Many children and young people who have additional needs require support from a range of services, including health.

Under the Children and Families Act 2014, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Code of Practice sets out the statutory duties for health, education and social care to listen to families and provide the right range of services so that children, young people and young adults up to the age of 25yrs can achieve their potential.

Our Integrated Care System (ICS) enables greater integration across agencies and improved sharing of good practice and common solutions across Herefordshire & Worcestershire by having more joined up work and shared responsibility for outcomes for children, young people and families.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is a priority within NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB), known publically as NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire, as recognised in the following ways:

  • ICBs must consider how they will meet the needs of children and young people aged 0-25 and set this out in their Forward Plans
  • ICBs must consider how to ensure a diverse skill mix of leadership, which should include a consideration of whether there is knowledge and expertise related to children and to SEND
  • Each ICB must have an Executive Lead responsible for SEND and accountable for how well SEND support by partners is delivered.  Mari Gay is our Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) for SEND in Herefordshire & Worcestershire.
  • ICBs have to work with children’s system leaders, children and young people and families when forming their strategies and have to show how they have met their statutory responsibilities relating to SEND in their annual report.

A detailed summary of what the ICS means for children and families with SEND is available to read here.

NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire works in close partnership with the local authorities in Herefordshire and Worcestershire to ensure that health commissioning is effective in meeting the health needs of children and young people with SEND. This involves many aspects of cross-agency and cross-system working with partners and families, including support for medical needs in schools, access to therapies and transition to adulthood pathways.

Commissioning leads and clinicians from across NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire are involved in many programmes of work that impact on the experiences of children and young people with SEND. NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire is a core member in SEND improvement workstreams and programmes in both areas.

Examples of the ongoing work to improve local SEND provision and processes across Herefordshire & Worcestershire, include:

  • Improved multi-agency working across the SEND system at locality to support better and faster access to services for families
  • Acting on parent / carer feedback and embedding co-production with parents, carers, and young people as part of all service improvements
  • Establishing systems so that health providers can submit essential health advice to the LA for statutory assessments for Education, Health and Care plans (EHCPs)
  • Ensuring that the health support commissioned by NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire is delivered in a co-ordinated way with other services to improve life outcomes for children and young people with additional needs
  • Establishing joint commissioning across the area where appropriate with a focus on developing integrated approaches to service delivery, greater efficiency and improved person-centred care for children and young people and their families
  • Supporting awareness of statutory SEND responsibilities across the health system

Designated Clinical Officers (DCOs) and Designated Medical Officers (DMOs) are part of NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire, bringing clinical leadership to support NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire to meet its statutory responsibilities under the SEND Code of Practice. These responsibilities involve maintaining oversight of the health contributions to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), working across different parts of the health system to ensure that  health assessments, planning and support is delivered in accordance with SEND code of practice and in a family-centred way. The DCOs quality assure the health inputs in relation to SEND into both the graduated approach as well as within new EHCPs as part of Local Authority Quality Assurance systems.

The DCOs also play a crucial role as point of contact for schools, partners and LA colleagues both into and between different parts of the health system, with a focus on improving the quality of experience of health support for children, young people who have SEND support needs. This involves links across the health system including GPs (Primary care), health visiting and school nursing services, mental health services and community services as well as the more specialist health services delivered from the range of hospitals in the area.

NHS Herefordshire & Worcestershire has robust governance, leadership, and management arrangements in place for SEND. Leaders are fully committed to the SEND agenda and improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND and their families.

The SEND service forms an integral part of Children’s Services and the NHS and supports the vision in Herefordshire & Worcestershire to improve the lives and outcomes for all children and young people and their families in Herefordshire & Worcestershire. Senior Managers and Elected Members receive regular reports on the progress made with the implementation of the SEND reforms.

Under the local area special educational needs and disabilities inspection framework, inspectors from Ofsted and CQC review how local areas meet their responsibilities to children and young people (from birth to age 25) who have special educational needs or disabilities (or both). The aim is to hold local areas to account and champion the rights of children and young people.

Here is a link to the updated Local Area SEND Inspections Handbook (April 2024) - Area SEND inspections: framework and handbook - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

 

Herefordshire

We have received notice that Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will be visiting Herefordshire from 18 November to 6 December to inspect arrangements for Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

The inspectors want to hear from children and young people, parents and carers and practitioners about the help and support that children and young people with SEND get. There is a survey that young people, parents and carers and practitioners are invited to take part in. For more information and to complete the survey follow this link to the Herefordshire Local Offer page:

All about special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) – Herefordshire Council

 

 

Worcestershire

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Worcestershire from 22 April 2024 to 26 April 2024 to inspect our arrangements for children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND).

As a result of the inspection, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector has asked the local area partnership to co-produce a Priority Action Plan to address the two priority actions, and an Improvement Plan to address the three areas for improvement. Both of these plans have been approved by Ofsted and the Department for Education and can be found via the link below: 

Worcestershire SEND Local Area Partnership Improvement Programme – Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) - Priority Action Plan September 2024

Worcestershire SEND Local Area Partnership Improvement Programme – Improvement Plan September 2024

Worcestershire SEND Local Offer Website - The support available from education, health and social care within a Local Authority is known as the Local Offer. Each Local Authority is required to publish what is available on the Local Offer website.  Please see link to the Worcestershire SEND Local Offer below:

SEND Local Offer | Worcestershire County Council

Families in Partnership - Worcestershire's official parent carer forum, FIP is a Parent Carer Forum consisting of a group of volunteer parent carers who work with local authorities, education settings, and health providers to make sure the services they plan and deliver meet the needs of their children & families – please see link to their website below:

Families in Partnership (fipworcs.org.uk)

Copro Week poster 2023 (1).pngHerefordshire SEND Local Offer Website - The support available from education, health and social care within a Local Authority is known as the Local Offer. Each Local Authority is required to publish what is available on the Local Offer website.  Please see link to the Herefordshire SEND Local Offer below:

Local offer special educational needs and disabilities – Herefordshire Council

 

Parent Carer Voice - Parent Carer Voice is led by a Steering group of parents in Herefordshire who are working alongside the Local Authority and Health partnerships (ICS) to ensure that the needs of Children & Young People up to the age of 25 years with Additional & Special Educational Needs are being met – please see link to their website below:

Parent Carer Voice Herefordshire – Your voice matters. (pcvh.co.uk

 

For a copy of the Herefordshire SEND Strategy, 2023-2026 please click on the below link: 
Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) strategy - Council policies, strategies and procedures – Herefordshire Council 

Improving Support and the Diagnostic Assessment Process for Paediatric Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Over recent years there has been a dramatic increase in referrals for paediatric diagnostic assessments for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism with referrals for assessment growing by over 300% from the pre-pandemic levels.  Demand for local services currently exceeds capacity and steps are being taken to address this. NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire is working closely with partner organisations, children, young people and families to re-design the care pathways for Autism and ADHD, bringing them into one Paediatric Neurodevelopmental Care Pathway linked to mental health support.  In the meantime, we know families need support while they are waiting for and following a diagnostic assessment. So, we are also improving information available on Autism and ADHD through the Council’s ‘Local Offer’ websites and have training in place for parents to access. A new regional support service is available called ‘Autism Central’ which provides 1-1 support and workshops for families delivered, by trained experts by experience.

For more information visit:

Autism Central for Parents and Carers | Autism Central

Understanding your child/teen with additional needs | Starting Well (startingwellworcs.nhs.uk)

 

Herefordshire send poster.pngHerefordshire Patients

The contact number for the local vaccination team in Herefordshire is 01432 663 085. This contact number is for parents/carers to contact if their child has missed a school-aged vaccination or if they want to access flu vaccination for their child. It can also be used by parents/carers of children with SEND who might not be attending a school setting and therefore may have missed a school-aged vaccination.

 

 

 

 

worcestershire send poster.pngWorcestershire Patients

The contact number for the local vaccination team in Worcestershire is 01527 390 030. This contact number is for parents/carers to contact if their child has missed a school-aged vaccination or if they want to access flu vaccination for their child. It can also be used by parents/carers of children with SEND who might not be attending a school setting and therefore may have missed a school-aged vaccination.

  • Learning Disability and Autism - For information on Learning Disability and Autism in Herefordshire & Worcestershire – please see link below:

Learning Disability and Autism :: Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care System (hwics.org.uk)

  • Children’s Continuing Care (CCC) and NHS Continuing Healthcare:

Education and Social Care :: Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care System (hwics.org.uk)

  • Parent Carer Voice - Parent Carer Voice is led by a Steering group of parents in Herefordshire who are working alongside the Local Authority and Health partnerships (ICS) to ensure that the needs of Children & Young People up to the age of 25 years with Additional & Special Educational Needs are being met – please see link to their website below: ​​​​​​

Parent Carer Voice Herefordshire – Your voice matters. (pcvh.co.uk)

  • Families in Partnership - Worcestershire's official parent carer forum, FIP is a Parent Carer Forum consisting of a group of volunteer parent carers who work with local authorities, education settings, and health providers to make sure the services they plan and deliver meet the needs of their children & families.  Please see link to their website below:

Families in Partnership (fipworcs.org.uk)

  • Council for Disabled Children (CDC) - The Council for Disabled Children is part of the National Children’s Bureau family. They are the umbrella body for the disabled children's sector with a membership of over 300 voluntary and community organisations and an active network of practitioners that spans education, health and social care. As a membership body they provide a collective voice that champions the rights of children, young people and their families and challenges barriers to inclusion – the website link is Council for Disabled Children

 

Logo, company nameDescription automatically generatedSENDIASS Worcestershire and Herefordshire (hwsendiass.co.uk) 

Herefordshire and Worcestershire SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) offer free, impartial and confidential information, advice and support. They can also help families navigate through the EHC (Education and Health Care) needs assessment process.

IconDescription automatically generated(IPSEA) Independent Provider of Special Education Advice This national organisation offers free and independent, legally based information, advice and support to help get the right education for children and young people with all kinds of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). 
 

IconDescription automatically generated Worcestershire Association of Carers (carersworcs.org.uk) A registered charity providing a range of information, advice and support to carers in Worcestershire. You can refer a carer here - Refer a carer 

 

  • Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP):

Local authorities have duties to identify, and then address, the needs of any young person with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) in their area. They must consider conducting an EHC (Education and Health Care) assessment if one is requested; this assessment will determine if Education, Health or Social Care support is needed and therefore an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is created. Health Care Professionals may be required to contribute to this plan.  For further information please see links below:

A picture containing textDescription automatically generatedRequesting an EHCP in Herefordshire: Children with Special Educational Needs and disability – Herefordshire Council

 

IconDescription automatically generated   Requesting an EHCP in Worcestershire: EHCP – Education, Health and Care plans | Worcestershire County Council

For further information on SEND in Herefordshire & Worcestershire, please see contact details below: