Children and Families Bill 2013 –
what will it mean for Local
Authorities and Providers?
Claire Dorer - NASS
Bill introduced March 2013 – Is in 9
main sections
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Adoption and LAC
Family Justice
SEN
Childminding
Children’s Commissioner
Statutory Rights to leave and pay
Time off work for ante-natal care
Right to request flexible working
General Provisions
Key Changes (non SEN-related)
• Promotes fostering and adoption for LAC
• Requires each LA to have a Virtual School Head
for LAC
• Limit care court case decisions to 26 weeks
• Increase child minder ratios
• Deliver more wrap-around care via schools
• Remove Director of Children’s Right role
• Easier for parents to have time off, paid leave and
flexible working
Key SEN Changes
• Statements of SEN replaced with Education, Health and
Care Plans
• Single assessment process
• Duty on Health to jointly commission and provide services
• Plans can be in place from birth to 25 years old (if
remaining in education)
• Parental preference strengthened and right to express
preference for Non-maintained and Independent Special
Schools along with Special Academies and Free Schools
• Local Authorities will have to produce a Local Offer of
services generally available in their area
• Parents can opt for personal budgets and direct payments
for some services
Testing Out the SEN Changes – the
Pathfinders
• Initially due to run until April 2013 – now
extended to September 2014
• 20 pathfinders involving 31 different LAs
• All pathfinders focusing on different aspects of
the Bill
• Progress being supported by Mott McDonald
and evaluated by SQW
• Findings due to inform legislation and
regulation
Pathfinder Authorities
• South East 7 (Medway, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Brighton and Hove,
Surrey, Hampshire)
• Southampton
• Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
• Devon
• Wiltshire
• Bromley and Bexley
• Greenwich
• Lewisham
• Hertfordshire
• Northamptonshire and Leicester City
• Nottinghamshire
• Solihull
• Northwest Consortia (Trafford, Oldham, Wigan, Manchester, Rochdale)
• Gateshead
• Hartlepool
• Calderdale
• North Yorkshire
Key Findings to Date
• Latest report June 2013:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ev
aluation-of-the-send-pathfinder-programmeprocess-and-implementation
• Most pathfinders slower to get started than
anticipated
• Relatively small numbers of young people have
been issued with an EHCP
• Personal budgets mainly used to date for
transport – parents not keen
What are the key challenges?
• In general, Local Authorities maintain accountability
but will have less control over what is delivered and
how, as more power moves to parents
• Commissioners key to success – how far have they
been invovled?
• There is a focus on a local agenda but most LAs are
likely to have to work collaboratively to commission
services
• Working more closely with other agencies
• Needs to be delivered at a time of diminishing
economic and staff resources
Expansion of parents’ rights to express
a preference for a specific school
• Currently applies to maintained schools only – parents can
request another type of school but LAs do not have to meet
this request
• Bill gives parents the same right to express a preference for
all “state funded” special schools including academies, free
schools, non-maintained special schools and approved
independent special schools
• LAs will have to meet that request unless:
– The school cannot meet the needs of the child or young person
– The placement is an inefficient use of resources
• When a school is named in the Education, Health and Care
Plan it has a duty to admit that child or young person
Losing your grip?
In practice ...
• Both schools and
Local Authorities will
need to be clear about
the costs of provision
and what is included.
Will need to look at
overall cost to public
purse of different
options.
See www.nasschools.org.uk
In practice (cont.)
• LAs will have to carefully consider use of framework
agreements – parental choice not limited to schools
which are within agreements
• School funding reforms suggest LAs should not be
using procurement approaches to SEN placements. EFA
now conducting “financial assurance” on NMSS
• So how do we encourage schools and LAs to work
collaboratively on issues such as pricing, referrals,
quality assurance and contract monitoring?
See www.nasschools.org.uk for commissioning discussion
paper
Key areas for collaboration
•
•
•
•
•
•
Supply and distribution of services
Methods of referral
Understanding of costs
Clear outcomes for children and young people
Reviewing progress
Monitoring contracts
The Local Offer
• Each LA will have to publish a Local Offer
annually, setting out what services it generally
expects to be available for children, young
people and families from its area
• Will include services across education, health
and social care
• Will need to include services regularly used
but located outside area e.g. NMISS
• Must involve children, young people and
families
Key dates
• Early 2014 - Royal Assent Expected
• September 2014 – key components
introduced:
– New SEN Code of Practice
– Education Health and Care Plans
– End of S139 assessments
– Creation of “Approved Independent Schools”
– Requirement to publish a Local Offer