Appendix 5 CSD - 30.06.2026

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This report summarises Children's Services progress, performance and spending in East Sussex at the end of the 2025/26 year. p2p22

The department ended the year spending £169.226m against a net budget of £159.106m, an overspend of £10.120m, with placements for children in the Council's care the main pressure. p22

The share of new Education, Health and Care Plans issued within the 20-week statutory timescale fell to 23.6% in 2025/26, from 75.0% the previous year, which the report attributes mainly to late statutory advice from health and social care. p13

The rate of children with a Child Protection Plan fell to 49.9 per 10,000 children (521 children), compared with 59.3 (614 children) at the end of 2024/25. p7

In Hastings, refurbishment and extension work at Hollington Youth Hub, funded through the Levelling Up Partnerships Programme, is set to complete at the end of May 2026, with services for young people reopening in July. p4

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• p2Children’s Services – end of year 2025/26 Summary of progress on Council Priorities, issues arising, and achievements
• p4The Connected Families (CF) edge of care service supports young people and their families, providing targeted interventions to prevent children becoming looked after by the Council. The service worked with an average of 72 young people per quarter in 2025/26, having accepted a total of 123 referrals this year. On average 12 cases per quarter were successfully closed, these are cases where the original aims of the interventions had been achieved. This has contributed to annual cost avoidance and savings of the service of £3,115,269 for 2025/26. Youth Hubs The new Heathfield Youth Hub opened in August 2025. Numbers have increased significantly since the new building opened, rising to 348 at Q4, compared to 55 at Q4 2024/25. The increased attendance has meant that some of the groups have been split by age enabling a more focused age-appropriate approach. 85% of young people regularly attending have shown progress in their engagement and participation skills. The JOFF Youth Hub in Peacehaven also opened after a formal launch on 9 September. The Joff numbers have increased significantly to 485 in Q4 (compared to 67 at Q4, 2024/25), again the groups have been split by age groups to offer a more focused approach, 100% of young people attending have shown progress in their engagement and participation. Response from parents and community members has been very positive. The Joff and Heathfield Youth Hubs are also being used by a range of Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations. Extensive building work continues at Hollington Youth Hub in Hastings. Funded by the Levelling Up Partnerships Programme through the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the funds are supporting a full refurbishment and extension to the old site. Completion is now set for the end of May 2026 and is currently within budget. Services for young people will reopen in July.
• p7A major achievement this year was the launch of the My Things Matter Project, which provides plastic storage boxes to help children and young people move their belongings safely and with dignity. The project is now accessible through 5 locations across East Sussex and has received national recognition, including first place at the Coram Voice National Voice Awards and being voted Most Inspirational Project at the Amplify All Star Awards. The Care Leavers Council continues to meet regularly and had a successful year, including the appointment of 2 care leavers as National Champions for the National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum. Mental Health and Wellbeing Project The Health and Wellbeing Project supports care experienced young people to improve their mental wellbeing through personalised Health Budgets, access to community activities, and co‑produced Health and Wellbeing plans. A Mental Health Nurse Specialist embedded within the team provides direct support, particularly around trauma, anxiety, self‑esteem and social isolation, with a strong focus on early intervention and preventing escalation into specialist mental health services. Over the past 3 years the project has supported more than 350 young people, including 163 during 2025/26. Evaluation shows the project has supported significant improvements in young people’s health and wellbeing. Rate of children with a Child Protection Plan (per 10,000 children) (ref vii) There has been a reduction of the number of children on a Child Protection Plan in Q4 bringing the outturn for 2025/26 to 49.9 per 10,000 children (521 children), compared to 59.3 (614 children) at the end of 2024/25. This measure is kept under scrutiny and is subject to on-going review, with leads meeting monthly to review all plans over 18 months.
• p13Proportion of all new Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans issued within 20 weeks There has been an ongoing decline in timescale performance since Q3 2024/25, mainly due to late statutory advice. We are unable to finalise an EHC plan without health and social care advice. Where this is returned late it is not possible to finalise the process in the 20-week timescale. The challenges seen in timescales is a national issue and, until this year, we had been performing well-above national and statistical neighbour averages for completion rates within 20-weeks. The level of demand for EHC Needs Assessments has increased significantly (up 63% in East Sussex in 3 years) which has placed significant pressure on statutory SEND services and statutory partners. There are capacity challenges in our SEND Assessment and Planning Team and Educational Psychology as a result of the increased demand. During Q4 of all new EHC Plans issued, 7.1% (16 out of 226) including exceptions and 8.3% (16 out of 193) excluding exceptions were issued within statutory timescales. In the comparable period of the previous financial year the outturn was 66.7% including exceptions and 68.6% excluding exceptions. Cumulatively during 2025/26 of all new EHC Plans issued, 23.6% (157 out of 665) including exceptions and 25.0% (145 out of 579) excluding exceptions were issued within statutory timescales. In 2024/25 the outturn was 75.0% including exceptions and 78.1% excluding exceptions. The additional social care case workers, that have been funded through the Education budget, are having a significant impact on reducing the social care backlog, but this will take time to clear. Work undertaken in 2025/26 to improve EHC Plans timeliness includes:
• p22The Youth Employability Service Advisors continue to provide dedicated support to young people and we are working with our colleges and post-16 providers to develop more provision at Level 1 and 2 and engagement opportunities. We are capturing youth voice through case studies and focus groups to understand better the reasons for early leavers from post 16 providers and to work with providers to improve retention in education and training. Revenue Budget Summary The department had a total net budget of £159.106m in 2025/26, and the Q4 outturn was £169.226m. This is a year-end overspend of £10.120m (ref xxii) . The main area of overspend is within Children We Care For Placements, but due to a continued focus on early intervention and careful budget monitoring, the Council did not overspend to the same extent as 2024/25. The second largest service pressure Children’s Services has is within Home to School Transport. Not included in the figures reported above is the position of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), which, in accordance with the Schools and Early Years Finance (England) Regulations 2020, is required by local authorities to be carried forward on their balance sheets. As of 31st March 2026, the Council has a cumulative DSG deficit of £19.845m. This is the first year that the Council has been in a cumulative DSG deficit position. The statutory override has been extended to March 2028, which means that, until then, the deficit will not be offset against useable Council reserves. In 2025/26, the government announced the High Needs Block recovery grant, which is a repayment of 90% of councils’ cumulative DSG deficits as at the end of 2025/26. Pending scrutiny of Council accounts and government returns, East Sussex will receive the grant in autumn 2026.