Supporting SEN school place planning for Surrey County Council

"The edge-ucate software is an integral part of the school place planning process in Surrey - no question is ever beyond the expertise of the team at Edge Analytics and their support is invaluable to us"

Surrey County Council

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As part of its SEN 2020 initiative, and in response to the legislative requirements of the Children and Families Act 2014, Surrey County Council required a reporting and forecasting capability to support the delivery of services for children with special educational needs (SEN). The system was required to present the latest available evidence on SEN need and provision, and provide an insight into how the balance between the two may vary in line with future demographic change.

 

Using a database of historical evidence on SEN pupils and services, Edge Analytics configured its edge-ucate SEN system for Surrey, providing tailored reporting and forecasting for the Council’s SEN services, districts and education planning quadrants.

 

To provide a basis for the estimation of future SEN need, Edge Analytics employed its proprietary demographic forecasting technology, applying a profile of SEN incidence to a population projection for districts in Surrey.

 

The edge-ucate SEND reports include additional statistics relating to the containment and average distance travelled by SEN pupils. Alongside this, SEN pupils are also matched to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) to provide a profile of SEN need by deprivation decile.

 

Edge Analytics continues to support Surrey County Council by providing technical guidance and an annual update of the data inputs and assumptions used by the edge-ucate SEN model.