Issue details

Purpose of Report: The report will provide the Executive with information about the development of the Local SEND Reform Plan. The draft plan will be shared with Executive, with the final plan being submitted to the Department for Education by 18th June. The delivery of the plan is supported by the allocation of government grant funding. This grant funding is designed to build the infrastructure to support the local area to implement the SEND reforms. In the financial year 2026-27 York has been allocated £2.3 million of SEND Capital and £1.3 million to deliver the Experts at Hand offer. The Experts at Hand part of the grant will provide funding for local authorities to work in partnership with Integrated Care Boards to develop and deliver a new Experts at Hand offer for mainstream education settings. This new offer is designed to strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) more effectively and inclusively, by providing a new route to access expert advice and support from education and health professionals.

The Local Authority SEND Transformation part of the grant will fund the administrative costs for local authorities associated with:
• evaluating their existing SEND support services to mainstream settings
• developing and submitting local SEND reform plans

The Executive will be asked to:

i.               Approve the draft Local SEND reform plan which will include details about the use of government funding to implement the Experts at Hand model in York.

ii.             Delegate decisions about the use of government funding to deliver the SEND reform plan to the Corporate Director, Children and Education.