Transcript Slide 1

Information, Advice and Support
London
Workshop Schedule
• Presentation – Reform: what will be the IAS
duties and requirements on LA’s? (to whom, what
and how?)
• Activity – Mental Capacity Act Quiz!
• Questions - Whenever you have them….
IAS Duties – Key Legislation/Documents
Key legislation/guidance which guide new IAS Obligations:
• Children & Families Act
• Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014
• SEND Code of Practice
C&F Act: Section 32 – Advice & Information
Who must receive A&I
IAS
On what?
Parent of child/YP with SEN
Parent of child/YP with SEN
Parent of child/YP with a disability
Matters relating to the child's SEN
Matters relating to the child's SEN
Matters relating the child disabilities
Child with SEN
Matters relating to the child's SEN
Child with a disability
Matters relating the child disabilities
Young person with SEN
Matters relating to the young persons SEN
Young person with a disability
Matters relating to the young persons
disabilities
C&F Act: Section 26 – Joint Commissioning
Joint commissioning arrangements must include arrangements
for considering and agreeing —
• What advice and information is to be provided about
education, health and care provision;
• By whom, to whom and how such advice and information is to
be provided;
C&F Act Section 19 – Parent & CYP Participation
Local Authorities MUST have regard to:
• Views, wishes and feelings of the child and his or her parent,
or the young person
• Importance of the child and parent, or the young person,
participating as fully as possible in decisions
• Importance of the child and parent, or the young person,
being provided with the information and support to enable
participation in decisions;
• Need to support the child and parent, or the young person, to
achieve the best possible outcomes.
SEN and Disability Regulations 2014
Personal Budgets
Information, advice and support
3. Where a local authority maintains an EHC plan or is securing the preparation of
an EHC plan for a child or young person, it must make arrangements for the
provision to the child’s parent or young person of the following information—
(a) the provision for which a personal budget may be available;
(b) details of organisations that provide advice and assistance in connection with
personal budgets; and
(c) the conditions which must be met before direct payments may be made.
Assessment and Plans
Provision of advice, information and support to parents and young people
9.When securing an EHC needs assessment the local authority must consider
whether the child’s parent or the young person requires any information, advice and
support in order to enable them to take part effectively in the EHC needs
assessment, and if it considers that such information, advice or support is necessary,
it must provide it.
SEND Code of Practice - 2015
Chapter 2 – Impartial Information, Advice and Support
• A dedicated and easily identifiable Service;
• Built on existing Parent Partnership Service and any other
local services for young people to create an Information, Advice
and Support Service;
• Young people and children must be able to access
independently from their parents;
• Should be impartial, confidential, arms length, free and
accessible
IAS - What Should be Provided?
• Local policy and practice;
• The local offer;
• Personalisation and personal budgets;
• Education law on SEN and related law on disability, health and
social care, through suitably independently trained staff;
• Helping children, young people and parents to gather,
understand and interpret information and apply it to their own
situation; and
• Provision of advice through individual casework and through
work with parent carer support groups, local SEN youth forums
or local disability groups, or training events.
IAS - Children and Young People
Expectation that many children and young people will receive
IAS via or alongside their parents
But…
LA’s must also ensure that they (CYP) are able to receive
information, advice and support separately from their parents
Rights to Decision Making and Young People
All children, young people and parents have a right to IAS,
regardless of their age or mental capacity.
When a child reaches the end of compulsory school age, rights
to make decisions around Education, Health and Care plans
transfer from the parent to the young person.
If parents and young people do not agree post-16, the young
person’s decision will prevail.
As is the case with parents, young people’s rights to make
decisions are subject to them having the mental capacity to do
so….
Mental Capacity Act 2005 – Five Key Principles
• A person should make their own decisions unless it can be shown
that they need support.
• A person should be given as much support as possible to make
their own decision.
• A person is allowed to make an unwise decision.
• When a person can’t make their own decision about something,
other people must act in his/her best interest.
• Every decision made must respect the person’s right to freedom.
What does this mean for children?
1. Children and young people have a separate right of access
to confidential IASS. Such access should only be denied in rare
cases where the child or young person lacks the mental
capacity to decide to access IAS and the provision of some form
of IAS would not be in their best interests.
2. Parents will not generally have a right to be informed about
a child’s or young person’s access to IAS – nor indeed do other
organisations such a local authorities or schools. The exceptions
will be where the child or young person validly consents or
where serious safeguarding concerns justify disclosure of this
information.
Children - continued
3. Parental consent is not required before an IASS provides
any support to a child or young person. Indeed it may well
breach the child or young person’s privacy rights for an IASS to
seek such consent.
4. Parents will not generally have a right to access records
relating to support provided to a child or young person by an
IASS
SEND Code of Practice – Young Offenders
•A range of institutions and bodies must have regard to the
Code of Practice (set out in Section 77 of the Act).
•This list now includes: Youth Offending Teams and persons
in charge of relevant youth accommodation.
•Section 10 of the Code of Practice relates to children and young
people with SEN detained in custody.
Facts and figures on Young People in Custody:
• 2013 MoJ report -18% of sentenced young people in custody had a
statement of special educational needs, compared to 3% in the
general population.
•Of 15-17 year olds in YOIs, 88% of young men and 74% of young
women had been excluded from school at some point. Of 15-17 year
olds in YOIs, 36% of young men and 41% of young women were aged
under 14 when they last attended school.
•A recent review suggests that the prevalence of neuro-developmental
disorders (e.g. dyslexia, communication disorders and epilepsy)
among young people in custody is higher than in the general youth
population.
•Over 60% of people in youth justice estate have difficulties with
speech, language or communication.
IAS Rights for Young People in Custody
The SEND Regulations and Code of Practice require that local
authorities must consider whether a child, their parent or a
young person requires any information, advice and support in
order to enable them to take part effectively in an Education,
Health and Care needs assessment.
If it considers that this is necessary, the local authority must
provide it.
Health and Social Care - IAS duties
• The Care Bill requires local authorities to establish and
maintain a service which must provide information and advice
relating to care and support for adults and support for carers
(of adults).
•The Health and Social Care Act 2012 shifted responsibility
for provision of Independent Complaints Advocacy Services
from the Secretary of State for Health to local authorities from
April 2013.
•Health Watch – consumer champion, representing user
views, signposting and may provide advocacy on complaints.
Where are Services now?
Additional Staffing
New burdens money
IS
Other staff/org in local area – umbrella
Volunteers
Training – legal, CYP, toolkit et
Next Steps - Exercise
• Identify health and social care providers and commissioners to
agree provision
• Identify people and organisations who currently provide IAS to
parents/carers, children and young people - what do they
provide and how? Could their services be extended and become
part of the IASS ‘umbrella’? Could staff be bought into the
IASS? Co-location? What additional skills, knowledge and
resource are needed?
• Where are the gaps?
Information
•Accurate, up to date and impartial resources and information
about the law on SEND (covering education, health and social
care), national and local policy, the Local Offer, rights and
choices, opportunities to participate, where to find help and
advice and how to access this.
•The provision of information will often be a first response to an
enquiry, but may also serve to raise awareness and to prompt
enquiries.
Advice
Activities that help parents and young people to gather,
understand and interpret information and apply to their own
situation. The provision of advice will often be a first step in
casework, and may be offered face to face, by telephone,
through work with groups or in training.
Support
Support
Support involves direct work with parents, children or young
people, its purpose having been agreed in advance and the
support being tailored to their individual needs. Support will
usually involve casework, and may include representation
(appeals and Tribunals).