SEND staffing in the LA

The request was successful.

Eleanor Bernardes

Dear Kent County 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

Kent County Council

Dear Ms Bernardes

 

Thank you for your email below.

 

Kent County Council acknowledges your request for information under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Assuming KCC holds this information, we
will endeavour to supply the data to you as soon as possible but no later
than 18th August 2015 (20 working days from date of receipt).

 

We will advise you as soon as possible if we do not hold this information
or if there are exemptions to be considered and/or any costs for providing
the information. Please quote our reference - FOI/15/1191- in any
communication regarding this particular request.

 

Best regards

 

Laura Pronger | Information Access Officer | Information Resilience &
Transparency Team | Kent County Council | Room 2.71, Sessions House,
Maidstone, ME14 1XQ | 03000 416590 |
[1]http://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council...
|

 

 

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Kent County Council

1 Attachment

Dear Ms Bernardes

 

Thank you for your request for information made under the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) 2000, relating to Special Educational Needs (SEN)
staff. I am pleased to provide the response below:

 

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 and b) working with more than one LA school and
based elsewhere?

 

Date 31-Mar-10 31-Mar-11 31-Mar-12 31-Mar-13 31-Mar-14 31-Mar-15
1a 144.9 132.6 131.0 126.1 128.7 151.2
1b 49.4 106.0 97.3 86.4 83.4 81.6

 

1c) working in one LA school for that school?

 

There are no staff employed centrally by the council with responsibility
for Special Educational Needs (SEN/SEND) working in one LA school for that
school. Similarly there were none in

2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.

 

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?

 

2a) Number of dyslexia and literacy specialists based in local authority
offices:

 

·         2015 – 0

·         2014 – 0

·         2013 – 0

·         2012 – 0

·         2011 – 10.6 FTE

·         2010 – 10.6 FTE

 

2b) number of dyslexia and literacy specialists based elsewhere:

 

·         2015 – 10.6 FTE

·         2014 – 10.6 FTE

·         2013 – 10.6 FTE

·         2012 – 10.6 FTE

·         2011 – 0

·         2010 – 0

 

c) working in one LA school for that school?

No figures available for question 2c.

 

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.

This information is not held.

 

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.

 

The Head of SEN Assessment and Placement is responsible for managing SEN
provision, including Local Officer. Please see the attached job
description.

 

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 and b) Compiling the Local Offer
for the LA.

 

I can confirm that the Head of SEN Assessment and Placement holds the
relevant qualifications as detailed in the attached job description. Kent
County Council is unable to disclose the details of the qualifications
held by the postholder because this information is considered personal to
the postholder which if disclosed would amount to a breach of the Data
Protection Act 1998 (relating to unlawful processing of personal data) and
accordingly falls outside of the scope of this Authority’s disclosure
obligations by virtue of section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act
2000.  

 

I can also confirm that none of the qualifications held by the current
postholder were funded by Kent County Council.

 

If you are unhappy with this response, and believe KCC has not complied
with legislation, please ask for a review by following our complaints
process; details can be found at this link
[1]http://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council...
on our website. Please quote reference FOI/15/1191.

 

If you still remain dissatisfied following an internal review, you can
appeal to the Information Commissioner, who oversees compliance with the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. Details of what you need to do, should
you wish to pursue this course of action, are available from the
Information Commissioner’s website [2]http://www.ico.org.uk/concerns.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Laura Pronger | Information Access Officer | Information Resilience &
Transparency Team | Kent County Council | Room 2.71, Sessions House,
Maidstone, ME14 1XQ | 03000 416590 |
[3]http://www.kent.gov.uk/about-the-council...
|

 

 

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