and opportunities alongside their peers.

• Can access services that are responsive and preventative.
• Receive support that is personal and

encourages self-help and resilience to enable individuals to become the best version of themselves.

• Are supported and encouraged to

provide feedback which helps the SEND Partnership to continually improve.

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6. Developing the priorities

A programme of engagement with parents, carers, young people, education

settings and colleagues who support children and young people with SEND was undertaken to identify the priorities that mattered to them. Various methods of engagement were used including online surveys, group meetings and one to one conversations.

Children and Young People told us:

“Ensure that what is in the Education Health and Care Plan is delivered. Hold schools accountable so parent doesn’t have to fight school alone for provision to be made.”

“Staff need more training to help me and understand what support I need.”

“Share information using videos and

Members of the Southend SEND Partnership told us:

animations; they are easier than reading lots of writing.”

“We need better systems in place to identify “We want our own spaces where we can meet SEND.”

other young people and socialise and know that we have a refuge if we feel unsafe.”

“Ensure health services have capacity to undertake assessment.”

“We feel we have to live up to older people’s “Smooth transition to adult services.”

expectations and want to be valued for ourselves.”

“The voice of the child and their family should be central to all decisions made in relation to the young person’s life and future.”

Parents and Carers told us:

“We need joined up services with a strong “Ensure our education workforce is fully parental input.”

trained and upskilled in supporting children and young people with SEND and their families.”

“Better and quicker access to services for families.”

“More investment in early intervention and “Putting the right people in the important, prevention.”

supportive roles.”

Listening to what matters to families and children and young people has helped to shape our priorities.

“Help should be timely, not taking years, and appointments should be given in an effective time span.”

“Early mental health intervention.”

7. Agreeing the priorities

The feedback gained from children, young people, their families, and members of the Southend SEND Partnership, together with feedback from the SEND inspection re-visit and the SEND improvement programme has identified 5 priorities for action over the next 3 years. These form the basis of this strategy supporting the SEND community from early years to adulthood.

Our 5 key priorities

Good mental

Transitions Early intervention

Plans The Local

health and

Offer

wellbeing

Priority – Transitions:

Priority – Early Intervention:

Children and young people are prepared and supported to thrive at each change in their lives, helping them to feel secure and confident

Identification, assessment and effective support are provided at the earliest opportunity.

This is important because:

This is important because:

• Children and young people who have

their needs recognised earlier, generally have better outcomes.

• Change is part of everyday life, so it is

important to help children and families learn how to successfully adapt.

• Children and young people may find

it easier to manage day to day life and access the world around them.

• Children and young people with SEND

and their families will go through lots of changes. This could be a different school or setting, a different service provider or worker, moving into employment or a change in personal circumstances and needs.

• Families feel supported and better able to cope.
• The right support can be provided at

the right time, in the right place, which may reduce needs or prevent them from increasing.

• Without effective planning and the

right support for children and young people with SEND, transitions can be unmanageable for the child, which can have a lasting impact.

One young person told us “Good support means being empowered to do things on my own.”

One young person told us a good transition means “Feeling prepared and ready!”

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Priority – Good mental health and wellbeing:

Priority – Plans:

EHCPs and other plans for children and their families have the young person at the centre, are well co-ordinated, co-produced, timely, and lead to well informed and effective support, which is regularly monitored and reviewed.

Children and young people are provided with the best chance to achieve positive mental health, be happy and thrive within their family, education and social lives, develop their potential, build strong relationships and contribute to their community.

This is important because:

• Effective plans show the child or young

person’s needs, ensure the correct support is in place and lead to better outcomes.

This is important because:

• It helps children and young people cope better with day-to-day life.
• Children and young people’s hopes

and aspirations can be turned into meaningful and achievable outcomes.

• It helps children and young people to

engage with others and maintain positive relationships.

• Children and young people and families

are listened to, understood, and well supported.

• It helps to build self-esteem and confidence.
• Those providing the support within the

plan know what they are expected to do and when they need to do it.

• It helps children and young people to

effectively understand and communicate their own needs.

• Timely planning and reviews provide the

right support, in the right place and at the right time.

• It helps children and young people to make positive choices.

One young person told us “I see a counsellor and my music has helped me through my thoughts and feelings.”

One young person told us “The support I receive is a really big balancing act as it needs to be at the right time in the right way.”

Priority – The Local Offer:

Southend’s Local Offer website is a widely and easily accessible resource that signposts to a range of universal, targeted and specialist support services and high quality provisions for Children and Young People with SEND and their families.

This is important because:

• Children and young people, families and professionals know who to go to for consistent advice and support.
• It helps children, young people, families, and professionals to feel empowered, make informed choices and better engage with the community.
• A range of high-quality provision will help children and young people and families to access support close to home.
• Children and young people, families and professionals have relevant and up to date information that can be found quickly and easily.

One young person told us “We need fully accessible sports clubs that are clued up on SEND specific needs.”

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8. Developing our actions

Once the priorities had been agreed a draft strategy setting out the proposed actions went out for wider consultation.

Feedback was invited from young people, parents and carers of children and young people with SEND and professionals who work with and support children and young people with SEND.

• Ensuring plans are concise, simple and child focused.
• End of school transition support to college or into the workplace.
• A reduction in waiting times for diagnosis.

People were able to provide feedback through face to face or online engagement events and also via a survey.

• Strong community connections like clubs and sports.
• Better promotion of services and provision in the area.

The Parent and Carer Forum (Southend SEND Independent Forum) worked closely with the SEND Partnership to engage a wide range of stakeholders and supported the review of consultation feedback. This is to ensure that the key priorities and the proposed actions reflect the needs of the SEND community.

• More opportunities to get young people into work.
• Keeping families more informed and part of the process.
• Undertake appropriate co-production

approaches in the delivery of the priorities in the SEND Strategy.

Through this consultation families said that actions should focus on:

The wide range of feedback from the consultation has been collated and is available to view. Visit www.livewellsouthend. com/DevelopingTheStrategy

• Improving mental health service provision and waiting lists.
• Increased visibility of professionals in the community to meet SEND families.
• Simple pathways that support navigation of the SEND system.

9. Making it happen – what we will do

This strategy provides an opportunity to refresh our planned actions so that children, young people and their families feel the impact of better support, services and intervention.

This section sets out each priority and what we will do over the next 3 years. A strategy action plan will provide additional detail of how each priority will be delivered and how outcomes will be measured.

Priority – Transitions:

Children and young people are prepared and supported to thrive at each change in their lives, helping them to feel secure and confident.

• Work as a SEND partnership to share

(where appropriate) information to ensure children, young people, and families, do not have to repeat their story and that risk or vulnerabilities are mitigated.

We will:

• Ensure assessments are prioritised for

children and young people approaching transitions.

• Produce and embed guidance that sets

out agreed expectations for school-based transitions for children and young people with an EHCP, on SEN Support or with complex medical conditions.

• Produce and publish a roadmap of what is

expected at each stage for key transition points in a child or young person’s journey (health, education and social care) so that all professionals are working towards the same goals and pathway.

• Provide support and training for children

and young people parent carers and professionals to ensure all children and young people with SEND are prepared as early as possible for adulthood and the transitions they face.

• Provide clear information to parents,

children, and young people about options at each transition stage so they can make informed choices.

• Work with employers and Further

Education providers to develop a greater range of options, education, training, and employment, for young people when they move on from compulsory education.

• Develop an agreed set of skills across

the education, health and social care workforce so that practitioners work to the same preparing for adulthood principles, awareness of what good health, social care and education transitions look like and what provision is in place and at which level.

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Priority – Early Intervention:

Priority – Good mental health and wellbeing:

Identification, assessment and effective support are provided at the earliest opportunity.

Children and young people are provided with the best chance to achieve positive mental health, be happy and thrive within their family, education and social lives, develop their potential, build strong relationships and contribute to their community.

We will:

• Ensure there is proactive signposting

to early support services so that families experience of the SEND system improves and appropriate support is available at the earliest opportunity.

• Continue the review of therapy provision

(the balanced system review) and implement the recommendations.

We will:

• Support community services to be more

inclusive to provide better support, improve mental health and life chances.

• Continually review and improve the

advice and support available to schools and settings.

• Improve data collection to support effective commissioning.
• Undertake a capacity and demand

review to ensure effective use of resources.

• Review the provision of Counselling

Services for all children and young people and publicise what is available on the Local Offer.

• Embed the Graduated Response across

education, health, and care with a range of supportive materials which set out the expectations of how children and young people’s needs should be met within mainstream schools and local services.

• Offer training updates on early

identification of need and appropriate sign posting to all frontline practitioners and those that have contact with children and young people.

• Build resilience in schools to manage

challenging behaviours which will improve the life chances of young people and preventing escalation to crisis and entering the criminal justice system.

• Develop a person-centred behavioural

approach which provides the support, tools and training needed to build resilience for parents, carers, and families to manage challenging behaviour.

• Review SEND decision-making

systems and ensure that processes are transparent and understood by families.

• Develop a set of agreed expectations for

education settings to support children and young people around emotional wellbeing.

• Support the development of mental

health services that are inclusive of SEND.

Priority – The Local Offer:

Priority – Plans:

EHCPs and other plans for children and their families have the young person at the centre, are well co-ordinated, co-produced, timely, and lead to well informed and effective support, which is regularly monitored and reviewed.

Southend’s Local Offer website is a widely and easily accessible resource that signposts to a range of universal, targeted and specialist support services and high-quality provisions for Children and Young People with SEND and their families.

We will:

• Develop and implement a communication plan

which effectively advertises and promotes the Local Offer as the ‘go to’ information source for all children and young people with SEND, their families and SEND professionals.

We will:

• Consistently capture and act

upon the voice of the child and young person and their families at the earliest opportunity to influence and shape their plans.

• Work with local groups and holiday support

services to ensure there is advice, support, and guidance on how to make provision for children and young people with SEND.

• Get better at reviewing plans

so they grow with the child and reflect their current aspirations.

• Finalise the evaluation of the Local Offer website

and deliver improvements. If necessary, a new codesigned website will be reprocured to ensure that the website is the best it can be.

• Provide support and challenge

to providers to ensure the support detailed in all plans is delivered effectively.

• Complete a SEND partnership review of provision

available for children and young people to close gaps in provision through effective identification of need and joint commissioning involving all partners.

• Enhance quality assurance

processes around EHCPs to ensure a consistent, person- centred approach, unique to each child and young person which raises parental confidence in the quality and impact of plans.

• Complete the delivery of the Southend SEND Capital Programme.
• Produce a clear map of provision across the city

that is easily understood and has clear routes on how to access them.

• Review the impact and effectiveness of the EHC Hub.
• Complete an audit in reference to inclusion across the local area and educational settings.
• Improve the timeliness of production of draft EHCPs.
• Identify support and resources across settings to

better enable children and young people to be educated and participate in activities alongside their peers.

• Produce guidance and

information on routes and sources of support for families if they experience difficulties that are not being addressed by settings or if they feel that their child’s needs are not being correctly identified or met.

• Promote awareness and understanding of SEND

and SEND support services amongst families, practitioners, education settings and our wider communities by recruiting SEND champions.

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The Southend SEND Partnership have 5 core commitments:

1 Increase the voice and engagement of children and young people with SEND and their families.

2 Develop our workforce across the Southend SEND Partnership to ensure they have the right knowledge, skills, confidence, and resilience, with opportunities to learn together.

3 Be the best we can by focusing on quality, impact, innovation, and improvement supported by evidence of what works well.

4 Improve communications across the SEND Partnership and with children, young people and families, professionals, settings, and the voluntary sector.

5 Improve joint working and make the best use of available resources.

10. Measuring impact and progress

Ultimate accountability for the delivery of the SEND Strategy rests with the SEND Strategic Partnership Board. The strategy is underpinned by a detailed SEND Strategic Action Plan which the Southend SEND Partnership is accountable for. The partnership will drive the delivery of this strategy and the action plan, with oversight provided by Ssif.

Progress against the strategy will be monitored at least termly, with scrutiny and challenge from:

We will monitor impact by:

• Listening to feedback from children

and young people, their families, and professionals.

• Southend SEND Strategic Partnership Board.
• Working with Southend SEND Independent Forum (Ssif) and other groups.
• Southend Education Board.
• Southend Health and Wellbeing Board.
• Working with the SEND Young People’s

Forum and other youth groups to hear directly from young people.

• The Mid and South Essex Integrated Commissioning Board.
• Reviewing feedback from regular surveys
• Southend-on-Sea City Council People Scrutiny committee.
• Designing new and creative ways to capture feedback.
• The Mid and South Essex Children and Young Peoples Growing Well Board.
• Reviewing provision arrangements for SEND in Southend schools and settings.
• SEND Strategy engagement sessions.
• Undertaking appropriate co-production

approaches in the regular review of progress against the delivery of the SEND Strategy.

Our success will be determined by the lived experience of our children, young people, and families to understand if, and how, they are seeing the difference.

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11. Keeping you informed

To view the strategic action plan and view our progress and updates visit www.southend.gov.uk/sendstrategy This will provide key documents and opportunities to feedback, ask questions or make suggestions on the progress of the SEND Partnership.

Our SEND Partnership e-newsletter will also provide regular updates on the work being done and the difference it is making. You can sign up to newsletter by visiting www.southend.gov.uk/sendlocaloffer

12. Thanks

With special thanks to everyone who contributed to this strategy, including the children, young people and families who took part in the engagement meetings and online survey, Southend SEND Independent Forum (Ssif) – the Department for Education funded parent carer forum in Southend, schools, youth groups and other organisations in Southend who have been involved, local authority teams, the Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board and other health organisations, and the elected members of Southend-on-Sea City Council.

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Appendix 1 13. Legislation and Policy

Legislation driving provision for children and young people with SEND is currently under review by Hm Government. We will ensure that this strategy is in line with any changes to legislation, national and local policy, and best practice during its lifespan. At present, that legislation and policy is:

National

• Breaks for carers of disabled children regulations 2011
• National strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026
• NHS Long Term plan 2019
• Reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils (2012): Technical guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission
• SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper (right support, right place, right time) 2022
• Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice 2015
• Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (2015): statutory guidance from the Department for Education
• The Autism Act 2009
• The Care Act 2014
• The Children Act 1989 / 2004
• The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 2 (Care Planning Placement and Case Review) and Volume 3 (Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers)
• The Children and Families Act 2014
• The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970
• The Education Act 1996
• The Equality Act 2010
• The Mental Capacity Act 2005
• The Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice: Protecting the vulnerable (2005)
• Working Together to Safeguard Children (Statutory guidance) 2018

Appendix 2 14. Glossary of terms

Abss A Better Start Southend is a partnership of organisations who operate in six local wards – Westborough, Victoria, Milton, Kursaal, West Shoebury and Shoeburyness.

Adhd Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a condition that can affect a person’s behaviour, concentration and impulse.

Asc Autistic Spectrum Condition is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how a person communicates, relates to other people, and makes sense of the world around them.

EHC Plan or EHCP Education, Health and Care Plan is a statutory plan setting out child’s special educational needs and the provision set out to meet them.

Ehe Electively Home Educated is a term used to describe a choice by parents to provide education for their children at home - or at home and in some other way which they choose, instead of sending them to school full-time.

Eput Essex Partnership University Trust – a local health provider.

Gp General Practitioner a local health provider.

Icb Integrated Care Board is a partnership of organisations that come together to plan and deliver joined up health and care services, and to improve the lives of people who live and work in their area.

LA Local Authority is responsible for a range of vital services for people in defined areas such as social care, schools.

Ld Learning Disability is a term that describes a person with a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day to day activities.

Mash+ Multi agency safeguarding hub a referral point to access children’s social care.

Mhst Mental Health Support Teams are a national pilot offering support for children and young people from trained practitioners in evidence based mental health interventions in schools supervised by NHS staff.

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Mse Icb Mid and South Essex Integrated Care Board a new partnership between the organisations that meet health and care needs across mid and south Essex.

Mseft Mid and South Essex Partnership Foundation Trust – a group of hospitals covering mid and south Essex.

NHS National Health Service – leaders of health care in England.

PD Physical Difficulties a limitation on a person’s physical functioning, mobility, dexterity, or stamina that has a substantial and long- term negative effect on an individual’s ability to do normal daily activities.

Pmld Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulties is term to describe severe learning disability and other disabilities (such as difficulties with hearing, speaking, and moving) that significantly affect a person’s ability to communicate and be independent.

Rb Resource base (sometimes called Enhanced Provision) provide targeted support in a setting attached to a mainstream school which enables children to make progress, achieve their identified outcomes and continue to access the mainstream curriculum and school.

Scc Southend-on-Sea City Council is the local government authority providing services for the area.

Schools census An electronic collection of pupil data from primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units, which takes place three times a year.

Semh Social Emotional Mental Health is a term to describe someone who has a range of social and emotional difficulties which manifest themselves in many ways and behaviours.

Sendiass Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice and Support Service is a free, impartial, and confidential service offering information, advice and support for parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and to young people.

SEND Special Educational Needs and or Disabilities is a term referring to a learning difficulty and/or a disability that means a child needs special health and education support.

SEND Capital Programme Funding provided by the Government, through the Department for Education to help local authorities shape facilities for children with Special Educational Needs.

SEN Support Educational or training provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for others of the same age. This means provision that goes beyond the differentiated approaches and learning arrangements normally provided as part of high quality, personalised teaching.

Sld Severe Learning Difficulties is a term to describe significant and profound cognitive difficulties.

Set CAMHS The Child and Adolescence Mental Health Service provides advice and support to children, young people and families who need support with their emotional wellbeing or mental health difficulties. The service covers Southend, Essex and Thurrock.

Ssif Southend SEND Independent Forum is Southend’s local Parent Carer Forum funded by the Department for Education.

Scphn – Ehe Specialist Public Health Nurse provides support for children who are Home Educated.

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Published September 2023. Version 1 Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, Essex SS2 6ER Read online at: www.southend.gov.uk/sendstrategy This document is published by Southend-on-Sea City Council. A summary can be provided in alternative formats such as Braille, audio-tape or in large print.

01702 215000 Translations of this document in alternative languages are www.southend.gov.uk also available upon request.