Surrey’s Additional Needs and Disabilities (AND) Partnership

The AND Partnership Board held its half-termly meeting on Wednesday 17 September 2025. The Board considered a range of important issues and updates.

Feedback from the Department for Education (DfE)

The DfE is providing us with helpful support and challenge as we continue with the plans for improvements to the SEND service across Surrey. They visited in the summer and have now set out for us three key priorities for further improvements. The AND Partnership is focused on addressing these, and has put in place several actions:

AND Transformation Programme

The Board welcomed the news that there has been a recent increase in the numbers of team members in the council’s AND service.

Surrey’s AND Transformation programme has been reviewed over the summer to provide a clear plan for where focus needs to lie. Current priorities are:

• Reviewing and improving the information available to families on the Local Offer website
• Focus on evaluation so that it is effectively used to measure impact
• Refresh of Governance procedures.

Performance data

Health and council partners shared key data and updates from their areas.

• With regard to Health and Wellbeing, the number of children and young people waiting for their first appointment continues to decrease.
• The number on the waiting list for Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health (EWMH) has increased slightly from its recent minimum in May.
• Timeliness of EHC needs assessments continues to be maintained at a high level at 91% in July, and for the last six months (compared to 46% nationally).
• With over 17,000 children and young people with EHC plans in Surrey, annual review timeliness is still a challenge. The number of EHC plan co-ordination officers is rising from 81 to 111 as a result of the £4.9m investment by Cabinet. This will increase capacity for more timely annual reviews.
• Families are now being invited to a meeting once they have received a ‘Yes to assess’ decision, to discuss next steps collaboratively and in partnership with the SEND service, health and social care. We will be seeking feedback on this additional layer of support from families.

We are planning to have a ‘deep dive’ into Alternative Provision performance data at the next Partnership Board.

Quality Assurance Framework

We know that an effective Quality Assurance Framework is essential to ensure we have high quality and timely Education, Health and Care (EHC ) plans, Annual Reviews and statutory decision-making across Surrey. Council and health partners have worked closely with children and young people, parents and carers, Family Voice Surrey, education settings and multi-agency professionals to review and improve our Framework.

The Board considered the amended Framework and was reassured that the revised Quality Standards do set out what ‘good’ looks like, and for what the Partnership needs to hold itself to account. The Framework focuses on the impact of the Partnership’s work, in particular how that’s felt through the lived experiences of families, and what that feedback tells us about actions and improvements which are needed.

The Framework intends to move from processes and plans not just being compliant but to being excellent, and ensuring that children and their families are actively involved and fully understand the process. It will continue to evolve based on feedback.

The Board gave approval to the Framework and agreed that the AND Partnership should formally adopt it. The first cycle of Quality Assurance activity using the new Framework will start this term and will be reported to the Board early in 2026.

Safety valve update

The Safety Valve Programme was launched by the DfE in 2021 to address the escalating deficits in local authorities’ High Needs Budgets in relation to SEND. The Board heard that, like most other local authorities in this Programme, we are currently off target in Surrey to meet the Safety Valve targets set out in the recovery plan agreed between Surrey and the DfE. This is due to common national factors including:

• Greater and more complex needs, and continued rising numbers of EHC plans
• Capacity issues in state maintained mainstream provision, and the need for greater use of non-maintained independent schools (NMIS)
• DfE Free School Place delivery off track
• Inflation and construction costs of planned special provision
• Numbers and unit costs of Alternative Provision packages.

Joint commissioning priorities

The Joint Commissioning process helps us to understand the needs and reasons for demand, and to make sure appropriate resources are being used. It can range from individual care and support to responding to needs within local communities and the whole county.

The Joint Commissioning Strategy has been renamed as ‘Joint Commissioning Priorities’ and a new Joint Commissioning Board has been created to bring together the many strands of work and governance in this area. Board colleagues commented that the success criteria for Join Commissioning need to link directly back to the impact on children and young people, as well as the impact on partners, which was taken on board by the team.

The Joint commissioning priorities include:

• Mindworks review
• Children and young people neurodiversity and mental health pathway priorities
• Families First Partnership
• Team Around Schools, Communities and Places
• All-Age Autism Strategy
• A Joint Commissioning Board for children and young people.

The Surrey AND Partnership Board met on 20 November 2025. The group talked about what is going well, what needs to improve, and the next steps to support children and young people with additional needs and disabilities.

What the Board talked about

Lingfield Primary School

Lingfield Primary School hosted the meeting and showed how they support children with additional needs in mainstream classroom settings.

• Their staff have special training and a team of experts.
• They help many children in school without needing an EHCP straight away.
• Some children with very complex needs still need extra help.

Children and Young People’s Voice

The Board wants to hear more from children and young people.

• A new Parent Carer Participation Lead starts on 1 December 2025.
• The Board wants young people to help make decisions.
• ATLAS and the AND Team will work together in early 2026 to make this happen.
• Young people helped with a government review and are helping improve the Local Offer website.

Family Voice Surrey

Family Voice Surrey shared their new plans for working with families.

• They are using more positive, strength‑based messages.
• They will run a family wellbeing event in Spring 2026.

Department for Education Review and System Improvements

The Department for Education recently reviewed how Surrey SEND services work.

• They looked at leadership, communication, and how data is used.
• The council has updated its improvement plan to make it easier to understand.
• Work is happening to improve how information is collected and shared across schools, health, and care teams.
• 90% of EHCPs are still completed on time, but this may dip while new staff are hired.
• The number of EHCPs is rising, but early help is starting to reduce the gap with national levels.
• Teams are working together to give children and families more consistent support.

SEND Sufficiency

Surrey expects many more children to need SEND support.

• There may be 3,900 more EHCPs by 2029, making about 20,000 in total.
• Too many children currently attend expensive independent schools far from home.
• Surrey County Council’s plan includes:

1. Building more specialist and mainstream places
2. Making sure places are shared fairly across the county
3. Giving schools more funding so more children can stay in mainstream settings

Alternative Provision (AP)

The council is improving Alternative Provision (AP).

• AP should be used for a short time to help children move to their next school or placement.
• Surrey County Council is updating its AP data and will publish a full list of providers.
• Board members are asked to give feedback by 12 December 2025.
• A full set of recommendations should be ready by March 2026.

Communications

The Board talked about how to build more trust with families.

• Online comments are often based on past bad experiences.
• The Board wants to:
  1. Share more positive stories
  2. Share more children and young people’s voices
  3. Tell families about problems that have been fixed

Decisions

The Board agreed the updated AND Transformation Governance Proposal.

The next meeting will be on 20 January 2026.

The Surrey AND Partnership Board met on 20 January 2026 to look at progress and agree next steps to improve services for children and young people with additional needs and disabilities, and their families.

What the Board talked about

National and local updates

The Board heard about national SEND changes, including new investment to train more SEND teachers. Surrey has had a key role in developing the country’s first EHCP apprenticeship to help grow and strengthen the workforce.

Listening to families and young people

Family Voice Surrey shared feedback from parents and carers. Many families still feel under pressure. There are positive examples too. These include strong joint-working in autism services and better conversations with parents. The Board also discussed how children and young people can be more involved in meetings and will develop plans for this.

Family and Partner Engagement Plan

The Board reviewed the plan for how families, carers and partners will be involved and kept informed. The aim is to be more open and improve communication. Instead of relying on large surveys, the plan focuses on using more targeted ways to gather feedback.
Early work will focus on hearing families’ experiences of the EHCP process so services can be improved.

SEND performance and data

The Board looked at key information, including:

• Annual Review timeliness – reviews are generally completed on time; we are currently below target but are expected to improve as new staff join.
• EHCP quality – most plans are meeting required standards, with good feedback on new ways of checking quality.
• Health and mental health waiting times – some areas are improving, but there are still national and local pressures.

Neurodevelopmental support

Updates were shared on work to improve early help for children and families. The focus is on understanding children’s needs early, not just relying on a diagnosis. Schools, the NHS, and community services are working together more closely so families get support at the right time.

Key decisions

• The Board approved the updated Self Evaluation Framework. This explains how Surrey assesses its SEND services and finds areas to improve.
• The Board approved the refreshed AND Improvement Action Plan. The plan outlines the actions being taken to improve SEND services. This will be shared with national partners and published on Surrey’s Local Offer website.

Next steps

• Work will continue to strengthen engagement with families, carers, and young people.
• There will be future updates on autism‑friendly schools, EHCP quality and how the Board is working.

The next meeting will take place on 19 March 2026.

The Surrey AND Partnership Board met on 19 March 2026 to look at progress and agree next steps to improve services for children and young people with additional needs and disabilities, and their families.

What the Board talked about

Support outside mainstream school

• The Board talked about Alternative Provision, which supports children who cannot attend school full time. A set of guidance has been produced to make sure that schools, families and staff have all the information they need about Alternative Provision.
• Guidance documents had been shared before the meeting and discussed.

Parents’ and carers’ views

• Family Voice Surrey shared feedback from parents.
• Parents said the Local Offer website is helpful and easier to use.
• A new parent carer survey run by Family Voice Surrey has started.

Children and young people’s views

• Children and young people want:
  1. Information that is short, clear, and easy to understand
  2. Ways to share ideas and ask questions
  3. To see how their views change decisions
• The Board agreed children’s voices must be easier to include in meetings.
• Children and young people have recommended that all board members attend ‘In Our Shoes’ training. The board welcomed this suggestion; a dedicated ‘In Our Shoes’ training session will be organised for the board.

Support in schools

• The Board discussed Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP), which is the support schools should provide for all children.
• Schools shared that:
  1. Whole‑school approaches work best
  2. Support for children with SEND often helps all children
• Programmes such as Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) and Early Intervention Inclusion Fund (EIIF) are helping schools support children earlier and reduce exclusions.

Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

• The Board reviewed what makes a good quality EHCP.
• They discussed how plans can be:
  1. Clearer
  2. Easier to read
  3. More focused on the child’s strengths and future.

Decisions

• The Board approved the Alternative Provision guidance.
• The Board supported more work to improve EHCP quality.
• The Board agreed that each organisation will respond individually to the SEND White Paper

Next Steps

• Alternative Provision guidance will be shared across all networks
• Results from Family Voice Surrey’s parent carer survey will be shared at a future meeting
• A training session on EHCP quality will be held in the summer term
• Work will continue to make Board information more accessible for children and young people

The next meeting will take place on 18 May 2026.

The Surrey AND Partnership Board met on 18 May 2026 to look at progress and agree next steps to improve services for children and young people with additional needs and disabilities, and their families.

What the Board talked about

National and local updates

• New national SEND inspection approach on the local offer will review local areas but will not give ratings.
• The public consultation on changes to short breaks has closed and no changes will be made, giving reassurance to families.
• Local government reform is moving to East and West Surrey authorities (from April 2027), which will affect future SEND planning.
• NHS (ICB) restructuring is taking place which will make changes to SEND leadership and workforce.

Voice of parents and carers

Family Voice Surrey

• Families are feeling overwhelmed by too many consultations in the context of the recent white paper consultations, and unclear engagement routes between FVS and SCC User Voice and Participation team.
• Concerns about SEND reforms and possible loss of support or rights.
• Financial pressures (e.g. travel costs) are increasing strain.

Parent Carer Participation Lead Surrey County Council

• Engagement work is improving, with more diverse participation, better co-production and positive feedback from families feeling heard.
• Engagement is still mostly with families who have EHC plans, with less reach into SEN Support families.

Voice of children and young people

• Participation is growing and shaping services (e.g. crisis support).
• Young people want more inclusive schools, flexible and personalised support, better environments for neurodiverse learners.
• A key issue is that feedback is collected but it is not always easy to translate the feedback into tangible actions.

Board effectiveness

• The board is working well on collaboration but needs clearer structure, more strategic focus and stronger decision-making.
• There is a need to streamline membership and improve how the board works together. The Board agreed to move to one representative per sector / agency.

Locality Nurture Hubs (LNH)

• Early evaluation shows strong positive impact, including better attendance and behaviour, increased confidence, possible reduction in need for statutory assessments.
• Key strengths include calm, structured environments, strong relationships with staff, support for emotional regulation.
• Issues discussed include limited access for children outside host schools, uneven availability across Surrey.

SEND Advice Surrey Update

• Demand and case complexity are increasing.
  Partners were asked to join the steering group to strengthen the service.

SEND Reform programme

• Focus on new Experts at Hand model (support delivered directly into schools).Plans include: Two Surrey-wide hubs (East & West), Multi-disciplinary support teams and £8.2m funding in year one
• Some of the risks identified are workforce shortages, tight timelines, national uncertainty, impact of local government changes

Rising EHC needs assessment demand

Significant increase in EHC needs assessment requests (over 30% rise) during the month of March. This is putting pressure on services and timelines.

Decisions

The board:

• Agreed to streamline board membership (one main representative per sector, plus deputy).
• Agreed to co-produce a board “way of working” charter.
• Approved the Experts at Hand model (via TASSH) for SEND Reform delivery.
• Approved the Partnership Maturity Matrix ratings.

Next steps

• Parent Carer Participation Lead to reach more SEN Support and underserved families to expand participation and embed lived experience into systems.
• Bring clearer recommendations and actions based on young people’s feedback.
• Update membership and Terms of Reference following the new structure.
• Develop a co-produced way of working charter.
• Finalise and submit the SEND Reform Plan, including board feedback.
• Explore how to expand Locality Nurture Hubs, including access for more pupils.

The next meeting will take place on 8 July 2026.

The Surrey AND Partnership Board met on 8 July 2026 to look at progress and agree next steps to improve services for children and young people with additional needs and disabilities, and their families.

What the Board talked about

National and local updates

• Surrey has submitted its SEND Reform plans to government and is expecting feedback in September 2026.
• The national SEND consultation has now closed, with significant engagement from across the country.
• Surrey remains in the inspection window for its next SEND Area Inspection and partners are continuing inspection readiness work.
• The Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England six-month review has taken place, and Surrey is waiting to receive the outcome letter which will be published on the Local Offer when finalised and received.
• Planning continues for Local Government Reorganisation, with the expectation that East Surrey and West Surrey will eventually have separate statutory AND partnerships and boards.

Voice of parents and carers

Parent Carer Participation Lead Surrey County Council

• Parent carers reported that some families still feel there is a gap between improvements being made at a strategic level and their day-to-day experiences.
• Families remain committed to working in partnership with Surrey to improve services and outcomes.

Family Voice Surrey (FVS)

• Parent carers have raised concerns over changes to the ECO (EHCP Coordination Officers) communication process. FVS held an initial focus group and a follow up survey which captured feedback from 104 parent carers. A follow up session is planned with parent carers and Surrey County Council staff.
• Over the period of April to June 577 individuals attended events with FVS of which 277 were engagement events.
• Membership in 2025/2026 grew by 9% to 3,292. In the first quarter of 2026/27, there has been a 14.5% growth to 3,770.
• FVS Facebook page had 4,855 followers in April; this has increased by 119 which is a 2.5% growth.
• FVS has started work with the SCC Parent Participation Lead on ensuring clarity of roles as feedback from parent carers have indicated that it is confusing having different engagement routes.
• FVS has worked with SCC / ICB and parents / carers on the Local Offer content to ensure greater clarity. Updated content following this work will be published on the Local Offer shortly.
• Going forward FVS will be moving to a term time only model. This will ensure they can focus engagement on the availability of parent carers as this drops off over the summer holiday period.

Voice of children and young people

• The Board heard about the success of the In Our Own Research project, where young people designed and carried out their own research into issues that matter to them.
• The project gathered 138 pieces of feedback from young people and families and resulted in reports, a podcast and an exhibition.
• New communication templates created with young people were shared. These aim to make communications from services easier for young people to understand and more engaging.
• Young people involved in participation groups said they feel listened to and can influence decisions, but many still do not feel heard consistently across education and wider services.

SEN2 data

• The number of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in Surrey increased by 10.6% compared with the previous year.
• Requests for EHC needs assessments increased by 8.6%.
• Surrey completed 89.5% of EHCP assessments within statutory timescales, significantly above the national average of 46.1%.
• The Board discussed the importance of understanding the experiences behind the data and recognised that communication and confidence in the SEND system remain key priorities for improvement.
• SEN2 data will be published on the Local Offer to improve transparency.

Partnership data dashboard

• The Board reviewed a new partnership dashboard that will be used to track SEND performance, outcomes, inclusion and health measures.
• Members suggested improvements including:
  • More focus on outcomes and lived experiences.
  • Better inclusion of early years and health information.
  • Improved reporting of educational inclusion data.
  • Clearer presentation of tribunal and appeal information.
• The Board endorsed the new dashboard, subject to agreed amendments being made.

Ordinarily Available Provision (OAP)

• The Board reviewed the impact of the revised Ordinarily Available Provision guidance one year after its launch.
• Schools reported that the guidance has helped improve inclusive practice and support for children and young people with additional needs.
• Parent carers said the guidance helped them better understand the support that should be available in schools.
• Future priorities include increasing awareness of the guidance, supporting schools to promote it and continuing to evaluate its impact.

School Autism Friendly Reviews (SAFR)

• The Board received an update on School Autism Friendly Reviews, a programme that helps schools improve support for autistic pupils.
• Reviews have involved feedback from more than 5,000 children and young people, 1,000 parent carers and 700 members of school staff.
• Schools reported improvements in autism-friendly environments, communication with families, staff knowledge and inclusive practice.
• Demand for the programme continues to exceed current capacity and work is underway to explore how it can be expanded.

SEND Reform

• The Board received an update on Surrey’s SEND Reform programme and the Experts at Hand project.
• Priorities for the coming year include:
  • Strengthening co-production with families.
  • Improving early intervention.
  • Supporting transitions and preparation for adulthood.
  • Improving mediation and family experience.
  • Developing a partnership performance framework.
• The Board agreed that SEND Reform updates will be included at every future meeting.

Surrey AND Improvement Action Plan

• The Board reviewed progress against the Surrey AND Improvement Action Plan.
• Most actions were reported as completed or on track.
• The main area of concern remains Alternative Provision, where some actions are currently off track due to data and process challenges.
• A deeper review of Alternative Provision will take place at the September Board meeting.
• The Board approved publication of the updated Improvement Action Plan on the Local Offer.

Partnership ways of working

• The Board discussed developing a set of partnership working principles to support effective collaboration between partners on the board.
• A draft will be shared with members over the summer and discussed further at the September meeting.

Decisions

• The Board endorsed the new partnership performance dashboard.
• The Board agreed to receive a SEND Reform update at every meeting.
• The Board approved publication of the updated AND Improvement Action Plan on the Local Offer.

The next meeting will take place on 18 September 2026.