Key findings and themes

Summary

A survey was co-designed with the Parent Carer Forum to gather feedback to help the Southend City Council SEND Team understand the experience of families during the EHC needs assessment process and whether they feel:

• Fully involved in the assessment and decision-making process
• Fully involved in developing their child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (if awarded)
• Other professionals are fully involved and contribute to the development of an EHCP (if awarded

Parents and Carers were invited to complete the survey if they had been through the process during the academic year 2021-22 or 2022-23.

Survey interaction

The survey was hosted on the Your Say Southend, Southend SEND ‘have your say’ page. The survey was launched in September 2022.

The survey was available in electronic form but there were paper and easy read versions available in schools and settings across Southend, and upon request. Only a few paper surveys were completed.

The survey was advertised on Local Offer social media channels, through the Local Offer website, newsletters and through posters and postcards shared with schools and settings and in letters from the SEND Team.

From September 2022 to July 2023 there was a total of 228 visitors to the Your say Southend engagement page where the survey is hosted. 25 people registered and then 19 people completed the survey.

Survey findings

The survey was completed by 4% of parents and carers in relation to how many assessments had taken place over the two academic years. However, those that completed the survey had children that:

• attended a range of settings; early years setting, mainstream school, special school and college or Further Education institution. The majority of respondents had children in a mainstream school
• reflected a range of special educational needs and disability with the majority of respondents answering that their child had Autism

Most respondents answered that school or their child’s setting had been involved in providing support to them and their child in the last 12 months, with the Lighthouse Centre being a common answer too. 2 respondents said they had received no help in the last 12 months.

7 respondents answered that assessment was requested but not agreed. We asked some follow up questions about that. The majority responses selected that the reason given for not assessing was because there was not enough information about their child’s needs or difficulties. The majority also answered that the decision letter did not provide feedback or recommendations or further help for their child. We asked if the parent carer had accepted the offer of a meeting to understand and discuss the decision not to assess. Only 1 of the 7 respondents answered that they had.

9 respondents were eligible to continue the survey and answer questions in relation to the EHC needs assessment of their child.

All of the respondents answered that they felt either fully or partially involved in the assessment of their child.

Two thirds of respondents said that they child was fully involved in their assessment, however just under a third selected their child was not involved.

We learned that external specialists are invited to contribute towards the child’s assessment and did provide a contribution in most cases, however a quarter of respondents said that no contribution was made.

All but 1 respondent stated the child’ school or setting was involved in the assessment.

Just under half of parent carers said they were kept fully informed throughout the assessment (either by using the EHC Hub or communication from the SEND Team), with just over half selecting they were kept only partially informed or were not informed.

Some respondents said they felt involved in planning their child’s Education Health and Care plan and felt listened to. The responses showed that parents and carers felt their child was not that involved in drafting the EHCP but did indicate some of them were listened to.

Just under a third of respondents answered that their child’s Education Health and Care plan correctly reflected their needs. However half of respondents said they felt the plan would meet their child’s needs.

Over half of the respondents said they were not satisfied with the overall experience of the assessment process.

Throughout the survey respondents had opportunities to provide more information about the assessment and planning of their child’s support and what could be done better. Common themes related to better communication from the SEND team, frustration with delays and input from professionals and accessing the EHC Hub.

We asked parents and carers if they consented to be contacted. 15 respondents agreed and provided their contact details.

Next steps

The answers to the questions show that some parents and carers in Southend are not satisfied with the assessment process and we note some common themes.

The SEND Team made some follow up calls with some respondents where an issue was identified.

The SEND Team will be holding a focus group during Autumn 2023, with interested parents and carers to consider these findings and to consider how the assessment process can be improved for others. The results of this survey will also be presented to the SEND Area Partnership for consideration of further improvements across the system.

The survey summary results are available upon request.