Agenda item

To consider a report from the Director of Children and Families that responds to the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Board (Children and Families) through its inquiry report on the Provision of EHCP Support in Leeds in April 2024. 

The Board considered a report from the Director of Children and Families responding to the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Board (Children and Families) through its inquiry report on the Provision of EHCP Support in Leeds in April 2024. 

In attendance for this item were:

·  Councillor Helen Hayden, Executive Member for Children and Families

·  Dan Barton, Deputy Director – Learning

·  Phil Evans, Chief Officer Resources, Transformation and Partnerships

·  Sandra Pentelow, Projects and Programme Manager

The Executive Member for Children and Families introduced the report and highlighted the work done on service improvement since the scrutiny inquiry report in April 2024. It was acknowledged that there have been some delays to the timescales involved but work is now underway to reduce EHCP backlogs.

Responding to comments and questions from Board members the following discussion took place:

·  In response to a question on how far the authority is behind in dealing with some EHCP cases the board heard that the main concern was around assessments that have not taken place and are out of timescale, it is expected that to catch up on this will take a minimum of 6 months with 100 extra assessments taking place per month following additional staffing resource coming online. It was noted that until the new operating model is in place demand pressures, which are being experienced nationally as well as in Leeds, remain a problem and this is also linked to the review of FFI and transition of children and young people from that funding stream to EHCP assessment, which featured at the July meeting of the Board.

·  On a similar theme the Board asked about how many new staff are in place and how the new staffing approach is being communicated to young people and their parents and carers. The Board were informed that there are approximately 20 to 25 educational psychologists (EPs) who have been procured through a private company with the assurance that the staffing resource can process 100 EHCP assessments per month. The staffing mix may vary and also includes plan writers.

·  In terms of how this will look to families accessing the service this will look the same as it would in normal circumstances, with an officer conducting a piece of work through observation of a child in an education setting. The service does have a communication plan in place to set out timescales to families and explain that there are delays and the reasons for them.

·  The Board were informed that the additional 20 to 25 staff are not solely utilised by Leeds but are procured through a private company and an individual staff member could be working for a number of different authorities. So, in effect the service has ‘out-sourced’ 100 EHCP plans per month with around 25 EPs working on this. A full time EP would be able to add wider value as well as doing more EHCP assessments per month. The Board acknowledged that the shortage of EPs nationally and the presence of private companies can make recruitment and retention of EPs a challenge for Leeds and all local authorities.

·  The Board were keen to ensure that new digital approaches are accessible to all and that families who are less digitally skilled are still able to access EHCP services. The Board were assured that there will always be a way to request an assessment non-digitally – digital methods though will speed up processes and it was noted that system design is focussed on the routes used most commonly and digital submissions can be processed quicker. In terms of testing the new digital forms there has been engagement on the professional aspects of the form and feedback on it has been largely positive. The Board were informed that wider consultation with parents, carers and young people on the new form is being planned and will take place in the coming weeks.

·  The Board were also informed, following questions, of how elected member casework and escalation routes for cases with elected member involvement will be dealt with. An existing email address will be used for this purpose with supporting training provided to members around EHCP cases. The Board were assured that the email address is monitored, and this will be the route for casework to be sent in by elected members. It was recognised that there are possible resource implications if the existing email address is used as there could be an increase in email volume to that address once communicated to councillors. The Board added that elected member contacts by residents can often by a measure of last resort so this email address will provide assurance that cases referred are being dealt with. The Board heard that the impact of the improvement work being done by the service, in time, will reduce the need for cases to be escalated down to an absolute minimum.

·  The Board asked about recruitment of key roles within the service with two senior vacancies that need to be filled quickly. Whilst work is ongoing to improve the appeal of the roles it is possible that support may be needed to fill the roles, and this could involve a national search to find the right candidates if the vacancies persist.

·  The Board noted the lack of training at national level for the education psychologist specialism with limited institutions that are accredited to train EPs and a limited number of bursaries available. In terms of psychology generally there is a sufficiency of graduates in that field and it is hoped that work at national level can facilitate more candidates coming forward and training as an EP.

·  The Board asked if a work study or due diligence has been done to measure the cost effectiveness of the use of the private company, or agency, to do the 100 EHCPs per month. The aim would be to compare the costs associated with the use of the agency as compared to the cost of doing that internally. The Board heard that there is an awareness of time taken to do an EHCP and that EPs also do valuable early help work to reduce future demand on these services. The Board noted that it is more expensive to procure external support than it is to do the work internally which in part is explained by the availability of EPs to carry out this work through an agency whilst also having a lack of availability/candidates for full time roles working for a local authority, market forces play a part in this. It was agreed that more work will be done on costs of an EHCP internally to the Council to facilitate a comparison with the cost of procuring it externally. The point around wider added value brought by EPs working for Leeds was reiterated and accepted by Board members.

·  The Board raised the need for better communication with parents and carers when there are delays in EHCP processes. It was acknowledged that more proactivity on communication needs to be developed and is a priority in the improvement work being done by the service.

·  The Board discussed both successful application rates and re-application rates for EHCPs if an initial assessment had not secured one, particular given that needs of children and young people can change. The Board heard that around 75% of requests for assessment are accepted and at the end of assessment the rate is slightly lower for issuing of an EHCP. On re-applications it was agreed that this could be provided outside the meeting following some further analysis.

·  Following discussion of budget pressure in the DSG Higher Needs Block it was agreed that the letter on the funding formula issued to the previous government will be re-issued to the new Government to set out the view of the Board on the funding formula and to call for this to be reviewed. The Board acknowledged the forthcoming budget announcement expected in October 2024.

·  The Executive Member emphasised the importance and commitment to get services right for a range of stakeholders but most importantly the children and young people involved and ensuring that they get the support needed to access and succeed in their education setting.

·  Board members discussed the health elements of the plans, education has been the focus but the health support elements do need to feature more strongly, particularly mental health support. It was noted that this is an issue, and the mechanisms are in place to take this forward through a partnership approach.

·  The Chair noted that Recommendations 5, 6 and 7 from the Board’s inquiry are only dealt with briefly and that these will be the subject of an update in the future.

Resolved – TheChildren and Families Scrutiny Board noted the content of the report and:

a)  Asked for further details on the costs of EHCP processes to the Council when assessed using internal resource and;

b)  That a further update be brought back to the Board on this issue in the current (2024/25) municipal year.

(This was proposed by Cllr Cohen, seconded by Cllr Edwards and carried unanimously)