Subscribe to updates
You'll receive weekly summaries about Worcestershire Council every week.
If you have any requests or comments please let us know at community@opencouncil.network. We can also provide custom updates on particular topics across councils.
Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel - Thursday, 3rd July, 2025 10.00 am
July 3, 2025 View on council website Watch video of meeting Read transcript (Professional subscription required)Summary
The Children and Families Overview and Scrutiny Panel met to discuss the progress against the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Local Area Partnership Priority Action and Improvement Plan, performance and budget monitoring, and the panel's work programme. The panel requested reports on the CAMHS deep dive, co-production, waiting lists, and the Mello on-site provision.
Public Participation
Two members of the public addressed the panel to raise concerns.
Rebecca, a parent carer in Worcestershire, spoke about the abrupt loss of short breaks1 at Fort Royal Specialist School in Bromsgrove due to lack of funding. She stated that the closure of after-school clubs, Saturday clubs, play schemes and summer holiday provision from September 2025 would be devastating for families who rely on these services. She also criticised the £148,000 spent on a booking website that families cannot use.
Tracy raised concerns about the quality and co-production of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs),2 and the lack of external verification in the council's audit processes. She questioned the statistics presented, particularly regarding annual review compliance and health input, and criticised the decision to downgrade input from Rotherham Genuine Partnerships, experts in co-production.
SEND Local Area Partnership Priority Action and Improvement Plan
The panel received an update on the progress against the SEND Local Area Partnership Priority Action and Improvement Plan, following a level 3 outcome from an inspection in April 2024.
Daniela Carson, Assistant Director for All Age Disability (0-25), summarised the report, highlighting significant waiting lists for neurodiverse assessments, the recruitment of two co-production officers, improving attendance data for children and young people with SEND, and improvements in EHCP data. She also mentioned a deep dive by the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England (NHSE) on the quality and timeliness of plans.
Mari Gay, Managing Director for the Integrated Care Board across Herefordshire and Worcestershire, noted a rise in referrals to children's services since 2021, particularly for autism and ADHD assessments. She said that resources had been prioritised to manage the situation, with some success in reducing waiting times for occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. She also mentioned a neighbourhood health programme for children and young people to intervene sooner with support in schools.
Matthew Hall, Chief Operating Officer at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care Trust, explained that specialist children's services have about 24,000 children from Worcestershire open to them at any one time, with 2,000 referrals a year for children with neurodiversity. He said that referrals are clinically prioritised, and that productivity had increased by about 30% but that they were still 9,000 outpatient appointments short every year, requiring nine more paediatricians to meet demand.
Adam Johnston, Director of Children's Services, said that the inspection outcome in 2024 was poor and that waiting lists remained a concern. He stressed the importance of a preventative approach and early intervention, as well as the need for an update on co-production activities.
Councillor Stephen Foster, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Education and Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities, referred to financial constraints, including a £604 million debt and a high-needs deficit, which limited the council's ability to build capacity for SEND. He also mentioned a commitment of just over £30 million capital allocated to the development of SEND places.
Councillor Louis Stephen, Chair of the Council, suggested using savings from transport to fund a new school. Councillor Stephen Foster responded that the payback period would be short, but the money to build such a school was not available. Adam Johnston added that the council was in a challenging financial situation, but there was a commitment of over £30 million capital allocated to the development of SEND places.
Councillor Seb James, Chair of the Corporate and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel, asked for context on the peak and trough aspect of the waiting list graph. Adam Johnston explained that the demand was high, and there were difficulties in recruiting specialist health practitioners. Mari Gay added that referrals tend to come in peaks and troughs throughout the year, with some seasonality.
Debbie Lamont, a director of Health Watch, asked about a steep decline in the number of children and young people waiting for a CAMHS assessment. Matthew Hall explained that additional assessment clinics had been put on, and resources had been deployed differently to target children who had been waiting a long time.
The panel requested reports on the CAMHS deep dive, co-production, waiting lists, and the Mello on-site provision.
Performance and 2024/25 Draft Year-End Budget Monitoring
The panel received an update on performance and financial information for services relating to children and families.
Adam Johnston highlighted concerning data, including a high volume of referrals, a decline in the timeliness of completing assessments in 45 days, and poor performance on health assessments. He also noted that 15% of looked-after children were in residential care, which had a disproportionate impact on the budget.
Sarah Wilkins, Assistant Director for Education, Early Years, Inclusion, and Pupil Place Planning, discussed Ofsted performance, attendance, children missing education, elective home education, exclusions, and personal education plans. She noted an improving trend in the quality of education and attendance, but also highlighted the challenges of tracking children missing education and ensuring a suitable education for those electively home educated.
Councillor Justin Bowen, Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Children and Families, said that he was focusing on bringing children home from residential homes and independent fostering agencies.
Chris Bird, the chief accountant for Worcestershire, presented the financial information, noting a net overspend of £6.2 million for the council, with children's services being a key area of overspend. He highlighted a £7 million overspend on placements and a £1.3 million overspend on all-age disability due to agency costs for educational psychologists. He also discussed the dedicated schools grant and the high-needs block, noting a significant deficit and the need for a strategic approach from the government.
Councillor Louis Stephen asked about pupils on part-time schooling and whether this was being used to manage exclusion figures. Sarah Wilkins responded that schools are required to notify the local authority of part-time timetables, and that Ofsted will interrogate this on school inspections.
Mel Fordington asked how homeschooling was monitored and whether children were receiving the same standards of education. Sarah Wilkins explained that elective home education is a parental right, and the threshold to meet for providing a suitable education is low.
Work Programme
The panel discussed its work programme for 2025/26 and agreed to add several areas of focus, including:
- NEET care leavers and move-on accommodation
- Home to school transport
- The Hadwen Health pilot
- Reforms for social care
- The CAMHS deep dive
- Co-production
- Waiting lists
-
Short breaks are designed for disabled children and can include after-school clubs, weekend sessions, overnight respite and holiday schemes. ↩
-
An Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) is a legal document that describes a child or young person’s special educational, health and social care needs, explains the extra support that will be given to meet those needs and how that support will help the child or young person achieve their ambitions. ↩
Attendees













Topics
No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.
Meeting Documents
Reports Pack
Additional Documents