Agenda item

Cllr Philip Robinson sought approval for Gloucestershire County Council to act as a joint lead authority, with Swindon Borough Council, in the Department for Education (DfE) Southwest DfE Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Change Partnership Programme.

Having considered all of the information, Cabinet noted the report and

RESOLVED to:

1. Approve the receipt of £5.8 million of funding from the DfE to support:

(a) GCC’s participation in the SEND Change Partnership Programme from September 2023 to April 2025; and

(b) the appointment of GCC as the financial Lead Authority (LA) under that programme, with responsibility for apportioning the DfE Change Partnership Programme funding to Swindon Borough Council to support its participation.

2. Approve the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between GCC and the DfE relating to piloting and testing proposed SEND reforms under the DfE Change Partnership Programme;

3. Approve the formation of a partnership arrangement between GCC and Swindon Borough Council relating to their joint leadership of the Programme in the Southwest

4. Approve the execution of a MoU between GCC and Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (GICB) relating to the Early Language and Speech Development programme if GICB is awarded funding for the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) Pathfinder Programme described in the NHS England guidance documentation. If such funding is not received by GICB, ELSEC will not be funded and will not proceed.

5. Approve the joint development by GCC and Swindon Borough Council of a Strategic Delivery Plan for the delivery of the Programme in Gloucestershire and Swindon.

6. Delegate authority to the Director of Education in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education, Skills, and Bus Transport to allocate the above funding, subject to any individual decisions that in the event that the value of any individual proposed procurement exercise or grant exceeds £500,000, a separate key decision shall be sought in order to authorise that procurement exercise or grant.

7.1      Cllr Philip Robinson sought approval for Gloucestershire County Council to act as a joint lead authority, with Swindon Borough Council, in the Department for Education (DfE) Southwest DfE Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Change Partnership Programme.

7.2      The Department For Education announced that the Council would participate in the DFE South West SEND change partnership programme.  The programme would pilot and test the proposed reforms so that they were informed by real children and families. It would also inform some of the underlying assumptions in the High Needs forecast.

7.3      The Council would be working in partnership with Swindon Borough Council, with GCC being the financial lead in that partnership. It was explained that there was £5.8m of funding with the programme lasting for two years.

7.4      Locally and nationally the current SEND system was unsustainable:

•      Rapidly growing level and complexity of need

•      Extended age range to 25  was really starting to be felt

•      Parental views of mainstream education had shifted – lack of confidence in mainstream schools to meet need

•      Education, Health and Care services were all under significant pressure

•      National High Needs deficit considered to be around £3.5B

7.5      There was already a great deal of improvement activity in train around SEND and Inclusion Services and the Change Partnership Programme (CPP) activity had been mapped and aligned with this work in terms of both governance, activity and resourcing.

7.6      The Leader thanked the Cabinet Member and Officers for the work they had put into the programme.

Having considered all of the information, Cabinet noted the report and

RESOLVED to:

1. Approve the receipt of £5.8 million of funding from the DfE to support:

(a) GCC’s participation in the SEND Change Partnership Programme from September 2023 to April 2025; and

(b) the appointment of GCC as the financial Lead Authority (LA) under that programme, with responsibility for apportioning the DfE Change Partnership Programme funding to Swindon Borough Council to support its participation.

2. Approve the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between GCC and the DfE relating to piloting and testing proposed SEND reforms under the DfE Change Partnership Programme;

3. Approve the formation of a partnership arrangement between GCC and Swindon Borough Council relating to their joint leadership of the Programme in the Southwest

4. Approve the execution of a MoU between GCC and Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (GICB) relating to the Early Language and Speech Development programme if GICB is awarded funding for the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) Pathfinder Programme described in the NHS England guidance documentation. If such funding is not received by GICB, ELSEC will not be funded and will not proceed.

5. Approve the joint development by GCC and Swindon Borough Council of a Strategic Delivery Plan for the delivery of the Programme in Gloucestershire and Swindon.

6. Delegate authority to the Director of Education in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education, Skills, and Bus Transport to allocate the above funding, subject to any individual decisions that in the event that the value of any individual proposed procurement exercise or grant exceeds £500,000, a separate key decision shall be sought in order to authorise that procurement exercise or grant.