The Impact of Scrutiny Advisory Committee met to review the progress of the council's SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) provision. Councillors agreed that sufficient progress had been made and signed off recommendations relating to the quality of communication with parents, and the application of education legislation.

SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)

The committee reviewed the progress of recommendations from the SEND scrutiny review of 22 June 2022. The report before the committee concerned recommendations 3 and 4 from that review, and councillors were asked to decide whether these recommendations should be signed off as complete.

Councillor Mark Watkin, Executive Member for Education, SEND and Inclusion, and chairman of the scrutiny review of 22 June 2022, noted the improvements in communication and the initiatives underway. He also noted that there was still work to be done to ensure parents felt consistently well-informed and engaged.

David Butcher, an officer of the council, provided an overview of the key points within the report, noting the independent review that had been carried out, and the work undertaken by officers to respond effectively to rising demand for assessments and the corresponding increases in workload.

Quality of communication

Recommendation 3 stated that:

The quality of communication was raised repeatedly by parents. Action on recommendations 1 and 2 will go some way to addressing this; but a culture shift in the manner of communication, the channels used, its timeliness and accuracy is also necessary to assure parents that fundamental change is taking place.

The report noted that improvements to communication with families and schools had been a priority for the council. Progress had been made in the following ways:

• The Accurate, Compassionate and Timely Communications (ACT) Framework was co-produced with families in 2024.
• Staff training through the SEND Academy[^1] is helping embed these principles in daily practice. [^1]: The SEND Academy is Hertfordshire's induction programme for statutory SEND officers.
• Practice Guidance Notes have been issued to staff and managers across EHCP[^2] related services on good practice for written and telephone communications with parent carers, young people and professionals. [^2]: Education, Health and Care Plan
• Herts Parent Carer Involvement (HPCI) have written a checklist for all staff working with SEND families.
• New communication channels have been introduced since September 2024, including the EHCP Portal, the Assessment Information Line, and a text messaging service.
• Education, Health and Care Co-ordinators (EHCCos) are now following up phone calls with short emails to ensure clarity and enable better case note record-keeping, as well as diarising key deadlines and proactively informing parents if there are any delays.
• The workforce transformation of statutory SEND work into six specialist service areas has taken place to provide more focused and joined-up support.
• Each school in Hertfordshire now has a link EHCCo to provide a consistent link for advice and support to improve communications.
• The investment has also significantly enhanced quality assurance capacity for SEND, including the introduction of Practice Development and Participation Leads.
• A dedicated SEND Engagement & Partnership Manager has provided strategic capacity to increase engagement and communications with families and schools.
• Community Listening Events took place across Hertfordshire in July 2025.

The report also noted that the cumulative impact of these improvements could be evidenced through the levels of satisfaction feedback, compliments and complaints being received. For each of the last four quarters (since July 2024), the number of compliments relating to SEND that have been received have been higher than complaints. The rolling year rate of complaints has fallen from 5.1% at the end of June 2023 and 4.8% at the end of June 2024 to 3.7% as at end June 2025. The rolling year compliment rate has increased from 1.6% at the end of June 2023 and 3.1% at the end of June 2024 to 4.8% as at end June 2025. Surveying of parent/carers of children who have recently completed an EHC Needs assessment show continued improvements in the overall experience of getting an EHC Plan: 68% reported they were very satisfied or satisfied in the last quarter, up from 60% in 2024/25 and 51% in 2023/4.

Councillor Paula Hiscocks asked how consistently responses were monitored, and whether guidance notes were followed. She noted that when things are not answered or are not answered with respect and empathy, anger builds up. She also asked what the percentages represented in actual numbers, and what the target should be by the end of this academic year.

An officer responded that the ability of officers to act in this way was linked to the level of caseload that each officer had. The officer also noted that the council had invested in the infrastructure around them, such as support networks and team managers. The council is planning to implement a more consistent approach to monitoring the implementation of the guidance.

The officer explained that percentages were used because they demonstrate the shift more acutely, and that there has been a 27% rise in EHC needs assessments in the last year. The assessment team and educational psychologists issued 1500 EHC plans between January and June of this year, bringing the total number of children and young people in Hertfordshire with education, health and care plans to over 15,000.

The officer deferred to David Butcher for the actual numbers, but explained that the reason they were not included in the report was because it could look like there was not as much improvement, when in fact the council is working with a far larger cohort of families. The target for satisfaction is always going to be 100%, and the council is using the information that they get back from families to think about how they can shift things each time to improve that.

David Butcher stated that, over the last year, there had been 43 stage one complaints on average per month relating to statutory SEND, compared to 50 a month the previous year.

Councillor Hiscocks suggested that it might be useful to have a target for this academic year, even if it is 72%, so that there is some measure and a realistic target.

Councillor John Hale asked how the school link person scheme was working, and how it was being monitored. He noted that parents sometimes feel the issue is with how the school is responding as well as how the council is responding.

An officer responded that the majority of arrangements were functioning well, but that issues had been reported from schools when there had been staff turnover. The officer also noted that the information regarding the allocated EHCCo is on the Hertfordshire website, and that it clearly states that the first protocol is the SENCO¹ through the school. The officer recommended that families use organisations such as SENDIAS in terms of getting some of that support initially, because it is always best to have that relationship with the school wherever possible.

Councillor Mark Pope asked whether where the council is now is where it expected to be in terms of the improvements that have been made.

An officer responded that the council has a SEND Improvement Plan in place and has exceeded the milestones in that plan for levels of complements, quality of education and health care plans, and annual review timescales. The council is more in line with where it said it would be for levels of complaints, and achieved just below the milestone for the 20 weeks timescale.

Councillor Michael Blissett asked whether there were any common themes, locations, individuals or any key areas where complaints are made that could be tackled.

An officer responded that the council is looking at the themes that are coming out from complaints as part of the learning framework, and that they are now seeing more increased themes in relation to provision. The officer also noted that they can see particular geographical areas that quite often linked to where there has been turnover of staff, and that they are planning to put in extra support where they think there may be risk areas geographically or where there has historically been risk areas geographically.

Councillor Pope asked how performance is monitored, who does the monitoring, and where councillors are involved in that.

An officer responded that there is a wide range of performance reporting, from quarterly performance reporting that comes through to members through the education, independent inclusion cabinet and inclusion cabinet panel, to wider children's services performance reporting and corporate performance monitoring. The officer also noted that there is a monthly partnership dashboard that has around 350 different indicators across the whole SEND system, and internal monthly digests that form the basis for reporting to directors to core board, and indeed to corporate colleagues as well.

Councillor Stuart Roberts noted that people are always more willing to make a complaint than they are to make a compliment, and asked whether the council was putting in place mechanisms that almost give people a permission to make a complaint, where normally people don't make the compliment.

An officer responded that the mechanism that they are recording this by is very much the passive one, and that when somebody listens, when somebody takes the time, when somebody makes a difference, it does lead to people saying thank you. The officer also noted that they have tried to put mechanisms in in terms of feedback questionnaires and things at the bottom of emails, but that they don't get that much take up on that. The officer explained that the survey where they contact families who have been through the EHC needs assessment process straight up, and ask them how the experience has been, is how they collect the 68% metric.

Councillor Hill asked what the compliance framework is within the department at different levels to make sure that other forms of communication are checked, and what the training is for staff in terms in regard to making sure they can be compliant with legislation.

An officer responded that this is a big issue nationally, and that the council makes sure that they are compliant through the development of the SEND Academy. The officer also noted that there are times where the council cannot always deliver straight away, and that this is where they have things like mediation routes.

The committee agreed that recommendation 3 be signed off as complete.

Application of legislation

Recommendation 4 stated that:

Issues of the accurate application of the relevant education legislation and regulations were raised at the SEND scrutiny. The Service must review the comments and themes with the support of the authority's Legal Team to ensure that appropriate and consistent advice is given to parents and professionals working with families in line with statute and the SEN code of practice.

The report noted that training, including training with a specific focus on legal tests, is a key element of continuing professional development for all staff involved in statutory SEND service delivery. The SEND Academy continues to embed all induction training with a focus on the legislation that underpins the work of the council's services, and the new Practice Development Leads have also delivered training over the last year to education settings on the key elements of SEND. Legislation and regulation continue to underpin all case discussions and panel meetings, and all letters have been reviewed to ensure legal compliance and to signpost families to impartial SEND Information & Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS). Statutory SEND Policies, Procedures and Practice Guidance have also been reviewed and refreshed and made available to all staff internally in a single place, and any proposed adjustments to internal processes or practice is discussed and reviewed by legal services colleagues to ensure legal and regulatory compliance.

A new role of SEND Provision Manager has been created, and they have acted as independent chairs of refreshed Local Multi Agency Group Panels (LMAG) to oversee multi-agency discussion to reach decision on whether to assess EHC Needs Assessment or to issue new Education, Health and Care Plans where there is contention. Their role is to ensure that decisions are made consistently and in line with statutory guidance, and monthly moderation meetings are facilitated helping to align practice across different areas and reduce the sense of unpredictability that some families have experienced.

The council commissioned an Independent Review of its Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment process, led by Leon Glenister, a nationally recognised barrister in education law. The findings were broadly positive, noting that the council had made significant progress in a short time, particularly as a result of the Making SEND Everyone's Business (MSEB) programme. However, the review also acknowledged areas where further improvement work was needed and made 17 recommendations, including induction and training for panel chairs and attendees, developments to the LMAG Panel documentation and compliance monitoring, and the attendance of SEND Implementation Support Officers (SISOs) at the panel to aid communication. These recommendations have all been implemented with the governance of these changes overseen by the SEND Priority Executive, chaired by Dame Christine Lenehan, and integrated into the council's existing improvement programme. Related metrics have been embedded into routine performance reporting to support ongoing monitoring.

A partnership Learning Framework was developed in February 2025, and this, alongside a 'learning from experiences subgroup' is gathering learning themes from complaints, compliments, appeals to the SEND Tribunal, MP and Local Councillor enquiries, pre-judicial reviews, judicial reviews, SEND mediations, and other general feedback relating to SEND services, across the partnership. Key learning is provided via a regular report to the SEND Partnership Quality Assurance Board.

In addition, quarterly reports of auditing findings are shared at Senior Management Boards and with Service Leads, and quarterly audit briefings and good practice bulletins are produced for the wider workforce, and task and finish groups are held following each thematic audit to ensure bespoke action planning. Learning from audits is taken forward and incorporated into training for the service and in the SEND Academy.

The report noted that, whilst there is ongoing improvement in this area, parents have a right to disagree with the council's decisions and follow legal routes when disputing decisions, and that learning from these processes is an essential part of the council's approach to quality assurance and continuous improvement.

The committee agreed that recommendation 4 be signed off as complete.

Councillor Hill stated that she would request that Councillor Watkin write to the Secretary of State to enquire whether there would be a national provision for SEND training going forwards.

Dates of future meetings

The committee noted that the dates of the future meetings of the Impact of Scrutiny Advisory Committee would be:

• 2 March 2026
• 9 July 2026