Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Reforms 2014

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)

Reforms 2014

June 2014

Housekeeping

Aims of the Session

• To provide clarification of the implications of the Children and Families Act for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reform

• To provide an overview of Education, Health and Care Plans, including the changed statutory processes and “time-lines”

• To consider the new documents

• To consider school SEN procedures in the light of the reforms

• Further training and developments needed

• To give some time for questions

WHAT THE TRAINING…IS NOT

• Discussion of the perceived rights or wrongs of the new legislation

• An “absolute” discussion; changes continue

• An underestimation of the size of the task for ALL of us

• Bespoke to different settings or age groups

• The only training opportunity

• Easy – there is a lot to cover in a short space of time

To begin on a positive note…

The Local Authority congratulates you on the changes you have put in place as a result of the SEN Funding Reforms. The requests for statutory assessment, and the completed AR 10 forms, provide clear evidence that schools have used the reforms to drive through some positive changes. This is particularly in the planning for interventions, the use of the “Waves” model and a reduction in the use of support on a “one to one” basis. These positive developments must continue and be built upon.

A Reminder of Waves

To begin on a positive note….

So…inclusive practice in Wakefield has improved, and it is here to stay:“As part of its commitments under articles 7 and 24 of the United Convention of the Rights of persons with Disabilities, the UK government is committed to inclusive education of disabled children and young people and the progressive removal of barriers to learning and participation in mainstream education” Draft Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 – 25 Years, April 2014

The Children and Families Act 2014

• Is the biggest reform of the SEND legislation since the 1981 Education Act, which led to the development of statements of SEN

• Applies to the same numbers of children now as were reported then: 2% most significant, 20% (overall) SEND

• Is being introduced at rapid pace – in the space of one parliament - the bill achieved Royal Assent on 13th March 2014 for implementation on 1st September 2014


• SEND Reforms are covered by this Act and are the part of the act which are most relevant to your work

• The implementation of the Act was informed by the appointment of Pathfinder Local Authorities – North Yorks and Calderdale locally

• Pathfinder LAs tasked with developing protocols and disseminating their findings to other LAs – Wakefield has used the work of York in developments

• In Wakefield, a SEND Board was established in December 2013 with 5 Workstreams to address the key areas for development

The Children and Families Act 2014 – Key Points

• The SEND reforms will implement a new approach which seeks to join-up help across education, health and care from birth to 25

• To place children, young people and their families at the centre of things, and

• For them to be fully involved in decisions about their support and what they want to achieve

• To develop a “tell us once approach”

• Builds on the SEN Funding Reforms introduced in April 2013


• Clear intention to plan long term OUTCOMES to support children and young people progress into adulthood

• The Personalisation Agenda

• The Local Offer – to involve ALL education providers

• Developing more “Joined up” services

All these aspects of the Act are covered by the LA workstreams, the 5 of which are devoted to each of them.


• The DfE has made some time limited additional funding available to support LAs in implementing the reforms

• Staff being recruited as a result – including SENART officers and EP to cover wider 16 – 25 agenda

• Government also funding Independent Parent Supporters – usually through the voluntary sector


• Help to be offered at the earliest possible point

• The overall intention is to lead to better outcomes and more efficient ways of working


A Cautionary Note:

The underpinning guidance document, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years is still at draft stage

A new draft was published in April 2014 with a new consultation process

IT MAY CHANGE YET!


WHY The Changes? (some examples)

•Government’s view of Special Educational Needs and Disability is that, overall, things are not good enough

•Too many unemployed young people with SEND

•Too many children identified

•Too many boys versus girls

•Too many LAC with SEN


•Young people with SEN are more than twice as likely not to be in education, employment or training (NEET)

•Analysis in 2009 showed that 30% of young people who had statements at Year 11 and 27% of those who were identified as SEN without statements were NEET at age 18. This is compared to 13% for those with no special provision at Year 11

HERE WE GO…

Education, Health and Care Plans

The key changes introduced by the Children and Families Act include:

•Statements of SEN and Learning Difficulty Assessments being replaced by Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans

•EHC Plans will provide statutory protection comparable to that in Statements of SEN for young people who are in education or training up to the age of 25 instead of ending at 16


• Young people over 16 will be entitled to appeal to the First Tier Tribunal with regard to provisions in their EHC Plan

• Parents and young people have the option of a personal budget to buy specialist support when a Plan is issued

• Local authorities will be required to publish a 'Local Offer' (inclusive of the NHS) outlining the support they and other local authorities nearby will normally provide for children with SEN

• In Wakefield, this is an electronic system – “Connect to Support”

• School Action/School Action Plus will no longer exist. School based provision will be replaced by a single category called SEN Support

• Health services and local authorities will be required to jointly commission and plan services for children, young people and families

• There is a strong emphasis on long term “Outcomes”

• And an equally strong emphasis on Person Centred Planning

• The principles of Keyworkers and Keyworking are introduced


Successful Preparation for Adulthood, Including Independent Living and Employment


• An EHC Plan is a new multi-agency plan covering all ages from birth to 25th birthday that will be reviewed regularly

• EHCPs sometimes called a Plan or a Single Plan

• Single Plans will replace Statements of SEN from September 2014 in a phased transfer (to April 2018)

• A letter has gone to all parents to explain the transition processes


Main Aims (continued)

•To get education, health and social care services working together

•To make sure children, young people and families know what help they can get when a child or young person has special educational needs

•To make sure that different organisations work together to help children and young people with special educational needs


Main aims:

•To give children and young people and their parents/carers more say about the help they get

•To promote co-production

•To adopt a “tell us once” approach

•For one overall assessment to look at what special help a child or young person needs with their education, and their health and social care needs, all at the same time


Main Aims (continued)

•For a child or young person to have one plan for meeting their education, health and social care needs, which can run from birth to 25 - if it needs to

•To make sure children, young people and their parents can choose some of the help they need

•To help sort things out if a child or young person or their parent needs to appeal about the help they get

Education, Health and Care PlansMain aims (continued)

To develop provision which focuses on meeting realistic outcomes which

the child/young person and their family have helped to determine

Education, Health and Care PlansThe Wakefield Model comprises 3 main documents:

•The Pathway of Coordinated Support

•My Support Plan

•The Education, Health and Care Plan

All are currently in draft form – and will remain so for some time

All will be available electronically and, it is anticipated, will be completed electronically


The Initial ( and most important) Phase

Child or young person needs support which is additional to or different from that which is normally

available

Start to implement SEN SupportBroadly “old” SA, Column 1 on Provision Matrix

Education, Health and Care Plans – Initial Phase - Implementing SEN Support

PLAN

AssessDiscuss

Who?What?When?Where?

With SENCO

With Child/Young Person

With Parents/Carers

WAVESOne Page ProfilesProvision TimetablesIEPsIBPsHealth Care Plans etc


Implement support

Record Progress

Involve parents/child


REVIEW

Progress made

YES – continue cycle of Plan, Do, Review

Still “old” SAMatrix 1

NO – involve outside agencies to support - usual process Planning Meetings etc“Old” SA+ Row 2 on Provision

Matrix

Education, Health and Care Plans – Initial Phase Implementing - SEN Support

Outside Agencies Involved

Continue Plan, Do, Review Cycle

Progress Made

Continue

Progress not Made

Move to Phase 2 My Support Plan

Education, Health and Care Plans – Phase 1My Support Plan

Move to develop MY SUPPORT PLAN-Within “Old” SA+, Row 3 on Provision Matrix

Family or Professional

requests coordinated support

Lead Practitioner

(LP) identified to coordinate

the plan

LP agrees with

child/family who to invite

to first meeting

Planning Meeting held – My Support Plan agreed

Outcomes and actions are agreed

Support the child/family to complete the plan

Education, Health and Care Plans – Phase 1My Support Plan

OUTCOMES AND ACTIONS SET AT THE MEETING ARE REVIEWED

Progress Made -

My Support Plan ends

Progress supported through My

Support Plan - Continue

More/different support

needed for progress –

move to Phase 2

Education, Health and Care Plans – Phase 2

Further assessments have been completed and

My Support Plan is reviewed – ensure appropriate professionals present especially if likely to be

moving to a statutory request

Coordinated support

effective – My Support Plan

ends

It’s helpful – My Support

Plan continued

Additional funding is needed for SEN to be metMOVE TO PHASE 3


At the time of the request for a statutory assessment, existing reports from the

professionals involved can be used as the statutory advice if written within the last 3

months and if the parents/carers, child/young person are in agreement


A request for an EHC Plan is made:

•The My Support Plan document is used

•All relevant professional reports are attached (for example, EP, Advisory Teacher (HI, VI), Speech and Language Therapist)

•Evidence that the child/young person’s needs cannot be met from Bands 1 – 3 of the SEN Matrix


• The Special Educational Needs Assessment and Review Team receives the request for a statutory assessment via the My Support Plan documents and associated reports/advices

• Requests reports if these are not already present

• The Wakefield Education, Health and Care Panel decides whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed to statutory assessment

• If not agreed, notifications sent

• Support continues via My Support Plan


If the Wakefield EHC Panel agrees to the statutory assessment:

•A date is set for a meeting to agree the draft EHC Plan

•The meeting will be arranged by a SENART Officer

•The meeting will involve the school/child/young person/SENART Officer/any other professional who would like to attend

•The EHC Plan will be drafted at the meeting

•My Support Plan forms the basis for the EHC Plan – “Tell Us Once”


• The draft EHC Plan is sent to the Wakefield Education, Health and Care Panel for decisions about resource allocations

• If support is to be taken through personal budgets for any aspect of support, the arrangements for this will be agreed at the panel.


The Education, Health and Care Plan is agreed and issued


The Education, Health and Care Plan is reviewed within 12 months of the initial plan and then every 12 months after that. This can be reduced if necessary.

Education, Health and Care Plans – same

• Necessity to demonstrate graduated approach to meeting needs

• The DfE state that the same children will have EHCPs as those currently with statements

• Requirement to demonstrate use of existing funding

• Requirement for professionals to provide statutory advice

• Needs led NOT diagnosis

Education, Health and Care Plans – same

• Can cover those who are just an “E”

• Thresholds – existing Matrix – new colour coding

• Decisions made by Panel

• Areas covered i.e. descriptions of child/young person’s functioning

Education, Health and Care Plans – Different

• Time-line – 26 weeks to 20 weeks

• Advice may be prepared at the time of request

• Request made via My Support Plan rather than a separate form – once completed – it’s done!

• No AR10 – reviews will be of the plan itself

• EHC Plan drafted and revised in the presence of the school/ parents/child and other professional who may wish to be present

• Many children will arrive with a My Support Plan from Early Years or previous school involvement – you will not have to “start again”

Education, Health and Care Plans – different (contd)

• All EHCPs for those in transition to be completed by 31st March (not February)

• Can be used to record Common Assessment Framework (CAF) and Personal Education Plan (PEP) meeting decisions

• Greater involvement of child/young person and their family

• Possibility of funding being taken via personal budgets

• Emphasis on outcomes throughout the whole process

SEN procedures in the light of the reforms

It seems likely that the Government intend most children/young people’s needs to be met through the delegated funding arrangements. In other words:

Carry on doing what you do well at the moment and support children through

structured, well monitored interventions


Therefore the skill will be to continue to:

•Develop the interventions and resources available through existing provision and rows 1 -3 of the Provision Matrix

•Plan and provision map

•Develop One Page Profiles and Provision Timetables

•Be confident in what is delivered in your setting through the waves of intervention

•To consult those who can support you and act upon their advice

And increase the involvement of children/young people and their families


Some new suggestions which support the involvement of children/young people and their families:

•Provision Timetables

•One Page Profiles

SEN procedures in the light of the reforms – the development of Outcomes

•The proof of the new SEN framework will be wholly based on outcomes

•In this way it will be closely allied to the fundamental drive of health care

•Progress measures will only be looked at in terms of achieving material outcomes


• Developing outcomes shifts the way that everyone approaches the support of children, young people and young adults– Attitude – child/young person focussed– Aspirations and Ambitions –– Challenge– Targets – needs not curriculum– Creativity, and reasoned risk taking


What long-term outcomes do you think

parents would want for a disabled child at

age 4 for when they are adults?


What is the difference between an aspiration and an outcome?

Aspirations are:

•Longer term

•A hope or dream

•Less Clear

•More universal


• “An outcome can be defined as the benefit or difference made to an individual as a result of an intervention” ( Revised DCoP 04.2014)

• An outcome is a positive and lasting impact/change as a result of the intervention, and

• It should be personal and not expressed from a service perspective; it should be something that those involved have control and influence over


• SMART

• Focussed on the learner

• Are not about the intentions of the teacher

• Use action verbs – performance orientated

• Typically written in the future tense

• Can be agreed to be delivered by the family


A child may have an outcome of wanting to ride a bike, not a usual curriculum area – but think about…

•Gross motor skills

•Fine motor skills

•Coordination

•Programme between home and school


• Not limited to curriculum learning

• Tell us what will happen (or is expected to happen) after a specified time period

• Imply greater accountability?

• Involve children, young people and their families

• Reflect shorter and longer term outcomes


Question: Is the provision of three hours of speech and language therapy an outcome?


The outcome should be what it is intended that the speech and language therapy will help the individual to do that they cannot do now and by when this will be achieved;–what is important to the child may be that they want to be able to talk to their friends and join in their games at playtime–then the task is to identify the means (provision) to achieve the outcome, for example -

SEN procedures in the light of the reforms – the development of Outcomes -

Now


• Outcomes will usually set out what needs to be achieved by the end of a phase or stage of education in order to enable the child or young person to progress successfully to the next phase or stage.

• An outcome for a child of secondary school age might be, for example, to make adequate progress or achieve a qualification to enable him or her to attend a specific course at FE college


• In addition to stage-outcomes, there are likely to be sub-stage, annual or shorter term outcomes – equally specific in terms of the benefit of measurable difference to be achieved; compare:


25 YEARS

18 YEARS

14 YEARS

11 YEARS

7 YEARS

4 YEARS

OUTCOME Target 1

OUTCOME Target 1

OUTCOME Target 2

OUTCOME Target 2

OUTCOME Target 3

OUTCOME Target 3

OUTCOME Target 4

OUTCOME Target 4

OUTCOME Target 5

OUTCOME Target 5

OUTCOME OUTCOME

KS 4

KS 3

KS 2

KS 1

PRESCHOO

L


1. Reception Child – limited communication and interaction, no language, not engaging with basic learning activities….

2. Year 8 Child (12-13 year old) – significant difficulties with literacy, low confidence, no friends, bullied, difficulties with interaction, specific language difficulty…


Can you plan short term and long term outcomes for these

case studies?

SEN procedures in the light of the reforms – the development of Outcomes – Case Study 1

•Short Term Outcomes– To interact (with support) in shared play with peers– To be positively accessing a wide range of play and early learning

experiences– To be consistently engaging with adult directed activities for short

periods

•Long Term Outcomes – To have acquired basic literacy and numeracy skills– To be increasingly engaging in the typical learning routine– To be using a consistent means for communicating with peers and

adults

SEN procedures in the light of the reforms – the development of Outcomes – Case Study 2

• Short Term Outcomes– To begin to develop a mutual peer relationship and spend less

time alone– To identify a strategy for him dealing with situations where he

does not understand something – in class and in social situations– To be able to communicate with some success on more

occasions• Long Term Outcomes

– To have developed a positive peer relationship– To achieve a functional reading age– To have an established and developed means of written

recording– To be able to ask for help

Further Training and Development Needed?

The training today has introduced new procedures as well as new approaches, but cannot cover all the developments which are needed in this one session. Therefore, inviting you all to “sign up” for additional training sessions which will be planned in due course.


Developing pyramid expertise:

•Link a school to a team of 3 (EP, Advisory Teacher/SENART Officer)

•Develop the expertise in that school (and that of the advisory team!)

•Link the trained school to others in the pyramid for advice and support

IF WILLING PLEASE SIGN UP!


Supporting children and young people to tell us their views requires person centred approaches –

Person Centred Planning and Practices

•LA undertook training using such approaches (specifically around Transition)

•Now an imperative to re-visit these skills and to develop and incorporate them more widely


Log onto the “It’s Learning Site, down to courses →Inclusion→SENART→then scroll down to the bottom of the

SENART page. There is a box entitled “Person Centred Transition (Yr9+) pack for Secondary SENCOs”

Listening is key in PCP


Planning Outcomes:

•Team work

•Person Centred Planning at the start

•Making them SMART

•Tensions with Curriculum Planning


New approaches to support planning – aligned to Person Centred Planning approaches:

•One Page Profiles

•Provision Timetables

And at the end…

Time for Questions

Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Reforms 2014

Documents

Transcript of Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Reforms 2014