Cabinet reflects on progress of SEND improvement work

The council’s Cabinet has formally reviewed the progress being made to improve SEND services in the borough, with a strong focus on better support for children and young people. It has also welcomed plans to develop a new local SEND Reform Plan that will help families now and in the future.

Cabinet members heard how services are improving for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), helping them to get the right support at the right time. These improvements will help children:

• achieve more at school
• feel more confident
• have better opportunities as they grow up

This update follows a review in January by the Department for Education and NHS England. The review highlighted stronger leadership, better teamwork, and closer working between education, health and care services. This joined‑up approach means children, young people and families can expect clearer, more consistent support.

Progress noted so far includes:

• continued focus on building a stronger SEND system, including:
  • clearer governance arrangements
  • better use of data to track performance
  • closer joint working between services
• particular focus on improving the quality of education, health and care plans (EHCPs), with:
  • stronger quality assurance, and
  • ongoing involvement from parents and carers through the Parent Carer Forum
• work to improve local SEND provision, including:
  • specialist places
  • alternative provision
  • pathways for children with medical needs
• support for young people preparing for adulthood has been strengthened through new leadership and transition pilots; while earlier intervention remains a key priority to ensure needs are identified and supported as soon as possible.

Cllr Megan Wright, cabinet member for children, young people and health, said: 

“Improving SEND services remains a key priority for the council. We are seeing progress in how partners work together and how we can strengthen the local system, but we are clear that improvement must be felt by children, young people and families in their day‑to‑day experiences.”

Grainne Siggins, executive director for people, said: 

“It is important to continue to challenge ourselves as a local system and partnership. While improvements have been made, there is also a need to continue on our development journey, being mindful of the changing landscape of national SEND reform.  

“We will continue to measure and monitor improvements, as well as work collectively as a SEND system and partnership with other agencies, parents and carers, young people and education leaders. This will enable us to effectively deliver a Local SEND Reform Plan that supports local families.”

The new reform plan replaces the previous Safety Valve programme. It will bring together education, health and care partners into one shared, area‑wide improvement plan. 

The plan will be shaped by a national framework. The framework will:

• assess how well local SEND systems are working
• identify priority areas for further improvement

This joined up view will ensure Bracknell Forest’s high level strategic plans for improvement and development are clearly embedded with the financial implications of delivering and reforming the SEND system.