Lincolnshire's Inclusion Strategy

Introduction

High quality inclusive education where children and young people feel they belong, are respected, and are optimistic and aspirational about their future

What does the strategy aim to do?

The purpose of this strategy is to set out our aims and strategic direction to ensure that children and young people with SEND in Lincolnshire are supported to achieve the best possible outcomes in school and in life.

This is Lincolnshire’s overarching inclusion strategy. It sets out Lincolnshire’s key ambitions and areas of development, which are detailed within our twelve strategic elements. (add link when created page)

Partners in education, health and social care are committed to working together to establish an integrated school system where children and young people get the right health, care and education, in the right place, at the right time. Children and young people are able to transition to adulthood and independence when they are ready to do so.

There is an established local area expectation and agreement for inclusion to be embedded throughout all schools and a commitment to fully engage with and implement available provision and support to meet children and young people’s needs as early as possible.

What is our inclusive strategic vision?

This strategy has been developed in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, including young people, parent, carers, early years’ providers, schools and post-16 providers, health professionals as well as local authority staff. Together, we have defined our inclusive ambition:
children and young people, parents, carers and professionals will have a strong understanding of the graduated approach and support available in Lincolnshire enabling it to be implemented in a proactive, robust and meaningful way.

mainstream settings will have strong knowledge and understanding of supporting children and young people with additional needs. Settings are able to use meaningful and effective ways to teach the range of skills that will enable aspirations to be reached
settings are able to proactively work together with families to ensure that the home environment reflects the support taking place within the school practice, in order to best meet a child or young person’s needs
children and families will feel supported by their community and have confidence with the SEND system, because the right support is provided at the right time
settings and professionals are able to work with families to recognise what need is being communicated by children and young people’s behaviours, enabling wrap around strategies to be provided within a fully inclusive approach
we will have high aspirations for children and young people with additional needs to enable them to be fully prepared for their adulthood, using effective support and planning to effectively meet needs and outcomes that will lead to higher achievement and increased personal resilience

How we will meet this challenge

Lincolnshire’s inclusion plan sets out our commitment to continuous improvement to deliver the best experiences and outcomes for children and young people with additional needs and for their families. It provides the detail around identified improvements and forms the basis of Lincolnshire’s inclusion action plan.

Lincolnshire’s inclusion plan captures the journey, detailing the progress that has been made as part of Lincolnshire’s SEND transformation work alongside the commitments in place across the local area as we continue forward. This inclusion plan provides an overview of the county’s demographics, the statistics and data in relation to SEND and alternative provision and children and young people’s outcomes. Analysis of this information has enabled the local area to identify key priorities across:

high quality early intervention
inclusion and removing exclusion in schools
prepared for adulthood
positive experiences
improving the range and quality of provision

The inclusion plan details the actions to be taken from across a range of stakeholders to address these priorities, the intended positive impact on outcomes as a result of these actions and how we intend to measure success from robust oversight and review.

The 12 strategic elements

We currently have 12 strategies to help with this

children's integrated commissioning strategy for special educational needs & disabilities (SEND) services across Lincolnshire
Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) strategy
SEND workforce development programme
building communities of specialist provision strategy
joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA)
SEND transition strategy
SEND performance and quality assurance strategy
alternative provision (AP) strategy
early childhood strategy
all-age autism strategy
early help strategy
school attendance strategy

Children's integrated commissioning strategy for special educational needs & disabilities (SEND) services across Lincolnshire

This strategy is focused on working together to commission services that improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for children and young people aged 0-25 with SEND in Lincolnshire

Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) and NHS Lincolnshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) work as strategic partners to improve support for children and young people with SEND across a wide range of services for education and health settings, children and young people and their families. Shared commitment to this integrated commissioning strategy for SEND will further strengthen those relationships, working alongside schools and other educational and health settings to ensure children and young people with SEND and their families receive the right support, from the right people, in the right place, at the right time for, to help fulfil their potential.

Engagement and co-production with children, young people, their families, schools and providers, is crucial for creating effective solutions; minimising duplication of services and resources. This is whilst ensuring efficient use of public funds to best support identified need and planned outcomes for academic achievement, personal resilience, social connections and independence.

This strategy sets out our shared aims and objectives, including:

understanding the needs of children and young people with SEND in Lincolnshire.
children and young people with SEND to receive the right support, at the right time, as close to home as possible and reducing inequalities they may face compared to their peers.
to make support options clear and accessible for children and young people, parents, carers and professionals.
educate settings on how to best support children and young people with SEND, making necessary adjustments and reduce exclusions.
improve joined up working between organisations to prioritise shared goals.
enhance transitions between education stages and services across the system.

This strategy identifies the key achievements so far and the agreed future priorities.

Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) strategy

Our SEMH strategy sets out our aims and strategic direction over the next three years (2023-26) to ensure that children and young people in Lincolnshire are supported in their school settings to enjoy good mental health and wellbeing. The strategy details what SEMH is, its impact within the national and local context and clarity regarding a shared concept and definition of what we mean by inclusive education in Lincolnshire.

Implementation of the strategy is broken down into five elements that cover:

review of alternative provision in Lincolnshire: schools will effectively implement Lincolnshire’s ladder of behavioral intervention and work closely with available services to meet children and young people’s SEMH needs. The support provided by alternative provision will be fully reviewed to maximise positive impact
development of Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA) pathway: schools will review and adapt their policies and practice to deliver a long-term focus on supporting this area of need through a wide range of available tools, which will be reviewed and developed
embed and develop training and support offer: schools will work with available support services to further develop and embed meaningful and robust inclusive practice, working together to enable children and young people to stay in their local mainstream school wherever possible
transitions: schools will play an active lead role in supporting planned moves, within their school and also between school settings, through relationship-building, involving families and focusing on children and young people feeling safe and secure within their school. What is working best in our mainstream settings will be reviewed and good practice rolled out and developed wider
provision used as a continuum of support: Lincolnshire’s Local Offer provides information around what support and provision is available to enable children and young people to access inclusive education. The range of tools, such as VSEND and Lincolnshire’s inclusion toolkit, will be developed and widened to include a transition toolkit and an inclusion audit tool

SEND workforce development programme

Our SEND workforce development programme is aimed at providing a coordinated, sector-led approach to professional development to ensure all pupils with SEND can access a quality education in the right place, as close to home as possible.

The programme draws together resources and training opportunities for people in Lincolnshire who support children and young people with SEND.

It is written by schools for school communities, both mainstream and special, to ensure a culture of SEND awareness and inclusion is embedded in all aspects of school life.

Topics cover a wide range of development such as

nurture principles
attachment
support interventions
restorative practice
sensory processing
integration and transitions

New training continues to be developed in response to areas of need within the school communities. All the training can be accessed via the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (LSCP).

As part of the coproduction with Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum (LPCF) it was identified that parent and carer access to elements of the training would support them to enhance their skills and knowledge with the aim of empowering them through expanding their expertise. Access to these aspects of the training is via the LPCF.

Lincolnshire Young Voices (LYV) produced a short, inspiring resource for professionals that won a National Association for Special Educational award (NASEN). The training, ‘A rough guide to not putting your foot in it’ uses the voices of the disabled community and national best practice to improve knowledge and confidence for everyone working or coming into contact with children, young people and adults with SEND. The training is available via LSCP.

Building communities of specialist provision strategy

The building communities of specialist provision strategy is aimed at providing major improvements to educational provision for children and young people with additional needs in Lincolnshire schools. Its aim is to create an integrated system where pupils attend their nearest school, enabling their needs to be met alongside reduced travel times and improved provision.

The strategy has seen a £100m investment in Lincolnshire’s special schools. This has provided over 500 additional special school places through school refurbishments, expansions and new builds.

The next phase of the strategic plan is involving the local partnership as part of Lincolnshire’s ongoing SEND transformation work. Lincolnshire is developing additional layers of provision across the county:

mainstream SEND hubs: part of our mainstream offer that is run by mainstream school as an integral part of their school
special school satellites: part of our special school offer that is run by special school on a mainstream school site
alternative provision: part of our mainstream offer that is run by mainstream school

The additional provisions are all aimed at supporting children and young people with additional needs to be educated and have their needs met in their local communities – in the right place, at the right time, as close to home as possible. The provisions will provide personalised educational delivery across the curriculum to support children and young people as they progress through their educational journey and prepare for adulthood.

Overarching is an embedded clear inclusive ethos and culture for all students across the settings through high aspirational focuses.

Joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA)

Lincolnshire’s joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA) provides a picture of current and future health and care needs of the local population, by collating a range of evidence in one place. This evidence informs and guides the planning and commissioning of health, well-being and social care services within Lincolnshire.

The JSNA:

provides a common view of health and care needs for the local community
documents current service provision
identifies gaps in health and care services, documenting unmet needs
provides evidence of effectiveness for different health and care interventions
looks at the health of the population, with a focus on behaviours which affect health such as smoking, diet and exercise
identifies health inequalities
is concerned with wider social factors that have an impact on people’s health and wellbeing, such as housing, poverty and employment

The health and wellbeing board has a statutory responsibility to prepare a JSNA for Lincolnshire. The JSNA is compiled in partnership with local health and wellbeing providers and commissioners, including local authorities, NHS, Healthwatch and other community organisations. The priorities identified from the JSNA are then used by the health and wellbeing board to inform the Lincolnshire joint health and wellbeing strategy. By taking this collaborative approach, local partners are clear of the ways in which they can work together to improve health and wellbeing and to reduce inequalities in the local population.

The Integrated Care Board and Integrated Care Partnership are also required to take account of the JSNA in the planning of local health services and in the development of the integrated care strategy.

SEND transition strategy

Transition is a time of change and can be a source of both excitement and anxiety for children and young people and for their parents and carers. It puts enormous demands on children and young people; socially, linguistically, emotionally, academically, and practically. A good transition can mean the difference between floundering and flourishing and should be seen as a process rather than an event. Transition means change and becoming resilient and able to cope with change is a key life skill. Children and young people need to feel safe and secure with planning that includes consideration of everyone involved, their actions and responsibilities, tools, techniques, contingency planning, and risk mitigation.

Transition is often referred to in relation to moving between educational settings at planned transition points, such as between early years settings and primary, infant, and junior, primary to secondary, secondary to post 16 and adulthood. However, transition is much broader than this. There are additional elements that are just as crucial and so also require robust planning to maximise success. This includes to and from alternative provision, from setting to setting as part of a managed move or between special and mainstream schools or as part of planning when moving from children to adult services. In addition, transition within a day is also vital, such as between different staff, classrooms, intervention spaces, and as part of time-out.

Implementing effective support is key when the biggest need is potentially stability and trust. The resources, support and commitment involved in preparing for smooth transitions are significant and dependent on the commitment of all involved and on a good understanding of the positive benefits for children and young people. Schools and support agencies all play a key and active role in supporting transitions through an open dialogue and promotion of relationship-building, involving families, and focusing on children and young people feeling safe and secure within their school.

Lincolnshire’s stakeholders across the SEND partnership are clearly committed to provide support and resources that enable children and young people to move seamlessly between transitions. All with the ultimate aim of enabling children and young people to access the right support at the right time, while maximising their opportunities for achieving successful life outcomes as part of their preparation for adulthood

Lincolnshire’s vision and aims alongside how this is implemented will be set out in a SEND transitions strategy.

SEND performance and quality assurance strategy

Lincolnshire has a strong commitment to evidence-based decision-making and continuous improvement to maintain high standards in delivering SEND and alternative provision support and provision. This includes delivering an efficient and effective service, within the backdrop of legislation, that is focused on improving outcomes for children, young people and their families to enable high aspirations and for them to reach their full potential.

Lincolnshire focusses on a structure that enables all partners and stakeholders to engage with quality assurance. Feedback and involvement across the wide range of service users provides a robust framework of seeking and gathering views. This enables robust measuring of the impact of service delivery and provides a clear and robust framework for developments going forward that continually build on and improve on the range, performance and quality of available support, provision and services.

Lincolnshire’s vision and aims alongside how this is implemented will be set out in a SEND performance and quality assurance strategy.

Alternative provision (AP) strategy

To ensure the maximum positive impact of accessing alternative provision, we are currently completing a full review. Identifying existing successful inclusive support and practices that are most effective in supporting inclusive education within our mainstream schools. The review will also inform how our alternative provision can best be developed to enable schools to remove barriers and improve universal and targeted support and inclusion for our children and young people.

The review is due to be completed by September 2025. It sits alongside the government’s plans within the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan and will take into consideration developments as this progresses into updated legislation and guidance.

Lincolnshire’s alternative provision strategy will be developed as an outcome of the review.

Early childhood strategy

Lincolnshire’s early childhood strategy has been developed to capture our collective ambitions for our children and to outline our direction of travel for our improvement journey. This will enable all stakeholders and professionals to consider how they invest time and resources to best prioritise the areas that will have greatest impact on improving educational outcomes for all children and their families.

The emphasis of the strategy is to establish a shared responsibility amongst all professionals to ensure they play a part in supporting all children to thrive. This will enable the key steps to be in place supporting positive experiences for both children and their parents. This will lead on to a smooth transition into school in order that they are ready to learn and are able to reach their expected level of development at the end of their foundation stage.

All-age autism strategy

The purpose of this strategy is to set out our objectives and strategic direction to support autistic people of all ages and their families, so that they have an equal opportunity to lead fulfilling and rewarding lives. Lincolnshire’s all-age autism strategy outlines our commitment in Lincolnshire to do more to help autistic people and how we intend to deliver at a local level on the objectives set out within the national autism strategy.

The Lincolnshire Autism Partnership Board (LAPB) is responsible for overseeing the delivery of this strategy. It consists of a range of representatives from partner organisations and stakeholders, who work in collaboration to drive this agenda forward and develop ways of improving services and support for autistic people. The LAPB includes professionals from education, health and social care, mainstream public services, voluntary sector organisations and, importantly, autistic people and their family members and carers.

The focus of this strategy is on achieving the 15 priority challenges for action that are set out in the government’s national autism strategy. The strategy sets out our local key themes and issues that have been identified as being of the most importance to autistic people and their families in Lincolnshire.

Early help strategy

For children and young people that need additional support, the actions take by professionals to meet these needs as early as possible can be critical to their future. Lincolnshire’s early help strategy identifies the need for timely support for children and their families as soon as difficulties start to emerge, or when there is a strong likelihood that difficulties will emerge in the future. Lincolnshire’s early help offer is not just for young children as problems may emerge at any point throughout childhood and adolescence. The early help offer includes universal and targeted services designed to reduce or prevent specific difficulties from escalating or becoming entrenched.

The critical features of this strategy are:

a multi-disciplinary approach that brings a range of professional skills and expertise to bear through a “Team Around the Child (TAC)” approach
a relationship with a trusted lead professional who can engage the child and their family, and coordinate the support needed from other agencies
practice that empowers families and helps them to develop the capacity to resolve their own problems
a holistic approach that addresses children’s needs in the wider family context
a simple, streamlined referral and assessment processes

Lincolnshire’s early help strategy reflects the emphasis on the importance of early help in promoting the welfare of children and young people, together with clear arrangements for collaboration. This further supports the application of preventative services to do more to reduce abuse and neglect rather than reactive services, co-ordination of services to maximise efficiency and positive impact, and a strong mechanism for supporting people to identify children and young people suffering harm that may need a referral to children’s social care.

Central to this strategy is the early identification of children and their families who would benefit from early help and a coordinated early assessment and response to prevent harm and improve outcomes for children and families as a whole.

School attendance strategy

Lincolnshire’s school attendance strategy recognises where we are, where we want to be and the resources we have to ensure that all Lincolnshire children and young people can and want to go to school. It puts a focus back onto school attendance and the importance of this to ensure the safety, wellbeing and achievement of all our children and young people.

Whilst there are always exceptions to the rule, children and young people who have good attendance, are much more likely to achieve academically. Evidence also suggests that children who attend school regularly are more likely to go on to lead healthier, wealthier lives.

This strategy recognises the complexity of attending school and that securing good attendance of all our children is a team effort. While many children and young people in Lincolnshire have very good attendance, leaving school well prepared for adult working life, our vision is that all our children in Lincolnshire attend as much as they can. We know there is excellent practice in schools and strong partnership working across all our services supporting children into school. However, we are also aware that going to school can be extremely challenging for some of our children and is multi-faceted.

This strategy focusses on improving attendance for children of statutory school age. However, it also recognises that good attendance is often learned behaviour and as such, it starts in early education, even pre-school. This strategy also promotes the attendance of young people post statutory school age at some form of education provision under the Participation of Young People in Education, Employment, or Training Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities (2016). Whilst the laws of attendance are different from post 16 until 18, this strategy recognises the importance of attendance and the link with positive outcomes.

How do we know our strategic vision is working?

How will we measure success?

We will continue to work closely with the Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum (LPCF) and Lincolnshire Young Voices (LYV) to ensure that children, young people and their families co- produce developments and support in evaluating progress towards milestones:

robust and meaningful application of appropriate early response to meet children and young people’s additional needs as early as possible through evidence-based strategies and interventions that impact positively on outcomes, and prevents harm or their needs from deteriorating
improved attendance for children and young people, with part-time timetables only used temporarily as a short-term solution in very exceptional circumstances
reduced suspensions and permanent exclusions from educational settings
a skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced workforce with the ability to implement robust support that enables children and young people to have their needs met at their local mainstream educational setting with tailored support
increased confidence in mainstream schools and the support ordinarily available within the Local Area to meet children and young people’s needs
a reduced reliance and demand on specialist support and provision, including specialist settings, alternative placements, and specialist services as a result of strengthened early intervention and confidence in mainstream provision
increased achievements and positive outcomes gained by children and young people with additional needs
flexible, proactive, and coherent planning across transitions that provides children and young people and their families with the support and appropriate preparation to move confidently between the various phases and stages of education and, eventually, into adulthood
positive feedback from children and young people and parent/carers with support tailored to individual needs that enables children and young people to make positive choices and feel that they belong in their school and local community

How will we keep our strategic vision under review?

Each strategy that sits under our over-arching SEND strategy will be reviewed in line with their timeline and governance. We will then review our SEND strategy on an annual basis within the SEND learning partnership board and the SEND steering group.