Issue - meetings

The Board considered a report from the Director of Children's Services, which provided a progress update, (against the targets set out in the DBV Grant) on the Delivering Better Values (DBV) project, covering the period of the third quarter, from October 2024 to January 2025. 

DBV was a Department for Education (DfE) programme working to identify and implement local opportunities to improve the outcomes for children and young people with SEND, across 54 Local Authorities and to aid local systems (alongside existing local and other DfE programmes) in their objective of achieving financial sustainability. 

Halton was identified as being eligible to apply for the DBV grant funding so an application was submitted.  Halton was awarded the full grant of £1m which provided an opportunity to positively transform inclusive practices across Halton.

The report provided detailed updates on the work being carried out in workstreams 1 and 2, and described the next steps to be taken.

Further to Members questions on the Programme, the following information was provided:

·       Some schools, including academies, were initially hesitant to participate in the DBV Programme, for a number of reasons, such as waiting to see results before committing.  The Council's Quality Assurance Officers were also now in place and monitored the Programme.  Most Academy Trusts in Halton were now participating in the Programme;

·       In order to select two High Dependency Pilot Units within secondary schools for the exploration of invest to save measures, Officers requested expressions of interest from schools at the Halton Association of Secondary Headteachers (HASH) meeting.  Once they were received, the schools were visited and the ones that offered the best existing resources were selected;

·       The numbers of children in Halton that received extra time for exams – this was not to hand so would be sent following the meeting, with last year's figures for comparison; and

·       The PRU was intended a temporary measure for excluded children, however some got stuck there.  Some obtained EHCP's but the aim was to diagnose these children whilst in mainstream schools, to avoid later misdiagnosis or exclusion.

RESOLVED:  That the report is noted.