Transcript Slide 1

Achieving a Personalised Approach to
Short Breaks Conference
SEN and disability reform and the
pathfinder programme
Peter Gibb and Angela Overington, DfE
7 November 2012
Key policy developments
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Edward Timpson MP appointed Parliamentary Undersecretary of State
(Children and Families)
Draft legislation published for pre-legislative scrutiny in September 2012;
Select Committee ‘call for evidence’ and two hearing taken place
£3m announced for supported internships trial in 15 colleges (4 in
pathfinder areas), which will create opportunities for young people to
demonstrate to employers what they are capable of achieving
Changes to safeguarding guidance: consultation on revised statutory
guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children and Managing Cases:
Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families
A new VCS grants prospectus launched on 26 October offering up to £30
million pa in 2013-14 and 2014-15 for VCS organisations, social enterprises
and others bidding on a not-for-profit basis. One of the five priorities is to
attract proposals ‘to develop and reform services that support children with
SEN, disabilities and other health needs’
Draft legislation - highlights
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New requirement for local authorities, health and care services to
commission services jointly, to ensure that the needs of disabled children
and young people and those with SEN are met
LAs to publish a clear, transparent ‘local offer’ of services, so parents and
young people can understand what is available
More streamlined assessment process, which integrates education,
health and care services, and involves children and young people and their
families
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
Timetable for legislative reform (indicative)
Allows the provisions to
be informed and
improved by the views
and evidence of
stakeholders, and to
continue to learn from
the experience of the
Pathfinders
Early 2013
Indicative Draft
Regulations and a
Draft Code of
Practice published
for consultation,
informed by
pathfinder learning.
September to
December 2012
Period of prelegislative scrutiny
led by the
Education Select
Committee
Spring 2014
Royal Assent
(subject to
Parliamentary
process)
December 2012
Education Select
Committee
publishes a report
of its findings
September 2014
Implementation of
provisions (meeting
original Green
Paper commitment
to have reforms in
place by 2014)
Early 2013
Children and
Families Bill
introduced into
Parliament.
From now until
Enactment:
• 1996 Education Act
and current Code of
Practice still applies
• Transition
arrangements will be
clarified by DfE
But it’s not just about the legislation…..
Draft clauses are the high level architecture – there will be more detail in
Regulations and the new Code of Practice. There are wider changes
happening in the ways that professionals work with children, young people
and Families, for example:
Change in local practice
• Pathfinders
• Delivery Partners
• Supported Internships
• Achievement for All
Improvements in
professional development
Wider reforms
• SENCO training
• Initial Teacher Training
• CPD & scholarships
• VCS
• Health and Social Care
• Early identification through
2 year old progress check;
investment in health visitors
• School funding reforms
SEND Pathfinders:
20 SEND pathfinders (representing 31 LAs and health partners) were set up in
October 2011 to test reforms around:
• the 0-25 single assessment process and plan;
• how the voluntary and community sector can offer expertise and
independence;
• engaging young people and families, schools and colleges; and improving
choice and control through the use of personal budgets and direct payments
Mott MacDonald are supporting pathfinders with online resources; regional events;
tailored support and challenge; policy development workshops and action learning
networks; and access to additional support from delivery partners and grant holders
www.sendpathfinder.co.uk provides a hub for those interested in the pathfinders,
including case studies produced by delivery partners and pathfinder leads
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Evaluating the pathfinder programme
A formal evaluation is underway based on monitoring data; parent and
practitioner surveys, and intensive case studies in selected areas. The first
interim report was published on October 18 and the final report will be
published by summer 2013
Early findings suggest that:
•Good progress has been made in setting up partnerships and engaging
families
•There are a range of approaches to the single assessment process, from
bringing together the results of separate specialist assessments to a single
assessment event.
•More family and young person centred processes are in place, using key
working to improve communications
•The capacity of health and education and VCS providers to engage
remains a concern in some areas
•A challenge remains about how to scale up approaches to a whole area in
a sustainable way e.g. key working
Pathfinder learning: cultural change
In many areas, pathfinders are successfully integrating education, health
and social care assessment functions and administration to develop a
more coherent offer for children, young people and their families
Bromley and Bexley:
• Children and Young People Services
and Adult Services integrated to become
the Education and Care Services with a
single commissioning division.
• A shared vision for young people
developed - through a visioning day,
attended by a wide range of stakeholders
(including LA services, schools, colleges,
health, families, young people and the
voluntary sector).
Devon:
• Major training programme aimed at
1000 Integrated Children’s Services staff,
360 schools and other key stakeholders,
including parents and children and young
people.
•Working with In Control to set out a new
framework for Person Centred practice
•Aiming to align all their current Common
Assessment Framework (CAF) and multiagency working training to a more
personalised agenda.
Pathfinder Learning: single assessment
process and plan
Most pathfinders have now developed and agreed the pathway and
format of their single assessment and planning process
Families have been recruited for testing and a significant number of
completed plans are now in place
In Manchester, plan co-ordinators from a range of professional backgrounds have been trained
to work with one or two young people each to develop person-centred single plans.
In Calderdale, a draft plan has been developed by parents and practitioners from health,
education and social care, focusing on what children or young people feel is / is not working for
them and what they want to achieve. There is an emphasis on developing links with the local
community and building family resilience. Families work together in groups to develop their i
plans, to develop peer support. Group sessions are facilitated by person centred planners, who
are also parents of disabled children.
Pathfinder learning: Local Offer
The Local Offer means that LAs will have to make available information on
services for the full range of children and young people who are disabled
and those with SEN
Pathfinders are actively developing their Local Offers, with many focusing
initially on schools and colleges. In some areas, VCS organisations or
parent partnerships services are leading on development of the offer
Northampton & Leicester City and
Manchester
Development of the local offer is led
by parent partnership services and
parent carer representatives.
Nottingham
NAVO (an umbrella organisation for local
VCS) has the lead.
SE7
A working group of parent carers and
parent partnership services has consulted
with parent carers and practitioners to a
agree a common set of principles for its
local offer framework, covering all seven
pathfinder authorities.
Pathfinder learning: Personal Budgets
Pathfinders are testing the scope of a personal budget; the impact on families
(including their engagement in the planning process and designing outcomes);
and the impact on the commissioning, planning and cost-effectiveness of services
Testing is at an early stage but most pathfinders have now developed accessible
ways of communicating with young people and families about personal budgets.
Direct Payments are being offered for some services, particularly around transport
and short breaks
Hartlepool and Darlington
• A workstream has been set up to
investigate how personal budgets might
work across Education, Health and Social
Care.
• A small budget has been set aside to
help to develop this for pathfinder families
and there is a presumption that parents
will be offered a personal budget in the
resource element of their plan.
Devon, Trafford, Greenwich and
Southampton are testing specific
brokerage functions to support families.
Bromley & Bexley, Wiltshire, Devon
and Medway are developing ‘easy read’
guides and holding workshops with
families and practitioners.
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Pathfinder learning: engaging the VCS and
parents, children and young people
Examples of innovative good practice are beginning to emerge
Manchester
•Parents are involved in each of the
Pathfinder work streams, and have their own
representation group.
•The Greater Manchester Coalition of
Disabled People have a Young People’s
Forum which has been commissioned to
consult young people in the Pathfinder
cohort and more widely
Gateshead
A key working function is being provided by
Children NorthEast. Skills for People are
leading on person-centred planning and
advocacy support
Devon
• Parents and voluntary sector
representatives have been involved in all
design work streams through the Pathfinder
Reference Group
•Using briefing notes, newsletters, Twitter, a
pathfinder website, conversation events and
briefing sessions to engage with
stakeholders
Pathfinder learning: preparation for adulthood
We are proposing new arrangements which will allow plans to continue until age
25 for young people in further education or training. Plans will be much clearer
about young people’s own ambitions for what they can achieve, and what
outcomes they are seeking.
Young people will have the right to ask to attend a particular FE college, and to
appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal if they are unhappy with their arrangements.
A number of pathfinders are undertaking excellent work with mainstream colleges
and specialist providers to develop more flexible packages for young people.
Hertfordshire are piloting a ‘supported employment’ model to help a group of college leavers
including NEET young people find sustainable employment. Feedback from providers is that
they need CPD support around preparing young people for work and engaging employers.
Bromley are working with Special Schools, FE and Specialist Colleges and third
sector partners to develop post-16 education provision and facilities for young people
with more complex needs. Children and Young People’s Services and Adult Services
have been integrated to become the Education and Care Services. A small pilot group
of 10 to 15 young people with higher support needs is developing more flexible
learning and support packages which will enable them to remain within their local
community and access the local FE college.
Next steps for pathfinders
Pathfinder learning events and case studies are informing practice and
policy on an ongoing basis
Pathfinder learning and evaluation are feeding into the pre-legislative scrutiny
phase, the drafting of Regulations and a new Code of Practice
DfE is working with Delivery Partners and pathfinders to develop some
emerging principles of good practice
We are accelerating learning on key areas of reform among smaller groups of
pathfinders
We are beginning to map out a ‘change pathway’ to support scaling up and the
move towards national implementation
Short Breaks and SEN and disability reform
All 152 local authorities have published their short breaks statements
Impact continues to work with local authorities on reviewing and improving
their statements, and by collecting and disseminating examples of
good practice
Lessons learned from the development of short breaks statements are
feeding into our thinking about the Local Offer
Short breaks are leading the way in pathfinder testing of direct payments, giving
greater choice and control to disabled children, young people and their
families
Short Breaks: Funding and TSD standards
۠۠The Government is continuing to fund short breaks services in local areas
by
providing £800million over the four year spending review period through
unringfenced grants
£40m in capital funding for short breaks was once again made available to
local authorities in September of this year. Funding is unringfenced but is
intended to support and develop short break provision between now and
August 2014 through capital expenditure
TSD Standards - The online workbook closed at the end of October.
Refreshed versions of the workbook and other supporting materials are now
available in Word and PDF formats on the Department’s short breaks
standards webpage at
http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/send/ahdc/
a0070553/short-breaks
Peter Gibb and Angela Overington
Pathfinders and short breaks
Special Educational Needs and Disability Division
Department for Education
[email protected]
020 7340 8086
[email protected]
020 783 8517