It has been one month since we launched our second digital solution, our Annual Review Audit Tool.

Not only are we building digital solutions, but alongside we are ensuring we are building strong relationships with our local authority partners, and this tool was born from conversations with them.

40% of EHCP's are not being reviewed annually, this means for many children and young people their EHCP no longer accurately reflects or meets their needs to provide the best opportunity to achieve and progress.

Capacity to process Annual Review paperwork within SEND services continues to be a challenge, however auditing a sample of those that have been processed, ensures there is evidence a local area is focusing on quality assurance, despite acknowledging the process issues that exist (this is also important with regards to local area SEND inspections).

In response to the national challenge, and the conversations we were having, our second tool was created. We worked closely with our local authority partners to ensure the tool met the needs of local authorities, children and young people, and provided additional capacity to ensure outcomes are being met.

Since launching the tool, just shy of a month ago, I’ve had some fantastic conversations with both existing partner local authorities and new about how together we are going to improve the outcomes of children and young people.

I asked my contacts at the local authorities currently using the tool what their top four reasons were for committing to our tool, they said:

• You can monitor progress towards children and young people's EHCP outcomes and explore/ analyse this impact data in detail

• Parent and child feedback on experiences of the annual review process can be collated and reviewed (all through the tool, which sends automated links to feedback questionnaires)

• You can audit the quality of the annual review process against standards

• Feedback can be provided to host settings (e.g schools) on the delivery of the annual review tool process

I’ll be honest, like anything new, we’ve had to make some tweaks and changes along the way since the initial concept, but that’s the magic of what we do! Our tools are not set in stone, we’re continuing to develop them, to ensure that we hit the mark, and our tools are fit for purpose even as the landscape changes.

Interested in finding out more about our new Annual Review Tool? Book a free 30 minute demo with me today, at a time that’s convenient for you.

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