Derbyshire County Council invests £1.3m to boost SEND support

Derbyshire County Council is investing a further £1.3 million to enhance support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families.

The funding will be used to employ an additional 20 staff across key SEND teams, increasing the number of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) produced, speeding up reviews, and improving communication with families. 

Extra staff will focus on conducting timely assessments to ensure more EHCPs are completed within the 20-week deadline, as well as processing annual reviews. The move follows a previous restructure in response to rising demand for EHCPs, which has already improved service delivery and efficiency. 

Additional team members will also support families appealing decisions, helping to resolve cases more quickly and improve the overall experience. Engagement with parents and carers will continue to be prioritised, aiming to reduce complaints or the need for tribunal proceedings. 

The council is also expanding the team working with vulnerable learners and recruiting extra business support staff to respond promptly to enquiries and complaints. 

Councillor Simon Mabbott, Cabinet Member for SEND and Inclusion, said: 

"I had the pleasure of meeting parents and carers at County Hall recently and heard first-hand the issues they have faced getting the support they need for their children. By putting in these extra resources we’ve significantly increased our capacity to handle the rising number of EHCP requests, enabling us to reduce the backlog and work more efficiently on current and new plans. 
While we’ve made great strides, we’re not complacent and want to ensure every child and young person with SEND in our community receives the support and opportunities they deserve. We know we still have a long way to go, and I want to thank families for their patience. I want us to work together to achieve better outcomes for children and families across Derbyshire." 

An inspection of the Derbyshire Local Area Partnership by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in September 2024 highlighted areas needing improvement to better meet the needs of children and young people with SEND up to age 25. The partnership, which includes the council’s education department and the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board, is now implementing a priority action plan to address these findings. 

Martin Porter, Branch Secretary of UNISON Derbyshire, welcomed the announcement, saying: 

"This is tremendous news. For a year we have been hearing from the Reform UK administration of Derbyshire County Council, and the previous Conservative administration, that the council is ‘overstaffed’. 
We have been telling them that key front-line teams, like SEND, are in fact seriously understaffed, and we’re glad they now agree. This is a huge victory for the SEND parents who protested and will be very welcome news for our hard-working members. This result shows people power works."