Residential special schools and colleges: the experiences and outcomes of children and young people Summary of the responses to the call for evidence Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

The RSS Team Co-chairs Dame Christine Lenehan, Director CDC Mark Geraghty, CEO Seashell Trust Support to the RSS Review Rory Mcerlean DfE Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

Some of the questions we needed to ask regarding the Minster’s commissioned review of Residential Special Schools (RSS) - Sir Martin Narey’s review of Care homes – July 2016 - How many children are placed in Residential Special Schools? - Where are they? - Why have they been placed there? - What drives stakeholders to use RSS? - 20 years since this area was reviewed, Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

We received 221 responses to the call for evidence, represented as follows: - Academic 4 - Child or young person 6 - School/college staff 8 - Representative body 9 - Other 12 - Charity 21 - Local authority 25 - School/college 42 - Parent/carer 94 Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

Summary of Responses - Call for evidence confirmed that the RSS/ISC sector exemplifies many of the larger issues facing the SEND sector, - Tensions between LA budget constraints, parental preference and meeting children and young people’s needs - Difficulties delivering genuine multi-agency working - Achieving an educational offer that’s both high-quality and ambitious for these C&YP - Preparing for adulthood and transition to post-19 support Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

Characteristics of the C&YP currently in RSS/ISCs - Pupils who tend to be placed in residential placements are those with either social, emotional and mental health needs, autism and/or severe learning difficulties and challenging behaviour, or complex health needs. - Respondents felt the mental health needs of C&YP with autism were becoming increasingly complex. Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

Characteristics of the C&YP currently in RSS/ISCs… Characteristics of the C&YP currently in RSS/ISCs…. continued - There are also pupils with less intense needs in residential placements, generally because their parent/carers have expressed a preference for the provision and been prepared to fight for it. - Increasingly, parent/carers are seeking residential placements at post-16 to help their children learn independence skills. Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

The Stats! - 342 residential special RSS/ISCs across 92 LAs - 150 of these are independent schools, - 49 non-maintained special schools, - 90 maintained or academy - 53 post-16. The most common in the South and West of England: London 10; North East 15; Yorkshire/Humber 25; East Midlands 32; East of England 36; West Midlands 39 South West 49; North West 53; South East 80 Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

Pattern of Provision across the Country; How it is Commissioned and Procured - Parental responses were almost unanimous about the lack of suitable provision available to meet their child’s needs locally. - Some respondents felt that LAs didn’t commission places, they shopped for them! - Some LAs admit their commissioning is too reactive, others have encouraging plans to develop more flexible provision in-county Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

Pattern of Provision across the Country, How it is Commissioned and Procured ……. continued - LAs were unanimous in their desire to meet need more locally, both to preserve the child/young person’s links with their family and community and to save money. - Some schools and representative bodies complained about the procurement practices used by LAs, feeling they were too focused on contractual compliance rather than the needs of the child. Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

What Good Quality Support Looks like for these C&YP both Pre- and Postplacement - Parents spoke of their frustration at the lack of early support services offered to them, often by health and social care. Felt more accessible short-breaks, and better CAMHS support for their children, could prevent the need for these placements arising later. - Many issues were identified upstream from residential provision by parents, LAs and others, particularly in mainstream schools. - Some felt a target-driven culture led to schools adopting non-inclusive practices for children with challenging behaviour, exacerbated by their ignorance of positive behaviour support and autism more generally. Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

What Good Quality Support Looks like for these C&YP both Pre- and Postplacement. - Some C&YP spoke of the loneliness they experienced in mainstream provision, citing bullying, being made to feel stupid and feeling like their school had given up on them. - Some schools expressed a desire to offer more outreach services to local schools to support inclusion/early support, but feel LAs are reluctant to do this due to the adversarial relationship they take toward independent/NMSS provision. - Some LAs admit that while they can often identify pupils that could develop complex high needs later in life, too often it takes a crisis before action is taken. Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

What Good Quality Support Looks like for these C&YP both Pre- and Postplacement. …continued. - Some have begun to develop dynamic risk registers - Some schools felt if pupils were referred to them earlier their support could enable them to return to their local community. However, some LAs said they only considered a residential placement as a last resort, because once a pupil entered residential they were too often there for life Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk

A Snapshot – Next Steps! Questions? Mark Geraghty CEO/Principal Seashell Trust Mark.Geraghty@seashelltrust.org.uk