The latest monitoring discussion with the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England confirmed that all areas identified for improvement following the most recent Local Area SEND inspection have now been fully addressed.
The inspection looked at how well partners – including the City of Wolverhampton Council, the Black Country Integrated Care Board, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, the Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Early Years’ settings, schools and further education providers – identify, assess and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND.
A Written Statement of Action was developed to respond to 6 areas for improvement, which has now been successfully completed.
The Department for Education, SEND and NHS England officials met with Wolverhampton SEND and Inclusion Partnership Board leads to review progress against the final area of action recently and found ‘significant work and evidence of positive impact’ in relation to Education, Health and Care planning and assessment.
Naomi Sharp, of the Department of Education, said: “This positive outcome is as a result of a great deal of commitment and hard work on the part of the local authority, the Integrated Care Board, families and frontline staff across education, health and social care.
“I would like to thank you for all that you are doing to support some of the most vulnerable children and young people in society, and to congratulate you on the progress you have made.”
Councillor Jacqui Coogan, the council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “It is fantastic to see recognition that the partnership has successfully completed all of the improvements set out in our Written Statement of Action.
“This is the result of a huge collective effort across the council, health partners, schools, and families. Most importantly, it means better support and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
“While we welcome this milestone and the end of formal monitoring, we are committed to building on this progress and continuing to improve services for our families.”
