Bristol Send Crisis Famous Last Words “I do not think that 20 caseworkers was going to solve all the problems”

Bristol Send Crisis – Jacqui Jensen reminds parents why her position is value for money

Direct link: https://youtu.be/0mN4hykmByg

Original footage by Bristol Parent Carers

In June 2019, Executive Director of People at Bristol City Council, Jacqui Jensen, took to the stage with her interim Director of Education Alan Stubbersfield, at a participation event held by Bristol Parent Carers. The pair were there to explain to angry and upset Send (special educational needs and disabilities) parents and carers about what they were doing to improve Send provision in the city, which was in crisis.

One recurring theme that came up through the parental feedback was why they had failed to recruit an additional 20 SEN Team caseworkers after they had been given advice to do so. The SEN Team are responsible for the processing of Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments, a process which by law should take a maximum of 20 weeks. In Bristol, parents were seeing the process spiral out of control, with some parents reporting a wait time of a year to get plans done and finalised.

Instead of recruiting 20 new caseworkers, they took on just 6. It was a strategy that was to blow up in their faces  – although by the time the Ofsted detonation happened, Stubbersfield had moved aside for new Director of Education Alison Hurley, pocketing a six-figure sum in the process.

Failing to increase capacity meant that the timescales increased further, EHCP annual reviews were backing up by years, plans were not being updated at all and eventually, Ofsted and the CQC came knocking with their joint Send inspection. The result of the inspection meant that the council was forced to produce a Written Statement of Action, detailing how they would tackle Send failings in the city, including the ‘dysfunctional’ EHCP process.

One of the ways this was done was with a recruitment campaign in October 2019 for 20 new SEN caseworker, the exact number that four months earlier they had publicly stated was the wrong thing to do.

Original footage taken by Bristol Parent Carers, captured Jacqui Jensen explaining to a parent at the meeting that Alan Stubbersfield’s role was value for money. She also lists off the areas with which she is responsible for. During her introduction, she unwisely described the 2018 Judicial Review legal action taken by frustrated parents a ‘detraction’.

In Famous Last Words…

When it came to the 20 SEN caseworkers, Stubbersfield said: “Twenty was not the right answer. Whilst the mayor was entitled to rely on the officer advice he had last year, the officer advice to members has changed through me. I’m responsible for that, I do not think that, I’ve said that five minutes ago, I do not think that 20 caseworkers was going to solve all the problems.”

Jensen said: ” We could have, in effect, went down a line of looking for something that we didn’t need and we’d be spending money that we do need to spend somewhere else on something that wouldn’t have been helpful to you and wouldn’t be helpful to us. So strategically, we’re in a much, much, much better place.”

The strategically ‘much, much, much better place’ Ofsted and CQC Joint Send Inspection result from November 2019: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/documents/20182/33379/Ofsted+and+CQC+SEND+report.pdf/e245450d-a309-58ac-f68d-ace7bd9bab67

The Executive Director of People role, holds a salary worth £156,362.88 per year, with an employers pension contribution of £23,767.17. Amongst other things, responsibilities include school admissions, school improvement and the statutory functions of Special Educational Needs. The Director of Education and Skills role is responsible for Early years, employment skills and learning, Send and inclusion services and the HOPE Virtual School.

As Director of People, Jensen is in charge of Bristol City Council’s emergency response to COVID-19.

The 20 new SEN caseworkers finally came into post in January 2020. An additional recruited educational psychologists won’t be starting until September 2020.

More on the Jensen Send Backtrack: http://chopsybaby.com/magazine/bristol-recruitment-drive-for-sen-team-after-council-says-this-is-not-necessary/

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