Meet the Early Years SEND Team event

11 October 2023

Q: Given that Blackpool local authority has signed the safety valve agreement with the government, to reduce EHCPs by 20%, what extra resources and training will be offered to mainstream schools in light of this, which wasn’t already in place? 

A: The Safety Valve programme is unique to each Local Authority.  Some of the benefits of Safety Valve for us are:

• Funding for Highfurlong Special school extension

• Funding for work at the pupil referral unit

• An Intensive Support Centre at Park

• Additional capacity for the SEND team

Our Safety Valve agreement does not include a target to reduce EHCPs and we would not be part of an agreement that asked us to do this. 

Q: How long must a child be under the Inclusion Team for, before the Inclusion Officer decides that behaviours of a child may have an underlying issue and therefore need referring to services within the NHS? 

*The inclusion team is now called the SEND Support Team*

A: This would not be a decision for the SEND Support Team.  They are requested to support the school but have no authority regarding decision making for the school SENCO.  They can support a referral with observations and recommendations but they cannot make a referral to external agencies.

Q: Is it recommended that an Inclusion Officer would advise a mainstream school to withhold information and not inform a parent how their child was struggling in school? 

A: I cannot imagine a situation where anyone who works for the SEND service would recommend this as appropriate.  I would also be concerned that any school would agree that this was appropriate.  I am happy to talk about any specific concerns please email me at SEND@blackpool.gov.uk FAO Charlotte Baron.

Q: How long will a child be under the Inclusion Team for until it’s deemed the child hasn’t progressed, in the event of that happening what would be the next service available? 

*The inclusion team is now called the SEND Support Team*

A: The changes with the SEND Support Team mean that the link team advisor will always be available for the SENCO to contact and request support.  They have half termly meetings at a minimum and discuss the progress of children as directed by the SENCO.

Q: What is due to happen to children that were under the Inclusion Team as I believe they have closed their books for now?

A: We haven’t closed the team. We did a piece of work in the summer with SENCOs in schools as they are the ones doing the work on the ground so can tell us what they need. What they requested was Link Advisory Teachers that could help oversee the whole school rather than doing specific intervention. The Inclusion Team has now been split between the SEND Support and Physical and Sensory Team. Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment and physical needs are led by Angela Crawforth. If your child has a communication or cognition and learning difficulties then the school can refer to the SEND Support Team. We have just changed the name.

Q: Why are children being expected to attend mainstream when parents feel they would be better at Special Schools.

A: Evidence says that outcomes for children in mainstream schools are better than those in special schools. As professionals and parents we have high expectations for all our children regardless of whether they have SEND or not. The majority of our mainstream schools are rated as Good or Outstanding and all of our schools are always looking to improve how well they include all children and families and meet all children’s needs.

The council aims to educate children and young people in their local communities, so they can be close to home; making friends, accessing the wider community and maintaining links with wider support services in Blackpool.

The cohort of children at special schools has significantly changed over the last 3-5 years, meaning children that attend have highly complex needs and can have difficulties and behaviours that are very challenging to deal with and challenging.  We try hard to consider children as individuals and look closely at what each setting will offer them for the best outcome.  For example: if you have a child who copies behaviour, you would want to make sure they see role models of really positive behaviours, if your child is not yet speaking you would want them to be supported alongside children who are confident speakers. 

We understand and accept there are children whose needs will only be met within a specialist setting, this is why we are continuing to increase the number of special school places, and we just want to make sure we have considered all possible options for every child.

Q: 0-5 years is a crucial time for early intervention and learning for children so why on earth does it take so long for services to get involved, if these children were given support earlier this would have a big impact. More OT and SALT services working with nurseries and portage. 

A: We are very fortunate that currently in Blackpool we have the Blackpool Better Start Partnership which guides how we work within services for under 5’s and enables some additional services.  One of the results of this partnership is that the WellComm SLC Assessment tool is used to identify Speech Language and Communication need.  This assessment is done at the 9-12 month, the 2 and a half year and the pre-school healthy child development check by the health visiting teams.  Early Years settings are also trained and have been give the equipment to carry out the WellComm assessments in settings and are encouraged to assess the whole of the Pre-school cohort.  At these check, children have a Red, Amber or Green Outcome.  Children with a Red or Amber score are referred into a multi-agency triage panel and the vast majority are seen for targeted intervention within 3 months.  This is delivered by a commissioned Speech and languages service Communicate and is delivered in Early Years Settings or in Community Group based intervention, and within the Council we have a dedicated SLC Home Visiting service for children under 30 months.  This work is having a big impact as 65% of those children we see early for targeted intervention no longer need the specialist NHS therapy.

Some children do miss out on this offer and I am happy to talk about specific concerns for services please email send@blackpool.gov.uk (FAO Charlotte Baron) or you can speak to SENDIASS.

Q: I've seen your increasing capacity at Highfurlong what about at Woodlands and Park? 

A: Woodlands and Park have increased their capacity over the last 5 years. We have added temporary classrooms at Park (they should last 25 years), added the 6th Form College at Oracle to increase physical space at the Park campus, and brought in Valley College for post 18.  We are also developing the Stables block to create an Intensive Support Centre.  Both Woodlands and Park are significantly over capacity and there is no further land available on either site, so we are unable to increase their capacity further.

Q: If spaces aren't available in the above school what's the script with looking at special schools outside of the area? 

A: We have a number of children who attend schools out of area.  Lancashire (like Blackpool) have significant challenges regarding placements, so whilst we can and do consult with schools outside Blackpool, they are not always able to offer places.

Q: If a parent disagrees with the school named in the EHC ready for starting primary school, what are the next steps? 

A: SENDIASS are an independent service and able to support parents and children when there is a disagreement regarding provision.  Usually the first step would be mediation which is commissioned through a company called Community Accord. 

Q: When decisions are made about a child's school place and discussions are had, why are these decisions made by people who have never met the child or the parents? 

A: We subscribe to the principles of the Blackpool Families Rock ethos and always try our hardest to work co-productively with parents, professionals and settings.  I am happy to have a conversation with parents when they feel we haven’t met our expectations.