SEND Strategy and Development

The DSG conditions of grant 2021 to 2022 require that any local authority that has an overall deficit on its DSG account at the end of the 2020 to 2021 financial year, or whose DSG surplus has substantially reduced during the year, must co-operate with the Department for Education in handling that situation. In particular, the authority must provide information as and when requested by the department about its plans for managing its DSG account in the 2021 to 2022 financial year and subsequently. To help local authorities meet this requirement a DSG management plan template was published last year. We have produced a management plan based on this template.

Hounslow has produced a DSG management plan which focuses on the High Needs Block of the DSG. The High Needs Block was in deficit of £6.9m at the end of 2020/21. The local authority undertook a wider review of the SEND and Alternative Provision local offer last year and has had extensive engagement with stakeholders which informed the strategy to managing the deficit of the High Needs Block. Formal consultations also took place between March and April 2021 on proposals in the plan and schools forum have been regularly updated.

This is the first version of the DSG management plan. The plan will be regularly updated.

June 2021

In Hounslow, we are committed to ensuring the best possible experiences and outcomes for our children and young people who have special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND).

The draft vision for SEND was first presented to the Joint SEND Programme Board on 13th March 2018. Since then the vision has been shared with key stakeholders across the partnership, including parents and carers. Feedback was received from a range of stakeholders.

The draft strategy and agreed actions were fully communicated to a range of services and organisations by representatives of the Joint SEND programme board and was published on the Hounslow Local Offer to secure full engagement in the consultation leading to successful sign up to the final strategy.

The final Joint Hounslow SEND Strategy sets out our vision for the next three years, for children and young people who have SEND and the principles that guide our work towards realising this vision.