Transcript DfE Template (Arial) v1.0 April 2012

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Improving outcomes for disabled children
and their families
North East Regional Event, Newcastle
Tuesday 16 October 2012
André Imich, SEN and Disability Professional Adviser, DfE
The Transformation Journey
March 2011: Green Paper
Support and Aspiration - A new approach to special
educational needs and disability

May 2012 - Support and aspiration: Progress and next steps

Sept 2012 – Draft legislation on reform of provision for
children and young people with SEN
Green Paper 2011: Support and Aspiration
Our vision is of a system in which:
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 CYP 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 CYP is raised through an increased focus on life
outcomes
For more complex needs, an integrated assessment and a single
Education, Health and Care Plan from birth to 25; and
There is greater control for parents over the services they and their
family use.
Key Highlights of Draft Legislation
1. More streamlined assessment process, which integrates education,
health and care services, and involves CYP and their parents.
 New 0-25 Education, Health and Care Plan, replacing Statements
and Learning Difficulty Assessments, which reflects the child or
young person’s aspirations for the future, as well as current needs.
2. New requirement for LA, health and care services to commission
services jointly re meeting the needs of CYP with SEN & disabilities.
3. LAs to publish a clear, transparent ‘local offer’ of services for all CYP
with additional needs, so parents can understand what is available.
4. New statutory protections for young people aged 16-25 in FE and a
stronger focus on preparing for adulthood.
5. Offer of a personal budget for families and young people with a
Plan, extending choice and control over their support.
6. Academies, Free Schools, Further Education and Sixth Form
colleges to have the same SEN duties as maintained schools.
1. Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
 built on a much stronger, integrated assessment process
which includes parents, CYP, & range of professionals.
 statutory protections will extend to young people in
further education and to young children from birth to five.
 a clear focus on outcomes so that it is built on agreed
aspirational and realistic aims for the child or young
person, including employment and independent living.
 part of an overall system change which requires local
agencies to arrange integrated education, health and
social care provision jointly and clearly.
2. Joint commissioning
• New duty for local authorities to ensure integration
across special education, health and social care
where it would promote wellbeing.
• Local authorities and clinical commissioning groups will
be required to work together to arrange local services
to meet the education, health and care needs of disabled
children and young people and those with SEN.
• This will help ensure that services such as speech and
language therapy are available, and that parents aren’t
caught in the middle while agencies work out who is to
provide the support their child needs.
3. Local offer
 LAs must make available information on services for the
full range of children and young people who are disabled
and those with SEN.
 Schools, FE colleges and health agencies must
cooperate with the LA to make sure that the local offer
includes information on their services and how to access
them.
 This will help parents to access the support they need
and make choices about the best ways to do so.
Local Offer – Emerging good practice
principles
• Collaborative working with parents and CYP from the
start to ensure the local offer reflects local needs
• Working with other services to ensure the local offer is
informative and helpful (including schools, CCGs and
local health organisations)
• Building on existing requirements e.g.; short break
services
• Making clear the routes of complaint and redress
• Making information easily accessible
4. Preparing for adulthood
• The 0-25 Education, Health and Care plan will create a single
system with the same rights for all young people, regardless of age.
• The new arrangements allow for a plan to continue until a young
person’s 25th birthday when in further education or training.
• It will be much clearer about young people’s own ambitions for what
they can achieve, and what outcomes they are seeking.
• We will give young people the right to ask to attend a particular
FE college, and for that institution to admit them unless it is
unsuitable for their education or the education of others.
• Give young people the right to appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal if
they are unhappy with their arrangements.
5. Personal budgets
 Parents of disabled children and those with SEN, and
young people themselves, will have a legal entitlement to
a personal budget where they have an EHC Plan.
 It will enable families and young people who want to do
so to buy services themselves through direct payments,
extending their choice and control.
6. Academies and Free Schools
 The SEN duties on schools are extended to all Academies, including
Free Schools.
 This means that all schools will be under the same duties to:
- admit children where the school is named in their EHCP
- use their best endeavours to secure special educational provision;
- have regard to the Code of Practice;
- cooperate with the LA;
- designate a SENCo and publish information about SEN provision.
 These provisions reflect the requirements currently in most funding
agreements signed since introduction of Academies Act 2010.
However, the legislation will give greater clarity to Academies,
parents and CYP.
Timetable for reform
 September to December 2012 – a period of pre-legislative
scrutiny, led by the Education Select Committee. Allows the
provisions to be informed and improved by the views and
evidence of key stakeholders, and for us to continue to learn
from the experience of the Pathfinders.
 December 2012 – Education Select Committee publishes a
report of its findings.
 Early 2013 – improved Bill introduced into Parliament.
 Spring 2014 - Royal Assent (subject to Parliamentary
process)
 September 2014 – reforms go live (meeting original green
paper commitment to have reforms in place by 2014)
SEND Pathfinder programme
• Pathfinder programme – 20 pathfinders (31 LAs) and their
health sector partners are testing the key reforms.
• Emerging findings will inform development of the Children
and Families Bill during the pre-legislative scrutiny phase,
while regular pathfinder policy working groups, case study
information and action learning networks will inform practice
and policy on an ongoing basis.
• Evaluation of the pathfinder programme is being carried out
by SQW.
From now until enactment
 Business as usual
 1996 Education Act and current Code of Practice still
apply
 Pathfinder learning will support preparation for
implementation – Ministers will make a decision on
extending the pathfinders in October or November.
 Transition arrangements will be clarified by DfE
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