Analysis of the SEND Consultation

Overview On the 1st of June 2013 Birmingham City Council published, ‘A Green Paper for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities’ (SEND) outlining a number of broad proposals upon which a city wide SEND Strategy could be developed. The Council has consulted stakeholders on the Green Paper’s contents for a period of four months from the 1st of June until 31st of September 2013.

Audience Over 1000 people: families of children with SEND, young people with SEND, professionals, Councillors and Members of Parliament. The method of consultation included, on-line questionnaires, presentation to large groups and corresponding paper questionnaires, facilitated workshops classroom based lesson plans supported by an online survey. 155 written responses were received, 52 from professionals, 48 from parents and 55 from young people. Attendees at family events were drawn fairly equally from across the City and broadly reflected the City’s ethnic composition. The demographics of the written respondents were less reflective of the City’s Demography. Predominantly white, Christian and Heterosexual. The aggregated results to these questions are not statistically of use due to the high number of respondents who formally responded they did not wish to answer these questions, or who simply didn’t respond to them.

Consultation Activities Two large multi-agency professional stakeholder events Presentation to the Special Schools Headteacher’s Conference Presentation to Birmingham City Council’s SEN Stakeholders GroupTwo presentations to the Special Headteachers Forum Presentation to the City’s 10 District Committees Presentation to the Complex Needs JCC Two presentation to the City wide Headteachers Forum Presentation to the Primary Headteachers Forum Presentation to the Special Scrutiny Committee A Family Fun Day held at the Think Tank Presentation to the Disabled Children Services away day Elected member and council officer visits to schools Lesson plans in schools Youth Forum at Wilson-Stuart School Parents Personalisation Focus Group Circulation of the Green Paper and though the Parent Partnership Network Hosting of separate questionnaires for Professional Parents and children and young people on the Council’s Be-Heard website

2012 Definition “A child or young person has special educational needs if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she (a) has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or (b) has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post- 16 institutions. Special educational provision, for a child aged two or more, or a young person, means educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for others of the same age.” A majority of 55.56% preferred the 2012 definition. A – 1996 definition B – 2001 definition C – 2012 definition D – Undecided Graph 1: Definition of SEND

The Principles An Inclusive City with a Fair Chance for all Needs Lead planning and effective use of resources Localisation/Local Schools for local people and Inclusion Personalisation, my life/ my choice Excellence through partnership 76% of professional and 81% of parents responded that they totally agreed, or mostly agreed with the principles.

Principle one: An Inclusive City with a Fair Chance for All “Every child in every part of the City should achieve their potential. We will provide early help and support to those children and families who need it, and working together, will ensure that every child has the belief, aspiration and support to be their best.” 100% unanimous support from parents and professionals for the Vision. Young people were asked “Do you think everyone should be given the chance to meet their potential?’ the young people gave a unanimous response of, ‘yes’.

Principle 2 ‘Needs Lead Planning and Effective Use of Resources’. The analysis shows there is strong support for the second principle. Respondents agreed that Birmingham needs a wider range of schools to develop capability in educating and supporting children with Profound and Complex Needs and for children with Autism. Respondents agreed with gaps in data identified in the Green Paper, suggesting, there is a need to improve early year’s data collection and suggesting the introduction of a multi-agency case management system.

Principle 3 ‘Localisation/Local schools for Local People and Inclusion’. There is mixed support for the third principle Respondents strongly agreed that all children should be able to go to a local school, be socially included in their community and not have long journeys to school. There was mixed support for the concept of in-school inclusion, with about equal support for inclusive mainstream schools and for special schools. Many of the responses talked of mixed provision in localities with centres of excellence operating across school clusters. “I live near my school. This is the road to my brother’s school.”

Principle 4 ‘Personalisation, My Life/ My Choice’ There was strong support for the idea of personal budgets. Parents voiced concerns that the amount of money allocated to a personal budget may be less than the amount currently spent per child. Professionals raised concerns that personal budgets could result in a number of small providers entering the market which could result in a decrease in the quality or professionalism of services provided. Young people expressed concern about the amount of management a personal budget would require and questioned if they had the capacity to manage their personal budgets themselves. There was strong support for the idea of a Single, Health, and Education Plan. Professionals pointed out the need for information sharing through a multi-agency electronic case management system. Parents and young people voiced hopes that the single plan will reduce the need to, ‘re-tell’ their story to several professionals.

Principle 5: ‘Excellence Through Partnership’. There is strong support for the fifth principle. Respondents strongly supported the green papers proposal that residential special schools and residential short break homes should work together to maximise resources. However there was notable concern that existing need for residential short breaks was not being met. The Green Paper’s proposal for increased joint practice development was not understood by a large number of respondents, so it is not possible to judge the level of support. The qualitative responses that were received supported of the proposal and talked of centres of excellence providing hub and spoke support across school clusters, and again talked of the need for multi-agency case management system.

Ways Forward Share analysis and gain consensus about ‘Ways Forward’ in Nov/Dec. Brief SEND Strategy and Market Position Statement based on - BCC Vision, SEND Principles, JSNA for SEND, Feedback from consultation so far, integrated transition into adulthood programme Further work needed to add - alignment (e.g. balance between places & spaces, budget, parents wishes), costings, commissioning priorities, developing the market. Market Position Statement by end Dec. The current timescale is for an SEND White Paper containing the draft SEND Strategy and Market Position Statement to be in place after the New Year, followed by a further 3 months consultation with the final SEND Strategy to be agreed by Autumn 2014 Implementation of the 5 Priority Actions of the SEND Programme