Priority six - Improve workforce development and collaborative working
Our findings
Children and young people with SEND need a skilled and committed workforce, who are supported to deliver services that are responsive to their needs. Families need to feel that people care and for those working with them to know that ‘small things make a big difference’ and ‘every interaction has an impact’. Children and young people and their families frequently report that when people understand them and ‘get it’, the reasonable adjustments that would make a difference to them become possible and this enables good collaborative working. When we start with listening, this enables understanding and enables shared solutions.
We know our workforce needs support to keep up to date with the latest best practice in SEND and recruitment and retention of key staff is an issue across the county. Transition support and pathways for post-16 young people needs to be improved across the county.
Our actions
- Support the implementation of the DBV programme by co-designing a workforce development programme for those working in mainstream school settings to equip them to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND in their local schools.
- Explore solutions to the recruitment challenges for Teaching Assistants and Personal Assistants.
- Continue to promote the Working Together Charter and embed further coproduction processes with WPCV and IMPACT.
- Expand our work with young people through IMPACT and links to special school councils and develop the involvement of children and young people in strategic decision-making.
- Develop communications for young people aged over 16 so that they are able to participate in the decision making in their EHC plans.
- Continue to monitor and respond to feedback received from parents through the live feedback form, particularly in relation to their experience of communication.
- Continue to promote commissioned activities through the Search Out Warwickshire directory and Family Information Service newsletters.
- Continued provision of information to families through webinars and newsletters.
- Continue to share data, both quantitative and qualitative across the County Council, ICB and health providers and challenge each other as part of working towards our vision.
- Continue to roll-out safeguarding training and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) processes.
