The Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Committee were scheduled to meet on 6 November 2025 to discuss a range of issues affecting children and families in Gloucestershire. The agenda included updates on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) recovery plan, as well as consideration of the Annual Safeguarding Report. The committee also planned to discuss the Childcare Sufficiency Annual Report and the Annual Report on School Admissions.

SEND Update

Kirsten Harrison, Director of Education, was scheduled to provide an update on SEND progress since the last inspection, as well as plans for continued improvement. The report pack included the Ofsted-CQC Gloucestershire Local Area SEND Inspection Report – December 2023, which stated that:

The local area partnership's arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements.

The report made four recommendations, including strengthening multi-agency working, improving the quality assurance framework around Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans¹, reviewing specialist places for children with SEND, and including families in partnership projects.

The SEND Update report noted that the total number of children and young people included in the SEN2 census² has increased by 13.9%, rising from 6,984 in 2023 to 7,957 in 2024. It also noted that the number of initial requests received during the 2024 calendar year increased by 16.4% compared to the 2023 calendar year (1,441 requests in 2023 to 1,677 requests in 2024).

The report also provided an update on the SEND and Alternative Provision Change Partnership Programme, a Department for Education (DfE) initiative. It stated that Gloucestershire was one of the 54 local authorities that were involved in the Delivering Better Value in SEND (DBV) programme and that it continues to be the joint lead authority in the Southwest piloting the reforms initially associated to the improvement plan, and subsequently the changed reforms in phase 2 of the DfE Change Partnership Programme under the new government.

DSG Recovery Plan

Philip Haslett, Assistant Director of Education, was scheduled to present a report on the DSG Recovery Plan. The report stated that the key issue faced for the Dedicated Schools Grant is a significant overspend in the High Needs Block, which is primarily driven by the demand for statutory support through an Education Health and Care Plan. The current High Needs Block deficit at year end 2024/25 was confirmed at £80.5m and is expected to rise to £125.1m by the end of this financial year.

The report noted that the rate of EHCPs in Gloucestershire remains lower than all comparator groups, but that the continued pressure on school budgets limits the universal SEND offer that they can make, and whilst schools are in a position of annual real term cuts, universal SEND provision will reduce and demand for support from the High Needs Block will continue to increase.

The report also stated that the DfE have confirmed the extension of the statutory override until 2028, which removes the immediate risk of local authorities declaring a section 114 notice.

Annual Safeguarding Report

Dave Jones, GSCP Business Manager, was scheduled to present the Annual Safeguarding Report. The report provided assurance of a strong and collaborative safeguarding system, evidencing significant activity during the year across child protection, serious incident reviews, and workforce development, alongside initiatives to strengthen engagement with education and the wider community. Strategic priorities for 2025–2028 focus on harm outside the home, child sexual abuse, and disproportionality, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with national reforms.

The report noted that in line with the Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 guidance, the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership (GSCP) has updated its Published Arrangements to reflect changes in leadership and statutory guidance, reaffirming its commitment to protecting children across the county.

The report also highlighted that the GSCP conducted five Serious Incident Notifications, resulting in three Rapid Reviews. These reviews identified recurring themes including domestic abuse, neglect, child exploitation, and non-accidental injury. Eight recommendations were made, focusing on policy updates, multi-agency training, and improved escalation protocols.

Childcare Sufficiency Annual Report

Kirsten Harrison, Director of Education, was also scheduled to present the Childcare Sufficiency Annual Report. The report provided information about Gloucestershire's childcare sufficiency, including an analysis of supply and demand for childcare in Gloucestershire. This encompasses information about the quality, accessibility, and affordability of local childcare provision, any current or emerging gaps and how these will be addressed.

The report noted that the quality of childcare in Gloucestershire is high, with 91.9% of childminders and 92.1% of day care providers having a good or outstanding Ofsted outcome. The report also provided an update on the childcare reforms, including the expansion of the existing early years entitlement and the wraparound childcare programme.

The report stated that analysis by GCC and the Department for Education estimated that an additional up to 1,300 early years places may be required to deliver the full entitlement to children aged 9 months to 4 years from September 2025 and an estimation of 1200 additional wraparound childcare places by the end of the programme in September 2026.

Annual Report on School Admissions

Kirsten Harrison, Director of Education, and Gareth Vine, HoS Education Planning & Infrastructure, were scheduled to present the Annual Report on School Admissions. The report was intended to inform the committee about the outcome of the admissions arrangements and admission trends for September 2025 in primary and secondary schools in the county.

The report noted that for September 2025 there were 5907 offers of a primary school place made, and 6800 offers for a secondary school place made. For primary school places, 91% were offered their 1st preference and 98 % were offered one of their preferences. For secondary school places, 81% were offered their 1st preference and 93% were offered a preference.

The report also highlighted some challenges, including parents not using all preferences, late applications, and the allocation of grammar school places. The report stated that for 2025 366 (35%) of the total grammar school places available were allocated outside Gloucestershire.