Solihull Council and the NHS Birmingham, Black Country and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) has welcomed the report published today detailing the outcome of a recent inspection.
The two organisations are jointly responsible for planning and commissioning services to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) – known as the Solihull Local Area Partnership.
The inspection, carried out by Ofsted and CQC in early July, is graded on a scale of 1-3 with 1 being the highest performing. The Solihull Local Area Partnership received a grading of 2.
Many positive examples of multi-agency working were recognised, in particular the Single Panel which brings together leaders across education, health and care. They could see that the panel is helping agencies and schools work jointly to put timely support in place for children and young people with SEND.
Most education, health and care (EHC) plans are issued and updated in a timely way, meaning that, during this vital process, children and young people typically have their needs assessed within statutory timescales.
Early help services are also effectively supporting the prompt identification of SEND, with the borough’s Best Start Family Hubs being integral in this. Inspectors could see that early help practitioners are skilful at developing trusting relationships with families, giving children and young people with SEND a strong start in education.
Inspectors also praised the partnership for working effectively with the parent carer forum - Solihull Parent Carer Voice. This has led to a culture of children and young people with SEND and their families shaping support.
Furthermore, children in early years receive the support they require for their speech and language needs, and the therapy service provides settings with useful consultation and training. Children with SEND in schools can also access a responsive school nursing service.
Some areas of improvement were identified including better provision for young people as they progress into adulthood, improving the quality of EHC plans, and reducing waiting times for health assessments.
Councillor Karen Grinsell, Leader of Solihull Council and Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Children & Education, said:
“I am pleased that inspectors could see first and foremost that families are routinely at the heart of our decisions. We acknowledge that there are improvements to be made and we will continue to work closely as a partnership to address these.
“There is a lot of change happening within the SEND system and we are currently awaiting approval from government on our SEND Reform Plan. We are excited about continuing to work together with our partners and communities to provide the best possible services to children and young people in Solihull.”
David Melbourne, Chief Executive of NHS Birmingham and Solihull and NHS Black Country, added:
“We welcome the findings of this inspection, but we know we need to do more to improve support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We have invested additional funding this year to help reduce waiting times for neurodevelopmental assessments, but we recognise that funding alone will not solve the challenge.
“Demand for assessments continues to outstrip current capacity, and we therefore need to transform the way these services are delivered. Alongside expanding assessment capacity, we will invest in a digitally enabled single point of access, providing a needs-led support offer that helps children, young people and families get the right support at the right time. We will also bring NHS and local authority services closer together to improve access to speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and occupational therapy, and develop local shared care hubs to support ADHD prescribing and ongoing care closer to home.
“To improve consistency, accountability and the experience of families, we will simplify existing commissioning arrangements and work towards appointing a single lead organisation for neurodevelopmental services across Birmingham, Solihull and the Black Country.
“These changes will help us build a more responsive, sustainable and effective system for children and young people who rely on these services.”
Read the full report on the Ofsted website.