Welcome back to you all after the half term break; I hope you enjoyed a rest and this half of the term has started well.

I’m sure you will have heard of the saying ‘failing to prepare, is preparing to fail’; something we have taken on board in Education and Learning with a morning dedicated earlier this week for the Senior Leadership Team to plan for future demands on our service.  During the ‘Demand Management Workshop’, colleagues took the opportunity to do some horizon scanning and discuss the pressures likely to be faced by the service, and how we may be able to respond to these. With the population expected to rise by approximately 30,000 within the next generation, the pressure on school places  and home to school transport is expected to increase; also pupils with serious complex needs are living considerably longer which will have serious financial implications for education settings and the local authority.

We know that funding for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is not a new challenge for us in the county. Warwickshire County Council, with the support of regional and national level partners and local authority areas, consistently raise funding issues with central government via the County Councils Network (CCN), f40 (40 lowest funded education authorities nationally) and the Local Government Association (LGA).

This lobbying has underpinned a recent increase in funding to local authority areas to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).  A recent report published by the LGA reflects the issues facing Warwickshire and the wider education sector regarding SEND. We continue to work closely with local area schools, colleges and other settings to support children and young people with SEND.   

I hope that many of you will now have 21 March in your diary, however just another gentle reminder about our upcoming Headteachers' Conference which will include a Q&A session with Ofsted's Amanda Spielman. Please look out for the full agenda to be circulated shortly, and in the meantime don’t forget to book your place here.

Best wishes,

Paul Senior

Interim Assistant Director Education Services