SEND Pathfinder Update
Mark Evans, Nottinghamshire County
Council
Pat Bullen, Leicester City & Northants
Context- Green Paper Reform
• Statements and Learning Difficulty Assessments
– to be replaced by a quicker
– better integrated assessment and
– Single Education, Health and Care Plan from birth to age 25 setting out
all the services that the child/young person and their family will receive
for their support
• Statutory protections comparable to those currently associated
with a statement of SEN
– to be provided for 16-25 year olds in further education
– so that young people will get the support they need wherever they are
taught
Proposed from 2014 ...
 CYP aged from birth to age 25 who would currently have a statement of SEN or
learning difficulty assessment will have a single assessment process and
Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for their support which will afford parents
the same statutory protection as statement of SEN
 All the services on which the CYP and their family rely will work together with the
family to agree an EHCP which reflects the family’s needs and ambitions for the
CYP’s future outcomes covering education, health, employment and
independence
 The plan will be clear about who is responsible for which services, and will
include a commitment from all parties across education, health and social care to
provide their services
 Local pathfinders will test how to reform radically the statutory SEN assessment
and statement and explore the best replacement, including whether the
voluntary and community sector could coordinate assessment and bring greater
independence to the process; and
 The time taken to complete the assessment process will be reduced
Green Paper Reform
• Statements and Learning Difficulty Assessments
– to be replaced by a quicker
– better integrated assessment and
– Single Education, Health and Care Plan from birth to age 25 setting out
all the services that the child/young person and their family will receive
for their support
• Statutory protections comparable to those currently associated
with a statement of SEN
– to be provided for 16-25 year olds in further education
– so that young people will get the support they need wherever they are
taught
Pathfinders
 Commissioned by DfE and DoH
 20 Pathfinders in 31 local authorities- including Leicester &
Northamptonshire jointly, and Nottinghamshire, in East Midlands
 £150,000 per local authority through to March 2013
 Test some core elements of reform
 EHC plan
 Personal budgets
 Strong partnerships between agencies
 Improved commissioning – links to health reforms
 Role of VCS
 Cost of reform
 Optional elements
 Will national funding framework be more transparent?
 Better support for parents
 Better support for vulnerable young people
 Impacts on those aged 16 – 25 and in early years
Leicester & Northants Pathfinder
 Focus in Cohort 1, on children within enhanced resourced provision
in mainstream schools- often only two agencies, not three
 Single Assessment based on emerging Early Support approach- a
‘super-ordinate’ assessment, i.e. combining, not replacing,
diagnostic and other assessments
 Person-centred process, which parents/carers in Cohort 1 like
 Cohort 1- current children in ‘the system’ i.e. have Statements
already, purpose to trial process and better co-ordinate services,
with an emphasis upon outcomes
 Personal budgets- virtual at this time, but led by learning in social
care and health
 Challenge of new funding arrangements emerging before legislation
required
 Cohort 2 much larger (45) and includes children in special
school/academy provision, plus children entering the assessment
process
Nottinghamshire Pathfinder
• Covering up to 30 children/young people and their families across 3
cohorts representing a cross section of ages
– Cohort 1 - complex needs known to health, education and social care
and are in ‘the system’ i.e. that have a statement
– Group 2 - transitioning to adulthood
– Group 3 - Looked after children
• Group events (families and professionals) held to inform and shape the
design of the pilot
• Commencing ‘live’ testing of the assessment and planning process from
September
• Linking personal budgets to the plan – some interest from a very small
number of families involved in the Pathfinder
• Move from static statement
Nottinghamshire’s draft single plan
3-part plan
Personal profile
taken from
‘All About Me’
which is completed
by voluntary
sector partner
with parents/
young person
Important to/for
and working/not
working help
to develop
‘Outcomes’ and
‘Needs’ section
with the parents/
Young person
which is
completed at
the multi-agency
meeting
Resource
section to be
completed after
multi-agency
meeting for
agreement at
Panel
Challenges
• Important to create a strong link to the Local Offer – who will
be the ‘navigator’?
• Ways of working , structures and systems will need to be
considered
• Keyworking support around the family to have the confidence
to contribute
• Ensuring aspirations are raised
• Moving away from the static nature of the statement to
ensure outcomes in the plan are monitored
Legislative Timescales
P
A
T
H
F
I
N
D
E
R
S
Feeding initial
learning to DfE
Providing
May be
evidence to the
extended after
Education
March 2013
Select
???
Committee
Providing more
learning to DfE
Draft Bill
B
I
L
L
Publishe
d
3rd
Sept
2012
Consultation
and prelegislative
scrutiny
Autumn
Winter
2012
Bill
Introduced
into
Parliament
Spring 2013
Parliamentar
y
Processes
Summer /
Autumn
2013
Royal Assent
&
implementatio
n
Spring 2014
onwards