'Substantial progress' for troubled SEND services

The partnership said it had fostered "strong, collaborative connections" with schools and other stakeholders

Those behind a plan to improve services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Oxfordshire have said there has been "substantial progress".

The county council's education and young people overview and scrutiny committee heard the local area partnership's update on its SEND priority action plan.

Last year inspectors found the authority was not meeting the needs of children requiring its help. A plan was hatched to turn things around.

But some campaigners at the meeting expressed disappointment with what had been achieved so far.

The partnership said it had fostered "strong, collaborative connections" with schools, healthcare providers and families, established a consistent leadership, and made a "cultural shift to be more responsive to needs".

It said it had also begun "co-production" where "families, children, and young people with SEND actively participate in shaping services and support".

However, it said challenges remained, including financial restraints, and the rising demand for special school places.

It also said the pace of change was "not as fast as we would like", and that "achieving the desired impact" would "take time as these changes are embedded".

Speaking at the meeting, head of SEND Deborah Smit said: "Trust is the hardest thing to get and the quickest thing to lose, so that has been a real focus for the last few months, building those partnership relationships.

"Of course there is still work to do."

She said there was a "real focus" to "show empathy, to show transparency, and show honesty in our communication".

The head of SEND gave an update on the priority action plan to the scrutiny committee

But Katie Nellist, a member of the SEND youth forum, which was set up so the partnership could hear about the lived experience of children and young people first hand, said it had been "another year of SEND failure for the most part".

She said the "core of the system still lacks the required empathy and the system’s culture is still one of defence and secrecy".

"These parts of the system must change or we will be in this same situation next year," she added.

Parent Angus Wilkinson said there was a "vagueness in the targets", and that it had been "impossible" to "have an honest conversation" and "understand how progress is being made".

Oxfordshire SEND Parent Action spokesperson Dr Claire Brenner said new policies were being developed independently, despite the claims of co-production from the partnership.

She said: "We really do want to be part of the solution... together our group has the expertise, breadth of lived experience, and crucially the time and energy to help you make a difference, but we can’t continue to feel we are being shut out and shut down."

Ms Smit insisted that "co-production has always been a focus for us" but that they would "take note".

She admitted: "We can hear today that pace and impact from families is felt by some and not by others, and I think that’s probably reflective of right across the county."