Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) - Strategies, plans, policies and inspections

During Summer and Autumn 2019 we spoke to lots of people to ask them what they thought about our ideas about how we could improve our services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and inclusion support.

A summary of the findings along with an easy read guide is available on our Consultation on support for SEND and young people who need support to stay in education page.

The strategy outlines the current position in County Durham for children and young people with SEND and outlines our next steps, including our response to the Children and Families Act 2014 SEND Code of Practice.

You can view the plan below:

• Integrated Steering Group for Children, County Durham SEND Strategy 2019/20 (PDF, 2.7mb)
• County Durham SEND Strategy Plan on a Page 2019/20 (PDF, 50.9kb)

The SEND Strategy details the relevant SEND groups in the Local Area, and below you can find the terms of reference for them setting out their responsibilities:

• SEND Strategic Partnership Group - terms of reference (PDF, 118.8kb)
• SEND Access to Services Group - terms of reference (PDF, 23.6kb)  
• SEND Joint Commissioning Group - terms of reference (PDF, 22.4kb)
• SEND Quality Assurance and Standards Group - terms of reference (PDF, 118.9kb)

The strategy has been developed with significant contributions from children, young people, families and key partners as part of an ongoing commitment to identify and meet the needs of this group.

At the heart of this plan is the principle that all children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), be given every opportunity to take control of their lives, be as independent as possible and achieve as much as they are able.

This strategy has been produced in consideration of the significant government reforms to education, health and social care when working with and for children and young people with SEND (0-25) and their families and/or carers.

Locally, we carried out a review of the approach to communication and participation with parents and carers and to implement a Parents Charter. Through engagement, parents and carers gave their views on communication and involvement and those have been used to co-produce the Strategy and Charter.

This strategy will explain what participation is and how best to implement it in your setting/service, by giving useful tips and highlighting practical examples of good practice.

SEND Participation Strategy: Engaging and involving parents and carers (PDF, 1.2mb)

To ensure that the needs of children and young people with SEND are identified and met effectively, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspect - at least once every five years - the work of what is called a Local Area.

The Durham Local Area is a partnership of organisations including Durham County Council, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), Public Health, NHS England, early years settings, schools, further education providers that support children and young people with SEND.

Ofsted and CQC inspectors consider how children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (or both) are identified, how their needs are assessed and met, and how they are supported and prepared to move on to their next stage of education, the world of work and adulthood. You can find out more by reading the Gov.uk: Local area SEND inspection: framework and Gov.uk: Local area SEND inspection: guidance for inspectors.

Local Area Inspection 2017

The Durham Local Area's most recent inspection took place in November 2017, with its findings published in January 2018. The inspection report can be viewed and downloaded from the Ofsted website: Ofsted inspection reports for Durham County Council.

In response to the report - speaking on behalf of Durham County Council; Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust; County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust; and local Clinical Commissioning Groups - Margaret Whellans, the council's Corporate Director for Children and Young People's Services, said:

"We welcome the fact that inspectors saw a lot of strengths in the work of the local area, particularly identifying children's needs, providing high-quality services for vulnerable young people, preparing care leavers for adulthood and making sure children feel safe and well cared for."

"We also acknowledge that, as a partnership of education, health and social care providers, we could improve the services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

"We recognise many of the areas for development which have been highlighted by the inspectors as in many instances these challenges have already been identified."

"Partners are working together to address these concerns and, with parents, carers and communities, we will ensure improvements are made."

SEND Written Statement of Action (WSoA)

The Local Area Inspection identified four key areas of development for County Durham and have asked that as a Local Area we work together to produce a SEND Written Statement of Action for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) (PDF, 1003.7kb) .

The Local Area SEND Partnership have responded to the WSoA with an improvement plan which has been approved by the Ofsteds Regional HMI:  Response to Durham revised WSoA -  June 2018 (PDF, 248.4kb) .

The Local Area response to the WSoA has seen progress across a range of services. Details of progress can be found in the summary document Durham Local Area SEND Inspection - One Year on Progress Report (summary) (PDF, 84.0kb) . A copy of the full document is also available to view: Durham Local Area SEND Inspection - One Year on Progress Report (full report) (PDF, 187.5kb) . 

Further information

• Gov.uk: Joint inspections of local area special educational needs or disabilities (or both) provision
• Gov.uk: Young person’s guide to the Children and Families Act 2014

This plan sets out County Durham's key joint strategic commissioning priorities for services for children and young people (0-25 years) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). 

It details how each of these will be taken forward over the coming year.

• Durham Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Joint Commissioning Plan 2017/18 (PDF, 1.3mb)

We are currently working on a new joint commissioning plan and this is due to be published in March 2020.

This is the single overarching, multi-agency strategy for the delivery of priorities for children and young people in County Durham. 

Our vision for the Children Young People's Strategy is for:

"County Durham will be a great place for children and young people to grow up in and for Durham to be a place where all children are healthy, happy, safe and achieving their potential."

You can view the strategy at County Durham Partnership: Children and Young People's Strategy 2019-22.

This single, multi-agency strategic plan supports children, young people and their families to achieve their optimum mental health and wellbeing.

• Children and Young People's Mental Health, Emotional Wellbeing and Resilience Plan (PDF, 152.1kb)

The Think Autism strategy is a local strategy for children, young people and adults on the autism spectrum. 

It provides focus and clarity on the priorities for improving services and opportunities for these people and to improve support during the transition from childhood through to adulthood.

See our Think Autism in County Durham Strategy page.