The Children's & Education Select Committee of Buckinghamshire Council is scheduled to meet on Thursday 29 January 2026. The meeting's agenda includes discussions on the SEND Improvement Programme, the Placement and Homes Strategy for Children & Young People, and a review of school attendance.

SEND Improvement Programme Update

The committee is set to receive an update on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Improvement Programme. This item will provide an overview of the national and local context surrounding SEND services, including recent developments and pressures on the system. It will also cover the mobilisation of the EHCP^1^ Recovery Plan and progress on the wider SEND Improvement Programme. The report notes that the number of children and young people requiring EHCPs has doubled in the last decade, placing significant pressure on specialist provision and leading to substantial expenditure on independent placements. A recent government decision to scrap funding for a new special free school in Buckinghamshire, replacing it with a smaller capital allocation, is highlighted as a cause for concern, potentially creating a significant shortfall in future provision. The report also details the EHCP Recovery Plan, which aims to improve the timeliness of assessments, with a project team due to commence work in January 2026.

My Home, My Future: Placement and Homes Strategy for Children & Young People 2026-2030

A key item on the agenda is the review and evaluation of the My Home, My Future: Placement and Homes Strategy for Children & Young People 2026-2030 . This strategy outlines a four-year plan to ensure that children in care and care leavers in Buckinghamshire have access to appropriate, stable, and local placements. The strategy aims to grow local and therapeutic residential capacity, stabilise and diversify the fostering offer, improve supported accommodation for 16-year-olds and families, strengthen edge-of-care and family-based alternatives, and embed integrated, data-led commissioning. The report highlights that as of September 2025, 527 children were in care, with 73 in external residential placements more than 20 miles from home. The strategy proposes a £11.7 million capital investment programme to expand in-house residential provision, with projected savings of £7 million annually by 2029. Key performance indicators include aiming for 80% of looked-after children to be placed within 20 miles of home by 2028 and increasing the percentage of children in in-house foster care to 60%.

School Attendance Review - Recommendation Monitoring

The committee will review the progress made in implementing recommendations from its April 2024 review into school non-attendance. The report details the progress on each of the seven recommendations, which include developing a communications campaign, establishing a single information platform for school attendance, providing bespoke communications for council staff, continuing to offer support and guidance to schools, ensuring schools are ready to support vulnerable children with soft start approaches, exploring good practice from other local authorities, and reviewing the resourcing of the School Attendance Team. The Present for their Future campaign has continued, with refreshed messaging and resources aimed at raising awareness of the impact of absence and providing guidance on managing anxiety-related absence. The council has also established a dedicated webpage as a single information platform for school attendance. Progress has been made in strengthening legal processes and leveraging partnerships with other local authorities and the Department for Education. The review has also led to the agreement to create two additional full-time posts in the School Attendance Support Team.

Other Agenda Items

The meeting will also include a session for Public Questions, a Chairman's update, and a review of the committee's Work Programme for future meetings. Additionally, the committee will note the Q2 performance for the Children's Services portfolio.