The East Midlands RIIA is committed to peer review, constructive challenge and support to help all ten local areas develop and improve the way in which they identify and meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their families.

A core offer of Peer Challenge has been developed and is endorsed by the East Midlands Strategic Education Group (EMSEG). It is for each local authority, and their SEND partners, to determine the extent to which they engage in peer challenge and this will, undoubtedly, be informed by any on-going developmental or improvement work in each of the ten areas. The core offer comprises:

Thematic Peer Challenge

  • These are short events (3 hours maximum), convened and facilitated by the RIIA SEND Co-ordinator, and held either face-to-face or online depending on the subject matter the region is focusing on and the format that is most appropriate for that session
  • Each local area will identify officers that are best placed to represent the area, depending on the topic that is being challenged
  • Each event will focus on one area of practice and key lines of enquiry will be shared with participants beforehand
  • Each local area is responsible for taking their own notes and, following the event, will submit a completed ‘next steps’ template to the RIIA SEND Co-ordinator
  • A brief overview of emerging themes/next steps will be developed by the RIIA SEND Co-ordinator and reported to EMSEG
  • EMSEG will monitor the progress each area makes against the ‘next steps’ that were identified

One-day Peer Challenge in the local area

  • The local authority, along with its SEND partners where appropriate, will request a SEND Peer Challenge
  • The local area will identify one main key line of enquiry which forms the basis of a ‘deep dive’ into that area of practice
  • The SDSA Project Manager will convene a team of reviewers (LA officers, parent carer, Designated Clinical Officer) for a one-day visit to the local area during which they will undertake a series of pre-agreed activities e.g. case sampling, focused discussions linked to the main key line of enquiry
  • The local area is responsible for arranging the timetable of activities the reviewers will undertake as well as booking rooms, visits and access to case records/key personnel etc
  • The lead reviewer will provide a PowerPoint style report of the key findings and recommendations

Two-day Peer Challenge in the local area

  • The local authority, along with its SEND partners where appropriate, will request a SEND Peer Challenge
  • The local area will identify the main areas of focus and will liaise with the RIIA SEND Co-ordinator to develop 2-3 key lines of enquiry
  • The SDSA Project Manager will convene a team of reviewers (LA officers, parent carer, Designated Clinical Officer) to support the RIIA SEND Co-ordinator who will prepare for and lead the review.
  • The review team will visit the local area for two days during which reviewers will undertake a series of pre-agreed activities e.g. case sampling, focused discussions linked to the main key lines of enquiry
  • The local area is responsible for arranging the timetable of activities the reviewers will undertake as well as booking rooms, visits and access to case records/key personnel etc
  • The RIIA SEND Co-ordinator will provide a PowerPoint presentation, at the end of Day 2, outlining key findings and will follow this up with a more detailed written report after the conclusion of the peer challenge

Biennial large-scale Peer Challenge

  • This scheme has been developed by the East Midlands Directors of Children’s Services to support SEND improvement work across the region
  • It is a one-day event, every two years, held face-to-face, and during which ‘teams’ of local SEND partnership representatives focus on a pre-agreed set of priorities for the challenge event
  • Prior to the event, teams will be informed of which local area is challenging which and supported, through the RIIA SEND Co-ordinator, to prepare key lines of enquiry for the team they are challenging
  • Each local area team is responsible for taking their own notes at the event and will be expected to submit a completed template of agreed actions/next steps that the area will use as an improvement plan
  • The RIIA SEND Co-ordinator will produce an overview report of the challenge event including the agreed actions being taken by each local area. Progress against local area actions will be monitored through EMSEG

To discuss Peer Challenge in more detail, please contact the RIIA SEND Co-ordinator sheridan.dodsworth@sdsa.net.

To request a one-day or two- day Peer Challenge, or a copy of the East Midlands SEND and Inclusion Peer Challenge Guidance, please contact the SDSA Project Manager julia.smith@sdsa.net.