Decision Maker: Executive Member for Education, Learning & Skills
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Is subject to call in?: No
To approve a call for evidence from key stakeholders through focus
groups with young people and families, online and paper
questionnaires and webinars over a four week period to help:
• Identify effective practice across education, care and
health in supporting children and young people with SEND, and their
families, at the earliest stage so they can live and go to school
in their community
• Consider a greater range of support options that enable more
children and young people to reside at home whilst accessing
education to meet their SEND
• Understand from families what works well and what could be
improved
• Develop a sound evidence base for future proposals with
regards to SEND provision
*PLEASE NOTE This decision was originally
published on or near the date of the decision and so call in no
longer applies. It has been re-published as part of the change in
committee management system that we use.*
Our aspiration for children and young people with SEND and their
families is that they should be supported, where appropriate, to
access education provision that meets their needs and be enabled to
remain in the family home and their communities.
The local authority had 110 young people with SEND placed in
residential education provision in 2018/19. Young people accessing
SEND provision away from their families and communities face some
additional challenges particularly with regard to developing links
in the community and developing independence whilst preparing for
adulthood. National research carried out in 2017 by Dame Christine
Lenehan, “Good intentions, good enough?”, concludes
“too many children and young people currently feel the need
to leave home to get the support they need, when they could and
should be supported well in their local communities. If this
happened, experiences would improve significantly”.
The geography and size of North Yorkshire is an additional factor
in decisions to place children and young people at distance from
their families and communities. The experiences of families and
young people are crucial to understand how improving access to
services can be achieved so that children and young people being
placed at distance from their families only happens where essential
to meet their SEND.
Publication date: 14/04/2021
Date of decision: 08/10/2019