Council set to invest £1.3m to support Derbyshire SEND children and families
County Council has confirmed a further £1.3m will be invested to support children with special education needs and disabilities across Derbyshire.
Derbyshire County Council is set to invest £1.3m to employ 20 additional members of staff within key SEND teams to increase the number of Education, Health and Care Plans being produced, speed up reviews and strengthen communication with families.
The decision has been announced today (Thursday, December 18) and follows a previous restructure of the service in response to the significant increase in demand for EHCP’s and the associated assessments.
The SEND department at the county council has been under a storm of criticism in recent years, after several SEND families have been left disappointed by significant delays to EHCP process, with some children left without a school place forced to stay at home.
Speaking about the newly announced funding, Cabinet Member for SEND and Inclusion Councillor Simon Mabbott said: “I had the pleasure of meeting parents and carers at County Hall recently and heard first-hand the issues they have faced getting the support they need for their children.
“By putting in these extra resources we’ve significantly increased our capacity to handle the rising number of EHCP requests, enabling us to reduce the backlog and work more efficiently on current and new plans.
“However, while we’ve made great strides, we’re not complacent and want to ensure every child and young person with SEND in our community receives the support and opportunities they deserve.
“We know we still have a long way to go, and I want to thank families for their patience. I want us to work together to achieve better outcomes for children and families across Derbyshire.”
Additional staff members are set to focus on carrying out timely assessments for the issuing of ECHP’s to ensure more are completed within the 20-week deadline and to focus on processing and completing annual reviews of the plans, the council explained.
More staff will also be employed to work alongside families who appeal against decisions to ensure they are dealt with and resolved as quickly as possible to improve their overall experience.
Alongside this, work with parents and carers will continue to be prioritised to find amicable solutions with the aim of reducing the need for complaints or progression on to tribunal, the council said.
The council is also expanding its team who work with vulnerable learners and will take on extra business support staff to focus on responding to enquiries and complaints to ensure families receive timely communications.
An inspection of the Derbyshire SEND services, provided by Derbyshire Local Area Partnership, was carried out by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in September 2024 and found ‘systemic failings’ demanding ‘urgent’ action.
The report highlighted a number of areas requiring work to improve the effectiveness of local education, health and care services to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND aged up to 25.
While Derbyshire SEND families are still facing significant delays to services a year after the report was published, Derbyshire County Council said the partnership was currently working on a priority action plan to address areas highlighted by the inspectors for improvement.