Agenda item

The Director for Education and Skills presented an update against the performance of Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments. It was noted that this was to remain a standing item for future meetings in 2023-24.

Key points of the presentation included:

-          There had been a general increase in the demand for the service in 2023, with a resultant impact on team performance.

-          The first and second quarters of the year showed a 6% increase in EHC Needs Assessments against the same period in 2022-23, and an improvement in the number of Assessments meeting the wait time.

-          A commitment to invest in process improvements had been made with the support of a commissioned delivery partner. This improvement work had a lens on sustainability and aimed for a cultural change.

-          The commitment to improving Needs Assessment timeliness was emphasised.

A Member raised the concern that issues in this area had been known for some time but that, to date, it had not been possible to get ahead of the problems. The Director for Education and Skills stated that Bristol City Council recognised that systems and process change was required. This was being addressed by working with schools and intervening as early as possible. Officers were clear that there was no single solution, and part of the work involved ensuring that the processes in place allowed for the flexibility to meet the needs of individuals.

A Member raised a particular concern around tribunals. This was recognised as a national issue. It was noted that there had been a 24% decrease in tribunals from the previous year.

It was queried whether the cause of the national increase in pressure on the system was known. Nationally, there had been an increase in diagnoses as well as in general population, without a proportional growth in funding. Locally, as a sanctuary city Bristol had seen an increase in the number of unaccompanied asylum seekers who may have had complex needs.

The issues around transition between education and Adult Social Care was recognised. This topic had been identified as a topic for further in-depth Scrutiny work later in the 2023-24 year. This was recognised within both the Adult Social Care and Our Families transformation programmes and formed a key part of ongoing work.

Officers noted that there were peak times of year in May-July and October-November in which there would be an increase in the number of applications. These peaks had a subsequent impact on timeliness, but there was a consistent priority to meet a 20-week timeline.

A Member queried whether looking at the outliers in completion time would identify blockages. The Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Education and Equalities suggested that the reports sent to the SEND Improvement Board could provide further information on this, and was happy for Officers to share these with Members.

The SEND Team Manager noted that there had been some recent additional support to Senior Inclusion Officers and was hopeful in seeing an impact of this resource. The average case load had been increasing yearly due to the volume of Annual Reviews.

The ability to record outcomes had now been built into the system, using a portal to send schools a digital copy of an EHCP to both ensure that an updated version was being used and as a reminder for an Annual Review. This should support efficiency within the team.

Officers were thanked for the report.

RESOLVED; That the People Scrutiny Commission note the report.