QUESTIONS: If you would like to ask a question you must provide the clerk with your name, address and the question you would like to ask by emailing committee@bracknell-forest.gov.uk at least two hours ahead of a meeting. The subject matter of questions must relate to an item on the Board’s agenda for that particular meeting. The clerk can provide advice on this where requested.
PETITIONS: A petition must be submitted a minimum of seven working days before a Board meeting and must be given to the clerk by this deadline. There must be a minimum of ten signatures for a petition to be submitted to the Board. The subject matter of a petition must be about something that is within the Board’s responsibilities. This includes matters of interest to the Board as a key stakeholder in improving the health and wellbeing of communities.
Minutes:
The Board considered the following question submitted by Sharon Ashmore-Mobbs regarding the SEND agenda item:
“Please can the board comment on the proposed closure of the SEND Health and Wellbeing workstream, given that the vast majority of EHCPs are being completed without directly assessing a child's occupational therapy (OT) needs? This is further compounded by the lack of inclusion of private assessment information, where available. Children undergoing EHCP assessment where OT advice is sought should be seen within the statutory six-week period - surely, the board would agree that a triage call where the OT does not even meet the child, so they cannot articulate their needs or recommend provision, is consistent with neither the wording nor the spirit of the SEND Code of Practice?”
Grainne Siggins, Executive Director: People responded to the question and commented that Bracknell Forest had a robust programme for the SEND improvement plan to address identified areas of weakness arising from the SEND inspection. The workstream was being concluded as actions on the improvement plan had largely been completed.
Ali Woodiwiss, Head of Transformation for Frimley ICB commented that the improvement work and effectiveness of current therapies would continue to be monitored through other governance structures and processes.
A triage process was used for young people which included a report outlining the next steps for each individual, up to and including a full assessment for the young person.
The SEND Code of Practice outlines advice rather than assessment around therapy services.
A supplementary question was received from Sharon Ashmore-Mobbs as follows:
“What evidence of impact has the Health and Wellbeing workstream project team gathered to gain confidence that the work of this group has met its targets, and ensured there is real life change for families? Has there been endorsement of this impact by community co-production partners, such as Bracknell Parent Carer forum?”
Grainne Siggins commented that a detailed response on the evidence of impact on key items from the written statement of action had been provided in the quarterly update to NHS England. It was confirmed that these elements in the quarterly report had been signed off. The workstream also reported to the SEND improvement partnership board who agreed with the positive response in terms of impact, and the SEND improvement partnership included members of the Parent Carer forum.
Ali Woodiwiss commented that one of the key actions from the workstream was the reduction in waiting times for SEND services, which had reduced in the last 12 months from 70 weeks waiting time to under 30 weeks waiting. The business-as-usual work following the workstream’s closure would continue to work to reduce waiting times, and this would be overseen through alternative governance methods.
The Board considered the following question submitted by Vicky LeJeune regarding the SEND agenda item:
“Will all children be given OT assessments within the EHCP timescale and if they can not meet the deadline will they be done privately instead, rather than them being triaged / not done at all?”
Ali Woodiwiss commented that not all referrals would necessarily require a full Occupational Therapy assessment, and advice may be given in different forms. Each local authority had its own position on private assessments and Bracknell Forest would consider private assessments when an NHS assessment was not available.
The Board considered the following question submitted by Emma Hester regarding the SEND agenda item:
“Does the board have an awareness that EHCPs are being finalised even if advice that is needed (agreed by all parties) is incomplete, and that completion of EHCPs is being used as a measure of progress in the SEND strategy?”
Grainne Siggins commented that oversight for the improvements on SEND statement of action is via the SEND improvement partnership board which met bi-monthly to review a comprehensive data matrix including all operational aspects of EHCP.
A supplementary question from Emma Hester was received as follows: “Is the DCS able to comment on whether data is being scrutinised to identify what percentage of EHCPs are finalised with outstanding advice and how this impacts the accuracy of the overall reporting of EHCP completion?”
Grainne Siggins commented that the SEND improvement partnership board data included all aspects of EHCPs including those which were in progress, and those which had been delivered within the statutory timescale of 20 weeks and those outside this timescale. The data was used internally and with the SEND improvement partnership board’s oversight.