Agenda item - Meeting the needs of Special Educational Needs and Disability learners

7.1 Cllr Daniel, cabinet member for children, families, & Young People, presented to the committee, the main points of the presentation were: An overview of SEND in the city and nationally, the number of those receiving support locally and nationally, the provision within the city, the primary need trend locally, spending and funding,

7.2 Euan Hannington, Head of Rudyard Kipling School presented to the committee, his main points were: 30% of his children are in the top 10% of poverty in England, 31% of the children have special educational needs, that his school has seen an avalanche of additional needs in recent years and is struggling, a personal story of child X and how Euan was trying to help keep him in school, that 70% of year 6 children with SEND achieved expected standards in reading writing and maths compared to 26% nationally, his policy to try to keep SEND pupils in school whenever possible as this is best for them, but that this comes with a cost that is not met by the additional funding for SEND pupils, and that his school was soon benefit from an Alternative Provision Specialist Task Force that would greatly help SEND pupils.

7.3 Kirsti Hadley, SEND campaigner, presented to the committee. Her main points were: The stress that SATS exams place on all pupils but especially those with SEND; the need for inclusive teaching; the Sussex SEND Summit; her lived experience of diagnosis and trying to access education and support for her son; and her desire to see a more radical approach by the council.

7.4 Members asked questions and made comments on a range of issues including: alternative provision; the need for advocates; if SEND/SEMH children were included in policy setting; acknowledgment of intersectionality; SEND units at schools; the tensions around funding between local authorities and national government; Equalities Impact Assessment; the rise in diagnoses ; the limbo families face while waiting for a diagnoses; the importance of youth  workers and having them work with schools.

7.5 RESOLVED

The People Overview & Scrutiny Committee:

Agrees to note the report and the detailed information in Appendix 1.