The meeting was scheduled to hear presentations from a range of people on a range of topics, including Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), the inclusion of children in schools, and the proposed work programme for 2024-2025. The most significant topic scheduled for discussion was the inclusion of children in schools, with reports about the rates of persistent absenteeism and permanent exclusion in the borough's schools.

Inclusion in Schools

The meeting was scheduled to receive a presentation on the subject of Inclusion in Schools from Councillor Jasmine Ali, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education in Southwark Council.

The Executive Headteacher of the GEM Federation of Schools, a federation of primary schools in Southwark, was scheduled to give a presentation on their experiences in successfully dealing with persistent absenteeism.

A report was scheduled to be presented to the commission from Jenny Brennan, the Assistant Director, Family Early Help and Youth Justice. The report, titled 'Southwark School Persistent Absence (November 2024)'¹ and available on Southwark Council's website, is about the rates of persistent absenteeism in the borough. The report finds that, while the borough's rates of persistent absenteeism are below the inner London and national rates, they have increased substantially between the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years, with an increase from 6,535 to 6,930 children missing 10% or more of school sessions. The report states that:

Where absence escalates and pupils miss 10% or more of school (equivalent to 1 day or more a fortnight across a full school year), schools and local authorities are expected to work together to put additional targeted support in place to remove any barriers to attendance and reengage these pupils.

The report describes some of the work that Southwark Council has undertaken to reduce persistent absenteeism. This includes the delivery of Team Around the School meetings, in which schools, the council, and other partners work together to identify children with attendance concerns and agree action plans to support improvements. The report states that over 1,300 children with attendance concerns were discussed in these meetings in 2023-24.

A secondary school teacher was also scheduled to speak to the commission about the issue of schools' exclusions.

Another report was scheduled to be presented from Jenny Brennan titled 'Southwark School Permanent Exclusions (November 2024)'². The report finds that the permanent exclusion of pupils from Southwark Primary Schools is extremely rare. The report states that the rate of permanent exclusion from Southwark schools is below the inner London and national rates and that there are several Southwark secondary schools that have not permanently excluded a pupil in the last 5 years.

Update on Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP)

The Commission was scheduled to receive an update on Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) from Anna Chiva, the Assistant Director for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

The report that was scheduled to be presented to the Commission, titled 'Education, Health and Care Plans Update (November 2024)'³ and available on Southwark Council's website, is an update on the progress of Southwark Council in addressing its backlog of EHCP assessments and improving the timeliness of its EHCP process. The report states that there has been a significant improvement in the timeliness of EHCP assessments, with 90% of open assessments at the end of September 2024 being within the appropriate timescale, compared to 62% in September 2023. The report also states that there are currently no assessments waiting for completion over 52 weeks, and that there has been a 90% reduction in the number of assessments that have been waiting for completion between 30 and 52 weeks.

The report also notes that Southwark Council has been spending £19.7m, 37% of its overall high-needs budget of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), on 977 students attending provision outside of the borough.

The Commission was scheduled to discuss a range of issues relating to the EHCP process, including the challenges faced in EHCP assessments, the number of appeal cases in Southwark in EHCP compared to the number of appeal cases dropped (EHCP granted), Southwark Council’s Legal team’s role in EHCP appeals cases, and the funding provided to out of borough schools.

Interviewing Retired Headteacher (SEND) and SEND Tribunal Mediator

The meeting was scheduled to hear from two people about SEND: Fran Goggins, a retired headteacher who works with SEND, and Catriona Ogilvy, a SEND Tribunal mediator. They were scheduled to talk about their personal experience with SEND in Southwark, the challenges in dealing with SEND in Southwark, and the improvements needed in Southwark SEND based on their experiences.

Proposed Work Programme 2024-2025

The commission was scheduled to discuss its proposed work programme for 2024-2025, including considering new items and the scheduling of previously identified items.