Agenda item

Report of Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND)

The Committee considered a report of the Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND) regarding the preparation of Staffordshire Accessibility Strategy 2021/24 under The Equality Act 2010 (schedule 4 to the signed minutes).

The County Council were required to prepare a Strategy for implementation within all their schools, in order to increase access to education by children and young people with disabilities so that they could benefit from the same provision as all children in the area.

According to the Authority’s Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Strategy (2021-26), priorities for children and young people with SEND included:- (i) ‘We communicate well with each other’; (ii) ‘We work in partnership to meet the needs of children and young people’; (iii) We ensue that the right support is available at the right time’ and; (iv) We encourage communities to be inclusive’.

The principles set out in the above-mentioned Strategy were:- (i) ‘All children and young people have a right to have their needs met, which will normally be within their local mainstream school, in their community’; (ii) Children and young people can access their education setting, participate within it and feel included’; (iii) Children and young people with a disability can access and participate fully in family and community life to meet their needs’; (iv) Staffordshire County Council (SCC), its schools, other partners and stakeholders will work together to support the needs of children and young people with a disability within education’; (v) SCC will engage with children and young people with disabilities, their parents/carers to capture their views to inform service development and working practices’.

The key priorities included in the Accessibility Strategy were:- (i) Increase Access to the curriculum for children and young people with disabilities; (ii) Improve the physical environment to increase access for children and young people with disabilities and; (iii) Make information more accessible to children and young people with disabilities. Actions to be undertaken by the County Council were listed under each.

During the full and wide-ranging discussion which ensued Members gave detailed scrutiny to the Accessibility Strategy, asking questions, seeking clarification and raising issues of concern as necessary, including:- (i) evidence of early implementation in local schools within in their areas; (ii) arrangements for monitoring and review to ensure consistency of application across the County; (iii) the results of consultation with stakeholders undertaken on the draft Strategy and how this informed the final version and; (iv) implementation of the Strategy’s aims within schools’ wider curriculum.

In conclusion Members welcomed the Strategy and acknowledged its importance in ensuring equality of access to education for all pupils. However, they were disappointed over the relatively low number of responses received to the consultation undertaken on the Strategy and urged the Cabinet Member to consider how this and other engagement measures might be improved in the future. In response, the Cabinet Member acknowledged their concern and re-assured them that appropriate action would be taken. In addition, he undertook to amend the Strategy’s implementation period to bring it in line with that of the County Council’s existing SEND Strategy.

RESOLVED – (a) That the report be received and noted.

(b) That the County Council’s Accessibility Strategy 2021/24 (to be amended to 2021/26) be supported.

(c) That appropriate action be taken to improve engagement with Stakeholders in the future having regard to the relatively low number of consultation responses received on the draft Strategy.