Purpose

To seek Cabinet approval of the draft Gloucestershire Local Area SEND Reform Implementation Plan; delegate authority to make any amendments necessary to secure Department for Education endorsement; accept the Department for Education’s (DfE) Experts at Hand and Local Authority SEND Transformation Grant; and, subject to receipt of the grant, approve the associated transfer of funding to the Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board (GICB) and delegate authority to implement the plan and associated grant arrangements.

Decision

Cllr Linda Cohen sought Cabinet approval of the draft Gloucestershire Local Area SEND Reform Implementation Plan; delegated authority to make any amendments necessary to secure Department for Education endorsement; acceptance of the Department for Education’s Experts at Hand and Local Authority SEND Transformation Grant; and, subject to receipt of the grant, the associated transfer of funding to the Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board and delegated authority to implement the plan and associated grant arrangements.

Having considered all of the information, Cabinet noted the report and

RESOLVED to:

1. Approve the draft Gloucestershire Local Area SEND Reform Implementation Plan 2026-2029, appended to the report at Appendix A.
2. Delegate authority to the Director of Education, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, to:

a. Make such amendments as are necessary to secure the Department for Education’s endorsement of the plan.

b. Accept the DfE’s Experts at Hand and Local Authority SEND Transformation Grant of £21.781m.

1. Subject to receipt of the SEND Transformation Grant:

a. Approve the transfer by the Council of up to £6.36 million of grant funding (in addition to the £1.45 million previously approved by the ICM decision and already transferred) to the Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board under the terms of a Section 75 agreement to support delivery of the Gloucestershire Local Area SEND Reform Implementation Plan 2026-2029 by funding specialist health practitioners.

b. Delegate authority to the Executive Director of Children’s Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, to:

i. Deliver the Gloucestershire Local Area SEND Reform Implementation Plan 2026-2029, including adapting local SEND delivery arrangements in response to evolving national policy and local co-production and feedback activity;

ii. Utilise the above Experts at Hand and Local Authority SEND Transformation Grant funding in accordance with the Gloucestershire Local Area SEND Reform Implementation Plan 2026-2029, including to employ fixed-term Gloucestershire County Council staff for the purpose of supporting children in mainstream education settings at the earliest opportunity;

iii. Utilise up to 20% of the Experts at Hand and Local Authority SEND Transformation Grant for the purpose of funding the ICB’s (included in total value to be transferred) and Council’s Local Authority transformation and administrative activity in accordance with the grant conditions;

iv. Enter into, implement and monitor the necessary Section 75 arrangements required under the Council’s Section 75 agreement with the GICB to facilitate delivery of the programme by Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists that will be recruited and employed by the GICB.