The Children's Overview and Scrutiny Committee met to discuss the drivers of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), and to review the annual complaints report. The committee also discussed its work programme for the coming year.

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

The committee reviewed the interim report from the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) Drivers Task and Finish Group, which was created to examine the increasing demand for EHCPs. The report provided data and analysis in response to questions raised at the last overview and scrutiny committee meeting.

Councillor Rex Osborn, Chair of the EHCP Task and Finish Group, explained that the report was an interim one, and that the group would be engaging with the Parent Carer Forum and holding a meeting to discuss tribunals. He also mentioned the County Council's network report on the subject, which found a correlation between EHCPs and areas of deprivation.

Key discussion points included:

• Independent sector placements: Councillor Sarah Davies asked about the increasing number of placements in the independent sector and the reasons for it. Deborah Johnson, assistant director for sending inclusion, explained that children in the independent sector tend to have more complex needs and that independent schools are able to pay more to ensure they are fully staffed. She also noted that parents have the right to ask for an independent school under the SEND Code of Practice, which was changed in 2014.
• Deprivation: Councillor Sana Jafri asked about the correlation between deprivation and the number of EHCPs. Ms Johnson explained that children in deprived areas may not have the same language skills or best start in life, and that the council looks at areas of deprivation when planning new provision. Lisa Feneroli added that the council is changing its approach to go and find those families so that they can intervene at an earlier stage.
• Early intervention: Mr Halleck said that early intervention initiatives are being worked through the schools forum, with funding given with a robust framework for decision making.
• Appeals: Councillor Mrs. Kim Caddy, Deputy Leader of the Opposition, asked whether there was any correlation between the IDACI score and levels of appeal, as she was concerned that some parents may not know how to appeal. Ms Feneroli responded that appeals are often used by more affluent parents who are able to pay for lawyers, but that the council does a lot of work with the Wandsworth Independent Advice and Support Service and the Parent Carer Forum to support parents through the system.
• Speech and language therapy: Councillor Rosemary Birchall, Deputy Mayor of Wandsworth, asked whether giving extra help to children with speech and language needs at nursery school might enable them to move out of an EHCP and into just extra help. Ms Johnson said that a review of therapies had shown that investment in speech and language therapy had flatlined EHCP requests driven by speech and language needs, but that EHCPs were going up with the demand for occupational therapy (OT), suggesting a need to invest in OT.
• Inclusion: Ms Nabila Haroon, Parent Governor Representative, raised concerns about inclusion in secondary schools and the impact of behaviour policies. Councillor Osborn said that this issue had been raised at the last OSC meeting and would be taken into account.
• School data: Councillor Emmeline Owens noted that some of the schools with the most deprived children did not have the most requests for EHCPs, and suggested drilling down into the data. Ms Feneroli agreed, and said that the next phase of engagement would involve visiting schools to understand why some schools make very few requests and have exceptional special educational needs (SEN) practice.
• Parental confidence: Councillor Birchall said that it was important to show parents that their children's needs can be provided for within the mainstream or within a hub, without the need for an EHCP. Councillor Juliana Annan asked how to support parents from disadvantaged backgrounds whose first language is not English to communicate with schools about their children's needs. Ms Feneroli suggested connecting families with trusted individuals and community groups, and building confidence in schools. Ms Johnson added that the council's SEND service can come out to coffee mornings with an interpreter.
• School Placements: Councillor Owens raised the point that Belleville Primary School was the only school that was filled in reception in September 2023, and suggested that parents should be shown the schools that have more opportunities or options for children.

The committee noted the report.

Annual Complaints Report

Nancy Caruso, corporate and statutory complaints manager, presented the annual complaints report, which provided an analysis of Children's Services statutory complaints completed between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025.

Key points from the report:

• There was a 24% increase in statutory complaints, with 46 completed across all three stages.
• 63% of complaints were responded to within the statutory timescale.
• 12% of stage 1 statutory complaints were received directly from young people, mainly care leavers.
• The most frequently raised issues at stage 1 were perceived lack of support and quality of assessment.
• There were 27 complaints made to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) about Wandsworth Children's Service, higher than the 13 complaints the previous year, but the number of cases the Ombudsman decided to investigate had not increased.

During the discussion:

• Councillor Caddy asked about the increase in complaints made to the Ombudsman. Ms Caruso explained that there was more public awareness of the Ombudsman, but that the number of formal investigations had not risen, indicating that the council was still getting it right through its process.
• Ms Feneroli said that the council would like to improve timeliness at stage one, and that tighter processes had been put in place to support children's social care.
• Councillor Stephen Worrall asked whether parents were happy with the service or whether the council was explaining well how to make a complaint. Ms Souter replied that the council was resolving complaints more to people's satisfaction.
• Councillor Osborn said that one of the most important things was what the council learned from the complaints.
• Councillor Davies appreciated the case studies in the report and asked how the learning from them was shared across all teams. Ms Souter explained that a housing team was now embedded in the leaving care service, and that a joint protocol with housing was in place.
• Mrs Irene Wolstenholme, Southwark Diocese Board of Education, Church of England, asked what was being done to support social workers, as complaints often relate to specific relationships with them. Ms Souter said that social workers receive professional and personal supervision, and that the council has a social care academy with a pastoral offer.
• Ms Haroon asked what was being done differently to reduce complaints about lack of support and quality of assessment, as these were the top complaint issues. Ms Souter said that the complaints related to a mismatch between what families hoped to receive and what the council thought they wanted or needed.
• Councillor Worrall clarified that one person could generate multiple complaints.

The committee noted the report.

Work Programme

The committee considered the work programme, which sets out the committee's planned activities for the coming year. Councillor Sheila Boswell, chair of the committee, explained that the work programme was a live document and that members could contribute to it.

The committee agreed to include the following items in the work programme:

• Violence against women and girls (VAWG) Task and Finish Group report
• Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) Drivers Task and Finish Group report
• Mainstream School Standards and Education Performance Report
• Schools Finance
• General Fund Capital Programme Allocations
• Children's Services Annual Review of Charges

During the discussion:

• Councillor Birchall commented on the meeting about violence against women and girls, saying that the young people who spoke were phenomenal and that schools should have a culture where women and girls are respected.
• Councillor Jafri said that officers had given a great talk at her children's school about how to respect children, regardless of gender or sexuality.
• Ms Feneroli said that schools have a role to play in educating children, but that it cannot be solely left to schools and has got to be a whole community approach that includes the family.
• Councillor Annan thanked the children's services for the work they are doing with the youth council.

The committee noted the report.