Governance and accountability for strategy

It was developed by a working group, reporting into the Children’s Planning and Transformation Partnership.  The Partnership is a subgroup of the LLR Children and Young People’s Senior Leadership Group, which in turn reports to the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) for Children and Young People.

It is proposed that a joint commissioning board across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will implement the action plan, tackle any issues or barriers arising and establish task and finish groups as needed.

The work of the board and progress on the delivery plan will be monitored by the Planning and Transformation Partnership and ultimately by the Senior Leadership Group.

Each agency will have its own reporting routes including joint commissioning boards and improvement boards etc. These will also help to assure the work and to keep a check on progress made.

The SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (PDF) sets out specific roles and responsibilities for joint commissioning. These are summarised below:

Local authority

• This agency is responsible for leading integration arrangements for Children and Young People with SEN or disabilities. There reporting route is Lead Member for Children’s Services and Director for Children’s Services (DCS).

Children’s and adult social care

• This agency is responsible for children’s and adult social care services. They must co-operate with those leading the integration arrangements for children and young people with SEN or disabilities to ensure the delivery of care and support is effectively integrated in the new SEN system. This area reports into lead Member for Children and Adult Social Care, and Director for Children’s Services (DCS), Director for Adult Social Services (DASS).

Health and Wellbeing

• The Health and Wellbeing Board must ensure a joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA) of the current and future needs of the whole local population is developed. The JSNA will form the basis of NHS and local authorities’ own commissioning plans, across health, social care, public health. Membership of the Health and Wellbeing Board must include at least one local elected councillor, as well as a representative of the local Healthwatch organisation. It must also include the local DCS, DASS, and a senior CCG

Clinical Commissioning Group

• To co-operate with the local authority in jointly commissioning services, ensuring there is sufficient capacity contracted to deliver necessary services, drawing the attention of the local authority to groups and individual children and young people with SEN or disabilities, supporting diagnosis and assessment, and delivering interventions and review. CCGs will be held to account by NHS England. CCGs are also subject to local accountability, for example, to the Health and Wellbeing Board for how well they contribute to delivering the local Health and Wellbeing Strategy. Each CCG has a governing body and an Accountable Officer who are responsible for ensuring that the CCG fulfils its duties to exercise its functions effectively, efficiently and economically and to improve the quality of services and the health of the local population whilst maintaining value for money.

NHS England

• NHS England commissions specialist services which need to be reflected in local joint commissioning arrangements (for example augmentative and alternative communication systems, or provision for detained children and young people in relevant youth accommodation). The agency report into the Secretary of State for Health.

Healthwatch

• Local Healthwatch organisations are a key mechanism for enabling people to share their views and concerns – to ensure that commissioners have a clear picture of local communities’ needs and that this is represented in the planning and delivery of local services. This can include supporting children and young people with SEN or disabilities. Local Healthwatch organisations represent the voice of people who use health and social care services and are represented in the planning and delivery of local services. This can include supporting children and young people with SEN or disabilities. They are independent but funded by local authorities.

Maintained nurseries and schools (including academies)

• Mainstream schools have duties to use best endeavours to make the provision required to meet the SEN of children and young people. All schools must publish details of what SEN provision is available through the information report and co-operate with the local authority in drawing up and reviewing the Local Offer. Schools also have duties to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children and young people, to support medical conditions and to inform parents and young people if SEN provision is made for them. Accountability is through Ofsted and the annual report that schools have to provide to parents on their children’s progress.

Colleges

• Mainstream colleges have duties to use best endeavours to make the provision required to meet the SEN of children and young people. Mainstream and special colleges must also co-operate with the local authority in drawing up and reviewing the Local Offer. Accountable through Ofsted and performance tables such as destination and progress measures.