It was developed by the Wolverhampton SEND Partnership Board in response to a 'Local Area Review' of SEND services by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission last autumn.
The review looked at how well the City of Wolverhampton Council, the Black Country and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, the Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Early Years’ settings, schools and further education providers identify, assess and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND.
It highlighted a number of areas of good practice, as well as areas which require further development, with the Written Statement of Action detailing the steps partners will take, and in many cases are already taking, to address these.
Emma Bennett, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Executive Director of Families, said: "We want to ensure all our children and young people have the best possible start in life, and this is especially true for those children and young people with SEND.
"The recent inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission was an important assessment of where we are at as a city.
“They agreed with us as to the areas where performance is strong, and about those areas where we as a local area must improve, and the SEND Partnership Board has produced a robust Written Statement of Action which puts us in a good place from which to drive forward further improvements.
"We have firm foundations to build on, and there is a clear determination across the partnership to ensure that all children and young people with SEND and their families get the help and support they need, and deserve."
Sally Roberts, Chief Nursing Officer for NHS Black Country and West Birmingham Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We understand how distressing it is for any family who encounters delays in accessing the right support for their child.
“While we were pleased that Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission recognised areas of good practice, it is crucial that we now act on the recommendations for improvement that were identified.
“NHS colleagues across the city are working hard to restore services back to pre-pandemic levels, as well as to make improvements for the future. The SEND Partnership Board’s Written Statement of Action is an important step which underlines our shared commitment to ensure local SEND services reach the standards our young people and their families rightly expect.”
The Written Statement of Action has been deemed "fit for purpose" by both Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission and is available on the Wolverhampton Local Offer webpages.
