SEND Strategy Governance Board

Four adults and one child sat down having a conversation.

Overview

The SEND Strategy Governance Board (SGB) has members who represent the large number of different groups and services that help and support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

It's the main job of the board to make sure that the East Sussex SEND Strategy is working.

The board:

meet at least 4 times per year
reviews and helps deliver the SEND Strategy
started in September 2022

We have created a video that introduces the SGB:

Previous Board Meetings

Notes from the most recent meeting (3 April 2025):

Board members received updates on a series of national government announcements. This will impact the way that Health and Care services are managed at national and local area levels.

We heard about the intention to end the role of NHS England. The Department of Health and Social Care would operate its functions instead.

We also looked at announcements about the future structure and budgets of ‘Integrated Care Boards’ (ICBs). This includes the Sussex ICB.

These changes mean that our Board will operate in a landscape that is shifting quickly. This will be together with proposed:

local government reform, and
plans for devolution of powers to ‘mayoral authorities’.

The Board considered the draft ASEND Inspection Improvement Plan. We developed this plan in response to the findings of the recent Area SEND (ASEND) inspection by:

Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education), and
CQC (Care Quality Commission).

The discussion focused on ensuring the actions will lead to real impact for children and young people with SEND. After our discussion, the inspection improvement plan will now be amended and published. To discuss progress in delivering the plan, the board will be joined by Representatives from:

the Department for Education (DfE), and
CQC.

We discussed the Board’s role in identifying the networks that important voices can be heard on SEND issues. This includes the decision making groups that will act upon the planned improvements and changes.

Changes to local government and heath and care structures will mean that our Board will need to keep continued focus on these matters. We expect the development of new SEND and Alternative Provision strategies within the reorganised structures by Summer 2026. We aim to provide continuity and focus as changes are made.

During the course of our meeting, we were able to pay special attention to some vital areas of support for SEND. This included: