Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure the adequacy of SEND support in West Sussex.

The department is continuing to support and challenge West Sussex to improve the delivery of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services.

The last local area SEND inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for West Sussex was in November 2023, which found that there are inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

The areas for improvement identified by inspectors are:

(I) To identify and address ‘waiting well’ arrangements and gaps in service provision to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND.

(I) To ensure children identified as at high risk for aspiration are fully assessed and have access to video-fluoroscopy.

(II) To develop a strategy to improve the processes, quality and the timeliness of education, health and care plans.

(III) To implement oversight and commissioning arrangements of suitable specialist school places and alternative provision.

(IV) And to strengthen their strategic approach to preparation for adulthood.

The department’s regional team has put in place systems to track outcomes against the areas for improvement and the progress made by children and young people with SEND, with a formal review of progress against the areas for improvement to take place in October 2024. West Sussex County Council are committed to working closely with the department to improve services.

West Sussex is taking part in the Delivering Better Value (DBV) in SEND Programme. The DBV in SEND Programme was established under the previous government with the aim of helping local authorities provide more effective SEND services by meeting the needs of children and young people at an early stage and with the right level of support.