Harrow's Cabinet has endorsed a reform plan aimed at significantly improving services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The Harrow SEND Reform Plan 2026-2029, which has been submitted to the Department for Education, outlines a strategic direction and implementation approach to enhance outcomes through earlier intervention, greater inclusion, and improved access to specialist support.
The plan's core objectives include strengthening early identification and intervention by integrating services across education, health, Family Hubs, Child Health Hubs, Early Help, and community services. This integrated approach aims to ensure emerging needs are recognised and responded to as early as possible, focusing on prevention and family-centred support.
Greater inclusion within educational settings will be achieved through the implementation of the Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision (OAIP) framework, a strengthened graduated response, and improved SEN Support arrangements. This will ensure children and young people receive the right support, at the right time, and in the right place, aligning with neighbourhood delivery models and Family Hubs.
Access to specialist expertise will be increased through the Experts at Hand (EAH) model, which offers consultation, coaching, outreach, and workforce development. This model enables practitioners to access specialist expertise at the earliest point of need.
The plan also focuses on creating a more sustainable overall SEND system, which includes strengthening local provision, improving preparation for adulthood and life outcomes, and ensuring financial sustainability.
The plan, developed through extensive partnership working with young people, parents, and various stakeholders, has provisionally secured £2.1 million in funding from the Department for Education for its first year. This funding is described as the 'SEND Reform Experts at Hand and SEND Transformation Fund allocations provided by the Department for Education to support SEND reform and improvement activity'. The Strategic Director of Children's Services will be authorised to approve and oversee the deployment of this funding.
Progress will be monitored through the partnership's Strategic Success Measures Framework, aligned to five strategic goals: improving outcomes through earlier identification and support; increasing inclusion and confidence in mainstream provision; improving access to specialist advice and support; improving preparation for adulthood and life outcomes; and creating a financially sustainable and high-value SEND system. Key performance indicators for these goals include SEN Support prevalence, EHC needs assessment timeliness, attendance rates for children with SEND, workforce and parent confidence, and the number of schools and settings accessing Experts at Hand.
Potential challenges and risks identified in the implementation approach include insufficient workforce capacity, continued growth in SEND demand, delays in expanding local provision, variability in engagement, reduced health service engagement, and national SEND reform policy changes. Mitigations include phased mobilisation of the EAH model, targeted recruitment, workforce development, demand forecasting, sufficiency planning, and regular horizon scanning.
The governance framework for the plan includes strategic oversight from the Cradle to Career Strategic Board and programme delivery oversight from the SEND and AP Partnership Board. Workstreams focused on specific reform priorities have been established, with the Director of Education serving as the Senior Responsible Officer. A SEND Reform Programme Transformation and Delivery function will coordinate delivery across all workstreams.
The Cabinet endorsed the plan's strategic direction, governance framework, and implementation approach. Further details on the plan can be found in the Public reports pack Thursday 09-Jul-2026 18.30 Cabinet.
