The North Northamptonshire Schools Forum was scheduled to discuss the North Northamptonshire Local SEND Reform Plan. This plan outlines the council's strategy for improving services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

North Northamptonshire Local SEND Reform Plan

The meeting's agenda focused on the North Northamptonshire Local SEND Reform Plan, a comprehensive strategy designed to address pressures within the current SEND system. The plan aims to create a more inclusive and sustainable system by focusing on early intervention, strengthening mainstream education settings, and improving partnerships between local authorities, health services, and educational providers.

The report pack detailed the structure and content of the Local SEND Reform Plan, which is intended to be a key delivery and accountability vehicle for collaborative commitment to SEND reform. The plan is expected to be revised annually.

Key elements scheduled for discussion included:

• The Experts at Hand (EAH) Offer: This is a core component of the reform programme, designed to enhance the capability of mainstream education settings to support children and young people with SEND. The offer aims to provide defined routes for mainstream settings to access specialist support from a range of experts in education and health, such as educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, and occupational therapists. The plan outlines how this offer will be embedded within a broader reform strategy, encouraging joint working and co-production with parents and carers. The report pack specified core minimum requirements for the delivery approach of this offer, including how it would be commissioned, resourced, and governed.

• Strengthening Inclusion Across Education Settings: The plan addresses the variability in inclusive practice across the system, with a goal for all mainstream settings to operate as inclusive environments within locality-based Inclusion Partnerships. This involves strengthening the Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP) framework and providing ongoing access to multidisciplinary expertise through the EAH offer.

• Access to Specialist Support and Local Placements: The strategy aims to ensure children and young people can access specialist expertise earlier and more consistently without requiring statutory assessment. This includes the EAH model providing tiered support across various settings and a focus on expanding and strategically commissioning local provision to reduce reliance on independent and out-of-area placements.

• System Leadership, Local Partnership Collaboration and Co-production: The plan emphasises the need for a single, integrated SEND Reform Plan delivered through aligned governance structures with clear shared accountability. Co-production with parents, carers, children, and young people is highlighted as a crucial element in shaping service design and delivery.

• Encouraging Inclusive Culture and Behaviours: The strategy aims to foster a proactive, inclusive culture with a shift towards early intervention and shared responsibility for meeting needs.

• Enablers: The plan identifies key enablers for reform, including workforce development, integrated data systems, and strategic capital investment.

The report pack also detailed the submission, review, and monitoring processes for the Local SEND Reform Plan, including the timeline for submission by 19 June 2026. It outlined the governance structures, funding streams available to support the reform, and the risks and dependencies associated with its implementation. The plan also requested practical support from central government, such as assistance with workforce development and access to national data frameworks.

The agenda indicated that the primary focus of the meeting was the discussion of the North Northamptonshire Local SEND Reform Plan, presented by Annita Gray, Assistant Director of Education. The report pack provided extensive detail on the proposed plan, its strategic aims, and the operational details for its implementation.