Reflections from Steve Crocker - 23 October 2024

Hello and welcome to my ninth blog as independent chair of the Oxfordshire SEND Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board (SIAB).

The board met once more on 23 October. 

Chair’s remarks

I began by mentioning that the local area partnership is due to have an upcoming conversation with Ofsted as part of its usual annual review process; feedback from this can be discussed in the next meeting. I also welcomed Maisy to the group, acknowledging her role as a representative of the SEND youth forum who I invited to start the meeting by sharing an update.

SEND youth forum update

Maisy reiterated the forum's purpose, which includes helping to improve how organisations work together to provide better support for children and young people with SEND, as well as their families and carers. The forum has recorded a voiceover for an animation that showcases the forum's purpose and activities. The animation is being finalised and will be shared soon.

Recent forum activities have included providing suggestions for improving the annual SEND review form, including questions to better capture the support needs of individuals. The forum has also discussed plans for future projects, including a recommended ‘by you’ guide of local provision and the design of a quality kite mark to help identify where people have had very positive experiences.

Maisy highlighted the importance of social support networks for disabled individuals, sharing her personal experience of having a strong support network and the positive impact it has had on her life. She emphasised the need for better education on interacting with people with SEND needs, noting that able-bodied individuals often struggle to know how to help or communicate effectively.

Maisy discussed the impact of social isolation on disabled individuals, sharing examples of how isolation can lead to difficulties in social interactions and a lack of support. She shared her personal experiences of attending both able-bodied and disability-inclusive schools, highlighting the differences in social support and the importance of inclusive education.

Maisy proposed the idea of creating support groups for young mothers with disabled children, sharing a personal family experience. Lisa Lyons, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director of Children’s Services provided an update on existing parent support provisions, acknowledging that while some support exists, it may not be widely known or accessible. She suggested adapting services to better communicate their availability.

Maisy emphasised the need to make support services more accessible and well-known, suggesting social media outreach, leaflets, and written letters as potential methods.

Next on the agenda was Jules Francis-Sinclair, Chair of Oxfordshire Parent Carers Forum (OxPCF).

OxPCF feedback

Jules provided an update on Oxfordshire Parent Carers Forum's (OxPCF) recent activities. Starting with community engagement, Jules reported that their community co-ordinator Usma has visited 13 schools, community groups and Oxfordshire Mind since September. These visits have helped reach parents who may not have access to digital resources.

Jules highlighted the success of two online SEND connect events, with 60 attending one and 46 the other. These events focused on specific topics and received positive feedback. You can find out more on OxPCF’s website. Jules highlighted the OxPCF and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) neurodevelopmental conditions webinar series, including a recent session on autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AuDHD) (exploring the intersection of autism and ADHD), which attracted over 100 attendees. The upcoming webinar on anxiety already has over 120 sign-ups. All sessions are recorded and made available on OXPCF’s website shortly after the webinar for those unable to attend live.

OxPCF recently organised a SEND transport listening event in collaboration with Oxfordshire County Council in response to feedback regarding issues with SEND transport in August and early September. Over 50 parent carers attended, participating in breakout rooms for detailed discussions. Feedback from parent carers was very positive, with many appreciating the chance to share their experiences and concerns. The event also featured a question and answer session, and it was noted that subgroup work would follow to address the issues raised.

Jules introduced a new feedback process featuring a RAG-rated concerns tracker sheet to monitor issues and provide updates at programme delivery group and SEND improvement board meetings. This feedback process was developed in collaboration with members of the local area partnership.

Jules mentioned ongoing efforts to recruit parent representatives for various boards, including the early years board, integrated therapies board, and mental health and wellbeing work. Parent carers interested in these opportunities can find more information on OxPCF’s website.

Programme updates

Right support at the right time

We started with Kate Reynolds, Deputy Director of Education, at the county council, and Nathan Thomas, CEO Acer Trust. 

Business cases have been created for enhanced pathways and in-reach/outreach work. Enhanced pathways have received positive feedback from Ofsted, highlighting their inclusivity and effectiveness in meeting the needs of young people in local settings. Nathan highlighted that there are ongoing concerns about the sustainability of such projects without confirmed funding. 

A survey is being co-created with OxPCF to engage schools, aiming to understand the impact and reasons for non-engagement with the current offer. This survey is expected to be completed by the end of the next term. 

Right plan, right first time, every time 

Deborah Smit, Oxfordshire County Council’s Head of SEND, and Karen Fern, Designated Clinical Officer SEND 0 - 25, BOB ICB, presented for approval draft strategic outcomes for measuring the lived experience of children and young people in Oxfordshire, which have been consulted on and are intended to guide the SEND improvement efforts. 

A communication pledge for the education, health, and care plan casework team is being developed with PCF. This pledge will address issues such as navigating the team, quality and responsiveness of communication, and handling changes in case officers. 

Two listening events are being planned to gather parent feedback on communication from the education, health and care plan casework team. They also mentioned the importance of the quality improvement framework for EHC plans, which is now being rolled out and embedded across teams.

Right provision, right time, looking to independence

Chris Wright, Assistant Director, Partnership Development at BOB ICB and Emma Leaver, Service Director, Oxford Health discussed the health deep dive, highlighting ongoing improvements and initiatives. Despite these efforts, there are still long waiting times and dissatisfaction among people waiting for services. 

A report on the review of special school nursing provision is now complete and key stakeholders across the local area partnership will soon be considering recommendations and commissioning intentions. 

They acknowledged resource constraints, particularly in children's integrated therapies, with ongoing issues in sensory occupational therapy and overall demand and capacity. Alongside this, a project initiation document is in place to support young people preparing for adulthood. This summarises a great deal of activity underway but would benefit from a dedicated postholder to further support this work. 

Communication and co-production

Kerry Middleton, Oxfordshire County Council’s Head of Communications, Marketing and Engagement updated that there is a plan to review the communications and engagement strategy supporting the improvement programme, focusing on tactical engagement and communication opportunities across the partnership. This review is expected to take place by the end of the year. 

There are two SEND Oxfordshire Conversation events planned for parents and carers with members of the local area partnership on 20 November (12 noon and 7.30pm), and it is being promoted with support from colleagues. Deborah Smit and Karen Fern added that they are working on integrating feedback and addressing issues raised in these events by parents and carers, ensuring a continuous thread of communication and updates. 

Kerry noted that the local offer webpages continue to be updated, with support from her team. 

Jules Francis-Sinclair highlighted that some partners have participated in co-production training, and there are plans to offer more training opportunities, including bite-sized sessions. Jules emphasised the importance of sharing a list of co-production opportunities with parent carers to involve them in real co-production activities. Jules also mentioned planning for upcoming events, including SEND Connect sessions and face to face meetings in November and January, and seeking participation from relevant individuals. 

Kate Reynolds (Deputy Director of Education) was then back on the agenda, this time discussing key performance indicators (KPIs). 

KPIs and infographic

Kate discussed the development of a dashboard to track KPIs and the importance of having a clear set of metrics to measure progress. She mentioned the need to include phase transfer data in the KPIs, as it is publicly reported and important for transparency. Kate highlighted the inclusion of data related to children with education, health and care plans in primary schools, emphasising the importance of these inclusion measures. She suggested having a trial with some numbers populating the monthly dashboard by the next month to ensure the system is working effectively.

Charlotte Knowles, Campaigns and Marketing Manager at the county council, discussed the idea of developing an infographic to support the data transparency goals of the programme. Charlotte emphasised that the infographic needs to do a specific job, be accessible, and provide context. It should not contain excessive information but should be clear and straightforward. 

She presented three different styles of infographics:

• Style 1: Process-driven, grouping information into themes with a flag alert system.
• Style 2: Focused on simple percentage increases with minimal context.
• Style 3: Narrative-driven, providing broader context but fewer statistics. 

Charlotte stressed the importance of deciding what specific statistics to include and ensuring the infographic works in isolation. She sought clarity on whether the infographic should show progress over time or a snapshot of the current situation. 

Board members leaned towards using style 2, which is simple and straightforward, to ensure clarity and accessibility for the public. The infographic should focus on key statistics that show progress over time, rather than just a snapshot of the current situation. This approach aims to provide context and demonstrate improvements. 

There was a consensus on the need for feedback on the initial infographic already developed and the importance of updating it regularly, though the exact frequency (term, quarter, or year) is to be decided. 

Next and back on the agenda, Karen Fern and Deborah Smit led a discussion on the strategic outcomes framework.

Strategic outcomes framework

Karen and Deborah presented a set of strategic outcomes for measuring the lived experience of children and young people in Oxfordshire, which had been consulted on, and sought approval from the board. These outcomes are intended to guide the improvement efforts and ensure alignment across the partnership. 

1. I am supported to make choices and achieve goals that are important to me.
2. I am emotionally well.
3. I am as physically healthy as possible.
4. I am safe and supported at home, at school and in the community.
5. I belong and feel welcomed in my home, community and place of learning.
6. My opinions are listened to and valued.
7. I feel prepared for the next steps in my life and feel positive about how this will be achieved.
8. Those that care for me are supported.

The board agreed to approve the proposed strategic outcomes, recognising the importance of having a clear set of goals to work towards. 

Deborah and Karen mentioned the need to revisit the quality improvement framework in the next meeting to ensure it aligns with the approved strategic outcomes and to discuss any further developments. 

Finance update

Jane Billington, Strategic Finance Business Partner at the county council, provided an overview of the funding arrangements for the dedicated schools grant, including the high needs block and the impact of the upcoming government budget statement. She also discussed the deficit management plan and the challenges related to the funding formula and banding review.

Jane presented the deficit management plan, highlighting the impact of various mitigations and the challenges related to the funding formula and banding review. She emphasised the need for ongoing engagement with schools forum and the importance of transparent communication.

So that’s it from me for now, and I hope, as always, this is useful. We next meet as a board on 26 November 2024.

If you are a parent or carer and have any thoughts or comments, please share with OxPCF by emailing info@oxpcf.org.uk. If you are a partner, please do feedback through your organisation. You can find a list of the LAP member representatives on the board on the SEND improvement webpage. Also don’t forget to sign-up to receive the SEND e-newsletter if you’re not already receiving it. 

Until next time. 

Steve Crocker