SEND Improvement Board Independent Chair's Update from Kathryn Boulton 15 September 2025
Introduction
Hello and welcome to my fourth Chair's Update, as Independent Chair of the Lancashire SEND Improvement Board.
We held our latest board meeting in person on 15 September 2025. I want to thank everyone for coming and for sharing their thoughts and experiences. The honesty and involvement of everyone is helping us make the changes that children and families in Lancashire need.
I invited Olly Moores, our SEND Young Advisor, and Suliman Hussain, Participation and Co-production worker to give us an update on behalf of POWAR, the SEND youth forum.
POWAR SEND youth forum feedback
POWAR, our SEND youth forum, is growing. More young people are joining and getting involved. The Preston group meets every week and has lots of members. This group started five months ago, and the young people like meeting every week because it helps them feel listened to. There’s also a group in Burnley that meets every two weeks, and a new group has started in Lancaster.
Councillor Salter, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, visited POWAR to hear what young people had to say. Councillor Salter said it’s very important for the SEND Partnership to listen to children and young people and act on their feedback.
What young people asked for:
POWAR would like a thank you letter from Councillor Salter for their time.
What will happen:
Councillor Salter will thank the group and also visit the Lancaster group.
POWAR members spoke at the SEND Service Day about what makes a good Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
What young people said:
They feel their voices aren’t fully heard in EHCPs, and the process is slow and confusing. There’s only one section for their input, and they want to be more involved.
What will happen:
The process is being changed so caseworkers have more time to spend with young people and families. This is expected to be in place by the new year.
POWAR has created workshops and training to help more young people get involved. They have made materials to promote this and want every school to have a SEND Champion.
What will happen:
Everyone will work together to make sure all partners can access the training, and POWAR will be invited to deliver the workshops.
Board members thanked Olly and Suli for their hard work. Everyone was pleased to see POWAR growing. All partners agreed to support the workshops and to find ways to measure how much difference the training makes.
Next on the agenda was an update from Michelle Pye and Miranda Hyman, co-chairs of the Lancashire Parent Carer Forum (LPCF).
Lancashire Parent Carer Forum (LPCF) feedback
The Lancashire Parent Carer Forum (LPCF) shared a report about what they’ve been doing over the last few months. The forum has grown because of everyone’s hard work. They have also received new funding and are now involved in important meetings, like scrutiny committees and cabinet meetings. The forum listens to families and holds webinars to keep parents informed. They are sharing more updates, so parents know what’s happening.
What parent carers said:
Parent carers want their feedback to be listened to and acted on. They want to see real changes that make a difference in their lives.
What will happen:
Board members will make sure that the feedback from parents is included in action plans and in the groups that do the work.
The forum was praised for making good progress, especially for getting involved in important strategic meetings and working together to make changes. Board members acknowledged it will take time for families to feel the benefits of changes but working together as partners will help make things better. The forum was thanked for all their hard work. People said that the progress made since the new co-chairs took over has been excellent.
Priority Action Plan highlight report
Paul Turner, Director of Education, Culture and Skills shared an update on how we’re doing with our Priority Action Plan.
The report shows the progress made and discussed at the SEND Operations Board meeting on 1 September 2025. Actions marked in green mean things are moving forward. There’s good involvement from schools and other settings. However, there are still some big challenges, especially with funding and organising services. There’s a lot of work to do before families will really notice the changes. It will take time to see the results and prove that the system is changing.
What was said:
The action plan is very focused on tasks, but we need to start measuring the real difference these actions make.
What we will do:
We will move towards a plan that tracks the actual impact and outcomes, not just the tasks completed.
What was said:
We need more details about what’s causing delays and risks, and what’s being done to fix them.
What we will do:
We will include more information in the report about the milestones and measures that are behind schedule or at risk.
What was said:
The partnership needs to be ready for inspection, as there will be a monitoring visit in 12 months and a full inspection in 3 years.
What we will do:
We will keep records of our progress and the difference we’re making and regularly ask ourselves if we’re making enough progress.
Performance and data
Dave Carr, Director of Policy, Commissioning and Children's Health gave an update on how we're doing. The data dashboard, which shows how things are going, is being developed but isn’t ready to share yet. It still needs to be tested before it can be shown to the Improvement Board later this year.
What was said:
Data needs to be up to date, clear, and shared regularly, with a focus on what difference it makes for children and families.
What we will do:
We will share more information in these updates so families can see what’s getting better and what’s still a challenge.
Key facts:
- 13.2% of school-aged children in Lancashire get SEN Support (compared to 14.2% in England).
- More children with SEND are permanently excluded in Lancashire.
- There are 13,782 EHC plans in Lancashire.
- On average, 315 requests for EHC assessments are received each month.
- In August, 315 assessments were given to Educational Psychologists.
- About 200 plans are finalised each month.
- The number of overdue annual reviews has reduced but remains high.
- There are fewer appeals this year than last year.
- Some children are waiting over 52 weeks for a community paediatrics appointment.
- Waiting times for therapies are getting shorter but remains high.
- Some children are waiting over 52 weeks for an autism assessment or support.
- The waiting list for ADHD is getting shorter but remains high.
What was said:
Support needs to be fair and clear for families. Families can end up in crisis while waiting for help. They need to know what recovery plans are in place.
What we will do:
We will put support in place as early as possible, using lottery funding to help families while they wait.
The new Neurodevelopmental (ND) Pathway is a big change and recognises that things need to improve. Recovery plans will be shared at the next board meeting. It’s still hard to make things fair and consistent for everyone, and this affects families’ experiences. The speech and language drop-in clinics at Family Hubs were praised, and there are plans to work with public health to make these even better.
Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)
Dave shared an update about the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) and the new dashboard.
The main messages haven’t changed:
- The number of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is going up.
- There are more children with needs in speech, language, and autism.
- Children with SEND often do not achieve as well at school, are excluded more often, and are more likely to be out of education, work, or training after age 16.
The recommendations are:
- Respond to the increasing demand for support.
- Strengthen the help available for children and families.
- Make schools and other settings more inclusive.
What was said:
It’s important to have up-to-date information to help us plan and make good decisions.
What we will do:
We will use the latest JSNA to guide our planning and decisions for SEND services and strategies.
Quality assurance
Hayley Smith, the SEND Auditor, gave an update on how we check the quality of our plans.
We are now checking more plans than before, but we still need to do more. To help with this, 27 more auditors are being trained so we can check even more plans.
What was said:
Plans and advice need to be high quality, and the checks (audits) should help us get better.
What we will do:
We will create a formal quality assurance framework so that everyone is working to the same standard across the partnership.
We use a tool called Invision 360, which is also used by 65 other local authorities. This lets us compare our results and provide training for staff through the SEND Academy. When we find big gaps, we have processes in place to fix them and use feedback to improve.
The quality of new plans has improved. We are also starting to check annual reviews and advice from educational psychologists.
What was said:
More plans need to be checked and returned once they are allocated.
What we will do:
We will make checking plans a regular part of our work and find out why some plans are not always returned. Everyone has a role in making sure plans are good, because a plan is only as good as the advice given. All agencies should have their own ways to check quality. Families must also be asked about their experiences so we can keep improving. We also do multi-agency audits, where different professionals check the quality of plans and talk to families to hear their views.
What was said:
How do we check the quality of the support children get, not just the plans?
What we will do:
We will monitor outcomes and progress, and link SEND officers with schools and settings in the future.
Recovery plan
Cerys Townend, Head of SEND and Inclusion, gave an update on the plan to reduce delays with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).
Delays are reducing, but there are still some risks. The number of EHCPs is expected to go much higher than the national average. Risks include not having enough staff, not having enough special school places, and financial pressures.
What was said:
Delays in EHCPs and annual reviews must be improved, with clear targets and risks explained.
What we will do:
We will use an extra £5.3 million to employ more staff and particularly more Educational Psychologists. This will help us complete an extra 3,600 plans.
What was said:
What will the partnership do to make Lancashire more inclusive? Do our children have higher needs than in other areas? Why do we issue more EHCPs?
What we will do:
We will work together to explore what inclusion really means at our Development Day in January 2026. We’ll also find out what schools and settings need to make reasonable adjustments for children.
SEND sufficiency
Cerys Townend, Head of SEND and Inclusion, gave an update on the SEND sufficiency and Capital Plan, which is being sent to the cabinet for approval. There is funding available to help mainstream schools improve their support for children with SEND.
A series of events have been held with partners and parent carers to help develop the five-year plan. The plan aims to make sure there are enough places and the right support for children with SEND, especially in mainstream schools.
Immediate actions include:
- Creating new pathways for children with social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) needs.
- Starting pilot projects to improve support in mainstream schools.
- Strengthening quality checks for SEND units and independent schools.
- Work is also happening with colleges and independent schools to increase the number of places available.
What was said:
There must be enough places and support for children with SEND, especially in mainstream schools.
What we will do:
We will look at how to provide more resources for mainstream schools and make sure the High Needs Block funding is used in the best way.
SEND strategy
Cerys Townend, Head of SEND and Inclusion shared that lots of partnership working had taken place to write the SEND Strategy. It reflects the ambitions and objectives of the local area, with a strong focus on inclusion and co-production. The strategy is ready for cabinet and ICB Board to sign off next month and will then be published on the SEND Partnership Local Offer website.
Risk registers and governance
The risk register was reviewed by the Board as a standing item. The biggest risk remains the pace of improvement, given financial and capacity challenges. It was emphasised that it will take time and lots of resources to improve the experiences for our families. The Board will keep a close eye on progress and update the register regularly.
Communication
The Independent Chair's update will be written after each board meeting and published on the SEND Improvement Board webpage within 1-2 weeks, before being shared on social media. Formal minutes of the meeting will be written and published after they have been approved at the next board meeting.
A full communications strategy will be developed, and a feedback mechanism for young person developed by our Strategic Lead for Participation and Co-production.
I hope this update is useful. We next meet as a board on 15 October 2025 for a hybrid meeting.
If you are a parent carer and have any thoughts or comments, please share with the PCF by emailing chair@lancashireparentcarerforum.org.uk.
If you have a child / young person interested in POWAR participation group please contact Suliman Hussain at suliman.hussain@lancashire.gov.uk.
If you are a partner, please do feedback through your organisation. Also don’t forget to sign up to our SEND Newsletter if you’re not already receiving it.