EHCP Process Improvement

Description

The Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Safety Valve Programme is a key priority for the Council. Under its statutory duties in the Children and Families Act 2014, the Council must ensure the timely delivery of high-quality Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Improving EHCP timeliness and addressing the current backlog of assessments are therefore central commitments within the Council's Safety Valve Improvement Plan. Educational Psychology (EP) advice is a mandatory component of the EHCP assessment process. Current internal capacity is insufficient to meet the required volume of statutory advice within prescribed timescales. Additional EP resource is therefore required to ensure compliance with statutory duties and to support delivery of the Safety Valve commitments. To address this need, the Council intends to commission a managed service from an agency provider for a fixed period of eight months. The service will provide additional EP capacity to support EHCP assessments and reduce the existing backlog. The arrangement will include provider management oversight and quality assurance to ensure consistency and effective delivery. The eight-month contract period is considered the minimum necessary to deliver a meaningful reduction in the backlog while stabilising ongoing assessment throughput. The service is required urgently and delaying procurement would risk the Council failing to meet Safety Valve conditions. The proposed procurement route is a direct award to Constellia through the SEWTAP (South East Wales Technical and Professional Services) framework, with delivery of services through Sanctuary Personnel Limited.