Summary of the February 2025 Board Meeting

This is the 11th meeting of the Local Area SEND Partnership Board

 1. Review of Action Log (tasks given to the subgroups and members of the Board)

14 actions from the previous meeting were closed. Two actions for the February meeting remain open. Updates were given for these actions and they will be completed by April’s Board meeting.

 2. Update from the Continuous Improvement Subgroup

Progress made since 7th January 2025:

• Work on the Preparation for Adulthood Target Operating Model remains on track for the end of April 2025:

• The Home to School Transport project has started.

• The review of the Continuing Care Protocol is expected to be complete by the end of March 2025.

• The recovery plans for speech and language therapy, the neurodevelopmental pathway, and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) are on track.

Next steps for the month ahead:

• SEND Strategy Planning workshops will take place in February. The current processes for Preparation for Adulthood will be outlined. Recommendations for the new model will be brought to the Board.

• Provide the Board with a report on the phase transfer allocations for 2025.

Any issues escalated to the Local Area SEND Partnership Board:

• None

 3. Report on the delivery of speech and language therapy in EHCPs

The report gives the Board information about the speech and language provision in EHCPs. It gives details of the issues experienced by the speech and language service in identifying the number of plans with speech and language needs in them and how support is being delivered.

The report recommended to the Board that:

• A business case is brought to the Board in April. This should show the exact number of plans that include speech and language provision. The business case should also show what resources are needed deliver this provision and timescales.

• A performance measure is included in the dashboard so that the progress of this work can be monitored.

• It is added to the risk register.

 4. Update from the Strategic Performance Subgroup and the SEND dashboard report

Progress since the last Board meeting:

• Approval was agreed for the education and inclusion data sets and the amendments to the dashboard.

• Priority score card reviews were agreed.

• SEND sufficiency metrics and dashboard amends were agreed.

• There was a discussion on the skills audit and capturing training compliance.

• There was a discussion on the data requirements for the Neurodiversity Profiling Tool.

Next steps for the month ahead:

• Complete a review of the speech and language therapy scorecards.

• Review data sets for EHCP annual reviews.

• Understand why year 9 transition data is not currently being captured.

• Any issues escalated to the Local Area SEND Partnership Board:

• There are gaps in social care data for EHC NA six-week data.

6. Update from the Participation & Engagement Subgroup

Progress made since the last Board meeting:

• The SEND Youth Voice Conference took place on 7th February. Great feedback was received on the event.

• A new process has been created that allows third-party organisations to add their events to SENDLO.

• The first edition of the SEND Snapshot for parents and carers was issued at the end of January.

• A media strategy for the SENDLO website was presented to the group and agreed on.

• A process for sharing communications from the SENDLO website was shared with the board.

• Work has started on a neurodiversity information hub on SENDLO.

Next steps for the month ahead:

• A review of events/media on SENDLO to be submitted and plans will be shared with the Board.

Any issues escalated to the Local Area SEND Partnership Board:

• None

6. Report on the flow of communications from the SENDLO website

This report includes a flow chart that shows the process to be followed when putting news items on the SENDLO website. This is to ensure that parents and carers are informed of the SEND improvement work taking place.

7. Integrated Care Board Finance Report

The Local Area SEND Partnership Board requested that NHS Cheshire and Merseyside provide a report outlining their budget. This report updated the Board on the following areas:

• The financial position of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside – Wirral Place at month 8 of the financial year to 31st March 2025.

• A summary of the NHS Cheshire and Merseyside’s spending on SEND and neurodiversity.

• An update on planning for 2025/26.

8. Report on the risk register

This report provides the Board with an overview of the risks and issues identified for delivering the SEND improvement work across Wirral. A review of the current risks took place in February. This report details any amendments to current risks. There are no new risks identified.