Opposition Derbyshire councillors call for meeting update after critical SEND report

Opposition Derbyshire county councillors are due to call for an Extraordinary Meeting to review the council’s actions and plans following a critical report into the authority’s delivery of its services for youngsters with special educational needs and disabilities.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission’s report stated the Derbyshire Local Area Partnership – including the Conservative-led county council and the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board – needs to improve after the report identified ‘widespread and or systemic failings’ in the council’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities provision.

Despite the council outlining ambitious plans to address previously identified issues including poor communication, and youngsters missing school and waiting too long for education and health assessments, opposition councillors will be calling on the Improvement and Scrutiny Committee on December 20 to arrange an Extraordinary Meeting to review the council’s SEND position.

The formal request for the meeting, from Labour councillors Ruth George and Christine Dale and Liberal Democrat Susan Burfoot, stated: “The purpose of the meeting is to ensure the committee fulfils its role of holding the authority to account, help secure the efficient delivery of council services, and drive improvements, and in particular its role and functions.”

However, Cllr Alex Dale, Cabinet Member for Education, has already apologised over the report’s critical findings and the council has outlined plans to address concerns while pushing for Government reform and more funding for SEND.

He has said the authority is trying to improve services, effectiveness and assessments, as well as the way its SEND partnership with the NHS board identifies needs with plans for more staff, school placements and alternative provision.

The council has introduced a digital case management system called iDOX to improve efficiency with children’s Education, Health and Care Plan assessments and communication as part of a £1m investment the council has made in its SEND service with a redesign, a new team set-up, additional staff and SEND officers. 

It has also invested £11m to create 500 additional special needs school places across the county and it has also remodelled other services within its schools and learning service to develop the inclusive capacity of mainstream schools to take more SEND youngsters. 

In addition, the council has set up an SEND Coordinator Network and an  SENDco Helplne to support the service. 

Derbyshire council has also taken a further step forward towards improving its SEND provision with over £3m of approved funding for work at three schools including  Bennerley Fields School, in Ilkeston, the Holbrook School for Autism, in Belper, and Stanton Vale Special School, in Long Eaton, to create more places for special needs’ pupils.

Cllr Alex Dale has explained councils nationwide are facing huge demands for SEND support and the National Audit Office stated in its report that Government steps would not be enough to address many SEND challenges faced by local authorities nationwide.

However, Cllrs George, Christine Dale and Burfoot have also highlighted a previously published Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s annual review which had accused the council of a poor complaints response record and of errors leading to around a quarter of a million pounds in compensation having to be paid to families with children with special educational needs.

But the report also acknowledged the financial challenges and service demands faced by all councils and the public spending watchdog, the National Audit Office, stressed in its report that the national SEND system is financially ‘unsustainable’, in ‘urgent need of reform’ and is ‘broken’.

The opposition councillors have argued an Extraordinary meeting will provide an opportunity for Cllr Alex Dale and the temporary Executive Director for Children’s Services to inform the committee of the findings and recommendations contained in the Ofsted report.

They are also calling for an explanation from Cllr Alex Dale and the temporary Executive Director for Children’s Services on how the situation arose and why it had struggled to meet the needs of children and young people.

Cllrs George, Christine Dale and Burfoot also feel a meeting would allow the committee to assess the proposed measures aimed at improving SEND provision along with the council’s priority action plan which has been requested by Ofsted.

They will present the case at a scrutiny committee meeting on December 20 for an Extraordinary Meeting to be arranged as soon as possible because the next scheduled scrutiny meeting is due on February 26, 2025, and they feel their concerns should be addressed sooner.

The councillors stated in their requisition: “Given the grave nature of Ofsted’s findings and recommendations, and of its requirement that urgent steps are taken to address the identified areas for priority action and areas for improvements, it would not be appropriate for this committee to wait three months before having the opportunity to consider this report or this issue which affects the county and its inhabitants.”