On the 10th and 11th May 2017 Gloucester county council and Gloucester Clinical commissioning group conducted a peer review of the local area provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities.

In line with the Ofsted/CQC framework, three primary questions were identified for review:

  1. How effectively does the Local Area identify children and young people (CYP) who have special educational needs and/or disability (SEND)?
  2. How effectively does the Local Area assess and meet the needs of children and young people (CYP) who have SEND?
  3. How effectively does the Local Area improve outcomes for children and young people (CYP) who have SEND?

The findings of the review were “It is likely that a local area inspection would find significant weaknesses in the local area’s practice based upon progress to date and the lack of evidence forthcoming to display the impact made on children across Somerset to date”. You can read the full report  by clicking here.

To help improve outcomes 9 Priority areas and strategic leads have been identified:

  1. Joint Commissioning– Philippa Granthier, Assistant Director– Commissioning and Performance
  2. Health Engagement– Lydia Woodward, Service development and Clinical Engagement Manager (Clinical Commissioning Group)
  3. Transitions– Mel Lock, Operations Director Adults and Health
  4. Participation– Ruth Hobbs, Chair Somerset Parent Carer Forum
  5. Early Help for SEND 0-25– Philippa Granthier, Assistant Director– Commissioning and Performance
  6. Statutory Assessment– Sharon Longden, SEND casework manager
  7. Complex cases– Julian Wooster, Director of Children’s Services and Sandra Corry, Director of Quality and Patient Safety (Clinical Commissioning Group)
  8. School Improvement– Neal Chislett, Strategic Manager Educational Effectiveness
  9. Intervention arrangements and Inspection readiness–Rowina Clift- Shanley, Senior Programme Manager