Birmingham's Strategy for SEND and Inclusion

Closed 31 Jul 2017

Opened 9 Jun 2017

Contact

0121 303 5154

Education@birmingham.gov.uk

Feedback updated 23 Feb 2018

We asked

We asked you for feedback on a draft strategy for SEND & Inclusion.  This included a new Vision, Mission, 4 Objectives and 3 Key Priorities.  The consultation ran from 9th June - 31st July 2017.

You said

Your responses were collated into a Consultation Feedback Report which was reported to the Inclusion Commission on 18th September 2017.

Summary of Key Findings:

  • People consulted agreed on the whole with the direction of travel of the vision, mission, objectives and priorities. 
  • However, there was a lack of confidence that professionals could deliver the strategy within current resources.  While in agreement about the need to work together, there was a lack of belief that organisations could genuinely work in partnership, and recognition that all services are overstretched.
  • There was a perception that the strategy is focussed on reducing EHCPs and saving money rather than a focussing on the needs of the child.
  • The strategy needs to be clearer about the application of the law – including disability discrimination.

Recommendations for updating the Draft Strategy

1) Building Trust and Confidence

The re-building of trust and confidence is central to the successful implementation of the strategy.  The document needs to be clearer and amended to clarify how this will be achieved.  This theme of trust and confidence needs to be a golden thread running through all three priorities and made very explicit in the outline delivery plan and detailed implementation plans.

2) Partnership working

We need to be more explicit about how we are going to work in partnership and co-commission services as we implement the Strategy and we need to give it greater emphasis within the document.

We did

Final Strategy

We updated the Strategy document and it was approved at a Cabinet meeting on 12th December 2017.  The document has been uploaded to the Local Offer (SEND) pages www.birmingham.gov.uk/SENDStrategy

Results updated 23 Feb 2018

Feedback was collated into a Consultation Feedback report which was presented to the Inclusion Commission on 18th September 2017.  The draft Strategy was then updated and the final Strategy was approved at a Cabinet meeting on 12th December 2017.

Files:

Overview

We are consulting on Birmingham’s new Strategy for SEND (Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities) and Inclusion and the proposed direction of travel, including the Vision, Mission, Objectives, Priorities and our plans so far.

The Local Authority is obliged under Section 30 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to keep its Local Offer under review and therefore the consultation responses where appropriate will be fed into that ongoing review.

Background Information

Following the introduction of the Children and Families Act in 2014 and the Special Educational Needs & Disability Code of Practice: 0-25 years in 2015, Birmingham has implemented a range of new assessment procedures to ensure that the needs of its most vulnerable children and young people are identified and met appropriately.

Implementing the Government’s SEND reforms in our large diverse city has been very challenging. The whole system has been under great strain to try to meet deadlines and deliver within the allocated budget.

Birmingham City Council members and officers identified the need for a root and branch review of the city’s approach to making provision for children and young people with SEND.   As a result, Birmingham City Council established an Inclusion Commission in October 2016 to explore the effectiveness of current arrangements in the City for children and young people who have SEND across the 0-25 age range and began to develop a new Inclusion Strategy. The work of the Commission has included early years settings, mainstream schools and colleges, resource bases, specialist providers, independent non-maintained schools and independent specialist colleges.

The SEND Review

A review of SEND services has been overseen by the Inclusion Commission which has been led by an independent Chair, Professor Geoff Lindsay from Warwick University. The Inclusion Commission Board comprises representatives from stakeholder groups including education, head teachers, health, social care, parents, young people and Birmingham City Council members and officers. The work of the Inclusion Commission has been informed by six work streams:

1.         Learners with social emotional and mental health needs

2.         SEN Assessment

3.         High Needs funding

4.         Specialist provision

5.         SEN Support

6.         Preparation for adulthood.

These work streams met during a period of three months from September to December 2016.  The work streams were chaired by senior leaders from schools and Birmingham City Council.  SEND4change, an independent organisation with expertise in understanding arrangements for children and young people with SEND, was commissioned by the City Council to facilitate a consultation exercise with a wide range of stakeholders.  This has informed the work of the Inclusion Commission and made recommendations about key priorities which should be included in a new strategic approach for inclusion in Birmingham.

Throughout the review process, the views of parents were actively sought and every effort was made to ensure that their voice is valued and heard and their views are embedded within the draft strategy. Parents’ contributions were made either as members of work streams or as part of a separate event facilitated by the Parent Carer Forum.  As plans move forward, it will be ensured that young people have also an opportunity to contribute.  It was agreed there is a need for collective responsibility between the Inclusion Commission, Health, Providers, Services and the Local Authority in order to deliver the necessary changes.

From the outcomes of the review, a number of common themes emerged and there was consensus in the working groups about three key priorities which are needed to strengthen and improve the current arrangements for SEND across Birmingham.  Building on this work, a joint vision statement has been developed with the Inclusion Commission to help set the overall direction of the strategy.  From this a mission and series of objectives were agreed alongside the three key priorities.  The Inclusion Commission has given agreement for the draft strategy, vision, mission, objectives, priorities and outline delivery plan to be issued more widely for formal consultation prior to drafting the final strategy.

 

Why your views matter

I am delighted to introduce Birmingham’s Strategy for SEND (Special Educational Needs and/or Disability) and Inclusion 2017-2020.  This has been produced by the Inclusion Commission, set up by the City Council in 2016 to improve the services for these children and young people.

We have set out our Vision of what we seek to achieve, our Mission stating how to do this and the Strategy which outlines the actions we will take to achieve this.

A key feature of the Mission is a commitment to work in partnership to achieve the high quality provision that Birmingham’s children, young people and their families deserve.

You are invited to contribute to the consultation taking place over the summer term in order to gather the views of stakeholders, including parents, children and young people and a wide range of professionals and practitioners. The Inclusion Commission will receive feedback in September 2017 to inform the final strategy and detailed plan of how it will be implemented.

Please take part in the consultation because we really want to hear your views.

Yours sincerely

Professor Geoff Lindsay   FBPsS, FAcSS, HonMBPsS

Chair, Inclusion Commission

 

What happens next

We will publish a summary of comments received in an anonymous format, removing any personal details and explaining what we plan to do next.  We will make this widely available to show where we have changed any proposals as a result of listening to people’s views. Where we have not made changes to our proposals we will explain why this was the case.

When the consultation has closed, we will prepare a report to the Inclusion Commission about what we have found out. This will inform a further report to Cabinet on the final strategy and the plan for implementation.  The Inclusion Commission was set up to undertake a review of SEND services in Birmingham including stakeholders from education, health, social care, parent/carer representatives and young people.   The Cabinet is the governing body of the City Council, made up of elected councillors; it is responsible for decisions on all Council services.

Areas

  • ACOCKS GREEN
  • ASTON
  • BARTLEY GREEN
  • BILLESLEY
  • BORDESLEY GREEN
  • BOURNVILLE
  • BRANDWOOD
  • CITY CENTRE
  • CITY-WIDE
  • EDGBASTON
  • ERDINGTON
  • HALL GREEN
  • HANDSWORTH WOOD
  • HARBORNE
  • HODGE HILL
  • KINGS NORTON
  • KINGSTANDING
  • LADYWOOD
  • LONGBRIDGE
  • LOZELLS AND EAST HANDSWORTH
  • MOSELEY AND KINGS HEATH
  • N/A
  • NECHELLS
  • NORTHFIELD
  • OSCOTT
  • PERRY BARR
  • QUINTON
  • SELLY OAK
  • SHARD END
  • SHELDON
  • SOHO
  • SOUTH YARDLEY
  • SPARKBROOK
  • SPRINGFIELD
  • STECHFORD AND YARDLEY NORTH
  • STOCKLAND GREEN
  • SUTTON FOUR OAKS
  • SUTTON NEW HALL
  • SUTTON TRINITY
  • SUTTON VESEY
  • TYBURN
  • WASHWOOD HEATH
  • WEOLEY

Audiences

  • Carers
  • Young people
  • Disabled people
  • Children
  • Women
  • Councillors/MPs/MEPs
  • Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender people
  • Children in Care/looked after
  • Gypsies/Travellers
  • Parents/Carers/Guardians
  • People with Disabilities
  • People with Learning Disabilities
  • Men
  • Students
  • Public Sector Bodies
  • Businesses
  • Community groups
  • Voluntary Organisations
  • Staff
  • Service user groups

Interests

  • Citizens Satisfaction
  • Children & Young People
  • Health & Wellbeing
  • Children’s Centres
  • Early Years
  • Education
  • Training
  • Employment
  • Health Services