Additional £5 million of investment to boost SEND services in Hertfordshire

Following a meeting of Hertfordshire County Council's Cabinet on Monday 10 July, proposals for an additional investment of £5 million to improve delivery of statutory SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) duties were approved by councillors.

The additional investment is designed to improve the experiences of children, young people, and families in Hertfordshire and will enable the council to:

Build capacity in the statutory SEND Service, so we can reduce caseloads by around 30%.

Recruit up to 80 new frontline staff to support the Council in meeting its SEND duties more effectively

Improve the quality of our EHCPs, meaning these children get the right support at the right time more consistently across Hertfordshire

Develop a strong and consistent approach to decision-making about EHCPs and placements working in a collaborative way with our partners

Develop trusted relationships with families and partners and improve our communications

Councillor Richard Roberts, Leader of Hertfordshire County Council, explained the need for this additional investment:

"The SEND system in Hertfordshire, just like the rest of the country, is under immense strain. Nationally, and across Hertfordshire, we have seen growing and increasingly complex demand, increased statutory duties and subsequent increased pressures on funding over a significant number of years which has led to challenges in meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND in a consistent and timely way.

Hertfordshire's vision is to enable children and young people with SEND to attend the most appropriate education setting and achieve the best possible outcomes, as close to their home and community as possible, delivered through effective partnership working between local authorities, families and schools of all types.

I have heard the calls from many parents that this has now to be an even greater priority. This funding will release some much-needed capacity in the statutory SEND service to focus on implementing these proposals."

The welcome funding is happening alongside other ambitious transformation programmes across SEND services in Hertfordshire, and together, these will allow the council to develop a new delivery model that enables better support to all children and young people in the right way, at the right time and in the right place, through a truly inclusive system.

For more information around the range of county council roles available in relation to SEND in Hertfordshire, visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/sendjobs