AGENDA ITEM 6

BOROUGH OF POOLE

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE

28 APRIL 2014

REFORM OF SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS (SEN) LEGISLATION & GUIDANCE 2014

PART OF THE PUBLISHED FORWARD PLAN YES

STATUS: Information

  1. PURPOSE

1.1To provide members of Children & Young People’s Overview & Scrutiny with an overview of the changes to SEN legislation.

1.2For elected members to scrutinise the progress on implementation of these new statutory framework in Poole.

  1. RECOMMENDATION

2.1For Elected Members to note the changes to the SEN legislation and how these changes will be implemented in Poole and to agree a further report be brought to the committee in January 2015.

  1. BACKGROUND/INFORMATION

The Current SEN Legislative Framework

3.1The current SEN legislative framework has been in place with relatively minor changes for 30 years. When it was introduced it represented a fundamental shift in approach to the education of children with learning difficulties and disabilities.

It introduced the terms Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Learning Difficulties and the principles that:

  • Special Educational Needs is an educational definition, not a medical one
  • It is based on individual need, not medical diagnosis
  • SEN is not a ‘fixed’ condition and may change
  • All children are educable and entitled to learn
  • Most children with SEN will attend their local school

3.2 It also placed legal duties on Local Authorities to ensure that the needs of children with SEN are identified assessed and provided for. Those with the most complex and long term needs would have Statement of SEN while schools should have in place arrangements to support the majority of children with SEN, calling where necessary on advice and support from specialist professionals.

3.3 While many of the principles of current framework receive continued acceptance, a number of issues and areas of improvement have been identified:

  • The Lamb Inquiry in 2009 found that many parents feel they have to ‘fight’ for support within a complex and bureaucratic system.
  • The Ofsted SEN Review in 2010 concluded there was an over-identification of SEN with some children being ‘labelled’ as having SEN purely in the basis of poor attainment.
  • The current system places too much focus on resource, not outcomes
  • There are separate legislative systems for Education, health, social care, and these are not joined with adult services

As a result, there has been a wide consensus and collaboration on a need for change.

3.4 The Forthcoming Changes to SEN Legislation

3.4.1 The Children and Families Act received Royal Assent in March 2014. It covers many areas in relation to children and families. Part 3 relates to Special Educational Needs and will replace existing legislation.There is a new SEN Code of Practice (currently in draft form but not expected to change significantly) which gives detailed statutory guidance on implementation of SEN statute.

The Bill retains the pivotal role of the Local Authority in identifying, assessing and securing the educational provision for children and young people with SEN. The definitions of special educational needs and special educational provisions remains unchanged, but are extended to include young people in education or training under the age of 25.

Key changes include:

  • The involvement of children, young people and parents at the heart of planning and decision making. Local Authorities must also fully engage them in planning and policy development as well as at an individual level.
  • Statements of SEN will be replaced by a new Education, Health and Care Plan, with a focus on outcomes, independence and preparing for adulthood. This will involve an integrated assessment process across education, health and care services. Where needed an EHC Plan can cover from 0-25 years.
  • Legislation will apply to LAs, early years providers, education providers (including academies free schools and colleges) and health providers and commissioners.
  • LAs must publish a clear, transparent ‘local offer’ of services for all CYP with SEN, so parents can understand what is available.
  • The offer of a personal budget for families and young people with a EHC Plan, to allow the parent or young person to be involved in securing aspects of provision.
  • A new requirement for LA, health and care services to commission services jointly re meeting the needs of CYP with SEN & disabilities.
  • A legal duty on Clinical Commissioning Groups to secure the health services that are specified in EHC Plans.
  • An expectation of better transition to adult services

3.4.2 Funding for SEN

The new framework has a number of financial implications:

  • In relation to schools it builds on School Funding Reform changes that came into place in 2013.
  • In mainstream schools funding for children with SEN is made up of 3 elements.
  1. Per-pupil funding, or the ‘AWPU’
  2. The notional SEN budget, from which a school must fund the first £6000 of any additional support required
  3. Top-up funding (from the DSG) agreed via the Local Authority to meet costs above elements 1 and 2.
  • In maintained and non-maintained special schools funding is made up of 2 elements
  • Base funding of £10,000 per place (£8000 in Alternative Providers)
  • Top-up funding (from the DSG) agreed via the Local Authority to meet costs above base funding
  • Top ups in maintained special schools are allocated using a banding formula based on complexity of need. We are working with Dorset and Bournemouth to develop a common banding system from 2015-16.
  • Independent and non-maintained special schools have school fees which typically are on a scale to reflect complexity of need.
  • Most of the cost of independent and non-maintained special school placements comes through education (DSG) with some contribution from social care for children with care needswho are in residential school.
  • Co-funding from health towards SEN provision is currently minimal. Health costs that are part of school-based proviso (e.g. therapy, nursing care) are funded as part of the school placement via the DSG.
  • It is hoped that the move to Educating Health and Care Plans will clarify the distinct Education Health and Care needs, costs and financial responsibilities.

3.5 A Joint Approach across Poole Bournemouth and Dorset

A Pan-Dorset SEND board has been set up with representatives from the 3 Local Authorities, the NHS and parent forums. This partnership is working through5 themed subgroups to identify which aspects we can jointly work on to ensure efficiency, avoid duplication and create consistency for families and partner services. Each subgroup has members from education, health, social care and parent forums across the 3 Local Authorities.

There are subgroups for:

  1. Development of the statutory assessment process and EHC plan
  2. The Local Offer
  3. Individual Funding and personal budgets
  4. Workforce development
  5. Participation and engagement

It is recognised that each LA retains its own statutory duties and that there will be some differences to reflect local needs, resources and structures.

3.6Preparation and Readiness for Implementation in Poole

3.6.1 Development of the statutory assessment process and EHC plan.

There is a sub-group of the Pan-Dorset board. Focusing on the process and format for the new Education Health and Care Plan.This group has drafted a common format for the EHC plan.

Within Poole we are developing our local criteria, process and guidance for EHC plans and have a draft process for consultation with stakeholders and then piloting. In addition we have a draft process for transfer of existing statements to EHC Plans. Guidance for professionals and parents about the process and their contribution of advice is in preparation.

As now, the vast majority of children with SEN should have their needs met without recourse to a statutory plan. We are therefore working with SEN coordinators in schools to ensure the robustness of identification, support and recording at school-based stages. Parents from PAX Parents’ Forum have contributed to this training.

Senior manager from children’s and adult services are liaising to streamlinetransition to adult services and preparation for adulthood and adult SC transition workers have been appointed to start transition planning from Y9 (age 14).

3.6.2The Local Offer

The Poole Local Offer will go live in September 2014 but will be further developed over the next two years.Poole is leading on the Pan Dorset Development of the Local Offer and intention is to use the Poole Family Information Service alongside the Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole Xchange website.

Parents are very involved in the design of the Local Offer and young people will be engaged, particularly as the Local Offer covers up to age 25. It will need to link with Adult facing information points as well as sites that young people use such as Poole Zone.

3.6.3Personal Budgets

This area will build on existing Personal Health Budgets and Direct Payments within social care. Within education where there is more limited scope of giving parents and young people a personal budget, but a Pan-Dorset approach to offering personal transport budgets is under development.

The Local Offer will set out arrangements for parents who want to consider having a personal budget for elements of their child’s provision.

3.6.4Workforce development

A wide range of staff from across children and adult’s services and wider partner agencies will need the skills, knowledge and commitment to secure effective implementation of the SEND reforms.

Where appropriate, training and development will be provided on a Pan-Dorset basis. This will allow for economies of scale, sharing of skills and expertise, greater choice and opportunity and cost effectiveness. An audit of need is currently underway to identify and prioritise workforce development needs over the next year and beyond.

Across the Dorset area and within Poole, a range of awareness raising sessions have already been delivered.

We will need to have a workforce development plan. This will build on the work of the Pan-Dorset group with the same principles, but ensure local processes and aspects are covered.

To support the SEN changes and promote more integrated working, a restructure in CYPL has brought together the SEN Statutory Team, Educational Psychologists and Disability Social Work into a joint SEN and Disability Service.

3.6.5Participation and Engagement

The involvement of children, young people and their parents in decision making and control is a central theme of the SEN reforms. Poole Parent Carer Forum (PAX) is actively engaged with LA colleagues in shaping our delivery of the reforms. PAX members have joined LA and school staff in delivering training.

PAX has a termly half-day workshop session with the Strategy Manager for SEND to consider aspects of our implementation.

These have included:

  • The process of the EHC process and format of the plan
  • The Local Offer
  • Promoting parental confidence in school based support

The strategy manager SEND has briefed the Learning Disability Board on the SEN reforms and will be in regular consultation with the board over the coming months to gain their insights in to their experiences of the ‘SEN system’ and how it could be improved.

Under the new legislation, the views of a child over compulsory school age (subject to mental capacity) take precedence over those of their parents in respect of assessment, provision and support. All children have the right to their views being taken seriously. Arrangements have been made to commission independent advocacy for young people where this would help to ensure their voice is heard.

3.6.6Transition

Parents and carers of children with SEN often report that they face the end of formal schooling with trepidation and uncertainty about services and provision.Many young people with SEN report that their priority outcomes are getting a job, living independently and having successful relationships.

One of the stated changes in the new legislation is to bring about ‘a greater focus on support that enables those with SEN to succeed in their education and make a successful transition to adulthood’.

Ways to achieve this include:

  • Ensuring that young people and their families have opportunities to express their aspirations and how they can be supported to work towards achieving them.
  • Bringing the FE sector for the first time into the statutory framework.
  • Ensuring careers advice and information provides high aspirations and a wide range of options for pupils with SEN.
  • Helping pupils and their parents to understand how support and services will be different as they move on into different settings and into adult services.
  • Reviews to statutory plans from Y9 must consider preparation for transition.
  • A focus on outcomes as part of a planned journey to adulthood and independence, including employment.
  • Close working between children and adult services across education health and social care

Progress in Poole to date includes:

  • Closer working with Bournemouth and Poole College, including awareness raising to ensure statutory compliance.
  • Development of a post 16 Annual Review format.
  • Appointment of transitions workers in adult social care.
  • Adult social care representation on key SEN working groups.
  • Combining the Transition Strategy group with the SEN and Disability Strategy group.
  • Additional capacity (personnel and skills) within the SEN statutory team to support the needs of young people with SEN up to 25.

3.7Implementation ActionPlan

Officers are currently developing a comprehensive detailed plan covering the implementation of reforms at Pan-Dorset and within Poole.

  1. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS

4.1.Short term resource implications in relation to implementing the new framework include:

  • Staff capacity to develop new processes.
  • Staff capacity to deliver training.
  • Technical and content support for the Local Offer.
  • Conversion of over 500 existing statements and post 16 LD assessments to EHC Plans within 3 years.

Longer term resource implications include:

  • Evidence from National Pathfinders is not yet clear regarding the financial implications of these changes
  • Impact of costed education health and care provision and duty of agencies to provide for identified needs
  • Staff time to work more face to face with families to co-produce plans

The local authority is receiving a SEN change grant of £75K (13-14) and £161K (14-15) to support implementation of the changes. However it is expected that once implemented, SEND provision should be made within existing resources from the DSG, LA and health budgets.

Priorities for the SEN change grant have been identified as:

  • Contribution to cost of Pan-Dorset project manager
  • Staff capacity to convert existing statements and LDAs to EHC plans
  • Development of the Local offer (technical and content)
  • Support to develop the new process and related guidance documents
  • Costs of workforce development
  • Costs to the infrastructure, e.g. databases.

4.2.The reports for the Local Authority medium term financial plan have indicated that the financial implications of these changes are not yet known and could indeed impact both on Children and Adult Services budgets.

  1. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS

5.1 This paper outlines statutory requirements for the Local Authority.

5.2 A recent report from the Local Government Ombudsman (Special Educational Needs: Preparing for the FutureLGO March 2014) outlined the main areas of complaint received by the LGO in relation to SEN issues.

  • Delays in the SEN process.
  • Transition between phases of education and onto post school and adult provision.
  • Loss of education due to delays in finding suitable new or interim provision.
  • Failure to provide specialist support or provision.
  • Unlawful exclusions including asking parents to take a child home to avoid exclusion.

The report goes on to make a series of recommendations:

  1. Local Authorities should keep to statutory timescales.

In Poole we have a good record for this, with 100% compliance over several years. The reduced timescale is a challenge but we plan to address this by streamlining the initial decision making on whether to start a statutory assessment, reducing the need for duplication of information within the process, and ensuring a cross agency understanding o f the process and timescales.

  1. Consult concurrently, rather than sequentially with providers when considering suitable placements.

In Poole we already do this and we have positive relationships witha range of providers across the region. We are also reviewing our decision making processes for multi-agency placements.

  1. Take timely actions following Annual Reviews where amendments are needed to provision, placement and the statement (or EHC Plan).

Annual Review paperwork is being updated to reflect the new framework to ensure any changes needed are considered and dealt with in a timely manner. Schools have a named Monitoring and Review Officer (MARO) they can contact in the case of any issue relating to a pupil. The SEN team plan ahead for phase changes and post school transitions.

  1. Ensure the availability of suitable alternative provision when placements break down or there are delays in finding a suitable school place.

Steps will be taken in the first instance to work across agencies prevent the breakdown of the placement, including support for the family.

Where appropriate, pupils will access the Quay School. If necessary alternative interim provision can be organised, for example providing additional on a temporary basis in an interim setting until the place in a very specialised school became available.

  1. Make sure the provision set out in the statement is in place at the start of the statement (EHCP).

Maintained special schools across the local area are normally full, or close to full, and school funding rules penalise schools for keeping vacant places. Demand for local special school places has risen in recent years.

To plan for sufficiency of places in local In Poole we work with health and early years colleagues to identify early on children who may need a specialist school setting.