Department for Education invests in our SEND service

The Department for Education (DfE) invited Haringey Council to participate in its Safety Valve intervention programme, a national scheme designed to assist local authorities in tackling overspending expenditures for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This programme, which runs for five years until 2028, includes £29.9m in funding in return for delivering 18 projects focused on supporting more children and young people with SEND in Haringey. 

Haringey’s SEND transformation is underway

Haringey’s SEND service is currently transforming and implementing system change via an ambitious SEND Strategy, which was developed using a co-production model informed by children and young people with SEND, their parents, carers, and partners. The 18 projects in the Safety Valve Programme directly reflect the priorities in the SEND Strategy.

Some key projects in the programme include:

• Redesigning alternative education provision services.
• Earlier support and intervention for young children with SEND, commissioning good quality education placements.
• Development of supported employment internships for the post-16 SEND cohort in Haringey.
• Work with health partners on redesigning Speech, Language and Communication pathways to support children and help them access the support they need earlier, without requiring statutory assessments and intervention in some cases.

Haringey Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Schools and Families, Cllr Zena Brabazon, said:

It’s fantastic news that Haringey Council has been approved to be part of the Safety Valve Programme to build on our existing SEND Transformation Programme, which will provide better outcomes for children and young people with SEND and their families here in our borough.

Our proposals were developed in line with our SEND Strategy and informed by what children and young people with SEND, their carers/parents, and partners told us to ensure the finalised plans best meet our children and young people’s needs overall.

Amanda Bernard, Chair of SEND Power Parent Carer Forum in Haringey, said:

The Safety Valve programme brings some much-needed additional funding into SEND education services. While we wholeheartedly support the development of new services and provision, which are sorely needed, many of our members remain understandably anxious about the programme and what it may mean for Haringey children and young people with SEND. There is much work to do to achieve the local vision, and we are committed to working together with the Local Authority to make the best use of this programme and mitigate any risks.

We understand SEND Power’s anxieties about the programme. We’re committed to full transparency by publicly monitoring the status of the programme’s promises and goals with routine programme update reports, a comprehensive Communication and Engagement Plan highlighting how we’re continuing to work with our partners and community, and more. Refer to our dedicated Safety Valve Programme webpage, where you will find regular progress updates and more detailed information.

Children and young people with SEND informed us how they want to see the service change via the SEND Strategy, along with their parents and carers and our partners and schools. The projects in this investment directly reflect the priorities designed by the SEND community, which will improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND for years to come.