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August 2025

September 2025

October 2025

November 2025

December 2025

Building Strong Foundations

Appointed Independent Chair and developed governance arrangement

Developed and refined Priority Action Plan (PAP)

Frontline services were strengthened to meet ambitious new targets

Joint funding agreed

Mobilising Delivery

Mobilised the Transformation and PMO team

First SEND Improvement Board held on 22nd October 2025

Improved performance data

Reviewing structures and services to strengthen partnership working

Instigated project governance

Thematic Groups mobilised

Activities and outcomes from thematic groups

Local Offer

Appointed thematic leads and briefed each of the content of the PAP

PAP approved by DfE 21st October 2025

Engagement with EPT, Voice of the Child etc

Data and systems

Secured patient/carer representation in each thematic group

SEND Health Group revised and mobilised

Use of Synergy and development Power BI Dashboards

Submitted the updated PAP to the DfE for consideration

Boosting Capacity

Appointed DCS

Additional support to the DCO put in place

Longlisted Director of Education and SEND

Commissioned BELS

Recruitment of Data Officers commenced

Recruitment of Network Manager commenced

CQC & Ofsted said:

We did:

Impact:

Next Steps:

The Local Area Partnership should urgently develop a genuine co-production strategy with children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers, in which communication is much stronger, and the voices of families are heard and used to shape the service and support these families receive.

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Co-production should enable children and families to contribute their lived experiences both to strategy development and everyday practice. The partnership should ensure that they have implemented clear communication systems and information-sharing processes to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people with SEND in Redbridge.

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• Terms of Reference agreed with attendees and the co-chairs. 
• MOU in development with the DfE advising. The discussions have started with principles and ways of working with system partners. This is expected to conclude in February 2026.
• SEND AP and Network Manager is recruited.
• Procurement of Co-production services underway – 3 providers have been shortlisted.

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• SEND AP & Network Manager takes up post on 14^th January.

• Local partners are engaged with the co-production journey and priority action plan.
• Approve MOU for co-production
• Co-Production Agreement/ Charter
• Support Materials for Co-Production
• Co-Production Briefings for SENCos

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CQC & Ofsted said:

We did:

Impact:

Next Steps:

Education, health and care (EHC) plan reviews are often not completed on time, with missing multi-agency input. There is a persistent gap between what is specified in plans and what is delivered, resulting in commonly inequitable, poor quality and delayed support. This breaches statutory duties and erodes trust.

Annual reviews were not routinely held for children and young people with an EHC plan in EHE, and there is no clear accountability for meeting their needs.

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• Enhanced dashboards for the tracking of statutory deadlines have been developed and are being refined.
• Quality Assurance Framework developed and presented to the SEND Improvement Board in January.
• Invision360’s Quality Assurance and Annual Review Model has been commissioned.
• Annual Review Recovery Plan drafted.
• Annual Review Paperwork and Advice Templates reviewed and amended.
• 2 dedicated SEND team days to improve data integrity have been held
• Staff have received additional training and guidance regarding the Synergy system and compliance is now being monitored via weekly supervision of caseworkers by Seniors. 
• A series of team days have been held to begin the mapping and consolidation of standard operating procedures. Further work in underway to ensure process maps and an operational guide are available and used by staff. 

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• We are now tracking outstanding reviews.
• Schools and settings engaging with updated Annual Review paperwork – limited feedback received so far has been positive. We will continue to work with schools in a pilot to support them.

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• Annual Review Recovery Plan – all annual reviews in backlog to be held by June 2026.
• QA Training Programme for Staff
• Parent/Carer agreed schedule of Annual Reviews for EHE with EHCP.
• Training Programme for EHCNA and AR advice writers
• Training Programme for LAP staff setting out the roles of the SEND Team in EHCNA and ARs
• Quarterly QA reports for the Improvement Board

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CQC & Ofsted said:

We did:

Impact:

Next Steps:

The partnership should urgently develop and embed a formal, joint strategic framework for Preparing for adulthood, including a fully coordinated and accountable approach across education, health and social care services to support young people with SEND and AP as they transition into adulthood. This should include:

• strengthening strategic capacity to plan and commission sufficient, appropriate post-16 provision; and
• establishing clear oversight and formalised processes to monitor outcomes and ensure that all young people with SEND and AP are supported into sustained education, employment or training, reducing the risk of NEET.

The Local Area Partnership should urgently develop a genuine co-production strategy with children and young people with SEND and AP their parents and carers, in which communication is much stronger, and the voices of families are heard and used to shape the service and support these families receive. Co-production should enable children and families to contribute their lived experiences both to strategy development and everyday practice.

• The social care elements of the action plan for theme 3 has been reviewed and amended in consultation with Empowering Parents Together, to ensure the plan accurately reflects the milestones required to achieve the desired outcomes.
• Recruitment has been completed for three additional Senior FSWs to undertake reviews of children’s care packages.
• The role of the Principal FSWs has been implemented to improve oversight of cases being reviewed and improve the timeliness of active reviews.
• A Team Manager has been recruited and onboarded to support the development of the early help offer.
• Therapies Task & Finish group established, sub-groups identified and work underway.
• Waiting Safe, Waiting Well guidance underway, with input from Health, Social Care and Adults’ services.

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• Additional capacity to undertake reviews in the Children with Disabilities service. As of December 2025, 13% of reviews in duty tray overdue, compared with 42% in January 2025.
• Director of Improvement took up role on 12^th December to lead transitions/PfA across the social work teams.

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• Revised Early Help offer has been published, following consultation with families of children with SEND and services.
• Family Friendly Waiting Well, Waiting Safe guidance to be published.
• Recruitment of the DSCO role completed.
• Duty tray processes are mapped and recommendations for improvements to the system are identified and raised with service leadership.
• A robust engagement exercise with parents, carers and CYP to review existing transitions arrangements between children's and adult's services.
• Specification for a SEND knowledge training programme will be agreed with CWD, Adults’ services, SEND leads and parents/carers.
• Demand & capacity modelling for key therapies within the LAP will be undertaken.

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CQC & Ofsted said:

We did:

Impact:

Next Steps:

The current approach to preparation for adulthood (PfA) focuses on administrative transfers between children’s and adults’ services, rather than building independence and life skills from an early age. A robust, multi-agency approach is needed to improve PfA, including access to employment, training and community participation​

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The local area partnership has not developed a PfA strategy. While the Connexions service works to reduce the number of young people with EHC plans who are NEET, their efforts lack strategic oversight and formal connections with wider services. Post16 provision is limited, especially for vocational pathways and below Level 3 qualifications, leaving many young people without suitable next steps despite schools’ and colleges’ individual efforts to improve the offer​

• Mapping of Post-16 provision is underway with contributions being received from CWD and Connexions.
• Best practice examples of Multi- agency protocols and Parent/Carer and Young Person’s transitions guides have been circulated and a working group established to review these and revise for the Redbridge Partnership.
• New SEND commissioning Post agreed and recruitment underway.
• National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) Proposal discussed and agreed at thematic group meeting on 9^th December. NDTi has been appointed to develop a Redbridge PfA Strategy.
• Work has been initiated by the Connexions team, who have committed to young people with EHCPS being offered face-to-face careers guidance interviews from a qualified careers adviser. Their stated intent is to work with local schools, colleges and other providers to ensure this happens.

• Supported Employment Forum Reestablished.

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• Mobilisation of NDTI with regard to allocation of specialists and dates for events to capture Youth Voice at the start of proposed programme of work.
• Finalise recruitment of SEND Commissioning Officer.
• Finalise mapping of local services and cohort analysis of local SEN needs. Then work with the data thematic group to produce a gap analysis of the local offer.
• Working group to meet to ensure a streamlined programme of Local area training and development is developed to avoid duplication and ensure staff receive consistent messages regarding their duties to those with SEND.
• Working group to meet to discuss effective multi agency working protocols for education health and social care transitions and produce draft documentation for professionals, young people and their families.
• Begin to engage local employers in the disability confident scheme

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CQC & Ofsted said:

We did:

Impact:

Next Steps:

The partnership should ensure that they have implemented clear communication systems and information-sharing processes to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people with SEND in Redbridge.

• Working with partners to explore how we strengthen and align communications across the SEND partnership. This includes participation in DfE facilitated Comms workshops involving EPT, LBR Transformation & SEND PMO, and the ICB, collectively supporting development of consistent, transparent, and accessible messaging.
• An MoU is being drafted to formalise the shared commitments, roles, and expectations between EPT, LBR and the ICB.
• Recruitment of a Dedicated Local Offer Officer to strengthen the quality, accessibility, and visibility of the Local Offer, ensuring it reflects the needs and experiences of CYP and families.
• Recruitment of a SEND Network Manager to provide additional capacity and leadership to drive forward this outcome theme, enhance cross‑system coordination, and support the development of a cohesive SEND partnership network
• Roles and responsibilities have now been clearly defined across both service‑level and corporate communications functions.
• EPT has provided valuable guidance in relation to communication needs.

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• A second comms focused workshop, facilitated by the DfE, is scheduled for 15 January and will build on the initial session.
• A detailed Communications Plan will be drafted as an output of the workshops.
• We will begin collaborative work to map and enhance both new and existing networking opportunities to ensure that parent and carer voices are consistently embedded in strategic and operational activity.
• The appointment of the Local Offer Officer enables us to progress the co‑production of an improved Local Offer. This work will focus on accessibility, clarity, and relevance, ensuring that the Local Offer reflects the lived experiences of children, young people, and families, and provides a clear, user‑friendly gateway to SEND information and support.

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CQC & Ofsted said:

We did:

Impact:

Next Steps:

Leaders should implement systems to identify, monitor and support children and young people with SEND who are not in school and improve timely intervention to reduce the risk of disengagement and better prepare them for their next steps. Senior leaders need to assure themselves that the needs of children and young people who attend AP, are on part-time timetables, are EHE, or not attending full-time education are being met. 

• Working group with terms of reference mobilised with partners from Health, Education and EPT (parents & carer’s forum).
• Priority Action Plan milestone terminology changed to focus specifically on children with SEND not in school​.
• Flow chart produced to demonstrate different categories and definitions within “children not in school”. ​
• The working group have explored setting a definition of “unsuitable education”. This will mirror the legal definition in the Education Act and add that suitable education promotes the child’s progression​.
• A deep dive on current EHE cases where SEND was given as a reason for EHE has been completed, with high-level analysis presented to the working group .
• EHE Register Dashboard in development; first iteration reviewed and appraised by the working group. This will facilitate real-time accurate record keeping and monitoring.

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• Improved oversight of data, identifying gaps and areas for improvement, as evidenced in 6^th January data scorecard presented at SIB.
• At the start of the academic year there were 13 children with EHCPs missing education, following provision of support those children are no longer missing education.

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• Agree and confirm the definition of “unsuitable education” amongst thematic group members.
• A strategy for Children Not in School or Missing Education will be drafted, consulted and approved by the Improvement Board.
• Effective protocols to address areas where the education provided is no longer suitable in meeting CYP with SEND needs will be drafted and plans for consultation will be in development.
• A Lead Officer will be assigned to oversee the permissions, timescales and reintegration pathways for those on part time timetables with clear outcomes.

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CQC & Ofsted said:

We did:

Impact:

Next Steps:

The local area partnership should urgently improve the quality of data to inform commissioning and strategic improvements to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND and their families in Redbridge. This should inform the JSNA and the SEND and AP strategy.

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Leaders, including education, health and social care providers, should identify the steps that they will take to collectively monitor and measure the impact of their strategy and actions. These plans should be co-produced with and communicated clearly to children, young people and their families so that their experiences and outcomes improve.

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Leaders should develop effective joint commissioning strategies across the local area partnership and help ensure that these meet the needs of children and young people at the earliest opportunity.

• Data diagnostic of data & case management systems across the LAP conducted and state of data quality and system integration assessed.
• All data requirements across the thematic groups have been identified to ensure accurate and timely reporting to the SEND IB.
• A plan to strengthen system alignment has been implemented​.
• A Multi-Agency Data Governance Group has been established to define & agree data sharing protocols, including the exchange of key datasets.
• The SEND Improvement Board has agreed the design of the Redbridge Performance Reporting Framework which sets out processes for data and performance reporting across the LAP and how it is used to inform decision making .
• Performance Report and Target Setting has been agreed at SEND IB including statutory measures and will support the mental health, wellbeing, community inclusion and PfA for CYP​.
• A cohort analysis of CYP with SEND within Redbridge is being conducted to inform EHC commissioning.
• Multi-Agency Data Governance Group has been established to ensure cross partner working to enable a performance driven culture and facilitate collaboration between partners to drive continuous improvement and innovation.
• Current commissioning arrangements have been reviewed and opportunities for joint commissioning identified.
• 2x Data Officers have been appointed

• Improving strategic overview of progress using the performance scorecard, as multi agency data is now collated and shared.

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• Develop and Implement a Data Improvement Strategy and Action Plan .
• Undertake a System Review to ensure high quality data informs service decision making and commissioning, including the JSNA.
• ​Embed Performance Reporting Framework across the partnership​.
• Develop an effective Joint Commissioning Strategy within the local area partnership.

Theme

Product detail

Target date

1

Memorandum of Understanding

28-Feb-26

1

Co-Production Agreement

31-Mar-26

1

Support Materials for Co-Production

31-Mar-26

1

Co-Production Briefings for SENCos

31-Mar-26

1

Co-Production Practice Guidance

31-May-26

1

Communications Materials (staff and Service Users)

31-May-26

1

Co-Production Communications Strategy

30-Jun-26

2

QA Training Programme for Staff

31-Jan-26

2

Schedule of Annual review for EHE with EHCP

31-Jan-26

2

Training Programme for EHCNA and AR advice writers

28-Feb-26

2

Training Programme for SEND Team staff

31-Mar-26

2

Training Programme for LAP staff setting out the roles of the SEND Team in EHCNA and ARs

31-Mar-26

2

Quarterly QA reports for SIB

31-Mar-26

2

Series of training & development sessions feeding back on learning form audits, best practice and sector developments embedded into annual workforce development plan.

30-Jun-26

3

Waiting Safe Waiting Well Guidance

31-Jan-26

3

Family Friendly Waiting Safe, Waiting Well Guidance in leaflet format is co-produced with families

31-Mar-26

3

A Family Friendly Early Help leaflet is co-produced with parents

01-Jun-26

3

A revised Early Help offer is developed

01-May-26

3

Training Programme for staff including the roles and responsibilities of Social Workers towards CYP with SEN and EHCP

31-May-26

3

A review of arrangements for transitions from CWD to Adults services is undertaken.

01-May-26

Theme

Product details

Target date

4

Practice Guidance on PfA Strategy

30-Apr-26

4

Co-Produce PfA Strategy

01-Mar-26

4

Processes for Quality Assurance and regular review of Post 16 and AP providers

31-Jan-26

4

Gap Analysis of Local Offer

31-Mar-26

4

Contracts register of all Post 16 Education and Alternative Provision providers is established and quality assured

31-Mar-26

4

Post 16 Sufficiency Plan

31-Mar-26

4

Co-Produce a PfA training programme for EH & C caseworkers

31-Mar-26

4

Co-Produce a PfA training programme for staff leading service developments

31-May-26

4

EH & C Transitions Guidance for YP, Parents/Carers and Staff

31-Mar-26

4

Post 16 Commissioing Strategy

30-Jun-26

5

SEND & AP Network Meetings

31-Jan-26

5

Ambassadors Programme

31-Jan-26

5

Communication Templates and Platforms for Progress Updates

31-Jan-26

5

Co-Produce Annual Programme of Events

28-Feb-26

5

Co-Produce and Action Plan for the Local Offer

28-Feb-26

5

Co-Produce a schedule of surveys and Information with EPT

31-Mar-26

5

Publicity Campaign for Local Offer

30-Apr-26

5

Practice Guidance for Communication Standards

31-May-26

6

Training opportunities for the local area about what is meant by children not in school arranged and in progress

28-Feb-26

6

Protocols have been shared and consulted and are now agreed and published.

31-May-26

6

Effective protocols drafted to assist the identification of children not in school, missing out on school with SEND, monitoring of outcomes and resolution where necessary. This should include advice for parents and carers.

31-Jan-26

6

Strategy and Action plan for CME and Children not in School

30-Apr-26

7

Live EHCP Data Dashboard

31-Mar-26

7

Local Area Partnership Data Quality Strategic Action Plan

30-Apr-26

7

Integrated live dashboards are in place that track key information related to Redbridge CYP with SEND across the 0-25 age range

31-May-26