History of the Inclusive Education Audit
In 2017/18 Southampton City Council conducted a review of provision for children and young people aged 0-25 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The review presented a comprehensive narrative on the many issues within the SEND agenda and offered a range of recommendations that provide a clear pathway to meeting future needs in a financially sustainable way.
One section of the review focussed on inclusion. Although the Review Team were not tasked to explore this specifically it quickly became clear that inclusion was at the heart of an effective local SEND system. As a result, the Review made a number of recommendations, namely:
- Recommendation 10.7.1: A definition of inclusion to be agreed and shared with parents, children and young people and professionals across the city
- Recommendation 10.7.2: Inclusive practice to be celebrated and supported with appropriate support and challenge made to settings to ensure a consistent approach and ethos is developed city wide
- Recommendation 10.7.4: Ordinarily available provision needs to be reviewed and updated regularly with SENCos to ensure consistency of approach and expectations
- Recommendation 10.7.7: The current specification for outreach to be reviewed
Delivery of these recommendations has been encompassed within a wider Inclusion Strategy which has included the development of:
- An Inclusive Education Charter
- An Inclusive Education Audit
- Ordinarily Available Provision Guidance
- Training offer
- Outreach Provision
These webpages provide information to help education settings complete the Inclusive Education Audit and access the Ordinarily Available Provision Guidance. Whilst the driver for this audit came out of the SEND Strategic Review it was strongly felt that it should encompass all children and young people not just those with SEND.
