Last week saw the announcement of DfE plans to improve the SEND system as well as a critical investigation in these pages of the quality usefulness of EHCP recommendations for educators. While the latter is difficult to hear, I hope the combination will finally bring due attention to the crucial role of SEND caseworker teams.
These teams of SEND officers are central to the development and co-ordination of education, health and care needs assessments for children and young people. On behalf of the local authority, they ensure that processes are in place to meet statutory requirements and timeframes.
They are responsible for the publication of the final education, health and care plan (EHCP), which follows close consultation with families and with prospective schools and colleges.
Once the final plan is in place, they are then responsible for monitoring, reviewing, amending and ceasing the plan during the child or young person’s education.
Their wider roles include dealing with queries, resolving concerns and managing complaints and appeals. They are usually the first port of call for families and providers in navigating the complex SEN system and are effectively the outward facing SEND delivery arm of the local authority.
Yet, despite the importance of their role, there is little focus on these teams in SEND policy or guidance, and no mention of them in the SEND code of practice.
The role requires no formal qualifications or training, there is no structured career path, and there are no minimum standards that underpin their work.
In addition, there is no published data on the size of this workforce. Anecdotally, however, many teams are operating at a ratio of one caseworker for at least every 250 EHCPs.
A Leeds Trinity University study by Tracy Laverick and Richard Baron published last year provided a comprehensive insight into the role. It showed that SEN officers want to work well and co-produce with families and providers, but are often frustrated by their lack of a clearly defined role, excessive workloads, time constraints and an absence of training and standards.
Many have a ratio of one caseworker for 250 EHCPs
In a survey of 11 local authorities in one region, the authors found that 55 per cent of caseworkers had only been in the role for two years or less. Their evidence suggests this high level of staff churn is due to high caseloads and demoralised staff.
Some areas have begun to address this issue locally. Hertfordshire, for example, has launched a SEND Academy, a training and development programme designed to support a “new generation of SEND workers”. NASEN also now offers an accredited training programme for staff directly involved in local authority SEND case work.
Such initiatives are hugely valued by staff but need to be underpinned by nationally agreed minimum standards (akin to those that exist for SEND Information and Advice Support Services), coupled with descriptors of the role of the SEND caseworker.
The education select committee’s ongoing SEND inquiry asks some fundamental questions in its search for solutions to the challenges in the SEN system. Among these, it wants to know how waiting times for EHCPs can be improved and what can be done to support families during and after the EHCP process.
Many of the answers to those questions relate directly to the significant workforce issues facing local authority caseworker teams.
The DfE’s 2023 SEND and AP Improvement Plan recognised that “local authority SEND casework teams play a vital role in supporting families to navigate the system and ensuring they have good experiences”. It committed to providing new guidance on delivering a responsive and supportive SEND casework service to families when next consulting on the SEND Code of Practice.
While this is welcome, more needs to be done to emphasise the importance of these teams and to develop their professionalism.
Creating a workforce strategy that strengthens this critical workforce would not only improve their work with and the quality of the EHCPs they write; it would make a significant contribution to a more efficient, responsive, communicative and family-friendly SEN service.
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