WIRRAL has made significant progress in imporving its SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) services, a board meeting has been told.

This follows a new improvement programme initiated earlier in 2024.

The Local Area SEND Partnership Board meeting on October 22 revealed that one more of the ten identified areas for improvement has made satisfactory progress and can now be considered "business as usual."

The Department for Education (DfE) commended the efforts to tackle the insufficiency of accurate and useful information in the area's plans.

This initiative has resulted in improvements in data and insights.

The monthly updates are now more informative, and the updated scorecards and overarching dashboard provide clearer, more useful information.

This contributes to improvements in some key areas.

In April 2024, refreshed governance arrangements were implemented in response to an improvement notice served to Wirral's local SEND service, which outlined areas of concern.

This was to guide the Wirral SEND Partnership on necessary improvements.

Council Leader, Councillor Paul Stuart, said: "This is a significant step forward, showcasing our progress so far.

"We recognise that there is still much work ahead, and it will take time for the full impact of these improvements to be felt.

"I thank everyone involved for their ongoing dedication to reaching this milestone.

"We remain committed to working closely with local families, carers, young people, and partners to improve our SEND services and outcomes for those in Wirral who depend on them."

This is the third area of improvement to transition to "business as usual" within six months.

Work continues diligently on the remaining areas.

Simon Banks, Place Director (Wirral), NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, said: "It is pleasing to see that progress continues to be made to address the requirements of the Improvement Notice.

"We need to use this as a catalyst for further improvements in SEND services and outcomes.

"We cannot rest until the Improvement Notice has been removed and the needs of local families, carers, and young people are being met."

For more information on recent SEND updates, visit the Local Offer website.