SENDSTART Update
The SEND Statutory Assessment and Review Team (SENDSTART is the team at Wirral Council responsible for co-ordinating Education, Health and Care Needs assessments (EHCNAs), and maintaining Education Health and Care plans (EHCPs). To improve the service to families, children and young people across Wirral, SENDSTART recently took on 38 new members of staff and have redesigned and restructured the way that the team works. If you didn't see the news on SENDLO you can read all about the new team here.
Most new members of SENDSTART are now in place. There are just a few team members joining soon who are currently going through their induction training. There has already been positive feedback from schools on their experience of the improvement in support. Representatives from schools on the Local Area SEND Partnership Board reported that staff had told them that they are already building positive relationships with new case workers and meetings are taking place.
We wanted to let you know when you will start to feel these changes on the ground, so SENDLO caught up with SEND Manager, Danielle Smith, to get an update:
“We are really pleased with the feedback from our settings on the changes we have implemented so far. From next month, families who are submitting new EHCNA applications should start to see a difference in the EHCP process and communications.
By June, this will start to show in the number of EHCPs we are able to complete in 20 weeks. We know that many families are still currently waiting for their plans to be finalised, and the additional capacity will help us to move these cases forward through working with families and schools. Over the course of 2025, Wirral Council are committed to making sure that all EHCPs have been reviewed, with SENDSTART Caseworkers available where they are requested. During February, SENDSTART are focused on making sure that phase transfer reviews (for those for children moving from F1 to F2 and year 6 to year 7) will all be completed by the 15 February. We are really excited for you to start to see the impact of our new changes as we move through 2025 and beyond to make this service one to be proud of!.”