SEND Updates | SEND updates and Services

Over the course of the last 6 months the EHC Needs Assessment Request Paperwork has been reviewed in collaboration with Parents, Carers, Educational Professionals, and the Local Authority. This has led to the My Support Plan (previously submitted to request an EHC Needs Assessment) being replaced by the new Education Health and Care Needs Assessment Request documentation which has been available for use from April 2021. This documentation is available on the Local Offer website here Send Handbook Template EHC Need Ass Req (mylocaloffer.org) New requests for assessment should be submitted on this
documentation and any requests submitted using the old My Support Plan must be
submitted before the 31st of July. My Support Plans received after the 31st of July will not be accepted. Parents and carers continue to be able to request an EHC Needs Assessment and the parental request form has also been updated to align with these changes. The new parental request form can also be found at the above link.

Since April 2021 the Local Authority has been working in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders including parents, carers and children and young people to review current practices relating to the EHC Annual Review Process. From the information which has been gathered the EHC Review Meeting documentation has been reviewed and amended to sharpen the focus on the person-centred approach. This final draft, themes from the parent carer listening event and reminders of the duties on stakeholders relating to the EHC Review Process have been shared through the SENCo Forums at the beginning of July. This documentation is currently in a final draft stage and will be finalised for use from 1st of September 2021.

In April 2021 approval was given to invest in some temporary SEND agency workers to start working through the local authority’s backlog of EHC annual reviews. Two SEND agency workers joined the SEND Assessment and Review team in May 2021 to start working on the outstanding EHC Review paperwork, Notice of Amendments and Final plans.

Despite the covid restrictions and a slowing of Whole School SEND Reviews in the Autumn Term, the commitment from the Learning Partnership and Local Authority to carry out reviews across all schools in the city by July 2023 has gathered pace again with 12 Whole School SEND Reviews being completed since January 2021. This means that in total now 21 schools have received feedback from a Whole School SEND Review and have a stronger understanding of their strengths and areas for development. Over the summer months the
SEND Standards and Effectiveness Officer and Principal Educational Psychologist will be exploring the trends which are coming from the reviews which have been completed to date, to shape the CPD offer for the coming academic year.

In recent months it has been identified that there is a small but significant cohort of children where securing an educational setting is challenging. This cohort of children who have recently moved to the city of Hull from outside of the country are arriving with significant levels of SEND and require elevated levels of support, which would ordinarily be supported by an EHCP. As these children are new to the country there is often limited documentation (often in a language other than English) and sometimes a limited understanding of their needs. Historically in Hull these children would have been assigned an “assessment place” at one of our special schools, however due the pressures on SEND Sufficiency and availability of Special school places in the city and the importance of a fair and transparent process, mechanisms are being developed to support these children, their families, and mainstream educational settings. A new to country pathway is being developed which reinforces the importance of joint working and the timely support of all services including Education, Health and Social Care. Steps are also being taken to explore how such support can be financed in the longer term