SEND staffing in the LA

The request was successful.

Eleanor Bernardes

Dear Sunderland City Council,

I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Please send me:
1. The number of full time equivalent members of staff employed centrally by the council with responsibility for Special Educational Needs (SEN/SEND) during each of the years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 in the following:
a. working with more than one LA school and based in a Local Authority office
b. working with more than one LA school and based elsewhere
c. working in one LA school for that school
2. The numbers of full time equivalent members of staff who are dyslexia and literacy specialists employed by the council in each of the following years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 in the following:
a. working with more than one LA school and based in a Local Authority office
b. working with more than one LA school and based elsewhere
c. working in one LA school for that school
3. The amount of hours contracted to external specialists (for example but not limited to consultants/educational psychologists etc) employed by the council in each of the following years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
4. The job specification for the person responsible for:
a. Managing SEN/D provision for the LA
b. Compiling the Local Offer for the LA
5. The qualifications held by the person responsible for the following role in each of the following years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015:
a. Managing SEN/D provision for the LA
b. Compiling the Local Offer for the LA

I would like the above information to be provided to me electronically.
If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me as I understand that under the Act, you are required to advise and assist requesters. If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs if necessary.
If the release of any of this information is prohibited on the grounds of breach of confidence, I ask that you supply me with copies of the confidentiality agreement and remind you that information should not be treated as confidential if such an agreement has not been signed.
I understand that you are required to respond to my request within the 20 working days after you receive this letter. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Eleanor Bernardes

Solicitor - Freedom of Information, Sunderland City Council

Re: Your request for information concerning: Staffing in the LA

The Council aims to provide available information promptly and in any event within 20 working days, unless, exceptionally, there is a need to consider whether the information is exempt from disclosure.

I will contact you again soon in connection with your request.

Please quote the reference below if you contact the Council regarding this request.


Customer Request Number: 15 07 72

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Ruth Harman, Sunderland City Council

2 Attachments

Dear Eleanor Bernardes

 

I refer to your recent request for information under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.  I can confirm that the Council does hold this
information, as detailed below.

 

Please send me:

1.            The number of full time equivalent members of staff employed
centrally by the council with responsibility for Special Educational Needs
(SEN/SEND) during each of the years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 in
the following:

a.            working with more than one LA school and based in a Local
Authority office

b.            working with more than one LA school and based elsewhere

c.             working in one LA school for that school

 

    31/12/2010 31/12/2011 31/12/2012 31/12/2013 31/12/2014 01/08/2015
Based In
1a. LA office 53.21 26.03 23.39 18.75 21.98 21.05
Based
1b. Elsewhere 0 0 0 0 3 2.92
Based in
1c. School 0 0 0 0 0 2
  Total 53.21 26.03 23.39 18.75 24.98 25.97

 

2.            The numbers of full time equivalent members of staff who are
dyslexia and literacy specialists employed by the council in each of the
following years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 in the following:

a.            working with more than one LA school and based in a Local
Authority office

b.            working with more than one LA school and based elsewhere

c.             working in one LA school for that school

 

We can confirm that as a council we do not employ anyone who is
specifically a dyslexia and literacy specialist, we do employee 1 person
who is a literacy specialist. This employee is based within an LA office
and in 2010 was an FTE of 0.6 and from 2011 to date was an FTE of 1.

 

3.            The amount of hours contracted to external specialists (for
example but not limited to consultants/educational psychologists etc)
employed by the council in each of the following years: 2010, 2011, 2012,
2013, 2014, 2015

 

We can confirm that Sunderland City Council has not employed any external
specialists for each of the years through 2010 to 2015.

 

4.            The job specification for the person responsible for:

a.            Managing SEN/D provision for the LA

b.            Compiling the Local Offer for the LA

 

Please see attached person specification for the employee responsible for
managing SEN/D provision for the LA and compiling the Local Offer for the
LA.

 

5.            The qualifications held by the person responsible for the
following role in each of the following years: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013,
2014, 2015:

a.            Managing SEN/D provision for the LA

b.            Compiling the Local Offer for the LA

 

Must be a qualified teacher with experience as a senior leader within a
school – head teacher, deputy head teacher, head of department in a
secondary school.

 

I hope this is satisfactory.  If, however, you are dissatisfied with our
response to your request for information, you can ask for the decision to
be reviewed in reply to this letter.  The review will be removed from the
Directorate and coordinated by the Council’s Information Governance
Officer.   A request for review should be directed, by email to
[1][Sunderland City Council request email], by post or by hand addressed to;
Information Governance Officer, Governance Services, Civic Centre, PO Box
100, Sunderland SR2 7DN.

 

You are of course entitled to apply to the Information Commissioner at any
time, although the Commissioner will not usually investigate until the
public authority’s internal review procedure has been concluded.

 

Kind Regards

 

Ruth Harman

Compliance Support Assistant

Commercial Development Directorate

Sunderland City Council

0191 561 7567

[2]www.sunderland.gov.uk

 

[3]Council-Logo-3kb

 

 

       

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