Cabinet approves a further £4.9m investment in its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service 

Yesterday, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet approved further investment of £4.9m as part of the Additional Needs and Disabilities (AND) transformation programme.  

This investment means the Council’s statutory Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) service can be expanded and restructured to meet the needs of children and families in Surrey. This will allow the Council to build on its extensive work to improve the experiences of families of children and young people with SEND. It will mean the service can continue to focus on driving forward improvements, including to strengthen relationships and communication with families and schools.  

Cabinet have agreed the following:  

• A new structure, with work managed across 5 teams instead of 4, with a single management structure.   

• An Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) team established, responsible for the whole 20-week statutory process. This will include 30 assessment officers working directly with families to support improvements in relational working and co-production. 

• Increase in area team staff working directly with families and schools from 81 to 111 to reduce the average number of families each staff member is supporting from over 200 to 150. This will create capacity for staff to work more closely and more responsively with children and young people, families, schools and settings. 

• The team directly supporting families through the needs assessment and EHCP process will therefore increase from 81 to 141 overall [the 30 assessment officers + 111 area team staff].    

• Establishment of a permanent Mediation and Dispute Resolution Officer team (MADROs), after a successful pilot which reduced the number of families proceeding to tribunal hearings by over 50% for the cases they were allocated. 

• After all the changes are implemented, there will be 231 staff in the statutory SEND service. 

Jonathan Hulley, Surrey County Council Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Lifelong Learning said: “I am delighted that Cabinet has approved this investment, which will help us to refine and expand our SEND service so that it is better fit for the future. I am also pleased that this investment to continue to drive forward improvements, including communications with families and schools, has the support of the Council’s cross-party Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture Select Committee. We are looking forward to building on the considerable improvement work which we have already undertaken in Surrey.  

“However, provision and support for children with additional needs is a systemic issue that councils up and down the country are grappling with. We welcome urgent government reform of the SEND system and we have made it clear to ministers that, alongside these extensive and positive steps we are taking locally, national SEND reform and additional funding is needed urgently.”  

A recent government report highlighted the national issues within SEND provision, impacting families across the country including high numbers of complaints and appeals, long waiting times for treatment and care plans, and a lack of trust in the SEND system. The Secretary of State has indicated national reform of the system, and Surrey will work closely with the government to improve the experience of families. 

Notes to Editor 

• In Surrey there are approximately 46,000 children and young people with SEND. 

• The number of children with EHCPs in Surrey has more than doubled since 2018.  

• There are now 16,871 children and young people with an EHCP in Surrey, the third highest in the country, and a 10.5% increase compared to last year.  

• The projected size of the EHCP cohort in Surrey is due to increase by a further 39% by January 2034.