Wigan Response to Green Paper: Support and Aspiration: A New approach to Special Educational Need and Disability

This response has been collated by senior manager representatives from:

Special Schools

Wigan Local Authority (People Directorate)

Ashton, Leigh and Wigan Community Health

Chapter 1 - Early Identification and Assessment

Consultation Questions

Question 1 / How can we strengthen the identification of SEN and impairments in the early years?
Responses / ·  The identification by training staff, involved in early years, to recognise the needs in children at early stage could strengthen the process, but we have to be careful that this is an initial filtering system, followed up by more specialised assessments.
·  Earlier support might mean later SEN interventions are not required.
·  CPD across all involved in SEND should occur
·  Consistent language used by partners is required regarding the local offer
·  However, there is a need for a “filtering system” that is precise enough not to miss any cases, that then leads to more specialist assessments.
Question 2 / Do you agree with our proposal to replace the statement of SEN and learning difficulty assessment for children and young people with a single statutory assessment process and an ‘Education, Health and Care Plan’, bringing together all services across education, health and social care?
Responses / ·  In principle, there is agreement, but also some concerns about raising expectations of parents about what is available during finically hard times.
·  Acknowledgment that all children might not need all elements of the plan should occur.
·  Will plans occur for those with needs in just one area of health, education or social care?
·  Who sets thresholds? Is it locally defined? Any system devised needs to ensure action is appropriate.
·  Avoiding unnecessary bureaucracy and improving information sharing are important considerations.
·  A central government guideline re information being able to be shared easily between agencies (including schools and the VCS) is a necessity to enable plans to work in a coordinated fashion. Currently many databases do not speak to each other, or have very restricted access across partner agencies.
Question 3 / How could the new single assessment process and ‘Education, Health and Care Plan’ better support children’s needs, be a better process for families and represent a more cost-effective approach for services?
Responses / ·  We need the right of appeal for families as outlined later in the Green Paper
·  Duplication should be avoided in any systems.
·  Interventions need to be the right ones – one size does not fit all. Better co-ordination is required between agencies– e.g. shared premises, improved access reducing DNA, family friendly, neutral venues are important.
·  Language in terms of verbal interactions and reports need to be ‘user friendly’.
·  Any provision outlined in a plan will have to be mandatory across agencies, otherwise there are dangers that this will not occur and could lead to considerable parental anxiety.
Question 4 / What process or assessments should be incorporated within the proposed single assessment process and ‘Education, Health and Care Plan’?
Responses / ·  A common assessment, using a whole child approach should be the first stage in most assessments. Multi-agency assessments are important in almost all cases
·  Duplication of information needs to be avoided.
·  Prioritising of need, flexibility of responses according to need required.
Question 5 / What is the potential impact of expanding the scope of the proposed single assessment process and plan beyond education, health, social care and employment?
Responses / ·  Everyone needs to sign up to having joint responsibility – a key worker should be part of the process.
·  An appropriate response for children & young people not meeting thresholds for social care, health but with needs should occur.
·  Consideration how this links to funding banding needs to be transparent.
Question 6 / What role should the voluntary and community sector play in the statutory assessment of children and young people with SEN or who are disabled? How could this help to give parents greater confidence in the statutory assessment process?
Responses / ·  Voluntary sector need to be partners in process, impartial and independent, supporting, advising, advocating.
·  Need to provide opportunities for VCS to be involved locally since different regions have different involvement.
·  Conflict resolution processes should occur with the help of VCS.
Question 7 / How could the proposed single assessment process and ‘Education, Health and Care Plan’ improve continuity of social care support for disabled children?
Responses / ·  Process across all areas need to be more transparent.
·  Support and planning tools, regular reviews, identify progress for further actions should all be part of the process.
·  Also links to early intervention and social care thresholds should occur.
·  Clarity about expectations need to be part of the local offer.
Question 8 / How could the arrangements for provision of health advice for existing statutory SEN assessments be improved?
Responses / ·  Same principles as above.
·  Good relationships with health, joint working essential.
·  Understanding others contribution and sharing performance data
Question 9 / How can we make the current SEN statutory assessment process faster and less burdensome for parents?
Responses / ·  Shouldn’t be rushed, communication key so parents understand process and why decisions/actions occur.
·  Consistency needed across agencies and cases.
·  Clear and easy to understand information and guidance for parents – local offer could help with this

Chapter 2 - Giving parents control

Question 10 / What should be the key components of a locally published offer of available support for parents?
Responses / ·  There should be a minimum offer/entitlement giving clarity round universal provision and that anything additional to this a referral for assessment will be required.
·  Link to early intervention pathways (that may cover wider needs than SEND) need to occur.
Question 11 / What information should schools be required to provide to parents on SEN?
Responses / ·  There needs to be clarification about
- what SEN / disability (possibly using the equity act definition) mean
- Assessment / processes
- How the school is meeting needs internally and accessing external
Support
- What support is available within current resources and how they access additional services/resources
- How parents can support their own child
Question 12 / What do you think an optional personal budget for families should cover?
Responses / ·  If it includes health, would need very stringent controls concerning safety eg use of specialist equipment/ pathways of care
·  Social Care has enough evidence base to feel confident that it will work but concerns over education and health because so new and diverse.
·  Outcomes for personal budgets are not as clear cut within education and health.
·  A brokerage and care plan needs to involve services
·  If parents have their own needs they will require support e.g. from VCS/ support services/ schools
Question 13 / In what ways do you think the option of a personal budget for services identified in the proposed ‘Education, Health and Care Plan’ will support parents to get a package of support for their child that meets their needs?
Responses / ·  In regards to needs and wants, there needs to be clarity about what the child needs as opposed to what the family wants. If we get this right, personal budgets will help families plan whilst ‘enabling’ them to take control.
·  ‘We need systems of support for those who may struggle to implement personal budgets, to avoid a “two tiered” system developing. .
Question 14 / Do you feel that the statutory guidance on inclusion and school choice, Inclusive Schooling, allows appropriately for parental preferences for either a mainstream or special school?
Responses / ·  Processes currently employed within Wigan are working in regard to the guidance resulting in a low level of Tribunal appeals. This could be built upon nationally
·  In order to give parents control, we need to continue to give them sufficient information to make an informed choice.
Question 15 / How can we improve information about school choice for parents of children with a statement of SEN, or new ‘Education, Health and Care Plan’?
Responses / ·  Links need to occur to local offer
·  Schools need to produce their offer , which is published alongside the local offer
·  Robust information covering all services should occur
Question 16 / Should mediation always be attempted before parents register an appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEN and Disability)?
Responses / ·  Yes, because we have good experiences here. However, there is an earlier step. Wigan rarely needs to even go to mediation because all services are mandated to use mediation to resolve any potential differences/ disagreements as soon as they occur. This model could be adopted nationally.
Question 17 / Do you like the idea of mediation across education, health and social care? How might it work best?
Responses / ·  Yes
·  It should occur and build on current models ensuring robust communication channels across services occur

Chapter 3 – Learning and Achieving

Question 18 / How can we ensure that the expertise of special schools, and mainstream schools with excellent SEN practice, is harnessed and spread through Teaching Schools partnerships?
Responses / ·  Access to ensure special school/ mainstream school with expertise support occurs for all.
·  There needs to be experience of working in across mainstream/ special schools – possibly by having job swaps.
·  Skills set required for special schools / mainstream can be different and special school skills are not always transferable. Opportunities fro working across the sector through teaching schools could be explored.
Question 19 / How can we ensure that we improve SEN expertise, build capacity and share knowledge between independent specialist colleges, special schools and colleges?
Responses / ·  Work within Wigan relating to consortia/ outreach in regard to sharing good practice is a model that may be useful to refer to here in regard to schools.
Question 20 / How can we continue to build capacity and SEN specialist skills at each tier of school management?
Responses / ·  Management expertise that enables change is required.
·  Mandatory SENCO training has made a difference to improving skills and needs links continuing with the local authority, to tie in the CPD to the local offer.
·  Work needs to occur to ensure that the SENCo training feeds directly into school management.
Question 21 / What is the best way to identify and develop the potential of teachers and staff to best support disabled children or children with a wide range of SEN?
Responses / ·  Sustainability of training is required, especially when staff change
·  Need combination across school on school/local authority/health services/voluntary sector
·  There are issues because many staff that have expertise have been lost nationally due to budget considerations/ the fact that the age profile of this group tends to be older due to the time it tales to gather the knowledge.
Question 22 / What is the potential impact of replacing School Action and School Action plus and their equivalents in the early years with a single school – or setting – based category of SEN?
Responses / ·  There is a danger of one category of “SEN” leading to a dichotomy of either having SEN or not, whilst the reality is that children and young people (cyp) have a continuum of needs. If one category is used, “SEN”, then the existence of a graduated severity of need within it needs to be recognised.
Question 23 / How could changing the school – and setting-based category of SEN embed a different approach to identifying SEN and addressing children’s needs?
Responses / ·  The levels of support that are needed are dependent upon the context of the learning situation eg buildings / ethos / teaching methods
·  We need to be careful over a ‘cut and dried’ system of assessment that does not take account of the context
·  Contextual factors include - family environment
- staff expertise
- learning environment
·  There is a need to see the child holistically rather than raw sets of scores relating to national curriculum levels, IQ, hearing levels and so on.
Question 24 / How helpful is the current category of BESD in identifying the underlying needs of children with emotional and social difficulties?
Responses / ·  Any category limits what it includes, whilst many cyp have a variety of needs. if used the B in the title needs to come later, because the tendency anyway for many is to concentrate on the behaviour, and ignore possible underpinning factors.
Question 25 / Is the BESD label overused in terms of describing behaviour problems rather than leading to an assessment of underlying difficulties?
Responses / ·  Yes, because this could be due to unidentified factors – care is required. If assessments take place earlier it is likely that other factors, such a speech, language and communication needs/ dyslexia are identified and addressed..
Question 26 / How could we best ensure that the expertise of special schools in providing behaviour support is harnessed and shared?
Responses / ·  Outreach and joint work with other services works well here in our experience.
Question 27 / What are the barriers to special schools and special Academies entering the market for alternative provision?
Responses / ·  The current funding system can be a hinderance.
Question 28 / What are the ways in which special Academies can work in partnership with other mainstream and special schools and Academies, and other services in order to improve the quality of provision for pupils with SEN and disabilities?
Responses
Question 29 / What are the barriers to how special Academies can work in partnership with other mainstream and specialist expertise that serve a wider, regional community and how can these be overcome?
Responses / ·  Support will have to be brought in, so potentially finance.
Question 30 / What might the impact be of opening up the system to provide places for non-statemented children with SEN in special Free Schools?
Responses / ·  Experience is that a similar approach tried many years ago in one of our special schools, as a small trail, led to those with less needs blocking places for the most complex.
Question 31 / Do you agree with our proposed approach for demonstrating the progress of low attaining pupils in performance tables?
Responses / Generally yes, as long as individuals can not be identified. Clarification if the bottom 20% refers to a national, local or school percentage is required.
Question 32 / What information would help parents, governors and others, including Ofsted, assess how effectively schools support disabled children and children with SEN?
Responses / Schools offer, inclusion policy, numbers of cyp with SEND, accessing places, outcomes, academic progress and post school destinations all provide helpful information.

Chapter 4 – Preparing for adulthood