Council outlines local SEND reform plan

A council has revealed its plans to improve local special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision in the face of a "phenomenal" growth in people accessing its services.

North Northamptonshire Council has unveiled its draft proposals to overhaul arrangements in the area.

It wants to reorganise support, making it more "proactive, inclusive, and locally delivered", and has to finalise its plans by 19 June.

An extraordinary meeting of the council's schools forum on Wednesday heard the current system was under "significant and prolonged pressure" and "failing too many children and young people".

The meeting was told the growth in children with SEND requirements and the demand for Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) had reached "phenomenal" levels.

The current local system is under "significant and prolonged" pressure, the meeting was told.

A description of the current local system in the council's plan added that it had been escalating cases unnecessarily to the point of crisis and financial pressures had become "unsustainable" .

The council said over the next three years it wanted to deliver early identification of needs and reduce escalation to EHCPs, improve attendance and education outcomes for children with SEND.

It also wants to cut down on the use of independent and out-of-area placements.

A key feature of the reform plan is a shift towards including mainstream education, with specialist settings still available.

The introduction of Experts at Hand would also help ensure schools were equipped with both the right infrastructure and a range of experts in areas such as educational psychology, speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy, the plan claims.

A local delivery plan for 2026/27 shows training will be provided for schools later this year.

The council has two weeks to finish revising its plans ahead of the deadline.

If it gets approval from Westminster, the council will also unlock funding to plug 90% of its historic Dedicated Schools Grant deficits.

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