Just 6% of SEND plans sorted on time - report

Parents have previously protested about the SEND provision at West Northamptonshire Council

More than 94% of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) for special needs children were not completed on time, a report has shown.

West Northamptonshire Council's cabinet was told at a meeting the authority had invested in extra capacity to catch up with the demand.

A report for the meeting showed that between October and December 2023, just 5.6% of EHCP requests were completed within the 20-week statutory time frame.

Fiona Baker, cabinet member for children and education, said: "It's very clear we have much more work to do."

An EHCP is a legal document outlining the support a child needs.

Just seven plans were issued on time by West Northamptonshire Council during the last three months of 2023.

During that same period, the council completed EHCPs were completed. However, the meeting on Tuesday was told that a further 313 requests for an education plan were were submitted the same period, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The rise in demand for the plans in West Northamptonshire is above the national increase.

Fiona Baker said the council had made "significant interventions" into SEND provision

The council said a national shortage of educational psychologists and delays in receiving professional advice were the main reasons requests were not completed on time.

Ms Baker, a Conservative, said the council had invested just under half a million pounds into "short-term additional capacity to get through our backlog".

She said the council would "clear the backlog over the next six months".

"Until the backlog has cleared the timeliness will not significantly improve," she said.

The council is currently undergoing an Ofsted and CQC inspection into their SEND services.

It will run until March 22 and will look at children and families and partners across the council, Northamptonshire Children's Trust and healthcare providers.