West Northamptonshire SEND & AP Partnership Improvement Board Summary (24 April 2025)

Item 1: Minutes and Action Log

• The minutes from the previous meeting was approved without changes. The action log was updated.
• NGH is collaborating with Mosaic to address the ASD/ADHD cases that were in progress when the service was ceased. The ICB are continuing to work to restart the primary age ADHD / ASD pathway and will update at the next board. The ICB has approved additional funding the address the ADHD / ASD backlog and is working with partners to agree how this work will be prioritised. Communication plan of the prioritisation criteria is tabled at the next board for approval. In addition, the ICB is looking at the longer term county-wide re-commissioning of the ADHD / ASH pathway.
• A forward plan for partnership communication will be brought to the board for agreement in May.
• The legalities of the sleep service procurement process were discussed, noting that the response to WNVP might not have been timely, but lessons were learned for future processes.

Item 2: Update from WNVP

Continued feedback on issues such as school accountability, masking, SALT, education, EHCPs, and support for annual reviews was provided, with positive feedback on orthodontists and some schools. The board's focus on EHCP waiting times, ASD/ADHD pathway, and SALT addresses main parental concerns, with ongoing efforts to build parental confidence in mainstream schools, especially during transitions.

Item 3: Review of Workstreams

Partnership and Leadership – Joint commissioning strategy and JSNA are set for agreement at the next board and final approval at Health and Wellbeing Board on 3rd June, with progress on data sharing protocols for EHCP and SEND partnership. The balance system phased delivery programme for SALT is moving into delivery, targeting end of July for data gathering for PfA.

Right Support, Right Place, Right Time – Health data stratification is progressing positively to support ASD/ADHD waiting lists, and work in SALT continues despite recruitment challenges. Mental health navigation tools are being developed to help children access pathways within the Thrive framework more quickly; trajectory graphs show a reduction in initial waiters for SALT, with detailed reporting needed to monitor progress and accountability.

Timeliness and Quality of Assessment and EHCPs – New case management system, JADU, is progressing with expected sign-off on 28th April, followed by a 5-week development and testing period. Communications, project management gaps, and training requirements are being addressed with a focus on reducing admin handovers and improving plan finalisation timelines.

Transition and Preparation for Adulthood – Efforts are underway to turn employer pledges from a neurodiversity work event into concrete actions, with local partners such as Barclaycard and MasterCard. An innovative scheme at Billing Brook special school uses virtual reality for transport training. Concerns about the increasing NEET cohort are being addressed by expanding flexible post-16 and post-18 provisions, and pre-internship opportunity.

Item 4: Items for Board Consideration

One-Year-On Findings – Significant progress has been made across all workstreams, with a consistent need to understand and manage data effectively. Focus is on aligning demand data with capacity data to prioritise and stratify services, aiming to develop trajectories by the September board meeting to demonstrate readiness for future inspections.

Update on regional DCS/DASS regarding PfA work – A commissioned study by the DASS in the East Midlands focused on improving outcomes for young people and adults with learning difficulties and autism, particularly high-cost cases. The study, which included data analysis and interviews, identified 33 recommendations and emphasised collaboration on transitions from age 14, integrating health, social care, and housing perspectives into the Transitions and PfA workstream.

Item 6: AOB

The joint commissioning draft document is on track despite potential delays due to the children and young people's transformation piece, with improvements being made and JSNA data expected soon. The document is scheduled for ICB’s ELT review on 8th May, and references to the CYP Transformation Board in the governance section will be updated to ensure accuracy.