Agenda item

Candy Holder, Head of Pupil Services, presented to the Committee on the support available for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·         Officers emphasised the importance distinguishing between low levels of achievement and SEND. Similarly, children with English as a second language could not be considered to have a learning difficultly solely because of their language skills.

·         Children with SEND could be broadly categorised as having four distinct areas of need: communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health; and physical and sensory needs. Islington’s local offer was focused around meeting those needs.

·         Officers explained that the borough’s special schools were focused on supporting children with different areas of need; and officers considered that Islington provided a good local offer for a small borough.

·         The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced reforms which changed the way in which children with SEND are supported. Young people with SEND were assessed to allow an Education Heath and Care Plan (EHCP) to be developed. This was an outcome focused, personalised plan which detailed how a young person should be supported.

·         Around 3.9% of Islington’s young people were eligible for an EHCP. This was above the London and England average of 2.1%. More boys than girls were eligible for an EHCP, compared to the national profile. 

·         A new Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspection regime had been introduced in recent years. Islington had not yet been inspected, however an inspection was anticipated in the near future.

·         The Committee considered the profile of Islington’s young people with SEND, and the outcomes of local young people with SEND in comparison to other local authorities. Although pupils with and EHCP and accessing SEND support achieved a good level of development in Early Years provision and tended to achieve a good level of attainment at Key Stage 2, further work was needed to improve the attainment of pupils with an EHCP at Key Stage 4.

·         Islington pupils with an EHCP had achieved good levels of attainment at Key Stage 4 in recent years and officers expressed their disappointment at the most recent statistics which placed Islington 139^th out of 152 local authorities against this indicator. It was noted that the previous year Islington was ranked 17^th.

·         Officers commented on the importance of co-producing SEND services with parents and young people. Six parents had worked with officers to co-produce the SEND Charter. The council had also established a ‘Parent Parliament’ of 70 parents to consult with.

·         The council’s priority was preparing young people with SEND for adulthood.

·         Officers acknowledged that further work was needed to improve the support available to young people and their families. Officers commented on the need to embed multi-agency work, to ensure that young people with SEND received consistent support across services. However, it was considered that Islington offered high-quality provision which was developed in partnership with parents and young people. 

·         The Committee queried if the fact that fewer girls than boys in Islington were eligible for SEND support suggested that there was under-identification of girls with SEND. A member commented that girls with autism and other learning difficulties tended to behave differently to boys with the same needs. In response, officers indicated that they were not aware of a significant under-identification issue, however this may be an area for review in future.

·         The Committee queried why White British and Black Caribbean pupils in Islington were more likely to have SEND compared to the national average. In response, officers advised that this was a complex area and was being reviewed as part of the wider equalities work around White British and Black Caribbean attainment. 

The Committee thanked officers for their attendance.