Transcript An Introduction to Special Education Needs and Disability

An Introduction to
Special Education Needs and
Disability Reforms
East Sussex Parent and Carers Council
with East Sussex County Council
March 2014
Outline for today
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Overview of the national context
What’s happening in East Sussex
How parents have been involved
Hearing from parents
Discussion and vote
Questions and Answers
What’s next?
Note:
Special Education Needs & Disability = SEND
What’s not working?
The current system has weaknesses ~ the reforms aim to address these:
Too many children with SEN have their needs picked up late
Young people with SEN do less well than their peers at school and
college
Schools and colleges can focus too much on the SEN label rather than
meeting the child’s needs, and the current Statements/ Learning
Difficulty Assessments do not focus on life outcomes;
Too many families have to battle to find out what support is available
and to get the help they need from education, health and social care
services; and
When a young person leaves school for further education, they enter a
very different system which does not carry forward the rights and
protections that exist in the SEN system in schools.
Organisations not working together
Government’s vision behind
Children and Families Bill
Children’s SEN are identified early and the right support is routinely put in
place quickly;
Aspirations for children and young people are raised through an increased
focus on life outcomes, including employment;
Parents know what they can reasonably expect their local school, college,
LA & local services to provide, without having to fight for it;
There is greater choice and control for parents and young people over the
services they and their family use;
Staff have the training, knowledge, understanding and skills to provide the
right support for children and young people who have SEN or are disabled;
For children with more complex needs, an integrated assessment and a
single Education, Health and Care Plan are in place from birth to 25.
Who is leading this process?
Minister Edward Timpson
Under Secretary of State, Department for Education.
Key changes to how things are to be done
‘Child and young person and their family at the heart’
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Person centred /personalisation
Outcomes focussed
Child/young people and parents participate
Child/young person and family are informed
Working together with families, across services
Focussing on outcomes
What has happened so far?
• Recognition that current system not working
• Green Paper: Support and aspiration: A new approach to
special educational needs and disability March 2011
• Range of organisations asked to help deliver different
parts of reforms
• ‘Pathfinders’ chosen: local authorities to test the
proposed changes
• East Sussex included in SE7 Pathfinder (seven authorities
working together in the South East)
• SE7 produce frameworks to help shape change in East
Sussex
Child and
family led
Holistic
Person centred
Clear
Creative
solutions
Transparent
the Family Led
Principles
will describe the
child’s
and family's
experience
Family resilience
Prioritised
Empowered
parent carers and
practitioners
Accountabilities
Time specific
Outcomes
focused
Core principles underpinning SE7 SEND Pathfinder activity
What is the structure of the reforms?
Children and
Families Bill
Regulations
Code of
Practice
• Primary Legislation
• providing the legislative framework for the new
system
• Secondary Legislation
• providing the detail of the new legislation
• telling organisations what they must do to carry out
the law
• Statutory guidance
• Tells professionals what they must do to so they
work within the law and provides further detail on
how the law works in practice
• Professionals have to regard it – this means they
must do what it says unless they have a very good
reason not to
Reforms timeline
 Royal
Assent to Children and Families Bill
Announced in Queens speech (May)
Early
2014
 Systems in place to maintain and regularly
update the Local Offer, and to promote
feedback
Final Code and Regulations published
 Implementation
Sept
2014
of provisions/ become law
 Period of transition from statements to
new style plans, with timescales to be
confirmed by government, but local
influence on some aspects
a
Working together
What are the key things that change?
Local Offer
Personalisation
and Outcomes
focussed plans
Education Health
and Care Plans
Personal Budgets
Assessments and
post 16 planning
National Network of Parent Carer forums
• Bulletins, facebook, opportunities to get involved:
Contact a Family
• Information and SEND advice, health related information etc
Further information
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National Pathfinder: www.sendpathfinder.co.uk
SE7 Pathfinder: www.se7pathfinder.co.uk
E Sussex Parent Carer Council: www.eastsussexpacc.org/
National Network of Parent Carer Forums:
www.nnpcf.org.uk
• Contact a Family: www.cafamily.org.uk
• Council for Disabled Children:
www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/
Thank you
[email protected]