SEND Area Improvement Board minutes summary - 18 June 2026

Attendance

• Alison Hurley Independent Chair of the SEND Partnership Board
• Adam Davis Service Director, Homes, Care and Provision, Children's Services, Wokingham Borough Council (WBC)
• Alice Bateman Head of Complex Care and Support Service, Adult Social Care, WBC
• Carey Tulloch Head of Strategic Commissioning and Transformation, WBC
• Charlotte Seymour Strategic Project Support Officer, WBC
• Councillor Prue Bray Deputy Leader and Executive Councillor for Children's Services, WBC
• David Keavney-Sheath Assistant Director, Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, Autism and SEND, NHS England South East
• David Maycock Co-headteacher, Addington School
• Emma Cockerell Director, Children's Services, WBC
• Emma Shrimpton Head of Service, SEND Strategy and Programmes
• Estelle Kelleway Service Director, Family Help and Safeguarding, WBC
• Hayley Rees Service Director, Strategy, Transformation and Commissioning, WBC
• Indira Ramraj
• Jamie Conran Acting Service Director SEND & Inclusion, WBC
• Jonathan Wilding Head of Service, Best Start in Life, WBC
• Joolz Scarlett CEO, Ascendancy Partnership Trust
• Kate Egginton Associate Director of Nursing Women, Children and Young People, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
• Kelli Scott Head of Service, Children with Disabilities, Early Help and Prevention Youth Justice Service, WBC
• Laura Marshall
• Louise Noble Service Director, NHS Children, Families and All-age Services (Children & Young Peoples Mental Health Services, All-age Eating Disorders Services and Services for People with a Learning Disability), Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
• Matthew Tait NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board
• Ming Zhang Service Director of Education, WBC
• Miranda Walcott Designated Clinical Officer for SEND, NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board
• Niki Cartwright Director of Vulnerable People’s Services, NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board
• Peter Griffiths Headteacher, St Crispin’s School
• Sally Furness SEND Practice and Quality Lead, WBC
• Sam Philo Acting Head of SEND, WBC
• Sudeshna Banerjee Data and Insight Team Manager, Reporting, Education and SEND, WBC
• Terri Walsh Joint CEO, SEND Voices Wokingham (parent carer forum)
• Zoe Woods Head of Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC) and Community Services, Berkshire West, Thames Valley Integrated Care Board

Apologies

• Adeleine Gibbs Regional SEND Advisor, NHS England South East
• Mark McCurrie SEND Advisor, Department for Education

Actions from May’s meeting

• Planning a joint health and council meeting about Family Hub planning: Work is continuing to bring health, social care and other partners together around neighbourhood-based support for children and families. A strategic lead has now been identified within the Thames Valley ICB, and a meeting is being arranged to move this work forward.
• Reviewing mediation and tribunal data: A meeting has been arranged with relevant partners to review the data and agree priorities for future communication and learning.
• EHCP therapy provision and information sharing: Work is underway to better understand where therapy needs may not currently be being met, with partners considering a detailed review of a small group of children to identify issues and opportunities for improvement.
• The Board also discussed improving information sharing between education and health services. A new process was proposed, allowing records to be kept up to date and support to be planned more effectively.
• Further work will explore longer-term solutions to improve information sharing across services.

Health updates

Community therapies review

An update on the review of Berkshire West community therapy services will be shared at the next Partnership Board meeting.

Wheelchair recovery plan

The wheelchair service is showing signs of improvement, with stronger oversight in place. April's figures showed progress across several areas.

The Thames Valley ICB will continue to closely monitor the service and work with providers to make sure improvements continue.

The Board discussed:

• the importance of communication with families
• clear ways for families to raise and escalate concerns
• ensuring improvements are making a difference for children and young people
• plans for returning to normal service arrangements in the future

Actions

The Thames Valley ICB will:

• share a full report on progress once it has been approved
• provide more local data for Wokingham Borough where possible
• work with SEND Voices Wokingham to create parent-friendly updates
• explain how the service is moving from recovery work back to normal arrangements

Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs)

Mental Health Support Teams provide support for children and young people in schools.

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has confirmed that:

• two additional MHST teams are planned for Wokingham Borough
• the first new team is expected to start in September 2026
• a second team is planned for September 2028
• support called "Getting Help" will continue to be available for schools that do not yet have an MHST

The Board asked for more information about:

• which schools currently have MHST support
• how many schools and children are still waiting for access
• whether there is enough support available through the Getting Help service
• how schools and families will be kept informed

Actions

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust  and Thames Valley ICB have agreed to:

• provide an update on current and future MHST coverage
• review communication with schools and families about available support
• show how many children can be supported by the Getting Help service
• provide clearer information about the impact of MHSTs, Getting Help services and CAMHS

A further update on Mental Health Support Teams will be provided at the next meeting.

SEND Reform Plan update 

The plan has been developed with input from around 50 partners, including children and young people, families, schools, health services, specialist settings and other organisations. This shared approach has helped make sure the plan reflects the needs and experiences of local people.

Board members recognised the strong partnership working involved in developing the plan and stressed the importance of keeping up this momentum as the work moves into delivery.

It was also noted that this is the first version of the plan. It will continue to be updated and improved as the work progresses and as more national guidance becomes available.

The Partnership Board approved the first version of the SEND Reform Plan for submission, with final political approval to follow through the council's decision-making process.

SEND Priority Action Plan update

Following the Area SEND inspection, education, health and care partners have been meetly weekly to develop the SEND Priority Action Plan.

It has now been shared with the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England, and feedback is expected shortly.

The Partnership Board recognised the significant amount of work that has gone into developing the plan. Members also highlighted the importance of making sure the Priority Action Plan and the wider SEND Reform Plan work together, with services joining up their efforts across education, health and social care.

The Board approved the current version of the Priority Action Plan. Some minor changes may still be made, based on feedback from advisers, the DfE and NHS England.

EHCP quality and improvement work

The Partnership Board received an update on work to improve Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and the way their quality is reviewed.

Children and young people, families and school SENCOs have been asked for feedback on proposed changes to:

• the EHCP request form 
• the EHCP template 
• the annual review template

More co-production work will take place before any changes are introduced.

Recent audits show that the overall quality of EHCPs is improving, with more plans meeting good quality standards. However, further work is needed to improve consistency, particularly in some health-related sections.

The Board also agreed that quality should be measured using a range of information, including:

• feedback from children, young people and families
• audit findings and performance data
• evidence of the difference services are making

Action

A revised quality assurance framework will be developed and brought back to a future meeting.

SEND Voices Annual SEND Survey and communication with families

The annual SEND survey is open until 31 July. The survey helps the partnership understand what is working well and where improvements are needed, and will be used to track progress against the SEND Reform Plan and Priority Action Plan.

The Partnership Board also discussed the importance of keeping families informed about SEND improvements. Members agreed that, alongside published meeting summaries, there may be opportunities to share updates in more accessible and engaging ways through SEND Voices Wokingham and other family-facing channels.

Action

Further work will take place to develop communication approaches that help families understand the role of the Partnership Board and the progress being made over the next 18 months.