SEND Reform Plans have been approved. What now?

After some delay, the Department for Education has now approved most local areas’ SEND Reform Plans. This is a significant milestone after a huge effort across councils, unlocking millions of pounds of funding which can help stabilise council budgets. For the small minority whose plans were not approved, the next step will be to revise and resubmit, but what happens next for those whose plan got the green light?

For many areas, the immediate focus has understandably been on securing approval and accessing the funding attached to their plan but the focus now needs to move to delivery.

I have spent more than 20 years working with local authority SEND systems, as a qualified educational psychologist, senior leader and SEND adviser. Most recently, I have worked with six areas to develop SEND reform plans at IMPOWER, including forecasting and financial modelling, strengthening data and intelligence, engaging schools and families, developing a shared ambition and planning implementation.

My experience suggests that the biggest risk now is that SEND reform loses momentum. A shared ambition and a clear plan are important, but they are only part of the work, as delivery requires sustained focus, capacity and expertise. If momentum is to be maintained, there are four challenges SEND leaders will need to address now that plans are approved.

1. Delivering reform while improving the current system

There is widespread acceptance that the current SEND system is not working as it should. But, regardless of SEND reform plans, this system will remain in place for the next three years. And partnerships will continue to be judged – by the public, inspectors, political representatives – on how well this works now.

Councils are being asked to deliver reform while trying to improve a system that is not fit-for-purpose. In my work with local areas, I am seeing the need to manage statutory EHCP processes and demand, improve timeliness and strengthen core services such as SEND transport. There is a risk that reform activity detracts from this core business. But service improvement cannot wait until SEND reform has been delivered. The two need to be aligned, so that reform supports improvements to day-to-day delivery rather than competing with them.

2. Building the capacity to deliver and transform

Getting SEND reform right requires system transformation, not simply service improvement. From delivering SEND transformation programmes, I know this requires programme discipline, analytical capability and operational grip across a partnership over several years.

Local area SEND leaders will need the right partnerships, governance and transformation infrastructure to maintain direction and drive change. This will require dedicated resource. In my experience, that investment is worthwhile when it gives the programme the capacity to deliver, respond to changing circumstances and stay focused on the area’s ambition, while ensuring capacity is not lost from the day-to-day quality that service users expect.

3. Securing buy-in where there are conflicting views

Successful SEND reform will depend on the confidence and buy-in of schools and families. This cannot be assumed, and it goes further than simply engaging with representatives to develop the reform plan. It means reaching out beyond familiar faces.

In every area there will be some who appear less positive about the direction of SEND reform – schools or families who are not confident in what is on offer or what is expected. But those who seem resistant or difficult to engage will, no doubt, want the best for their children and their communities. The best local systems will be those that understand the perspectives of those who may be less engaged to design a system that they feel will work for them.

Having been a local authority SEND leader, I have seen that it is possible to build more inclusive settings and cultures when you work with the school staff and with the families who will access the settings, as well as expert practitioners, to co-design provision and services that inspire trust.

At IMPOWER, we are working with local areas to develop approaches to ongoing engagement with schools and with families. This means that reform is shaped by their expectations and aspirations, and that new approaches, such as inclusion bases and experts at hand, are credible and trusted in practice.

4. Smart use of local data and intelligence

SEND reform plans are heavy with data. There are significant reporting data reporting requirements. So, there is not any lack of data or analytical activity. In my experience, the more important question is whether that activity is being used effectively. For a SEND reform plan programme, I would want to ask three key questions of the data and intelligence capability:

1. Does the data help us to understand what the problem is that we are trying to solve?
2. Does it help us to target support and resources to the people, settings and areas that needs it most?
3. Does it enable us to track the impact of our changes and monitor whether we are achieving what we set out to achieve?

These are the questions that will enable leaders to focus attention and resources where they are needed most and quickly respond when assumptions prove wrong.

So, now that most reform plans are approved, SEND reform is really just getting started. From here, it will get more – not less – complicated and challenging, as aspiration meets reality, transformation is required alongside business as usual, and other agendas compete for priority. But there is a real prize at stake: to transform a system for children and young people that has not worked well enough for too many for too long.

If you want to find out more about how IMPOWER can help you to deliver your ambition for SEND reform, please get in touch: [email protected].