The Children's Scrutiny Committee of Devon Council met on Monday 08 June 2026 to discuss a range of important matters concerning children's services. Key topics included a comprehensive Inclusion Report, an update on the SEND Transformation Programme's Key Performance Indicators, and a detailed performance report on Children's Social Care.

Inclusion Report

The committee was scheduled to consider an Inclusion Report, which outlined the current position regarding inclusion across Devon and the development of the county's inclusion and learning strategy. This report, prepared by the Director of Children's and Young People's Futures, was grounded in the principles of the Schools White Paper and formed a significant part of Devon County Council's SEND reform plan. The strategy aims to strengthen mainstream inclusion, identify needs earlier, and embed specialist expertise within local school systems. A key component of this approach is the enhancement of high-quality SEN Support, enabling more children to remain successfully in their local mainstream schools.

The report detailed progress made through a partnership with Olive Academies Trust, commissioned to develop a coherent, system-wide approach to inclusion. This involved extensive engagement with schools, trusts, alternative provision providers, the local authority, and wider partners. A shared articulation of what inclusion should mean across Devon has been developed, centred on the core principles of belonging, early support, shared responsibility, equity, and system trust. Governance arrangements have also been strengthened with the establishment of the Devon Advisory Board, which will oversee system-wide priorities and delivery. The report highlighted that this approach aligns with the Devon County Council Strategic Plan 2021 – 2025, supporting the council's vision for a child-friendly, fairer, and more prosperous Devon.

SEND Transformation Programme: Building Inclusive Communities KPIs

A report on the SEND Transformation Programme's Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) was scheduled for discussion, providing an overview of the current inclusion landscape in Devon and focusing on indicators underpinning the SEND Transformation Programme and the development of inclusive learning communities. The report aimed to highlight system-wide trends across exclusions, suspensions, part-time timetables, elective home education, and attendance, with a particular focus on the disproportionate impact on children with SEND.

The report indicated that permanent exclusions in Devon, while showing a reduction in the current academic year, disproportionately affected children with SEND. Children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) remained above regional and national benchmarks for exclusion rates. Suspensions also remained high, with a significant burden falling on children with SEND. The use of part-time timetables was noted as increasing, with a substantial proportion of these children having SEND, and concerns were raised about schools using them as a management tool rather than a short-term reintegration intervention. Elective Home Education (EHE) was also rising significantly, with a substantial proportion of these children having additional needs and many cases linked to dissatisfaction with school provision, suggesting EHE is increasingly used as a proxy for unresolved issues within the education system. Attendance for children with EHCPs was significantly below national and regional benchmarks, reinforcing the need for targeted, multi-agency approaches. The report concluded that children with SEND are disproportionately impacted by system pressures, highlighting the need for strengthened early intervention, clearer accountability for inclusive practice, and a more coherent system response.

Children's Social Care Performance Report and Transformation Programme - Progress to date

The committee was also set to review the Children's Social Care Performance Report and an update on the Transformation Programme. The performance report, covering up to March 2026, highlighted areas of strength including the timely completion of high-risk contacts and a high percentage of care-experienced people in suitable accommodation. The usage of agency Team Managers had also reduced significantly, indicating improved workforce stability.

However, areas for improvement were identified, including the timeliness of Initial Child Protection Conferences (ICPCs) and the percentage of children aged 12 and under in residential homes, which remained above tolerance and target due to limited foster carer availability. The percentage of children with up-to-date supervision had also fallen, linked to management capacity pressures in certain localities.

The report also detailed progress on the Families First Reforms, a national initiative to strengthen early intervention and prevent escalation of need. Devon's approach involves incremental implementation, building on existing foundations such as the locality model. Key elements include the development of integrated Family Help models, Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams (MACPTs), and strengthening Family Group Decision Making (FGDM). The report noted that child exploitation had been incorporated as a core strand within the local programme. The Growing Futures programme, focused on developing homes for children with complex challenges and improving sufficiency of homes, was also discussed. This includes contract reviews for children's homes and Independent Fostering Agency (IFA) placements, reshaping post-16 supported housing, and improving the fostering service.

The report also referenced an Ofsted monitoring visit to Devon's children's services in March 2026. The inspectors noted that leaders had implemented significant organisational change, bringing greater stability to the workforce and setting a clear direction for improvement. This approach was helping the majority of children with a child in need or child protection plan to make better progress. However, the analysis of the impact of multi-agency support was not yet consistently clear or robust, leading to hesitant decision-making in some cases. The report indicated that while the quality of supervision was improving, variability remained, and partnership working continued to present challenges in meeting some children's needs, particularly for disabled children experiencing delays in receiving services.