The Next Steps response to the Green Paper SEN and Disability – The Next Steps response to the Green Paper National Sensory Impaired Partnership (NATSIP) 17 May 2012 André Imich, SEN and Disability Professional Adviser, DfE 1

Next Steps - Areas covered Training and Development Single School Category Single assessment/ Education, Health and Care Plan Health and wellbeing boards Widening the range of special educational provision Local Offer Parents – Greater control over services School Funding Reform Preparing for adulthood

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Training and Development

Green Paper Reform Support for schools to improve provision for children with SEN and disabled children, including roll out of the Achievement for All programme; and improved training for teachers and other school staff (e.g. more ITT placements in special schools; impairment specific training materials; and scholarship schemes for teachers and teaching assistants).

Teaching schools: their roles 25 special schools and 23 mainstream schools: play a greater role in training new entrants to the profession lead peer-to-peer professional and leadership development identify and develop leadership potential provide support for other schools designate and broker specialist leaders of education engage in research and development

Materials The Teaching Agency (TA) has produced training materials on severe learning difficulties, profound and multiple learning difficulties that can be used flexibly in initial teacher training (ITT) and for continuing professional development, building on the Salt Review recommendations; http://www.education.gov.uk/complexneeds/ The TA has developed advanced level materials on autism, dyslexia, SLCN, and BESD, building on the IDP materials; Will be published on DfE website imminently

Scholarship scheme for SEN support staff School support staff can access degree-level and SEND specialist training - £500,000 programme. Up to £2,000 each to boost the skills of talented teaching assistants and school staff. Funds staff through rigorous, specialist courses and qualifications. Have achieved qualifications equivalent to, at least, full level 3 or hold Higher Level Teaching Assistant Status Maximum award is 50% of the total cost to max £2000. Deadline for applications midnight on 17th May 2012. http://media.education.gov.uk/assets/files/pdf/s/sen%20support%20scholarship%20round%201%20handbook%20%20%20april%202012.pdf

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Single School Category

Green Paper Reform In 2012 we will work with experts in the education sector, including Teacher Associations, SENCOs, head teachers and EPs on replacing the current categories of School Action and School Action Plus (and their equivalents in the early years) with a single category. In doing so we will ensure a focus on outcomes rather than processes in SEN identification, and on ensuring that pupils’ needs are not missed. We will then revise the SEN Code of Practice to give clear guidance on identifying children who have SEN and on the operation of a new single category of SEN.

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Education, Health and Care Plan Single assessment/ Education, Health and Care Plan

Green Paper Reform Statements and Learning Difficulty Assessments to be replaced by a quicker, better integrated assessment and a single Education, Health and Care Plan setting out all the services they will receive for their support; Statutory protections comparable to those currently associated with a statement of SEN to be provided for 16-25 year olds in further education so that young people will get the support they need wherever they are taught

By 2014, CYP aged from birth to 25 who would currently have a statement of SEN or learning difficulty assessment will have a single assessment process and Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) for their support which will afford parents the same statutory protection as statement of SEN. All the services on which the CYP and their family rely will work together with the family to agree an Education, Health and Care Plan which reflects the family’s needs and ambitions for the CYP’s future outcomes covering education, health, employment and independence. The plan will be clear about who is responsible for which services, and will include a commitment from all parties across education, health and social care to provide their services. Local pathfinders will test how to reform radically the statutory SEN assessment and statement and explore the best replacement, including whether the voluntary and community sector could coordinate assessment and bring greater independence to the process; and The time taken to complete the assessment process will be reduced.

5.29 DoH will make sure that the new system ensures the quality and effectiveness of services and outcomes achieved for children and young people, including the experience of disabled children and their families. This will include clarity for families on what to do if they have concerns about the service they will receive, with clear information on the NHS Constitution, the NHS Complaints system and the role of the NHS Ombudsman. We will also ask the Children and Young People’s Health Forum to consider the effectiveness of the routes of redress available to children, young people and their families as part of their recommendations.

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Health and wellbeing boards

Green Paper Reform Local authorities and health services to be required to commission services for disabled children and those with SEN jointly.

Role of JSNAs, joint health and wellbeing strategies and health and wellbeing boards A new vision for the leadership and delivery of health and care services -builds upon Joint Strategic Needs Assessments (JSNAs) as central to local planning and commissioning cycle. Central to vision -decisions about services should be made as locally as possible, involving people who use them and communities to the maximum degree. To improve health and wellbeing outcomes for local communities, needs to be increased joint working between the NHS and local authorities, with high quality local leadership from the health and wellbeing board and relationships being an essential foundation. Health and wellbeing boards provide leadership across the local authority (including Public Health, Adult Social Care, Children’s Services, and elected members), the local NHS (by CCGs and where needed the local arm of the NHS CB); and the local community facilitated by Healthwatch.

Health and Well-Being Boards Roles and responsibilities Membership includes commissioners of health and social care, elected representatives and representation from Healthwatch Responsibility for developing a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) for the local population Strengthened role in assessing the quality of CCG commissioning plans

Clinical Commissioning Groups Roles and responsibilities – CCGs will be responsible for commissioning most NHS care based on the needs of their local population This will involve CCGs being responsible for a significant proportion of NHS expenditure Membership extended to include a range of other professions beyond GPs to ensure comprehensive and effective commissioning

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special educational provision Widening the range of special educational provision

Green Paper Reform Special schools able to benefit from Academy status New provision through special free schools.

28 maintained special schools have converted to special Academy status to date; Parents, voluntary sector and other organisations can come forward with proposals for special Free Schools. 3 special Free Schools are now at pre-opening stage, with a likely opening date of September 2012. Currently considering applications for 2013.

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Local Offer

Green Paper Reform Local authorities, working with schools and other local services, to publish a a clear, easy to understand local offer of support so that parents will know what they can reasonably expect their local school, local college, local authority and local services to provide through

Local offer framework Cover provision for CYP from birth to 25 and include education, health and social care services; Provide accessible information on services and provision that CYP who have SEN or are disabled and their families and carers can readily access or expect (for example, special educational provision that is normally available in mainstream schools and colleges from the resources available to them, and short breaks for families of disabled children); Set out how families and carers and CYP can seek access to more specialist support than is normally available and how decisions are made about provision of that support, e.g. assessments for EHCPs; and Set out what to do if things go wrong, including how to complain or appeal against decisions.

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Greater control over services Parents – Greater control over services

Green Paper Reform Parents to have greater control over the services they and their family use. Those whose children have an Education, Health and Care Plan will be able to express a preference for any state funded school and have the right to a personal budget for their support if they feel that would suit their family’s needs.

Improving parents’ choice of school We propose parents will be able to express their preference for any state-funded school and have it considered by the local authority on the same basis. This change will extend the provision that already exists in law for parents to express a preference for any maintained school to Academies and special Academies, Free Schools and special Free Schools.

Personal budgets – what we have learned can improve choice, control and levels of satisfaction for families using support services included in the pilot; resulted in young people and their parent/carers feeling positive and empowered about their involvement in the planning of their support enabled users to commission support in a different way leading to a sense of greater choice and control over the services they used; are accessible, with the right support, to families from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds

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School Funding Reform

Green Paper Reform Reforms to school funding to make funding for low cost SEN more transparent and reform funding for high needs pupils.

High Needs Block Delegated budgets of special schools Centrally funded provision for individual pupils SEN support services Support for inclusion Independent special school fees Inter-authority recoupment Pupil referral units Education out of school Delegated allocations relating to individual pupils – Individually Assigned Resources Delegated allocations relating to special units and specially resourced provision in mainstream schools Post-16 SEN expenditure

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Preparing for adulthood

Our programme of action By 2015 disabled YP and YP with SEN will have: Early and well-integrated support for, and advice on, their future as part of the birth to 25 single assessment process and EHCP and support into employment; Access to better quality vocational and work-related learning options to enable YP to progress in their learning post-16; Good opportunities and support in order to get and keep a job; and A well-coordinated transition from children’s to adult health services.

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