What is a Locality Model?

A Locality Model is not a new concept and many Local Areas have adopted the principles in their own locality to support solving the challenges they face SEND in their Local Area.

In the last two years 9, other Local Areas have piloted Locality principles in their Local Areas.  Their pilots had a common cause, collective moral purpose and integrated ways of working which we hope to replicate.

Torbay Locality Model.

Last year, we asked for your thoughts on plans for a locality model in Torbay. A locality model is when decisions about a child’s education are made at a more local level.

Speech, language and communication needs will be the focus of our locality trial this year.

Next year, after the trial has finished, we hope to have a plan for future working.

Our aims

In this pilot we aim to:

• Be needs led – provision without diagnosis or need to progress to an Education, Health and Care Plan
• Make localised decisions, by local stakeholders, about how children and young people’s needs can be best met, removing barriers to identification and support.
• Delivering a system which shares good practice and expertise by design across different services and providers.
• Increase consistency in provision across schools.
• Reduce bureaucracy whilst embedding effective governance; and
• Make better and more effective use of the money available and therefore develop a more financially sustainable needs led school system.

What will it mean for my child?

It could mean your child gets the help they need without a diagnosis or an EHCP.

It also means we’ll make local decisions about how children and young people’s needs can be met. We’ll also share good practice across different services and providers.

We’ll try and be more consistent in the provision we offer across schools and make more effective use of the money available.

We’ll be pooling our expertise and resources so that SEND support and services can be accessed more easily.

The trial will concentrate on a small area of SEND across a selection of Torbay schools.

Over the next few months, we’ll be co-designing this trial alongside our health, social care, Family Hubs and school partners.

We also want to work with young people and parents and carers. If you’d like to get involved, email admin@familyvoicetorbay.onmicrosoft.com.

As this pilot develops we will add information to this webpage so everyone can hear about how our pilot project is progressing.

Schools Involved:

We are pleased to announce that the primary schools who have volunteered to be involved in our Locality Pilot are:

Preston Primary School
Eden Park Primary School
Cockington Primary School
Galmpton Primary School
Collaton St Mary Primary School
Torre Academy
Brixham C of E Primary School
Sacred Heart Primary School
St Margaret Clitherow
Our Lady of the Angel
Priory School
St Marychurch Primary School
All Saints Babbacombe Primary School
Upton St James Primary School
Oldway School
Shiphay Learning Academy
Roselands Primary School
Warberry Primary School
Ilsham Primary School
Ellacombe Primary School
St Michael’s Primary School
Barton Hill Academy
Furzeham Primary School
Kings Ash Academy
Curledge Street Academy
St Margaret’s Academy
Sherwell Valley School
Watcombe Primary School
Homelands Primary School

Capital Grants given to our Primary schools in the Locality Pilot to support delivery of Speech Language and Communication Needs:

I’m pleased to announce that a total of £778,768 has been allocated to 22 providers through a successful bid process!

The funding will support a range of inclusive provisions, including sensory and intervention spaces, speech, language and communication support, nurture provision, and outdoor sensory areas. Many schools are having this work completed in the summer holidays ready for the new academic year. We hope to bring you some pictures and stories of the difference it has made once the new term starts.

One School leader commented:

“I wanted to also share how delighted we were that all of our Capital Funding bids were approved. The impact that this will have in supporting some of our most vulnerable pupils is incredible, and Heads have been sharing with me just how grateful and exited they are.

We truly see this as making a difference as we develop the physical environments and this will provide us as a Trust with a route map of what this can look like, which will no doubt impact our wider development across all of our schools, thank you!”

A full list of the primary schools receiving this special capital grant are below.

Locality Pilot – Summer update!

Over the past six months we have held more than 50 coproduction events, talked to over 100 educational colleagues, more than 20 colleagues from health and care and worked with more than 50 children, young people and their parents and carers to create the pilot project which will test the concept of working in a different way through a Locality or place-based approach.

We had an amazing evaluation day on the 4^th July, where parents and carers came together with colleagues from across the local partnership to devise our next steps.

We know from national press that this localised and collaborative way of working is a concept which is being forged across many agencies and we are proud that Torbay stakeholders have come together to embrace and trial a different way of collectively solving some challenging problems. We know that our pilot is just the start of this and we hope the package we have put together to support your school will begin to make a difference. We are keen to consider your feedback throughout the pilot process and evaluate what the next steps for this way of working could be when the pilot comes to its official end in December 2025.

Every school involved in the pilot has been sent a letter indicating which priority areas of focus from the Balanced System should be a focus for them next term.

You can see a summary of the school ‘clusters’ or groups which have the same priorities and the schools which are champions in these areas.

Below is a menu of the possible support which will be available for the schools in the pilot from September. Each school will be given their tailor-made list of support and further details after the summer break.

Below is a menu of the possible support which will be available for the schools in the pilot from September. Each school will be given their tailor-made list of support and further details after the summer break.