The People Committee are scheduled to meet on Thursday, 25 September 2025, to discuss the Special Educational Needs/ Disabilities and Alternative Provision Strategy, the Ofsted Inspection of Children's Services, the People Committee In Year Performance Report, and a Homecare Update. The meeting will be held at the Civic Offices in Sutton.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Strategy 2024/27

The committee will receive an update on the Special Educational Needs/ Disabilities and Alternative Provision (SEND/AP) Strategy 2024/27. This will include progress against the strategy agreed in September 2024, a summary of the SEN2 published performance data and how Sutton compares to other local areas, and an update on the current financial pressures and position on the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG).

The report pack states that a priority in Sutton Council's Ambitious for Sutton Corporate Plan 2022-2027 is to create an inclusive place for everyone. The council's vision is that:

we are collectively ambitious for our children and young people. Together we want to provide them with the best chances to achieve their best outcomes in life, whatever their starting point, and to prepare them effectively for adulthood.

The five key priorities agreed for the SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy were: earlier identification and more timely support; joined-up and relational practice; strengthened access to education for vulnerable pupils; growing the voice and influence of children and young people/parents; and a more financially sustainable system.

According to the report pack, Sutton has formally signed up to the London Inclusion Charter¹ and has secured funding for five primary schools trained in the 'Talk Matters' programme. The report pack also mentions that additional Alternative Provision has been developed at the Limes College, and that construction work is underway for a Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) hub at the Sutton Life Centre.

The Sutton SEND and AP Strategic Partnership will be responsible for the delivery of these priorities.

The report pack also contains an overview of SEN2 data² for Sutton, comparing it to regional and national data. The report pack notes that the Financial Year (FY) 2024/25 outturn position on the Council's Dedicated Schools Grant position was an overspend of £9.2m. The deficit carried forward from FY2023/24 was £1.4m, giving an overall deficit carried forward to FY2025/26 of £10.6m. The report pack states that work has been underway to try and mitigate the ongoing pressures in the High Needs Block through the development of a DSG Management Plan.

The report pack also notes that the government has announced that national reforms of the SEND system will be published in the autumn 2025.

The committee will also review the local area self-evaluation for SEND services in the Borough.

Ofsted Inspection of Children's Services 2025

The committee will discuss the findings of the Ofsted inspection of Local Authority Children's Services completed in Sutton in June 2025.

The report pack states that Local Authority Children's Services are regulated and inspected by Ofsted as part of the 'Inspection of Local Authority Children's Services' framework (ILAC).

The overall judgement of the inspection rated the services as 'Good'. This includes the impact of leaders on social work practice with children and families, the experiences and progress of children who need help and protection, the experiences and progress of children in care, and the experiences and progress of children care leavers, all of which were also judged as 'Good'.

The report pack notes that Ofsted identified three areas that required improvement: the quality and consistency of response to children who are looked after who go missing from home; the effectiveness of the initial response to children who are at risk of physical harm; and the quality and robustness of leaders and managers' oversight of discrete areas of practice where there is not effective social work.

The report pack states that an action plan against the above recommendations has been implemented.

People Committee In Year Performance Report

The committee will discuss the People Committee In Year Performance Report. The report pack states that to enhance the scrutiny work of standing committees and governance around the provision of Social Care and Education, a twice-yearly performance report is provided for the committee.

The report pack notes that over the last few months, the Council has been subject to inspections by various regulatory bodies. Adult social care has been inspected by the CQC, and Children's social care has been inspected by Ofsted.

The report pack also notes that the way statutory data is collected for Adult Social Care has changed from the previous aggregated and annual Short & Long Term Return (SALT), to a more detailed quarterly 'Client Level Data' (CLD) Return.

Homecare Update

The committee will receive an update on the implementation of the new Homecare Commissioning Arrangements.

The report pack states that the Home Care Commissioning Strategy 2023-29 was presented to the People Committee on 31 October 2022. The report pack notes that Sutton Council is committed to delivering high-quality local Home Care services for Sutton residents.

The report pack states that the new model of Home Care services, commissioned through a framework of providers, has been transformational. The new home care services, with a geographical patch model based on Sutton electoral wards, has 11 lead provider patches for older people and adults with physical disabilities and a further 2 lead provider patches for the provision of care and support services for residents with a learning disability and mental health needs. The model also contains a supplementary list of 14 providers that supports the patch providers.

The report pack notes that the new model has led to significant performance improvements to the Council's Home Care service. The acceptance rate for new care packages is now 97%, and 100% of hospital discharges requiring Home Care are sourced without delay. The report pack also states that all Home Care providers have a Care Quality Commission rating of Good or Outstanding.

The report pack states that the transfer of service users from spot providers to the Council's commissioned lead providers commenced in June 2024. As at the end of July 2025, 118 service users have continued with their spot provider.

The report pack also notes that a new automated provider portal is being developed in partnership with Access Group to deliver a payment system, commencing with Home Care providers, to reduce the potential for overcharging.

The report pack states that a new Domiciliary Care Trusted Assessor role has been introduced. This role in the Home Care provider workforce is to coordinate support, signpost and connect residents to local community facilities as well as being able to prescribe minor pieces of equipment in a timely way to avoid delay in residents receiving aids and equipment that are needed to maintain their independence.