To approve arrangements for the interim support and supervision of the Herefordshire Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) staff team and to arrange for an external review of the SENDIASS service with an options appraisal and recommendations for service structure and delivery from 2018.

While the service is operated within the council, with its staff being council employees, it is operated at arm’s length in order to maintain a degree of independence, particularly to be seen as independent from the council’s additional needs service for children with special educational needs. This means that the service has been self-managed for several years, while national arrangements have changed and are expected to continue to change. Following the retirement of the previous service manager, there is an opportunity to engage external technical advice and support to review the service and future expected demands, in order to plan for a sustainable and effective service in the long term.

Worcestershire County Council also operates a SENDIASS service, which has undergone some change and improvement in recent years that allows opportunity for peer support and challenge and potential to apply learning in Herefordshire.