Support and Aspiration Implementing the SEN and Disability Reforms Legislation and the Code of Practice

The Children & Families Act 2014 Part 3 Children and Young people in England with SEND Replaces Part IV of the Education Act 1996  Definition of SEN stays the same  There is a difference between children and young people

Institutions with New Duties  Academies and free schools  Colleges  Clinical commissioning groups and NHS England  Youth Secure estate and youth offending teams

Principles  Children, young people and parents at the centre of decision making  Supporting children and young people and parents to participate  A focus on achieving the best outcomes “ Results that you achieve through actions that are taken”

Duty on LA to identify all:  CYP who are disabled  CYP who have or may have SEN Education, training and social care provision to be kept under review Integration and joint commissioning Cooperation across services and institutions Local Offer

Participation and Partnership: REVIEW & REVISE Children, young people, parents/carers MUST be involved in reviewing the local offer  What worked well ?  What could be improved ?  What changes happen as a result ?

AND in light of comments received revise and review commissioning

What we want to achieve We want children and young people with special needs and disabilities to achieve well in their early years, at school and in college; find employment; lead happy and fulfilled lives; and have choice and control over their support. The special needs reforms will implement a new approach which seeks to join up help across education, health and care, from birth to 25. Help will be offered at the earliest possible point, with children and young people with SEND and their parents or carers fully involved in decisions about their support and what they want to achieve. This will help lead to better outcomes and more efficient ways of working.

Legislation - Key Highlights 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. 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 and a stronger focus on preparing for adulthood. Academies, Free Schools, Further Education and Sixth Form colleges to have the same SEN duties as maintained schools.

The SEND reforms: putting children and young people at the centre Where disagreements happen, they can be resolved early and amicably, with the option of a Tribunal for those that need it

Children, young people and parents understand a joined up system, designed around their needs

Enablers

Joint commissioning Better disagreeme nt resolution processesPositive Wellbeing

Outcomes

Local offer

Having friends

0-25 Children and young people with SEND and families

Information, advice and support

Making their

Extending choice and control over their support.

views heard

Option of a Personal Budget

Integrated assessment and planning

Education Health and Care Plan is holistic, coproduced, focused on outcomes, and is delivered

Draft SEN Code of Practice?  Statutory guidance from DfE on duties, policies and procedures relating to Part 3 of the Children and Families Bill and associated regulations.  Provides practical advice on how to carry out statutory duties to identify, assess and make provision for children and young people with SEN.  Reference to other Acts e.g. Equality Act 2010 MUST...............Should

Who is SEN CoP for ?  Local Authorities – education, social care employment, housing  Early Years providers, schools, colleges,  Academies, free schools  Independent special schools and providers  Pupil referral units and alternative provision  National Health Service Commissioning Board  Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs)  NHS Trusts / Foundation Trusts  Local Health Boards  Youth Offending Teams and relevant youth custodial est.  The First-tier Tribunal (SEND)

What Stays the Same?  Definition of SEN  Early identification

 Majority of CYP with SEN have needs met through mainstream providers.  Duties under Equality Act 2010

 Admissions  Right to request school and reasons to refuse place  Statutory requirements for SENCO

What’s new? 

Education Health Care Plans (EHCP) to replace Statements/LDA



A single other category – ‘SEN Support’ - replaces Action Plus and Action



Area of needs



Key working is promoted



Greater focus on outcomes and successful transition to adulthood.



Requirement to publish a local and a school offer



Youth offending and secure state



Personal Budgets

This is not an exhaustive list!

Draft special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years (242 pages) Introduction 1.

Principles

2.

Impartial information, advice and support

3.

Working together across education health and care for joint outcomes

4.

The Local Offer

5.

Early Years Providers

6.

Schools

7.

Further Education

8.

Preparing for adulthood from the earliest years

7.

Education Health care needs assessment and plans

8.

Children and young people in specific circumstances

9.

Resolving disagreements Annex 1 mental capacity

Principles in practice  A focus on inclusive practice and removing barriers to learning  Supporting successful preparation for adulthood  Supporting children, young people and parents to participate in decisions about their support  Involving children, young people and parents in planning, commissioning and reviewing services  Greater choice and control for parents and young people over their support  Greater collaboration between education, health and social care services to provide support

“Local authorities and health bodies must have arrangements in place to plan and commission education, health and social care services jointly for children and young people with SEN or disabilities (Section 26)”.

Impartial Information, Advice and Support “The joint arrangements that local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) must have for commissioning education, health and care provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities must include arrangements for considering and agreeing what information and advice about education, health and care provision is to be provided, by whom and how it is to be provided.”

Working together across education, health and care for joint outcomes  Scope of joint commissioning arrangements  How local partners should commission services to meet local needs and support better outcomes  Role of children, young people, parents and representative groups such as Parent Carer Forums and Youth Forums have in informing commissioning arrangements  How joint commissioning draws together accountability arrangements for key partners

Children’s Social Care “Where a child or young person has been assessed as having social care needs in relation to their SEN or disabilities social care teams: Must secure social care provision which has been assessed as being necessary to support a child or young person’s SEN and which is specified in their EHC plan Must undertake reviews of children and young people with EHC plans where there are social care needs” 3.48

Schools and post-16 settings as commissioners • “Schools must work with the local authority in developing the Local Offer... .... must set out its SEN policy and information on its approach to supporting children and young people with SEN. ...governing body must ensure that arrangements are in place in schools to support pupils at school with medical conditions and should ensure that school leaders consult health and social care professionals, pupils and parents to ensure that the needs of children with medical conditions are effectively supported.”

The Local Offer

Early Years Providers “All early years providers are required to have arrangements in place to identify and support children with SEN or disabilities and to promote equality of opportunity for children in their care .” 5.11

Schools “All children and young people are entitled to an education that enables them to make progress so that they: • achieve their best • become confident individuals living fulfilling lives, and • make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training.” 6.1

Every school is required to meet the SEN of the children or young people that they support. 6.2

Schools: Medical Conditions 6.10 The Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools and academies to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions. Individual healthcare plans will normally specify the type and level of support required to meet the medical needs of such pupils. Where children and young people also have special educational needs, their provision should be planned and delivered in a coordinated way with the healthcare plan. Schools are required to have regard to statutory guidance supporting pupils at school with medical conditions (DfE, 2014).

Areas of SEN 1. 2. 3. 4.

Communication and interaction Cognition and learning Social mental and emotional health Sensory and/or physical

In all circumstances, schools, colleges, early years and other providers should ensure that they are providing good teaching. The quality and appropriateness of the overall provision should be kept under regular review and it’s impact on the number of children or young people identified with SEN should be monitored.

BEHAVIOUR “Persistent disruptive or withdrawn behaviours do not necessarily mean that a child or young person has SEN. Where there are concerns, there should be an assessment to determine whether there are any causal factors such as undiagnosed learning difficulties, difficulties with communication or mental health issues”.

Further Education • The duty to co-operate with the local authority on arrangements for children and young people with SEN. • The duty to admit a young person if the institution is named in an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan. • The duty to have regard to this Code of Practice • The duty to use their best endeavours to secure the special educational provision that the young person needs.

SEN Support in College “Where a student has a learning difficulty or disability that calls for special educational provision, the college must use its best endeavours to put appropriate support in place. Colleges have additional funding for students with additional needs, including those with SEN. This funding is not ringfenced and is included in their main allocation in a ‘single line’ budget. Colleges are expected to provide appropriate, high quality SEN support using all available resources” 7.11

Preparing for adulthood from the earliest years Sets out how professionals across education (including early years, schools, colleges and 16-19 academies), health and social care should support children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities to prepare for adult life, And ........ help them go on to achieve the best outcomes in  Employment  Independent living  Health and community participation

Transition Planning Preparation and support for Adult life Planning :  how young people should be supported to make decisions for themselves  the transition into post-16 education  how post-16 institutions can design study programmes  pathways to employment  transition to higher education young people aged 19-25

 transition to adult health services  transition to adult social care

8.11 “Local authorities must ensure that the EHC plan review at Year 9, and every review thereafter, includes a focus on preparing for adulthood. It can be helpful for EHC plan reviews before Year 9 to have this focus too. Planning must be centred around the individual and explore the child or young person’s aspirations and abilities, what they want to be able to do when they leave post-16 education or training and the support they need to

achieve their ambition.”

8.15 “ As young people develop, and increasingly form their own views, they should be involved more and more closely in decisions about their own future. After compulsory school age (the end of the academic year in which

they turn 16) the right to make decisions etc under the Children and Families Act 2014 applies to them directly, rather than to their parents. Parents, or other family members, can continue to support young people in making decisions, or act on their behalf, provided that the young person is happy for them to do so, and it is likely that parents will remain closely involved in the great majority of cases.”

A young person’s rights  the right to request an assessment for an EHC plan (any time up to their 25th birthday)  the right to make representations about the content of their EHC plan  the right to request that a particular institution is named in their EHC plan.  the right to request a Personal Budget for elements of an EHC plan  the right to appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal (SEN and Disability) about decisions concerning their EHC plan

Education, Health and Care Needs Assessments and Plans  when a local authority must carry out an EHC needs assessment  who must be consulted and provide advice

 the statutory steps including timescales  requesting a particular placement  requesting and agreeing Personal Budgets, including sources of funding  finalising and maintaining an EHC plan  reviews and re-assessments of an EHC plan  transferring , ceasing and disclosing EHC plan

9.4 EHC plans should be forward-looking documents that help raise aspirations, outline the provision required to meet assessed needs to support the child or young person in achieving their ambitions. EHC plans must specify how services will be delivered as part of a whole package and explain how together the services will deliver improved outcomes across education, health and social care for the child or young person. 9.5 An EHC needs assessment will not always lead to an EHC plan. The information gathered during an EHC needs assessment may indicate ways in which the school, college or other provider can meet the child or young person’s needs without an EHC plan.

9.19 “Local authorities must consult the child and the child’s parent or the young person throughout the process of assessment and production of an EHC Plan”.

9.20 Highlights person-centred assessment and planning process which should:  enable the child or young person, and those that know them best to say what they have done, what they are interested in and what outcomes they are seeking in the future  tailor support to the needs of the individual  bring together relevant professionals to discuss and agree together the overall approach  deliver an outcomes-focused and co-ordinated plan for the child or young person and their parents

EHC PLAN must focus on how best to achieve the outcomes Must  Refer to the evidence received as part of the EHC needs assessment.  Set out the education and training, health and social care outcomes that have been agreed with the child’s parent or young person  Specify what support is to be provided to meet those outcomes

Personal Budgets 9.99 “The child’s parent or the young person should be given an indication of the level of funding available to make the provision specified, or proposed to be specified in the EHC plan. An indicative figure can be identified through a resource allocation or banded funding system.”

Funding  Changes in place from April 2012  Schools have an amount identified within their overall budget, called the notional SEN budget.  This is not a ring-fenced amount, and it is for the school to provide, high quality appropriate support from the whole of its budget  Schools are expected to provide additional support which costs up to a nationally prescribed threshold per pupil/student per year.  The LA provides top-up funding from the High Needs Block for pupils where the cost of provision required to meet needs exceeds this threshold

Children and young people in specific circumstances  children and young people with SEN and social care needs, including looked after children, care leavers, children in need  children and young people educated out of area

 children and young people with SEN who are educated at home  children and young people in alternative provision  children and young people who have SEN and are in hospital

 children and young people in youth custody  children of service personnel

“An EHC plan must be kept by the local authority which normally maintains the EHC plan (the home local authority) while a child or young person is detained and it must be maintained and reviewed on release” “Youth Offending Teams and those in charge of relevant youth accommodation must co-operate with the home local authority to ensure that these duties can be fulfilled and must have regard to this Code of Practice.”

Resolving Disagreements Early resolution of disagreements at the local level Independent disagreement resolution arrangements must be available for disagreements across special educational provision, and health and care provision in relation to EHC plans

Independent mediation arrangements Describes the conditions for appealing to the Tribunal or making disability discrimination claims