We are pleased to announce the release of the London Post-16 SEND Review jointly funded by the Mayor of London and the Department for Education (DfE). Sadiq Khan, has shared our report with the Secretary of State for Education, Damian Hinds.
As our country goes through a period of uncertainty it has become even more important that we continue legacy-building work focusing on improving education for current and future generations. This will ensure that opportunities are afforded to all children and young people (CYP) – not removed – which is why we are so keen to use data to inform the conversation around the gap in the supply in Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision in London.
At Mime we are driven by our core purpose; to communicate complex information with clarity in order to improve the life chances of young people. SEND is a key part of this, and these children don’t always get the support they need to reach their full potential. Such is our commitment to this that we have been very pleased to work on the London Post-16 SEND Review, analysing numerous datasets, surveying SEND providers and speaking with a range of SEND stakeholders across London. The recommendations from the review have already started to influence DfE policy.
“Ensuring SEND young people receive the provision they need to fulfil their potential is an immensely complex task, particularly in times of austerity. When we started the Post-16 SEND Review we were surprised to see such an absence of an evidence base for SEND commissioners and providers to make planning decisions. We hope that the work we have done on this report will help build an understanding of future demand for SEND provision in London and provide a template for other regions to follow.”
Steve Preston (Director, Mime)
The report summarises the outcomes of a London-wide review to identify the post-16 SEND education supply gap in London. It provides recommendations for addressing the gap. It also suggests a sustainable methodology for analysing projected demand and producing an evidence-led approach to post-16 SEND commissioning. The work was carried out between January and July 2018.
We have worked closely with South Thames Colleges Group, Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust, London Councils and the Association of Colleges.
Key findings
- Post-16 SEND demand is projected to rise. However, there is already a significant gap between projected demand and existing supply, particularly in post-19 provision
- More than twice as many young people in London with EHCPs are not in education or training compared with those without SEND
- There is wide variation between provision and approaches to completing Education, Health and Care Plans in local authorities, which makes coordinating provision challenging
- Commissioners lack a robust evidence base to make planning decisions
Key Recommendations
- More funding to boost the supply of SEND skills provision, including assisting mainstream providers to support more young people with special educational needs and disabilities
- Developing a London-wide register of providers for commissioners and other stakeholders, including information on the destinations of their young people with SEND in order to better understand the quality of provision across the city
- Improving the evidence base and data-sharing between commissioners and providers
The full London Post-16 SEND Review can be found here and you can read the GLA announcement here.
This review has led us to develop the Mime Inclusion Series. This is a countrywide Mime initiative funded and investigated by us. We have spent a great deal of time exploring public SEND data and wanted to find a way to measure and promote inclusive practice beyond off-rolling.
Over the coming weeks, we will start the conversation by sharing our findings, digging deeper into the data and providing some explanations for the trends that we have found. The first article will be released soon.
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Contact us at info@mimeconsulting.co.uk or call 0208 099 4240
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