www.hertsdirect.org/specialneeds. welcome to the exceptional needs conference 2015

www.hertsdirect.org/specialneeds


Welcome to the Exceptional Needs

Conference 2015


9.15am Welcome and Overview9.30am ENF Updates and Effective Decision Making10.30am DSPL and ENF11.00am Tea/Coffee11.15am Enhancing Provision for Children with Autism12.30pm Lunch1.15pm Assessing an Application Effectively2.00pm County Review of SpLD2.20pm Clusters of Need – One Year On3.00pm Tea/coffee3.15pm SEND Reforms Update3.40pm Independent Supporters3.50pm Feedback and Next steps4.00pm Close


ENP Conference – Session 1

Welcome and Overview

Richard Haynes – Chair Exceptional Needs Advisory Group



What Lies Ahead?

• Greater local responsibility for meeting the needs of young people (DSPL and ENF)

• Effective and Robust Decision Making• Evolving Changes from SEND Reforms



ENF Changes and Effective Decision

Making

Richard Haynes – Chair Exceptional Needs Advisory Group


ENP Conference – Session 2What Happened in 2014?

We delivered on our 2014 Conference promises:

• Delivered additional funding to schools to meet the changes in government funding arrangements

• Met the needs of over 850 young people• Implemented a formula to support children moving from

Nursery to Reception so that there is a continuum of provision

• Reviewed the Cluster of Need process


Where are we now?You currently:•Still have a £5.6m budget at your disposal •Meet the needs of 884 children (671 in 2014) + 64 PVI children (58 in 2014)•Engage with an extensive range of support services•Have a comprehensive file on ENF – currently being updated•All have some funding to allocate this term!•AND……

ENF is recognised as a successful way of meeting the needs of

some of our most complex SEND young people



What Happens Next?Exceptional Needs Funding will continue to meet the needs

of our most complex young people with SEND

BUT



What Happens Next?

Our decision making must become more effective and robust to ensure our funding is targeted to meet the needs of our most complex and exceptional needs children in Hertfordshire.



What Happens Next?

The Facts and Figures• The ENF system was originally set up in 2005 to meet the needs of the

identified 600 children and young people in Hertfordshire with complex and exceptional needs.

• The system was expanded to meet the needs of children in Early Years (PVI) settings which increased to total to around 650.

• We currently meet the needs of 884 children and young people. This increase in numbers of children and young people deemed complex and exceptional is not reflected in the changing needs of young people in Hertfordshire or nationally.

.



What Happens Next?The Challenges we Face• Some local clusters are allowing all applications to go through to the District

panel rather than make difficult decisions themselves• The multiple cases scheme is being abused with cases being given low levels of

funding so that schools will receive additional funding in this way•.There are issues with panel members representing their cases or services

rather than having an impartial view• We cannot sustain an increasing number of cases that are not complex and

exceptional.



What Happens Next?How do we respond to this?• We use the guidance we have been given

• We don’t ‘represent our cases or services’• We make difficult decisions at local cluster level so that the District Panels

can concentrate on the cases for young people with the most complex and

exceptional needs• We fund only those cases whose needs are significant and long term giving

them the significant funding that they need• We ensure we work within the existing budget and plan our use of this

carefully.



What Happens Next?What will this look like for our next round of ENF?• You will continue to apply for ENF in exactly the same way as

you do now• You will identify the totality of a young person’s needs and the

provision required to meet these needs. A formula will calculate

the funding a school receives• The existing Multiple Cases formula will continue to apply

BUT – Your decision making will be more effective and robust



What Happens Next?How can we be more effective and robust?• We have updated the ENF application form to enable you to make applications

clearer and to enable decisions to be taken with as much evidence as possible.• We need to remember the guidance about the likely characteristics of a child for

whom exceptional needs funding is agreed:• Requires a highly individualised teaching programme• Is supported by highly individualised learning targets• Is completely dependent on high levels of support to engage or make progress• Is supported by adults for the majority of the time with some small group and whole

class learning• Has the involvement of external support services in ongoing assessment with likely

multi-agency involvement.



What Happens Next?How can we be more effective and robust?

•Let’s take a look at the revised application form.



What Happens Next for Clusters of Need?For this year only (2014/15) you have additional funding to allocate for Clusters of Need. To ensure that it is targeted appropriately here is a reminder of the guidance sent to schools in the Autumn Term

The Application Form

The Supplementary application form

The Guidance

The Additional Guidance

.



Clusters of Need



A Cluster of Need is…..•‘a significant and unusual level of need over and above what might

normally be expected and provided for in the school’s budget share’



What sort of pupils would you expect to find in a Cluster of Need?

‘those who fall just below the threshold for consideration for individual ENF’



What other features might a Cluster of Need have?

‘Schools might normally be expected to identify a group of children either by key stage or year

group’

‘there can be single type of need or several’



Existing Guidance for Assessing Applications• The spread of need• The concentration of need• Whether any pupils already have ENF• Any sudden change in need in the cohort• How long the children in the cluster have been at the school• Whether there has been an influx of new pupils with high levels of

SEND• The impact of the cluster of need as a group• The impact of the cluster on the cohort/class• The impact of the behaviour of the cluster• The regularity of the support given to the cluster and its impact• The external support already in place



Existing Guidance for Assessing Applications (2)• What specifically has been requested• Why this provision has been requested• How the provision requested is different from the current provision

• Is the financial request appropriate to:• The school’s notional budget for SEND• Other applications for SEND• Individual values for ENF



Existing Guidance for Assessing Applications (3)• Do you need to allocate any of your funding in this round of

applications?• Is the level of support requested unusual within your ENP area?• Why are you saying ‘yes’ to this particular application?• Why are you saying ‘no’ to this particular application?• Are any individuals in this application likely to receive funding from

another source?• Is support requested available from any other HCC service/resource?• Are any supporting documents helpful in arriving at a decision?



Additional Guidance for Assessing Applications

1. Identify the amount of funding available to your ENP

2. Be aware of the intended focus of Cluster of Need funding

3. Identify how your total amount of funding for Clusters of Need might be best allocated in your area:

Eg. If you have £50k - £100k to allocate you could consider:

• What the PVI/primary/secondary split might be

• Should the allocation be divided into even blocks of £5k, £10k?



Additional Guidance for Assessing Applications4. Assess applications based on: a. Level of Need

b. Expected Impact of Funding

Level of Need

• What are the needs?

• How close are the needs to the thresholds of exceptionality?

• How tightly are the young people clustered?

• How is the need impacting on the school’s/settings existing resources?

• What pressures are the needs placing on this particular school/setting?



Additional Guidance for Assessing Applications4. Assess applications based on: a. Level of Need

b. Expected Impact of Funding

Impact of Funding

• What impact would one year’s funding have on:

o The young people individually

o The cohort(s)

o The cluster

o The school/setting

• Would this funding resolve the SEND issue to a level that could be met from the school’s own resources?

Would this funding enable the school to better meet this type of clustered need in the future



Completing an Application Form (revised guidance)

Section 1• This section contains factual information only

Section 2• 2a) The number of children in each cluster will vary however it should be noted

that the guidance refers to children ‘just below the threshold for individual ENF’ so this is not likely to be a significant number.

• 2b) This clearly refers to class, year group or key stage. It is very unlikely that a cluster will cover the whole school.

• 2c) The guidance should be followed closely with particular reference to describing a child’s needs in relation to the thresholds for ENF. The impact of their needs on their learning is key.




Section 3• In this section you should refer to each child from section 2 in

terms of provision, adjustment and differentiation. These children will have significant needs and are likely to have had input from a range of professionals. You should state this input and its impact.

• You should state individual interventions and impact as well as collective interventions and impact




Section 4• In this section you should identify the provision to meet both the individual and

collective needs of the children. You should clearly state the expected impact and outcomes for these children.

• You should use your school’s local offer to outline the provision showing how the quantity, frequency and level of provision is greater than that normally provided from your school’s budget share.

• It is expected that this provision will move these children forward and that further funding will not be required.

• Your local offer must be submitted with your application.• In this section you should state:

• What is required• Why it is required• How it will be used• The quantity of support to address each identified need expressed in terms of cost• The expected impact



Moderating a Case• Section 2

• Is this an appropriate number of children for a Cluster of Need?• According to the definition of a ‘Cluster’ is this cohort a

‘Cluster’?• Do each of these children have needs just below the threshold

for exceptionality?• Are the impact of their needs clear?



Moderating a Case• Section 3

• Is the current provision for each child clearly set out?• How is the learning environment adjusted for each child?• How is the learning differentiated to meet the learning needs for

each child?• What collective provision, adjustment, differentiation has been

made for the Cluster?• What evidence is there of professional involvement for each

child?• Does any child have existing ENF?



Moderating a Case

Section 4

• Has the provision been clearly stated to meet the needs of the children either individually or collectively?

• Can the impact of the provision clearly be identified?• Will the impact lead to positive and sustainable outcomes for

the children?• Has the provision clearly been linked to the school’s Local

Offer?• Does the provision, through the Local offer, exceed what is

normally provided through the school’s budget share?



Moderating a Case

Supplementary Application Form

• How is the cluster of need impacting on the school’s current resources and ability to deliver effective SEN provision?

• What impact would the level of funding you are requesting have on the cluster of Need you have described and on the school(s) in general?

• What measureable long term benefits would this level of funding have on the cluster of need and the school(s) in general

• How would this funding enable the school(s) to better meet this type and level of need in the future?



DSPL and ENF

Debbie Orton

Head of Integrated Services for Learning



Enhancing Provision for Children with Autism

Glenys Jones



Assessing and Application Effectively

Richard Haynes and Jeanne Edwards




Child A




Child B



A Review of Specific Learning Difficulties Provision in Hertfordshire

The Outcomes and the Implications

Anne Powell-Davies

Assistant Principal Educational Psycholgist



Clusters of Need

A look at how funding was used in the past year

Hilary Warne The Sele School

Di Golledge Fairfields Primary School



SEND Reforms Update

Sheelagh Sullivan

Head of SEN



Independent Supporters

Kids



Feedback and Next Steps

Richard HaynesChair – Exceptional Needs Advisory Group


www.hertsdirect.org/specialneeds. welcome to the exceptional needs conference 2015

Documents