SEND Sufficiency Update
In April, PaCC had the opportunity to take part in a SEND Courageous Conversation event in Brighton & Hove – a dedicated day for honest and constructive discussions about local SEND services. These conversations are part of a South East regional initiative supported by the South East Sector Led Improvement Partnership, designed to help local areas reflect, share ideas, and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
The event offers a space for parent carer forums, professionals, and school representatives to talk openly about what’s working, what isn’t, and what could be done differently or better.
Each area chooses a focus for the event, and Brighton & Hove City Council chose to explore the significant rise in requests for Education, Health, and Care Needs Assessments as they are 1% higher than the national average. What’s driving the increase? Are families getting the right help at the right time – or only when they reach crisis point?
Throughout the day, we looked at how early identification and support could be strengthened, the relationship between parent carers and schools, inclusion in education, the parent carer experience, and the need for consistent pathways so families aren’t left feeling they have to ‘fight’ for help. The PaCC Co Chairs made time to feedback at the meeting the frequently reported lived experiences that Parent Carers report to PaCC about how schools can feel unwelcoming during their first contact and they mention that they have a child with SEND, that they are needing to request a statuary assessment for their child as the SENCO doesn’t have capacity to and how school behaviour policies can make school very anxiety inducing and challenging for their child.
A report is currently being written following the event. PaCC hopes to see a focus on early identification and intervention, schools feeling welcoming and inclusive by parent carers, streamlined pathways, and strong co-production at all levels of the SEND system.
We’ll share a further update once we’ve received the final report.