South Tyneside Joint Strategic Needs and Assets Assessment

The Children and Families Act 2014 extended the provision of services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) from birth to 25 years of age and introduced new processes to promote the provision of integrated education, health, and social care services.

A child or young person is defined as having special educational needs “if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her.”1 Learning difficulty typically refers to conditions affecting specific areas of learning while learning disability refers to reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with both learning and everyday activities.2

The term SEND also encompasses disabilities, which are defined as “a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”.3 These classifications are conceptually distinct but may also overlap, with some children and young people having both a disability and special educational needs (SEN).

Published in 2015, the SEND Code of Practice4 provides statutory guidance for local authorities, schools, and other organisations responsible for implementing the Children and Families Act 2014. It describes a graduated approach involving an ongoing cycle of assessment and review to ensure that each individual receives the level and type of support necessary to meet their unique needs. It also outlines two broad levels of support available to children and young people with SEND:

• SEN support refers to additional assistance provided by educational settings and is often organised by teachers and SEN Coordinators. SEN support replaces the previous categories of School Action and School Action Plus.
• Education, health, and care plan (EHCP) refers to a legal document compiled for children and young people who require a more intensive level of assistance than is provided through SEN support. EHCPs replace statements of SEN and Learning Difficulty Assessments.

Figures and tables

This document refers to figures and tables which can be found at South Tyneside Council: Joint Strategic Needs and Assets Assessment Figures and Tables.

This file may not be suitable for users of assistive technology. If you need help to access this information within this file, please email jsnaa@southtyneside.gov.uk

Stronger Together Strategy

Delivery of SEND provision in South Tyneside is guided by the Stronger Together Strategy,5 which was coproduced by the local authority, head teachers, health partners, and the Parent Carer Forum and outlines the local vision for SEND services from 2018 to 2021. In particular, the Strategy is framed around four core priorities:

• Identify need at the earliest stage to ensure the right children are in the right placement with the right support.
• Improve local provision so that our young people can be educated in their communities.
• Increase achievement and opportunities for children and young people with SEND.
• Embed excellent training and outreach to help with stronger inclusion.

Needs assessment

The delivery of effective and appropriately tailored services for individuals with SEND must be informed by an assessment process to capture the current and future needs of the local population. As such, this chapter of the Joint Strategic Needs and Assets Assessment aims to describe the current needs of children and young people with SEND in South Tyneside, identify and prioritise gaps in local service provision, and serve as a basis for future commissioning and strategy development.

Where possible, benchmarking has been conducted to enable direct comparison between South Tyneside, the North East, England, and statistical neighbours. The Children’s Services Statistical Neighbour Benchmarking Tool was used to select the ten local authorities which were mostly similar to South Tyneside on a range of socioeconomic and demographic variables.6

• Around one in five pupils (20.7%) in South Tyneside has SEND. The prevalence of SEND in schools is higher in South Tyneside than in geographical and statistical neighbours and has been rising in recent years.
• The most common primary need is Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among those with EHCPs and speech, language, and communication among those receiving SEN support.
• The number of pupils with ASD in South Tyneside has increased by 80% over the last five years while social, emotional, and mental health needs increased by 42%.
• The number of young adults with EHCPs has risen rapidly since the introduction of the SEND reforms. In 2020, nearly a third (32.2%) of individuals with an EHCP maintained by South Tyneside were between the ages of 16 to 25 years compared to less than 10% in 2015.
• Preparation for adulthood is a key area for improvement. The percentage of 16- and 17-year-olds with EHCPs who are not in education, employment, or training (NEET) or whose status is unknown increased from 11.7% in 2019 to 18.7% in 2020 and is higher in South Tyneside than in geographic and statistical neighbours.
• Individuals with EHCPs placed out of borough are more likely to be children looked after and have social, emotional, and mental health as a primary need. Close tracking of out of borough placements over time will be important for identifying and addressing gaps in local provision.
• The findings from a recent SEND inspection and feedback from the SEND Information, Advice, and Support Service (SENDIASS) indicate that wait times for mental health services are a concern. Significant efforts have been made to reduce the wait list for the local Lifecycle Mental Health Service and it is important that these efforts continue as COVID-19 restrictions are eased.
• Awareness of the Local Offer remains low and some content is out of date. Work is currently underway to update this in collaboration with the South Tyneside Parent Carer Forum.

1. Strengthen outreach and engagement efforts to improve the awareness, accessibility, and use of the Local Offer.
2. Refresh the Local Offer and develop a clear process to ensure that the content is reviewed and updated on a regular basis going forward.
3. Establish clear governance arrangements with the South Tyneside Parent Carer Forum to ensure that there are shared expectations for coproduction and that their voice is formally represented in key decision-making groups (e.g., SEND Leadership Board).
4. Proactively solicit feedback from children and young people with SEND and their families to monitor quality and inform service delivery.
5. Establish a process to regularly track the outcomes achieved by 16- to 25-year-olds with SEND across a range of domains (e.g., health, education, employment, etc.).
6. Strengthen transition arrangements from children’s to adult services through reviewing current processes, better defining roles and responsibilities, and ensuring that there are shared visions, values, and expectations about what we want to achieve for our young people.
7. Revise the SEND Commissioning Strategy to ensure that appropriate services are commissioned across the full 0 to 25 age range.
8. Improve understanding of the health needs of the SEND population through linking local SEND data with relevant primary and secondary care datasets.
9. Provide robust oversight of new quality assurance processes through the SEND Leadership Board to ensure continued monitoring and improvement of EHCP quality and completeness.
10. Review and streamline quality assurance processes as necessary to promote uptake and sustainability.
11. Explore higher than expected rates of special school attendance among pupils with certain primary needs (e.g., moderate learning difficulty, physical disability) to determine whether more pupils could be supported in mainstream settings.
12. Ensure that appropriate mechanisms are in place to assess and support pupils with SEND whose needs may have increased since the introduction of the COVID-19 restrictions.

National picture

According to data from the school census,7 there were over 1.3 million pupils with SEND in England during the 2019/20 academic year, equating to 15.5% of the school population. That means nearly one in every six pupils has SEND.

After decreasing for several years, the percentage of pupils with SEND has been rising nationally since 2016/17. Between 2016/17 and 2019/20, the percentage of pupils receiving SEN support increased from 11.6% to 12.1% while those with EHCPs rose from 2.8% to 3.3%.

Although often referred to as one group, the SEND population has a diverse range of unique needs which cut across categories and change over time. Some may require minor adjustments to improve their learning experience while others may need long-term multi-agency support. The Department for Education classifies children and young people with SEND based on their primary need.

• ASD remains the most common primary need among pupils with EHCPs, accounting for 30.1% of pupils in this group (up from 25.8% in 2015/16).
• The most common primary need among pupils on SEN support is speech, language, and communication needs, which account for 23.7% of these pupils (up from 20.9% in 2015/16).

Just as the needs of the SEND population are diverse and changing, so too are the impacts of SEND on personal health and wellbeing. While typically framed in terms of learning, the challenges faced by children and adults with SEND extend well beyond the educational domain. Research has documented the link between SEND and a wide range of adverse mental and physical health outcomes:

• Children with SEND are twice as likely to be persistently bullied even after controlling for other factors.8
• Individuals with learning disabilities are more likely to also have mental health problems, with one study finding that the prevalence of psychiatric disorders was more than four times greater in children with learning disabilities (36%) than in those without (8%).9
• There are lower rates of screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers among individuals with learning disabilities.10
• In 2017/18, the average life expectancy among those with a learning disability in England was 18 years lower for females and 14 years lower for males when compared to the general population.10
• The care provided to those with learning disabilities is often insufficient, with a Confidential Inquiry finding that the proportion of deaths which could have been avoided through the provision of quality healthcare was higher among those with learning disabilities (37%) than in the general population (13%).11

Factors associated with SEND

While a child from any background can have SEND, the type and prevalence of need is not equally distributed across all groups. The summary below uses data from the school census7 to explore factors commonly associated with an increased prevalence of SEND.

Gender

• Boys are more likely than girls to be classified as having SEN. Nationally, boys account for 73.1% of all pupils with EHCPs and 64.6% of pupils receiving SEN support.
• The percentage of boys who have EHCPs (4.8%) is over twice that of girls (1.8%). Boys are also more likely than girls to be receiving SEN support (15.2% versus 8.7%, respectively).
• ASD is the most common primary need among boys (33.7%) and girls (20.0%) with an EHCP.
• Among pupils on SEN support, the most prevalent primary need is moderate learning difficulty (24.3%) for girls and speech, language, and communication needs (25.4%) for boys.

Age

• The percentage of pupils receiving SEN support is highest at age 10 (15.2%) and decreases through the secondary years.
• The percentage of pupils with EHCPs continues to increase as pupils get older, rising to 4.0% of all pupils by age 15.
• The distribution of primary need changes as pupils age. The most prevalent primary needs among pupils with SEND at ages 5, 10, and 15, respectively, are speech, language, and communication (44.7%), moderate learning difficulty (23.2%), and social, emotional, and mental health (24.1%).

Ethnicity and language

• The prevalence of SEND is highest among pupils classified as White – Irish traveller, of whom 5.0% have an EHCP and 24.9% are receiving SEN support (the highest values for both groups).
• The prevalence of SEN support is lowest among pupils of Chinese ethnicity (5.5%) while pupils classified as Asian – Indian are least likely to have an EHCP (2.1%).
• The percentage of pupils classified as having SEND is higher among those whose first language is English (16.0%) compared to those who have a first language other than English (12.6%).

Deprivation

• Eligibility for free school meals is commonly used as an indirect measure of deprivation among pupils and provides useful insight into the needs of the SEND population.
• The percentage of pupils who are eligible for free school meals is 34.6% among those with EHCPs and 29.9% among those receiving SEN support. This compares to only 14.9% of pupils without SEND who are eligible for free school meals.
• The primary need with the highest percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is social, emotional, and mental health (39.1% of pupils eligible).

Impact of COVID-19

The heightened vulnerability and additional needs of children and young people with SEND mean that they have been disproportionately affected by the nationwide restrictions established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent study12 exploring the impact of the first national lockdown on pupils with EHCPs in England highlighted the multiple challenges faced by special education providers. These include high levels of staff absence, a lack of guidance tailored to special education settings, challenges with arranging transport, and the inability to adhere to social distancing. Nearly all (98%) of surveyed providers reported having pupils who would find it difficult to maintain social distancing, while 76% of special schools and colleges had pupils requiring some level of personal care.

On a national level, the challenges of maintaining educational support were compounded by strained health and social care services, resulting in many children not receiving the support in their EHCPs.

• Healthcare support set out in EHCPs was either not provided at all or only provided to a small or moderate extent for 65% of pupils attending school or college and 83% of pupils at home.
• Social care support set out in EHCPs was either not provided at all or only provided to a small or moderate extent for 57% of pupils attending school or college and 77% of pupils at home.
• Nearly three-quarters (74%) of special education providers said their provision during lockdown was focused more on childcare than on learning.

While some parents of children with SEND have pointed to the positive effects of lockdown, such as quality time with family and decreased social anxiety, others have found the experience to be disruptive to both their and their children’s mental health and wellbeing.12 13 In addition to causing a regression in skills and potentially long-term developmental consequences, the reduction in support for children with SEND during lockdown also poses unique challenges for recovery, with 72% of special school and college leaders believing that a significant proportion of their pupils would require a greater amount of support after lockdown than was previously outlined in their EHCPs.12

Children and young people with EHCPs

The Special Educational Needs Survey (SEN2) is an annual data collection exercise undertaken by local authorities in England which provides information on individuals ages 0 to 25 years with EHCPs. The SEN2 captures all individuals for whom each local authority is responsible (including children receiving support out of area) and is thus the most complete data source for this population.

South Tyneside maintained EHCPs for a total of 1,412 individuals in 2020.14 As shown in Figure 1, data from SEN2 indicate that the percentage of the population ages 0 to 25 years with an EHCP more than doubled in South Tyneside between 2015 (1.6%) and 2020 (3.3%), showing a steeper increase than that seen in the North East, England, and among statistical neighbours. South Tyneside also has the second highest percentage with an EHCP among the 12 local authorities in the region (Figure 2).

The age profile of this population has been shifting over time, with the number of individuals ages 16 to 25 years with a statement/EHCP increasing more than eightfold over the past five years (Figure 3). The 16- to 25-year-old age group now accounts for nearly a third of the local population with EHCPs whereas it comprised less than 10% of the total in 2015. The shift toward older age groups has been driven by the SEND reforms introduced in 2014 and highlights the increasing importance of services focused on transition planning and preparation for adulthood.

EHCP assessments

There were 222 new requests made to assess a child or young person for an EHCP in South Tyneside in 2019, of which 72 (32.4%) were refused. This was higher than the refusal rate for statistical neighbours, the North East, and England, although this rate has varied over time (Figure 4). Of the children for whom an assessment was completed in 2019, 97.0% were issued an EHCP in South Tyneside compared to 94.9% for statistical neighbours, 94.7% in the North East, and 94.1% in England.

Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to ensure that the EHCP assessment process, from the identification of need to the issuance of a new EHCP, takes no longer than 20 weeks. When excluding cases where legal exceptions apply, all new EHCPs in South Tyneside in 2019 were issued within the 20-week timeframe. This is an improvement over recent years and is higher than the percentage of new EHCPs in the North East (69.8%), England (60.4%), and among statistical neighbours (53.5%) which were issued within 20 weeks (Figure 5).

Mediation and appeals to Tribunal

Parents and young people may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal if the local authority decides not to issue an EHCP or if they disagree with the educational provision set out in the EHCP. Individuals who are considering appealing to the Tribunal have the option to first contact a mediation adviser.

There were 48 mediation cases in South Tyneside in 2019, of which 24 were followed by an appeal to the Tribunal during the same year. The percentage of mediation cases followed by an appeal to the Tribunal is higher in South Tyneside (50.0%) than in the North East (40.9%), England (25.1%), or statistical neighbours (33.6%). Some mediation cases in 2019 may have been followed by an appeal to the Tribunal in 2020 and thus would not have been captured here.

Personal budgets

A personal budget is an amount of money identified by the local authority to deliver provision set out in an EHCP where the parent or young person is involved in securing that provision. There were 107 personal budgets in place for EHCPs issued or reviewed in South Tyneside during 2019. The percentage of individuals with EHCPs who have a personal budget in place is slightly higher in South Tyneside (7.6%) than among statistical neighbours (5.8%), in the North East (7.5%), or in England (5.2%).

School-aged SEND population

Information about the school-aged SEND population comes primarily from annual school census data. Please note that the number of children with EHCPs will be smaller in school census data than in SEN2 as the census only captures school-aged children, who are reported based on where they attend school rather than by which local authority maintains their EHCP.

According to school census data, there were 4,671 pupils – equivalent to 20.7% of the local school population – with SEND attending school in South Tyneside during the 2019/20 academic year (Figure 6).7 Of these, 3,740 were receiving SEN support and 931 had an EHCP.

The percentage of pupils receiving SEN support is higher in South Tyneside (16.6%) when compared with statistical neighbours (14.2%), the North East (12.8%), and England (12.1%) and has been relatively stable since 2014/15 (Figure 7). South Tyneside also has a comparatively higher percentage of pupils with EHCPs (4.1%), which has been increasing in recent years (Figure 8).

During the 2019/20 academic year, the percentage of pupils with SEND was highest in South Tyneside when compared to other local authorities in the North East (Figure 9) and its top 10 statistical neighbours (Figure 10).

Age and sex

Figure 11 shows the age profile of the school-aged SEND population in South Tyneside. The median age was higher in pupils with an EHCP (11 years) compared to pupils receiving SEN support (9 years).

Among pupils receiving SEN support in South Tyneside, 62.5% are attending state-funded primary schools and 35.4% are attending state-funded secondary schools. This is generally consistent with the attendance patterns seen in the North East, England, and statistical neighbours (Table 1).

Among pupils with EHCPs in South Tyneside, 59.5% are attending a state-funded special school. As shown in Table 2, this is similar to the rate of special school attendance in the North East (56.1%) and statistical neighbours (56.1%) but higher than that seen for England (45.5%). The percentage of pupils with EHCPs attending special school has not changed substantially over the past five years (Figure 12).

The majority (64.9%) of all pupils with SEND in South Tyneside are male (Table 3). The percentage of pupils who are male is higher among those who have an EHCP (71.2%) compared to those who are receiving SEN support (63.3%).

Deprivation

South Tyneside has high levels of deprivation, with over a quarter of children living in income-deprived households.15 As shown in Figure 13, the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals in South Tyneside increases with the level of support required and is over twice as high in pupils with EHCPs (46.2%) compared to pupils without SEND (20.6%). This pattern is also evident in statistical neighbours, the North East, and England, although England has notably lower levels of free school meal eligibility across all categories.

Primary need

The most prevalent primary need among all local pupils with SEND is speech, language and communication needs, which accounts for 19.2% of the school-aged SEND population, followed by social, emotional and mental health and moderate learning difficulty (Figure 14). As shown in Table 4, the needs that have increased the most in absolute terms over the last five years are social, emotional and mental health (+262 pupils) and ASD (+215 pupils).

Some types of need require higher levels of support. Table 5 provides the number and percentage of pupils by primary need within each level of support. Among pupils with an EHCP, nearly half have ASD (28.7%) or moderate learning difficulty (20.2%).

The needs of the SEND population also vary by educational setting. Figures 15 through 19 show the distribution of primary needs among pupils with SEND broken down by level of support, school type, and location. Key findings from this analysis are highlighted below.

State-funded primary schools

• Among pupils on SEN support, the distribution of primary needs is similar in South Tyneside to that seen regionally, nationally, and among statistical neighbours, with nearly a third of students having speech, language, and communication needs.
• Among pupils with EHCPs, ASD is a much more prevalent primary need in South Tyneside (46.0%) than in the North East (26.1%), England (30.1%), or statistical neighbours (26.0%).

State-funded secondary schools

• Among pupils on SEN support, specific learning difficulty is the most prevalent primary need locally, accounting for 37.3% of pupils in this group in South Tyneside compared to approximately 20% for the North East, England, and statistical neighbours. This difference appears to be largely offset by a lower local prevalence of moderate learning difficulty.
• Among pupils with EHCPs, ASD is again a much more prevalent primary need in South Tyneside, accounting for nearly half (49.5%) of pupils in this group compared to less than 30% in the North East, England, and statistical neighbours.

State-funded special schools

• Moderate learning difficulty accounts for a higher proportion of pupils with EHCPs in special schools in South Tyneside than in the North East, England, or statistical neighbours. This is largely offset by pupils with ASD, where the proportion in the North East (31.7%), England (31.5%), and statistical neighbours (34.6%) is roughly double that in South Tyneside (15.9%).

Geographic variations in primary need by educational setting are driven by the fact that pupils with ASD in South Tyneside are much less likely to be educated in special schools. As shown in Figure 20, only a third of pupils (88/267) with EHCPs for ASD in South Tyneside attend a special school compared to over 60% in the North East and statistical neighbours and nearly 50% in England. Of the 179 pupils with EHCPs for ASD attending mainstream schools in South Tyneside, 115 (64.2%) were attending schools with specific provision for ASD, suggesting that the difference between South Tyneside and comparator areas is not whether these pupils are receiving specialist provision but in what setting.

In contrast, rates of special school attendance for other primary needs are much higher in South Tyneside than in comparator areas. For example, 85.1% of pupils with an EHCP and primary need of moderate learning difficulty in South Tyneside are attending a special school compared to just over 50% in statistical neighbours, the North East, and England (Figure 20). Among pupils with a physical disability, 78.6% in South Tyneside are attending a special school compared to just over 30% in comparator areas. Further investigation is needed to explore the reasons behind these differences and to determine whether any of these pupils could have their needs met in a mainstream setting.

In addition to the differences noted above, the percentage of pupils on SEN support who have not received a specialist assessment of their type of need has reduced locally in recent years but remains elevated when compared to the North East, England, and statistical neighbours (Figure 21). This should be investigated to better understand and address the causes of any delays in assessment.

Academic achievement

Monitoring academic achievement is critical to assessing whether pupils with SEND are receiving the educational support they need to live up to their full potential.

At Key Stage 1, the percentage of pupils with SEND reaching the expected standard in reading, writing, maths, and science was slightly higher in South Tyneside than in the North East, England, or statistical neighbours (Figures 22 and 23).16 The only exception was for pupils with an EHCP, where local performance in writing was slightly below the national average.

At Key Stage 2, the percentage of pupils in South Tyneside reaching the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths was higher than in the North East, England, and statistical neighbours among pupils with EHCPs and similar among pupils on SEN support (Figure 24).17

At Key Stage 4, the percentage of pupils receiving passing marks in the English and mathematics GCSEs was slightly lower among pupils with EHCPs in South Tyneside compared to regional and national averages.18 The percentage of pupils on SEN support receiving passing marks was higher in South Tyneside than in the North East and statistical neighbours and lower than in England (Figure 25).

When considering educational qualifications achieved by the age of 19, South Tyneside has a higher rate of Level 2 and 3 attainment among learners on SEN support compared to the North East, England, and statistical neighbours (Figure 26).19 This is in contrast to learners with EHCPs, where attainment in South Tyneside is similar to comparators for Level 2 qualifications and lower for Level 3 qualifications, which has decreased locally in recent years (Figure 27). Attainment of Level 2 and 3 qualifications among learners with no identified SEND is shown in Figure 28 for reference.

Absences and exclusions

Disproportionately high rates of absenteeism and exclusion among pupils with SEND can act as a barrier to receiving a high-quality education. In South Tyneside, pupils with SEND have lower rates of overall absence and persistent absenteeism (defined as pupils missing at least 10% of their sessions) compared to the North East, England, and statistical neighbours (Figures 29 and 30).20 However, pupils with an EHCP were still more than twice as likely as those without SEND to be classed as a persistent absentee in 2018/19.

Absenteeism varies by primary need among pupils with SEND. As shown in Figure 31, the highest overall absence rates occurred in pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulty (10.5% of sessions missed) and social, emotional, and mental health needs (8.0%).

The fixed period exclusion rate refers to the total number of temporary exclusions issued to pupils in a certain group per 100 pupils in that group. As shown in Figures 32 and 33, the fixed period exclusion rate among pupils with SEND appears to be notably lower in South Tyneside than in the North East, England, or statistical neighbours.21 However, a recent SEND inspection and data from SENDIASS indicate that informal exclusions are still a concern and thus this should be interpreted with caution as the extent of under-reporting is unclear.

Permanent exclusions were issued to 15 pupils on SEN support and 1 pupil with an EHCP in South Tyneside in 2018/19 and these figures have remained largely stable in recent years. The permanent exclusion rates in South Tyneside are similar to those in the North East and statistical neighbours, which are slightly lower than the national average for pupils with EHCPs and higher than the national average for pupils on SEN support (Figure 34).

Vulnerable children

A child in need is defined as a child who is unlikely to reach or maintain a satisfactory level of health or development, or their health or development will be significantly impaired without the provision of children's social care services, or the child is disabled.22 In South Tyneside, 56.0% of children in need have SEND compared to 44.6% in the North East, 46.0% in England, and 43.8% in statistical neighbours (Figure 35). South Tyneside also has a higher percentage of children in need who are disabled (14.8%) compared to the North East (13.1%), England (12.6%), and statistical neighbours (10.2%).23

A child is defined as “looked after” by a local authority if he or she is provided with accommodation for a continuous period of more than 24 hours or is subject to a care order or placement order.22 As shown in Figure 36, the percentage of children looked after who have SEND is higher in South Tyneside (64.0%) than in the North East (53.4%), England (55.9%), or statistical neighbours (51.7%).24

National data indicate that social, emotional and mental health is the most common primary need among children looked after with SEND, accounting for 40.4% of those with EHCPs and 47.5% of those receiving SEN support.

Mental health

The Healthy Minds Team offers low-level support to South Tyneside pupils who are experiencing or are at risk of developing emotional, behavioural, and psychological difficulties or who require support in relation to resilience building. The service supported 359 students from April 2020 to January 2021, with data collected since the reopening of schools in September 2020 indicating that anxiety is the most common reason for support (Table 6). Of the total number of children and young people supported by the Healthy Minds Team to date, 71% achieved at least 50% of their goal-based outcomes between initial assessment and discharge.

Anxiety/stress was also the most common identified need among users of Kooth, an online service offering webchat-based counselling for young people ages 11 to 25 years in South Tyneside.

Joint local area SEND inspection

Following passage of the SEND reforms in 2014, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) began conducting joint inspections in 2016 to evaluate how well local areas were carrying out their statutory duties in relation to children and young people with SEND. As of December 2020, Ofsted and CQC had conducted 116 inspections, of which 59 (50.9%) were found to have significant weaknesses and were required to submit written statements of action outlining their plans for improvement.25

A joint local area inspection was conducted in South Tyneside in June 2019 and identified several strengths and areas for improvement. A copy of the inspection letter is available online and outlines five key areas of weakness:

• the quality of EHCPs, the regularity with which they are reviewed and the involvement of education, health and social care professionals in their development and review are too variable;
• strategic, needs-led joint commissioning is not fully developed or embedded and there are unacceptably long waiting lists for some services;
• leaders do not understand fully the impact of the local area’s provision on the experience and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, and their families;
• coproduction, engagement and communication with parents require development; and
• arrangements for meeting the needs of 16- to 25-year-olds with SEND and improving their outcomes, especially in preparing successfully for adulthood, are not fully effective.

In response to the inspection, South Tyneside Council and Clinical Commissioning Group developed a comprehensive plan detailing specific actions to strengthen SEND provision in the borough. While the COVID-19 response has delayed some aspects of the plan, other areas – such as efforts to improve EHCP quality and strengthen coproduction – are well underway and have made significant progress. A full version of the plan is available in South Tyneside’s written statement of action.

Preparation for adulthood

Preparation for adulthood was a major component of the 2014 SEND reforms and a key area for improvement in the recent SEND inspection. Whereas information on the SEND population is often tied to education and is thus limited for older age groups, the outcomes data that is available indicates that performance in South Tyneside is generally lower than in comparator areas.

As shown in Figure 37, the percentage of 16- and 17-year-olds with EHCPs who are NEET or whose status is unknown was higher in South Tyneside (18.7%) than in the North East (11.8%), England (9.4%), or statistical neighbours (12.0%) in 2020.26 Further analysis indicates that the local increase in this indicator between 2019 and 2020 was driven by a larger proportion of individuals who were NEET (as opposed to unknown). South Tyneside also had the highest percentage of 16- and 17-year-olds who are NEET or unknown of any local authority in the region in 2020 (Figure 38).

The Department for Education tracks the percentage of pupils who remain in education or secure training or employment posts in the year after Key Stage 4 (Year 11).27 As shown in Figure 39, the percentage of pupils with an EHCP who achieve one of these ‘sustained destinations’ is lower in South Tyneside (82.4%) than in the North East (85.5%), England (90.2%), or statistical neighbours (87.3%). In contrast, South Tyneside has a slightly higher rate of achievement among pupils receiving SEN support.

The distribution of sustained destinations over time among pupils with EHCPs is shown in Figure 40. While most pupils with an EHCP continue to pursue further education following Key Stage 4, the percentage who secure apprenticeships or employment has decreased in recent years.

Data on employment and housing among individuals with learning disabilities is published annually in the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework,28 although it should be interpreted with caution as it is restricted to adults ages 18 to 64 and thus may not be representative of young adults with SEND. As shown in Figure 41, 4.3% of adults receiving long-term support for learning disability in South Tyneside were in paid employment in 2019/20, which has been rising over recent years but is still lower than the North East (5.1%), England (5.6%), and statistical neighbours (5.3%). When South Tyneside’s data is subset to individuals ages 18 to 25 years only, the percentage in paid employment is 5.1%.

The percentage of adults receiving support for learning disability who are living on their own or with family has also been increasing locally in recent years and was 83.3% in South Tyneside compared to 86.0% in the North East, 77.3% in England, and 80.1% in statistical neighbours in 2019/20 (Figure 42). When subset to individuals ages 18 to 25 years, the percentage living on their own or with family in South Tyneside is slightly higher at 93.3%.

Wait times for mental health services

The South Tyneside Joint Commissioning Team have begun work to support the ambitions set out by the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health29 and subsequent NHS Long Term Plan,30 particularly in relation to ensuring that more children and young people are able to access mental health services without unnecessary delays and within a four-week wait time.

While South Tyneside is not part of the government’s four-week wait initiative pilot, it has supported this approach by commissioning services to promote early intervention and help reduce wait times. These include the Healthy Minds Team, Kooth online counselling service, LGBTQ service, and Autism Hub, among others.

As shown in Figure 43, the number of individuals awaiting assessment from the Lifecycle Mental Health Service nearly trebled between April 2019 and March 2020 before falling during the first national lockdown and rebounding slightly since August 2020. As of February 2021, there were 199 individuals waiting for assessment, of which 118 (59.3%) had been waiting less than four weeks.

Figure 44 shows that the number of individuals awaiting treatment from the Lifecycle Service has fallen from a high of 593 in April 2019 to 79 in February 2021. The largest reductions occurred prior to the pandemic, indicating that improvements in reducing the local wait list were not simply due to decreased demand during lockdown. Of the individuals awaiting treatment in February 2021, 70.9% had been waiting less than four weeks. It should be noted that wait time data includes some individuals who may wish to postpone due to personal choice or lack of accessibility during lockdown.

Significant progress has been made in reducing the wait list for the Lifecycle Service and it is important that these efforts continue, particularly as the relaxation of restrictions and return to the social stressors of school and work have the potential to increase demand for mental health support. A high rate of missed (did not attend) appointments in South Tyneside and difficulty with staff recruitment, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, have impeded efforts to further reduce wait times and work is underway locally to address these.

Out of borough placements

A priority of the Stronger Together Strategy was to improve the capacity for local provision so that children could be educated in their communities with a reduced need for out of borough placements.

An extract of South Tyneside’s EHCP database was matched with data on social care and used to compare individuals with EHCPs receiving provision in and out of borough. As of February 2021, there were 1,028 individuals in reception through Year 11 with EHCPs held by South Tyneside, of whom 92 (8.9%) were currently receiving provision out of borough.

As shown in Figure 45, individuals receiving provision out of borough were more likely to be classified as children looked after (19.6%) than were those receiving local provision (4.1%). Out of borough placements were also slightly more likely to be classified as children in need (19.6% vs. 16.2%).

Figure 46 shows that social, emotional, and mental health is more likely to be classified as the primary need for those placed out of borough (30.4%) compared to those receiving provision in South Tyneside (18.8%). This is largely due to the higher proportion of children looked after in out of borough placements, 61% of whom have a primary need of social, emotional, and mental health.

While these data do not provide the reason for out of borough placements, discussion with SEND leadership indicates that insufficient capacity in local special schools continues to be a challenge. Work is underway to better track out of borough placements over time and it is important that this work continue so that any gaps in local provision can be identified and addressed.

SEND population projections

The ability to forecast the future size and service needs of the local SEND population is key to effective commissioning. While forecasting approaches differ, in general they must incorporate both population projections and trends in SEND prevalence.

Projections from the Office for National Statistics31 estimate that the number of individuals ages 0 to 25 years in South Tyneside will increase by 0.7% between 2018 and 2030. While some age groups are expected to contract, the number of 15- to 19-year-olds is forecasted to grow by 18.2% (Table 7).

Figure 47 provides two projections for the number of individuals ages 0 to 15 years who will have an EHCP maintained by South Tyneside between 2021 and 2030. The low projection accounts for age-adjusted population changes only while the high projection simulates what would happen if the average annual change in the proportion of the population with an EHCP over the previous 10 years were to continue. The enactment of the 2014 SEND reforms has meant that the number of individuals ages 16 to 25 years with an EHCP has also been increasing rapidly (Figure 3), although trend data among this group are not yet robust enough to enable projection.

Similar projection approaches can also be used for school census data. As shown in Figures 48 and 49, the number of South Tyneside pupils ages 4 to 15 years with EHCPs is expected to increase substantially while only modest changes are forecasted in the demand for SEN support.

As with any projection, these data involve an element of uncertainty and should be interpreted with caution as they do not account for factors, such as future policy changes or the impact of COVID-19, which may affect the size and needs of the SEND population. These projections are thus intended to highlight general trends rather than provide definitive predictions.

Trends in service utilisation

Examining past utilisation of services can be useful in forecasting future demand. Table 8 shows trends in the uptake of key SEND-related services in South Tyneside over the last five years. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant closure of schools in March 2020, most SEND-related services had shown consistent increases in demand over recent years. This is particularly true for the Lifecyle Service, utilisation of which increased more than six-fold between 2015/16 and 2018/19, as well as SENDIASS, where the number of annual users has nearly quadrupled over the last five years. Steady year-on-year increases have also been seen in the Portage and Preschool Service and Emotional Resilience Team while more modest changes are evident in the sensory services.

Other services have shown more mixed trends in utilisation which have been driven by other factors. For example, the declining utilisation of the Children and Young People’s Service from 2015/16 to 2018/19 corresponded with the rollout of the Lifecycle Mental Health Service and introduction of the single point of access for local mental health services, suggesting that this reduction was at least partially attributable to the diversion of cases into other services. Utilisation of the Educational Psychology Service also fell between 2015/16 and 2017/18, largely due to staff turnover and structural changes, but increased again in 2018/19 as new staff were hired and the service was rebuilt.

While Table 8 should be interpreted carefully as most services are not limited to individuals with SEND, these data are nonetheless helpful in highlighting that demand for services (and particularly in the area of mental health) will likely continue to increase in the coming years.

The South Tyneside Local Offer provides a single source of information on the services available to children and young people with SEND and their families. Through maintaining a directory of public, private, and third sector organisations providing SEND-related services, the Local Offer is designed to help signpost individuals to the support most relevant for their unique needs.

A selection of local services and community support groups available to SEND children and families have been highlighted below and further information is available on the Local Offer website.

Education and employment

• The Portage and Pre-School Service supports young children with SEND and their families through home visits and the provision of specialist advice to a range of early years settings.
• Local sensory services support the vision and hearing impaired by coordinating the provision of modified learning materials, specialist equipment, and small group or one-on-one teaching.
• An overview of specialist educational provision is provided in the Local Offer, including a description of the EHCP assessment process. Individuals with EHCPs or their families may also request a personal budget to provide greater choice and control over the services they receive.
• A variety of post-16 options are available for young people with SEND, including a specialist sixth form, local colleges, and opportunities for further training and employment.
• Personalised career advice and guidance is provided by qualified advisors from Connexions South Tyneside, who are also involved in transition planning for pupils with EHCPs.
• Skills South Tyneside offers a diverse selection of training courses across several job sectors, including courses focused specifically on digital and job search skills.
• SENDIASS provides impartial assistance to young people with SEND and their families, helping them understand their legal rights and raise any concerns regarding the quality or accessibility of local service provision.

Mental and physical health

• The South Tyneside Lifecycle Service provides support to individuals of all ages experiencing mild to moderate mental health problems, offering a range of individual- and group-based interventions. Individuals with more complex needs, including those with neurodevelopmental disorders, are referred to the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service.
• The Healthy Minds Team offers advice and support to students across South Tyneside, organising information sessions to help students develop positive strategies around mental health and emotional wellbeing. All schools in South Tyneside also have an onsite Mental Health Champion who pupils can go to for further support.
• The Kooth online service provides articles related to emotional wellbeing and access to qualified counsellors via webchat for all South Tyneside residents ages 11 to 25.
• The Speech and Language Therapy Service supports children presenting with a range of speech, language, and communication needs and/or feeding/swallowing difficulties.
• The Children’s Occupational Therapy Service and Special Needs Physiotherapy Service are provided out of Palmer Community Hospital. A specialist health visitor service is also available for children with additional support needs.
• Free annual health checks are available for anyone aged 14 or over who is on their GP’s learning disability register.
• A Designated Clinical Officer is in post to provide expert advice and support joined up working between South Tyneside Council and local health services.
• A range of other acute and community services (e.g., Community Children’s Nursing Team, school nursing, wheelchair services, orthotics, specialist dentistry, dietetics) are available to individuals both with and without SEND.

Social care

• The Children and Adults Disability Service works with those who have permanent and substantial impairments, developing care plans and matching them with services that best meet their needs.
• The Community Learning Disabilities Team works with adults who have a learning disability to offer specialist health care intervention, advice, and support which cannot be met within mainstream health services.
• The Short Breaks Service provides disabled children and young people enjoyable experiences away from their primary carers, contributing to their personal development and providing families a necessary break from caring responsibilities.
• Several forms of housing and transport support are available to eligible families, including personal travel budgets to help cover the cost of getting children with SEND to school and back.

Community Support Groups and Organisations

• HealthWatch South Tyneside is an independent group established to champion the views of patients and care users in South Tyneside. The organisation’s recent projects have included working with the Council to streamline the SEND transport application process and facilitating workshops to help capture the aspirations of SEND students after they leave school.
• The Toby Henderson Trust operates out of the recently established Autism Hub in South Shields and offers training, talking therapy, social groups, and signposting for children with ASD and their parents and carers.
• Holder House offers a wide range of fun and educational learning activities to promote the development of independent living skills in children and adults with learning disabilities.
• Useful Vision is a registered charity that organises activities, family events, and skills workshops to support blind and partially sighted children of all ages and abilities across the North East.
• WAVES is a local support group offering activities to build and promote social skills among children and young adults as well as friendship, advice, and support to parents and carers.
• Your Voice Counts runs advocacy services and local drop-in sessions where people can get personalised help with a range of issues, from job coaching to assistance with telephone calls, letters, and forms.
• New Hope North East supports children with ASD and their families through organising a weekly parent/carer forum as well as activities such as cooking clubs, arts and crafts, and storytelling.
• The South Tyneside ADHD Support Group meets fortnightly and organises monthly activities and day trips for children with ADHD and their families.

The SEND Code of Practice4 places a responsibility on local commissioners to ensure that the services provided for each child and young person with SEND are informed by reliable evidence.

Research commissioned by the Department for Education (including a literature review,32 survey,33 and series of case studies34 ) identified seven “key ingredients” underpinning effective delivery of SEN support in mainstream schools and colleges. These include:

• Culture, leadership, and management: School leaders view SEND as a priority and allocate sufficient resources for teaching and service delivery.
• High quality teaching: Teachers are knowledgeable and able to apply the graduated approach across the entire SEND cohort, taking responsibility for pupils’ progress.
• Use of expertise: SEND expertise is spread across a range of staff with ongoing professional development and clear processes in place for working with specialists.
• Personalisation: Support is tailored to the individual needs of each student and staff have high expectations for their outcomes.
• Flexible use of evidence-based strategies: Appropriate strategies are used to target specific barriers with minimal disruption of mainstream learning.
• Progress tracking: Robust monitoring systems are in place to identify, assess, and regularly review the progress of children with SEND.
• Communication and collaboration: School staff, external agencies, children, young people, and families have common goals and share information in a trusting and supportive way.

Other studies funded by the Department for Education have helped better understand the experiences of young people and parents with EHCPs35 as well as of parents of children with SEND attending early years settings.36

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has also developed several evidence-based guidelines to help improve services for children and young people with SEND. These include:

• Antisocial behaviour and conduct disorders in children and young people: recognition and management
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management
• Autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management
• Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: recognition, referral and diagnosis
• Autism spectrum disorder in under 19s: support and management
• Challenging behaviour and learning disabilities: prevention and interventions for people with learning disabilities whose behaviour challenges
• Learning disabilities and behaviour that challenges: service design and delivery
• Looked-after children and young people
• Mental health problems in people with learning disabilities: prevention, assessment and management
• Transition from children’s to adults’ services for young people using health or social care services

Other sources of evidence include the SEND Evidence Review37 published by the Education Endowment Foundation and the SEND Gateway38 online portal maintained by the National Association for Special Educational Needs.

In response to a joint local area SEND inspection conducted in 2019, South Tyneside Council recruited a Participation and Engagement Officer to work with parents and carers. Their role is to provide opportunities for parents and carers to engage with practitioners across education, health, and care services, and influence the Local Offer and services for SEND children and families.

Views of parents and carers are regularly collected using surveys, Q&A sessions, targeted feedback sessions, and consultations. The Participation and Engagement Officer also regularly attends a range of parent groups and forums to collect views and opinions of SEND services in the borough.

Feedback regarding the engagement events has been positive. Evaluation has shown the sessions are well received and meet parents’ needs and expectations. Parent and carer views are valued and acted upon and their feedback is used to inform the topics for subsequent events.

An online survey conducted in December 2020 with 215 parents/carers of children with SEND found that ease of accessing information on SEND services was variable. Key findings include the following:

• 77% of parents/carers said they were able to get the necessary information and advice on SEND.
• 45% of parents/carers said accessing information on SEND was easy or very easy.
• Only 38% of parents/carers have heard of the Local Offer.
• When asked what they would like to see in the Local Offer, the most requested information was on support groups for parents/carers and leisure/club activities for children and young people.

The SEND Local Offer is currently being refreshed to update and increase information and support on SEND services within the borough. This is being co-produced by a multi-agency working group including parents and carers from the South Tyneside Parent Carer Forum. The launch of SEND social media has allowed us to share information and resources quickly, however the survey findings indicate that more needs to be done to advertise and promote the Local Offer.

In addition to the survey, feedback collected from parents and carers through other local engagement events and through the SENDIASS service has identified the following common themes:

• Parents/carers would like training on specific SEND topics, easier access to information and support, and more inclusive practice in schools.
• Families report that there is not enough preparation time when moving between education settings, specifically from primary to secondary schools.
• Preparing for adulthood is a priority for families, particularly with regards to post-18 educational provision and employment opportunities.
• Inclusion at the SEN support level is not consistent across the local area and parents and carers find it difficult to challenge schools when they feel that their child or young person needs support.
• Some schools are still using informal exclusions by sending children home but keeping the exclusion off the record.
• Some parents and carers report having long wait times to access the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Service.

None identified.