Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB
Leaders from NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and Nottinghamshire County Council reflect on work to improve services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Nottinghamshire:
It’s now just over 18 months since the SEND Improvement Board for Nottinghamshire was set up and during that time, I believe there has been a huge improvement in partnership working and the culture of our staff.
Prior to the CQC and Ofsted Local Area Partnership inspection in May 2023, it felt to me like we were separate organisations. We were all working hard and doing our best, but we weren’t joining our resources, looking at problems and solutions together and we weren’t talking to each other enough. This was quite correctly picked up by the inspectors and has been an area of significant focus.
We’re now worlds apart from where we were, we have relationships at every level that are positive, but established enough to support challenge and disagreement – which is essential if we want to develop and grow together. At all levels we have developed close links between our organisations and are constantly talking to each other and providing support and challenge when needed. It feels like we’re working together with a shared commitment and focus on our SEND improvement journey.
We know that together we can build on the initial improvements to continue to deliver the change needed.
Previously, we would have looked at issues and divided them into ‘health issues’ or ‘local authority issues’. We’re now owning our problems together as a whole partnership and thinking our shared responsibility for children and young people with SEND and about how we work jointly to improve the support that they and their families receive.
One great example of this is how we have shared and brought together all of our data so we can see a full picture of where we are making a difference and where we need to make improvements. This is supported by our agreement of a joint commissioning strategy and plan across both our organisations, maximising the opportunities to both work in partnership and reduce duplication.
We have agreed as a partnership that we shouldn’t just make the improvements the CQC and Ofsted have said we need to make. We want to look at wider SEND services and make sure that sustainable improvements are made for children and young people that last beyond the lifespan of the inspection.
We have worked with partners, children and families to develop a shared set of outcomes that we are working towards so we can track whether we are genuinely making a difference to the lives of children, young people and their families. These are just the things that they have a right to expect:
This process hasn’t been easy. Budgets are tight and there has been a great deal of criticism about the SEND system needing an overhaul on a national level. But here in Nottinghamshire, we are confident that our close working relationships and our commitment to listen and involve families will support us in our continued improvement journey.
As a partnership, we are committed to all of Nottinghamshire’s young people and families, including those with special educational needs and disabilities and want to offer the right support at the right time to achieve the best possible outcomes.
In Nottinghamshire, we’ve been determined to improve our efforts to listen to families and to invest in teams and staff where that is necessary, such as the significant investment in educational psychologists who are vital in supporting education, health and care plans. But in addition to this, we are working with partners in education to improve our support for pupils with SEND in mainstream settings as well.
We are continuing to prioritise investment in improving our SEND service and strengthening our workforce to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND in Nottinghamshire.
Working in partnership with our colleagues in health, social care, education, schools and with parents and carers is vital if we are to achieve our ambitions and deliver the improvements that children and young people have told us they want to see. Working in this way, together, is imperative to achieve our common goals and ambitions.
Our joint approach and improvement plans mean that we work closely together at all times to deliver the changes needed to support children and young people who have additional needs.
Having a clear and shared vision, I also recognise an unwavering commitment to including young people and parents and carers in all areas of work. This is the right approach and their involvement in the agreed outcomes for young people is encouraging.
By including our parents and carers and young people we make sure that the focus is always where it should be. We hear their concerns and their hopes and ambitions. With this approach and with the efforts of individuals and teams, it can lead to improved experiences and outcomes, like Anna’s involvement in co-production feeling listened to, Max’s journey to become a DJ allowing him to enjoy life and have fun, or a collaboration that helped Bawithiran prepare for his future: Real life SEND experiences | Nottinghamshire County Council.
We do face challenges. The ongoing increase in demand for assessments that shows no sign of reducing, some waiting times are still longer than families would expect and significant budget pressures across the system are going to continue.
We want to reassure families and young people of the partnership’s ongoing commitment to improvements for Nottinghamshire’s young people with additional needs and their families.
