A new programme to improve services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities launches in Warwickshire.
Warwickshire County Council is set to take part in a government programme to drive forward its commitment to improve services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Warwickshire is one of 55 local authorities participating in the Delivering Better Value (DBV) for SEND programme which has been created to identify the highest impact changes that can be made to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND, and to optimise the use of finances.
By participating in the programme, the Council will receive dedicated support from Newton Europe, a transformation and improvement partner, and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), the local government accounting standard setter in the UK. They will provide valuable expertise and skills on identifying opportunities for change. In addition, there will be the opportunity for the Council to bid for grant funding from the Department for Education (DfE) to support the implementation of any proposed changes.
To help identify opportunities for changes, the programme will draw on the expertise of local partners and practitioners from across education, health and social care and will engage with parents, carers, and children and young people to hear their views. Listening to these experiences will help the Council to build a clear evidence base which will then be used to explore options for change.
Throughout the course of the programme, there will be a range of opportunities for people to participate in workshops, drop-in and focused studies. There will also be surveys for people to fill in. Some of the activities will be targeted at specific groups identified by the CIPFA.
Following this initial engagement activity, a plan will then be created to deliver any improvements identified across the local system.
Cllr Kam Kaur, portfolio holder for Education at Warwickshire County Council, said
“We are pleased that Warwickshire has been chosen to be part of the government’s Delivering Better Value for SEND programme. As a local area we are always keen to learn how we can improve the services we provide, and this review is a great opportunity for us to learn more about the good practice that is taking place here in Warwickshire and the areas where we need to focus more of our efforts to improve the support we can offer.
“Once the initial engagement phase is complete, we will work with our partners to create a plan to deliver improvements across the county whilst working towards longer term financial sustainability, so that we can continue to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.”
You can find more information on the Delivering Better Value for SEND programme here.