Warwickshire County Council and its partners are continuing work to improve support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families
with a focus on earlier intervention, increased specialist support in local schools and improvements to Education, Health and Care (EHC) services.
An update presented to Warwickshire County Council’s Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee today outlined progress through the Local SEND Reform Plan, alongside activity taking place in response to the recent Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspection. The report also provided updates on work to improve the timeliness of EHC plans and address pressures within the High Needs Block.
Key actions include:
Earlier access to specialist advice: Recruitment is underway for 48 frontline professionals, including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, educational psychologists and specialist teachers. From January 2027, the proposed Experts at Hand offer is expected to provide earlier advice and support to mainstream settings across Warwickshire.
More specialist places in local schools: Over the last three years, Warwickshire has increased SEND Resourced Provision from 168 places across 20 schools to 448 places across 39 schools. A further 303 places are projected to be commissioned by 2029.
Additional special school capacity: Proposals will be developed to expand four special schools, alongside projects already agreed, creating more than 170 additional places by 2029.
Improving EHC plan timeliness: Work continues to increase the proportion of plans completed within the statutory 20-week timescale. The Local SEND Reform Plan sets a target of at least 50% by 2029, compared with a 2026 baseline of 22.8%.
Reducing waits for ADHD assessments: The plan includes an ambition to halve the number of children waiting more than three years for an ADHD diagnosis by 2029.
Warwickshire County Councillor Wayne Briggs, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families, Education and SEND, said:
“We know that families want a SEND system that is easier to navigate, responds to children’s needs sooner and provides the right support as close to home as possible.
"While there is still more to do, this programme sets out a clear direction for how we will strengthen support for children and young people with SEND over the coming years.
"The actions we are taking include bringing more specialist expertise into mainstream settings, increasing local specialist provision and continuing to improve the timeliness of Education, Health and Care plans.
"These changes will take time to deliver, but they reflect our commitment to working closely with families, schools, health partners and other services to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people across Warwickshire."
The scale of the programme reflects continued growth in demand for SEND support across Warwickshire. At the time the committee report was written, 8,778 children and young people had an EHC plan, with that number forecast to rise to 13,767 by 2029.
The Local SEND Reform Plan sets out a number of ambitions for 2029, including ensuring all mainstream schools and settings can access the Experts at Hand offer, increasing the proportion of children and young people with EHC plans educated in mainstream schools or local resourced provision to at least 50%, improving attendance for children with EHC plans, expanding specialist provision and improving EHC plan timeliness.
This work forms part of a wider partnership approach involving education, health and care services. Further updates will be considered by Overview and Scrutiny Committee, with more detailed work continuing through the Members SEND Group as plans develop.