Parents and young people help review of education placements and additional support

Devon County Council has been reviewing the way it buy's education places for pupils with Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) in independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, and independent special post-16 settings.

They have  also been looking at how they buy packages of support that help children learn at other locations, not at school, for a period of time hopefully with the aim for them to return or reintegrate to school.

It’s all part of the Councils responsibility to make sure that what they are purchasing from education providers is working well and that it’s meeting young people’s needs.

To help them review all these services, they have been talking to parents and carers and young people about their experiences, through workshops, phone calls, one-to-one meetings and surveys. 

Thank you, all of you, who have been part of the engagement. What you’ve told the Council about your experiences of these education placements and support helps them write new service specifications for future contracts.

It means that when children and young people are receiving these services in future, the provider of those services will be able to work in ways that meet requirements that reflect what parents and young people have said are important to them.

By way of example, your feedback has meant that the new contracts will require improved communication with families; more training for staff to ensure they can meet children and young people’s needs;  clearer expectations from the Council about the relationships that they want to see providers having with families, and improvements in the way providers seek feedback from families about their services and respond to this to make them even better.  

The Council have published a fuller description of the feedback we’ve had from parents and carers on our website.

They are aiming for the new approach for buying these services to be in place by 1 February 2026. They will be keeping families informed as they move forward.