SEND Pathfinder National Update

Kerry Hancock, Programme ManagerPathfinder Support Team

8th October 2013

A reminder: the case for changeThe current system is not working for families and children:

Too many children with SEN have their needs picked up late;

Young people with SEN do less well than their peers at school and college and are more likely to be out of education, training and employment at 18;

Schools and colleges can focus too much on the SEN label rather than meeting the child’s needs, and the current Statements/ Learning Difficulty Assessments do not focus on life outcomes;

Too many families have to battle to find out what support is available and in getting the help they need from education, health and social care services; and

When a young person leaves school for further education, they enter a very different system which does not carry forward the rights and protections that exist in the SEN system in schools.

Government vision

Children’s SEN are picked up early and support is routinely put in place quickly;

Staff have the knowledge, understanding and skills to provide the right support for children and young people who have SEN or are disabled;

Parents know what they can reasonably expect their local school, college, LA & local services to provide, without having to fight for it;

Aspirations for children and young people are raised through an increased focus on life outcomes, including employment;

For more complex needs, an integrated assessment and a single Education, Health and Care Plan are in place from birth to 25; and

There is greater control for parents and young people over the services they and their family use.

Pathfinder and Reforms: the story so far

Mar 2011 Sept 2011 May 2012

Sept 2012 Feb 2013

Green Paper: Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability

Support and aspiration: Progress and next steps

Draft provisions published for pre-legislative scrutiny by the Education Select Committee

Gov’t response to pre-legislative scrutiny; and Children and Families Bill published

SEND Pathfinders (Sept 2011 – March 2013)

Feb-June2013

Oct2013

National consultation:Code of Practicetransitional arrangements

Bill progresses through House of Commons to House of Lords

The SEND Pathfinders

Pathfinders core objectives

To develop a new 0-25 assessment/planning process and a Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP)•Person centred•Improving outcomes•Bringing together services and support which families rely on

Develop a multi agency local offer

To ensure the full engagement of children, young people and their parents and families, schools and colleges

To explore how the voluntary and community sector could explore access to specialist expertise and introduce more independence to the process

To explore how the option of a personal budget could offer more choice and control for children, young people and their families

To explore how the joint commissioning across agencies can support the new processes and improve outcomes

PathfindersGovernance structure

Lead/ChairMajority - Local Authority

Some - Health, Parent Carer Forum/Council

Representation from:Local Authority, health (commissioners & providers), parent carers

forum/council, VCS, schools, colleges, parent partnership services, children and young people groups/forums

Work streams / Task groups

Strategic decision

making & co-production

Different for all but with common elements

House of Commons timetable

1st Reading

SecondReading

Motion/vote: 2nd Reading

MoneyProgramme for

Committee

Report 3rd ReadingCommittee

4/5 Feb 25 FebBegins on 5th March –

23rd April (subject to passing of the Programme

Motion)

1-2 days 1 hour

Public Evidence sessions, followed byline-by-line scrutiny of

the Bill (including selected amendments)

Debate of whole House; all MPs

can lay amendments &

vote

Short debate; no further

amendments; final vote

Introduction/1st Reading

SecondReading

Grand Committee or

Committee of the whole house

Report Stage

ThirdReading

Detailed line by line examination.

All Lords have a further opportunity to consider all amendments.

Amendments can still be

made at Third Reading in the

Lords

House of Lords timetable

We are here

Timetable for reform (indicative)

March 2013

Indicative Draft Regulations and an

outline Code of Practice published.

mid 2013

Further discussions on Code of Practice to inform production

of full draft

late 2013

Formal consultation on full draft Code of

Practice

before Spring 2014

Royal Assent of Bill (subject to

Parliamentary process)

by Spring 2014Parliamentary

approval of regulations and

Code of Practice(following Royal

Assent)

2014 Implementation of

provisions (meeting original

Green Paper commitment to have reforms in place by

2014)

From now until Enactment: • 1996 Education Act and current Code of Practice still applies• Transition arrangements will be clarified by DfE

To inform debate on the primary legislation –

subsequent steps allow significant further

engagement and formal consultation to get these

right

New requirement for LAs, health and care services to commission services jointly, to ensure that the needs of children and young people are met.

LAs to publish a clear, transparent ‘local offer’ of services, so parents and young people can understand what is available; developed with parents and young people.

More streamlined assessment process, co-ordinated across education, health and care, and involves children and young people and their families throughout.

New 0-25 Education, Health and Care Plan, replacing the current system of Statements and Learning Difficulty Assessments, which reflects the child or young person’s aspirations for the future, as well as their current needs.

Legislation - key highlights

A new duty on health commissioners to deliver the health elements of EHC plans.

Option of a personal budget for families and young people with a plan, extending choice and control over their support.

New statutory protections for young people aged 16-25 in FE, including right to request particular institution named in their EHC plan and the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.

A stronger focus on preparing for adulthood including new powers for LAs to provide children’s services to young people over 18 to improve transition to adult services.

Academies and Free Schools to have the same SEN duties as maintained schools.

Legislation - key highlights (2)

New regulations and a new SEN Code of Practice for consultation. Both the regulations and the Code have been strongly informed by pathfinder learning.

The Children and Families Bill has been through Commons Committee stage and been introduced into the House of Lords. The Lords Committee will consider the Bill in October.

More than 200 amendments were tabled and debated during the Commons Committee.

During Commons Committee Stage, the Government introduced an amendment requiring health commissioners to deliver the health aspects of an EHC Plan.

Debate focused on a number of issues, the most prominent being the provisions on the scope of the SEN definition, the position of health and social care, the local offer, inclusion and school choice, personal budgets and post-16 provisions.

Legislation – current position

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/draft-0-to-25-special-educational-needs-sen-code-of-practice-draft-regulations

Open consultation

SEND Pathfinder Champions

Regional SEND Pathfinder Champions

Champion Role:

•Face-to-face support for non-pathfinder areas, both through one-to-one support and events

•Case studies

•Proactive sharing of information across region

•A regional conference, thematic workshops and seminars

•Additional national responsibilities for some champions

The champion role should include a range of parties with experience to offer, including parents, young people, education providers, VCS partners, the LA and health partners

Funding for non-pathfinderJuly 2013 - £9million funding for non-pathfinder areas

announced

Q: When will local authorities receive their allocation?

A: The SEN Reforms Grant 2013-14 will be paid to local authorities in October.

Q: How much will each local authority receive?

A: The City of London will receive £20,000. All other non-pathfinder authorities will receive £75,000.

Q: Does the funding have to be spent on special educational needs in 2013-14?

A: The grant is not ring-fenced. It has been made available, as part of a wider package of support, to develop SEN systems and services within this financial year but it is for each local authority to determine how to use the funding. No conditions apply, a certification of expenditure is not required and any underspend will not need to be returned to the Department.

Option of a

personal budget

EHC plan

Joint commissioning

Workforce development

Hartlepool Case Study

An example coordinated assessment process

•Overarching process above is broken down into the component stages, in the following slides.

•The family is at the centre of the new process and involved at all stages

– this has changed professionals’ approach to meetings

– the feedback received from all parties is overwhelmingly positive

Hartlepool Case Study:Coordinated Assessment

• The family is at the centre, involved at all stages

• Maximum process of 20 weeks

• Aim to make a meaningful difference to children, young people & their families

EHC plans

SE7- Local Offer

SE7 as a region:

• set out principles that should be followed when completing the Local Offer (LO) locally

• worked with relevant groups (e.g. parents, professionals, providers) to help shape the principles, guidance and any recommendations

• developed/developing framework and guidance for each individual strand:

Social care

Education

Health

Preparing for Adulthood

Local OfferSE7

SE7 Case StudySpecific Questions from the Parent/Carer & Young Person

Darlington Local Offer Case StudyApproach

• Development of offer at incremental stages to ensure sustainable approach

• Darlington’s local offer can be found at: http://darlington.fsd.org.uk

Hartlepool Case StudySt Hild’s Local Offer Front Page

St Hild’s has a local offer front page, which is part of the school website. This provides information on the key SEND contacts within the school, contact details, and useful links including information on:

How the school creates an individual SEND planStaffing and relevant qualificationsSpecial Education ProvisionsAchievement and support

St Hild’s has a local offer front page, which is part of the school website. This provides information on the key SEND contacts within the school, contact details, and useful links including information on:

How the school creates an individual SEND planStaffing and relevant qualificationsSpecial Education ProvisionsAchievement and support

Ability to click through to specific areas of the offer, such as achievement support.

Ability to click through to specific areas of the offer, such as achievement support.

In Focus: Learning from Pathfinder WorkThree Mechanisms for Control of an EHC Personal Budget

Taken from Indicative Draft: SEN Code of Practice (section 6.11 Personal Budgets in EHC plans)

In Focus: Learning from Pathfinder WorkFunding EHC SEN Personal Budgets

• Where a pupil or student’s individualised needs exceed the level of provision the school or college normally provides, additional funds can:

– definitely come from funding provided by the LA from their high-needs block

– possibly come from funding managed by a school or college, if the head or principal agrees.

• It is normally these additional funds, beyond the normal provision as set out in the local offer, that would be offered as part of an EHC personal budget.

High Needs Block

School/college budget

Base funding

Notional SEN budget

Personal budget

If agreed with school / college

Health provision

Social care provision

East Sussex Case Study:Support for the Schools

East Sussex Case Study:Harbour School - Child T Case Study

• Background:

– Child T is 5 years old & an only child. He has autism with SEN, & has a ‘Band B’ statement. He enjoys swimming, going to the playground, playing on the computer and owns an iPad.

– Both parents are Lithuanian & the family live locally having moved to the area 2 years ago. Both parents work long hours but are a close family, maintaining links with extended family members.

• What happened that was different?

– Deputy Head teacher set up 3 meetings with family to discuss the pathfinder & reformed process, discuss the plan & planning, & complete the single plan/complete T’s annual review.

– Involved a range of professionals

East Sussex Case Study:Harbour School - Child T Case Study

• Key Outcomes:

– Communication between home and school is excellent

– After School Clubs are very successful

– Lunchtime support is working well for T

– T is now having weekly swimming lessons

• What is the key learning to share with others?

– Importance of personalisation as an approach to SEN PBs

– Need to be clear about the funding available for an SEN PB

– Importance of looking at a family’s resources & ‘real wealth’ as a valid & important contribution

– Importance of understanding outcomes & having the confidence to lead conversations away from identifying the need to access services as an outcome

– Supporting schools to develop solution focused approaches as examples of good practice

Hartlepool Case Study: Prezi: The Path to a Personal Budget

• Interactive presentation

• Simple step-by-step explanation of how parents and carers can access a Personal Budget

• http://youtu.be/U4UhRqnykvI

Key challenges for the programme and areas for further development:

• Running two systems in parallel amid wider change programmes

• Workforce development and culture change

• Further testing of paperwork ensuring its robustness when used as a statutory document

• Scaling up testing

– Increase the number of families involved

– Ensure coverage across the age range

– Including more new cases

• Testing the full end to end process e.g. reviews, disputes, transition

• Sharing learning more widely with non-pathfinder areas

Keeping in touch