The Children and Families Bill
Kerry Hancock, Programme Manager
Pathfinder Support Team
A reminder: the case for change
The current system is not working for families and children:
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 and are more likely to be out of education, training and
employment at 18;
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 in getting 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.
Government vision
Children’s SEN are picked up early and support is routinely put in place
quickly;
Staff have the knowledge, understanding and skills to provide the right
support for children and young people who have SEN or are disabled;
Parents know what they can reasonably expect their local school,
college, LA & local services to provide, without having to fight for it;
Aspirations for children and young people are raised through an
increased focus on life outcomes, including employment;
For more complex needs, an integrated assessment and a single
Education, Health and Care Plan are in place from birth to 25; and
There is greater control for parents and young people over the services
they and their family use.
The SEND Reform Journey
March
2011
• Green Paper: Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs
and disability
May
2012
• Support and aspiration: Progress and next steps
Sept
2012
• Draft provisions published for pre-legislative scrutiny by the Education Select
Committee
Feb
2013
• Government response to pre-legislative scrutiny; and
• Children and Families Bill introduced to Parliament
March
2013
• Indicative draft regulations and a draft Code of Practice published for committee stage
of the Bill, informed by pathfinder learning
Autumn
2013
• Public consultation on regulations and Code of Practice, informed by further pathfinder
learning
Spring
2014
• Royal Assent (subject to Parliamentary approval)
• Issue final Code of Practice
Sept
2014
• Legal changes commence in practice (meeting original Green Paper commitment for
reforms in place by 2014)
House of Commons timetable
4/5 Feb
Begins on 5th March –
23rd April (subject to
25 Feb
1-2 days
1 hour
passing of the Programme
Motion)
1st
Reading
Second
Reading
Committee
Motion/vote:
2nd Reading
Money
Programme for
Committee
Public Evidence
sessions, followed by
line-by-line scrutiny of
the Bill (including
selected amendments)
Report
Debate of whole
House; all MPs
can lay
amendments &
vote
3rd Reading
Short debate;
no further
amendments;
final vote
House of Lords timetable
Introduction/
1st Reading
Second
Reading
Grand
Committee or
Committee of the
whole house
Detailed line by
line examination.
We are here
Report
Stage
All Lords have
a further
opportunity to
consider all
amendments.
Third
Reading
Amendments
can still be made
at Third Reading
in the Lords
The SEND Pathfinders
SEND Pathfinder Champions
Pathfinders core objectives
To develop a new 0-25
assessment/planning process and a
Education Health and Care Plan
(EHCP)
•Person centred
•Improving outcomes
•Bringing together services and support
which families rely on
Develop a multi agency local offer
To ensure the full engagement of
children, young people and their
parents and families, schools and
colleges
To explore how the voluntary and
community sector could explore access
to specialist expertise and introduce
more independence to the process
To explore how the option of a personal
budget could offer more choice and
control for children, young people and
their families
To explore how the joint
commissioning across agencies can
support the new processes and
improve outcomes
Legislation - key highlights
New requirement for LAs, health and care services to commission
services jointly, to ensure that the needs of children and young people
are met.
LAs to publish a clear, transparent ‘local offer’ of services, so parents
and young people can understand what is available; developed with
parents and young people.
More streamlined assessment process, co-ordinated across education,
health and care, and involves children and young people and their
families throughout.
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.
Legislation - key highlights (2)
A new duty on health commissioners to deliver the health elements of
EHC plans.
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,
including right to request particular institution named in their EHC plan
and the right to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.
A stronger focus on preparing for adulthood including new powers for
LAs to provide children’s services to young people over 18 to improve
transition to adult services.
Academies and Free Schools to have the same SEN duties as
maintained schools.
Legislation – current position
New regulations and a new SEN Code of Practice for consultation. Both the
regulations and the Code have been strongly informed by pathfinder learning.
The Children and Families Bill has been through Commons Committee stage.
More than 200 amendments were tabled and debated during the Commons
Committee.
(Oct 13) Government proposed new amendment to the Children and Families Bill
that will place a clear requirement on all types of state schools to make
arrangements for supporting pupils at the school who have medical conditions.
The Lords Committee is now in progress with consideration of SEN clauses due
to finish this week.
During Commons Committee Stage, the Government introduced an amendment
requiring health commissioners to deliver the health aspects of an EHC Plan.
Debate has focused on a number of issues, the most prominent being:
the position of disabled children and young people without SEN; duty on
social care; single route of redress for education, health and care;
accountability for the local offer; inclusion and school choice;
how far local authorities should have regard to a young person’s age; and the
extension of the Bill to higher education
The Draft SEN Code of Practice
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/special-educationalneeds-sen-code-of-practice-and-regulations
Code of Practice and Regulations
Key differences between the current and draft Codes:
• It covers the 0-25 age range and the new entitlements for young
people in FE and has a clearer focus on involvement of children,
young people and parents
• There is a much stronger emphasis on joint working between
agencies with new joint commissioning duties and a duty on
health services to arrange provision in an EHC plan
• It includes a local Offer to improve information and involvement
of children, young people and parents in policy development
• It covers Education, Health and Care plans to replace
statements and Learning Difficulty Assessments
• It incorporates separate guidance on inclusion and LDAs.
Code of Practice and Regulations
• The draft Code and Regulations were published for consultation
on 4 October for responses by 9 December and specially
developed materials for consultation with young people were
published on 21 October and CDC are managing focus groups
• The aim is to develop final versions of the Code of Practice and
Regulations which take account of the Bill (when it becomes an
Act) and responses to consultation – for approval by Parliament
in the spring so that schools and local authorities have them a
term before they start to come into force
• Proposals for transitional arrangements also published for
consultation on 4 October – including possible options for
implementation of the local offer
Structure – 9 Chapters
1. Introduction
2. Summary
3. A Family Centred System
4. Working Together Across Education, Health and Care
5. The Local Offer
6. Early Years, Schools, Colleges and Other Education
and Training Providers
7. Assessments and Education, Health and Care Plans
8. Children and Young People in Specific Circumstances
9. Resolving Disputes
Chapter 2: Summary
The Principles Underpinning
the Code
Involvement
of children,
young people
and parents
in decision
making
Improved identification of children and
young people’s needs
Collaboration between education, health
and social care to provide support
High quality provision to meet the needs of
children and young people with SEN
Greater choice and control for young people
and their parents over their support
Successful preparation for adulthood,
including independent living and employment
www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk
Chapter 5
The Local Offer
Principles
• Collaborative: local authorities must involve parents,
children and young people in developing and reviewing
the local offer.
• Accessible: should be easy to understand, factual and
jargon-free. Should be well signposted and publicised.
• Comprehensive: describe support available across
education, health and social care from 0 to 25 and how to
access it including eligibility criteria. Describe where to go
for information, advice and support, and how to make
complaints or appeal against decisions.
• Transparent: must be clear about how decisions are
made and who is accountable and responsible for them.
What must be included
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Education, health and social care provision for SEN ;
How parents and young people request assessment for EHC plan;
Arrangements for identifying and assessing SEN;
Other educational provision such as sports or arts provision;
Post-16 education and training provision;
Apprenticeships, Traineeships, and Supported Internships;
Arrangements for travel;
Support to help movement between phases of education
Sources of information, advice and support relating to SEN
Childcare, including provision for disabled children and with SEN;
Leisure activities;
Support available to young people in higher education
Arrangements for resolving disagreements, mediation, parents’ and
young people’s rights to appeal to Tribunal and routes of complaint
and redress for health and social care.
Publishing the local offer
Local authorities must:
• make their local offer widely accessible and on a website
• publish their arrangements for enabling those without
access to the web to get the information
• enable access for different groups, including disabled
people and those with different types of SEN.
Preparing and reviewing the local offer
Local authorities:
• must involve children and young people with SEN and
their parents in developing and reviewing (co-production)
• must involve schools, colleges, health services and
others - all must cooperate with each other in
development and review.
• should have engagement with providers of relevant early
years education.
• must keep under review the special educational and
social care provision available in their area and outside.
• must seek and publish comments about the local offer,
including those received from or on behalf of children and
young people with SEN and their parents.
Chapter 6
Early Years, Schools, Colleges
and Other Education and
Training Providers
High expectations for children and
young people with SEN
Mainstream providers must:
- use their best endeavours to ensure that the necessary provision is
made for any individual who has SEN;
- co-operate with their local authority in developing the local offer.
Maintained nursery schools and mainstream schools, must:
- designate an appropriate member of staff (the SEN co-ordinator) to
have responsibility for co-ordinating provision for children with SEN;
- ensure that children with SEN take part in school activities together
with children who do not have SEN as far as possible;
- publish information on their SEN policy, and the measures and
facilities put in place to assist access for disabled children.
Equality Act 2010 requires settings to make reasonable adjustments for
disabled children and young people to help alleviate any substantial
disadvantage they experience because of their disability, and they must
not discriminate against or harass them.
SEN Support in Early Years
• Progress check at age two
• The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile
• Progress monitor and review by early years
practitioners
• Record keeping
• All settings to have a SENCO
• Role of Area SENCO
SEN Support in Schools
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Assess; Plan; Do; Review
Involving specialists
Use of data and record keeping - provision maps
Involving parents and pupils in planning and reviewing
progress
Publishing information/ SEN information report
Role of SENCO in school
Improving practice and staff training
Transition at 16 and preparing for adulthood
School SEN Information Report - Contents
• Identifying children and young people with SEN and assessing their
needs;
• Assessing and reviewing children and young people’s progress
towards outcomes, including working with parents and young people;
• Supporting children and young people in moving between phases of
education and in preparing for adulthood;
• Adaptations to curriculum, teaching and the learning environment
and access to ancillary aids and assistive technology;
• Securing expertise among teachers, lecturers or other professionals
to support children and young people with SEN;
• Assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of SEN provision made;
• Enabling children and young people with SEN to have access to
facilities and extra-curricular activity available to all children;
• Supporting and improving emotional and social development, and
measures to prevent bullying.
Key responsibilities of SENCO may include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Overseeing the day-to-day operation of the school’s SEN policy;
Coordinating provision for children with SEN;
Liaising with designated teacher where a looked after pupil has SEN;
Advising a on graduated approach to providing SEN Support;
Advising on use of school’s delegated budget and other resources;
Liaising with parents of children with SEN;
Liaising with early years providers, secondary schools, EPs, health
and social care professionals, and independent or voluntary bodies;
• Liaising with potential next providers of education;
• Working with the head teacher and school governors that the school
meets its responsibilities under the Equality Act (2010);
• Ensuring that the school or maintained nursery keeps the records of
all children with SEN up to date.
External Support
• Local offer should set out what support is available and how
it can be accessed.
• Likely to include:
o Educational psychologists
o Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
o Specialist support teachers
o Behaviour support teams
o Speech and language therapists
o Occupational therapists
o Physiotherapists
o Job coaches
SEN Support in Colleges
• Identifying SEN
• SEN support
• Access to specialist skills to support the learning of
students with SEN
• Students supported to achieve a successful transition to
adult life.
• Record keeping
Code of Practice: questions
General questions
• Is it clear from the structure of the draft Code where you can find
the information you need?
• Is the guidance clearly written and easy to understand?
• Are the statutory duties from the Bill and Regulations clearly
explained?
• Is the 0-25 age range appropriately reflected?
Code of Practice: questions
Questions on the local offer
• Does chapter 5 of the draft Code describe clearly the purposes
of the local offer?
• Is the guidance clear about what local authorities and their
partners need to do to develop and review their local offer?
• Is there anything missing from the guidance?
Code of Practice: transitional arrangements
Possible options – what do you think?
• Option 1: Introduce all requirements from September 2014
• Option 2: Introduce all requirements from April 2015 to fit in with
cycle for decisions on school and college funding
• Option 3: Introduce the local offer progressively from September
2014 with the full offer being published in September 2015
Consultation question:
Which approach to implementing the local offer should be
adopted? Please explain why.
Pathfinder examples
Information Packs
• Produced a series of information packs based on the 6 key thematic areas:
- Personal Budgets,
- Coordinated Assessment & EHC Plan,
- Preparing for Adulthood,
- Local Offer,
- Joint Commissioning,
- Engagement & Participation of Children, Young People, Parents & Carers
• Available on the SEND Pathfinder website –
www.sendpathfinder.co.uk/infopacks
• Pathfinder YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCphppjsuJ3xYrXknsSBYGIw/feed
SE7 Case Study
On-going Development of Draft Local Offer Framework
• Includes:
– A number of agreed principles (left)
– Guidance on ‘essential’ features of the Local offer
– Framework and guidance for each individual
strand of the local offer
– Identification of a consistent structure for each
strand
Sample from Information Pack: ‘Local Offer’
SE7 Case Study
•
SE7 developed questions for educational settings to answer in developing their offer
•
Mechanism aim: to provide consistent responses in the manner a parent carer or
young person would like to see
•
Examples:
–
How will the curriculum be matches to my child’s/young person’s needs?
Area Wide Offer
Information about
SEN Services or
Persons which the
LA commissions
Individual setting/
school/ college
SEN information
Other information
Care Pathways
and/ or Service
Specific
Information
Other Information
Area Wide Offer
Specialist Support
provided
Other information
Preparing for
adulthood
What specialist services and expertise are available at, or accessed by, the
setting/school/college?
Social Care
–
Health
Education
Focussed Work with Educational Settings
Sample from Information Pack: ‘Local Offer’
Area Wide Offer
Targeted and
Specialist
Services
Other information
SE7 Case Study
Specific Questions from the Parent/Carer & Young Person
From the Young Person's point of
view
From the Parent/ Carer's point of
view
How does the setting/ school/ college know if I need extra
help?
How will the curriculum be matched to my child’s/young person’s
needs?
How will I be involved in the planning for my needs and who
will explain it and help me?
How will both you and I know how my child/young person is doing
and
how will you help me to support my child’s/young person’s learning?
How do I know if I am doing as well as I should?
How is the decision made about what type and how much support
my child/young person will receive?
Can college staff get extra help from experts outside the
college if they need to?
How are parents involved in the setting / school / college? How can I
be involved?
Sample from Information Pack: ‘Local Offer’
Darlington Local Offer Case Study
Approach
• Development of offer at
incremental stages to
ensure sustainable
approach
• Darlington’s local offer can
be found at:
http://darlington.fsd.org.uk
Sample from Information Pack: ‘Local Offer’
Hartlepool Case Study
St Hild’s Local Offer Front Page
St Hild’s has a local offer front page,
which is part of the school website. This
provides information on the key SEND
contacts within the school, contact
details, and useful links including
information on:




How the school creates an
individual SEND plan
Staffing and relevant qualifications
Special Education Provisions
Achievement and support
Ability to click through to
specific areas of the offer, such
as achievement support.
Sample from Information Pack: ‘Local Offer’
0 - 25 Coordinated Assessment Process
and EHC Plan
Southampton
A Person-centred
Outcome…
Hartlepool
EHC Plan Checklist
A Solution…
• Is a personal goal, not a service
goal
• Is the resource you need to achieve
your outcome
• Is something you have
influence/control over
• It can be an item or an activity
• Is achievable
• It can have a cost associated with
it, or be free
• Is measurable & specific
• May have obstacles in the way of
achieving it
Sample from Information Pack: ‘0 - 25 Coordinated
Assessment Process and EHC Plan’
Engagement and Participation of Children,
Young People & Parent Carers
Darlington Case Study – Children &
Young People
SE7 Case Study – Parent & Carers
• The following general principles apply across all aspects of SEND
reform:
1.
Parent-carers: the participation of parents and carers is built in from
the beginning of strategic and individual planning and development of
support.
2.
Children and young people: the participation of children and young
people is built in from the beginning and informs developments at an
individual and strategic level.
Sample from Information Pack: ‘Engagement and participation
of children, young people, parents and carers’
Preparing for implementation
• The pathfinders have shown that the workforce development
and culture change needed to implement the reforms takes time,
typically over a year.
• The proposals for joint commissioning, a local offer and
personal budgets require a strategic approach to planning
services and market development, based on clear
understanding of the needs of children, young people and
families.
• Now is the time to develop your engagement with the pathfinder
champion in your region and think about the steps you need to
take to prepare for implementation.
Key challenges for the programme and areas
for further development:
• Running two systems in parallel amid wider change programmes
• Workforce development and culture change
• Further testing of paperwork ensuring its robustness when used as a statutory
document
• Scaling up, preparing for implementation
– Increase the number of families involved
– Ensure coverage across the age range
– Including more new cases
– Testing the full end to end process e.g. reviews, disputes, transition
– Further development of a multi agency local offer
Keeping in touch
Website
• www.sendpathfinder.co.uk
Email
• pathfinder@mottmac.com
Telephone
• 0207 651 0308