Send Reforms in Birmingham Cherry Thomas Sensory Support Birmingham

Our Response to the changes: An overview EHC Local Offer Personalised budgets -pilots Conversion Key working Parents, Children and Young People

Conversion From the 1st September 2014: LA will be required to convert existing statements to EHCs by April 2018. LA will be required to convert LSPs to EHCs by September 2016. Number of conversions in Birmingham: 7360 statements of special educational needs 1914 Learning Support Plans Deal positively and proactively with the questions and uncertainties that inevitably arise as we develop these processes together Prioritise at key transition points:  Entry to primary school, infant to junior, primary to secondary school, and secondary to further education etc. In future proposed that all children and young people transferring between school phases must have finalised EHC plan with named institution by 15 February 2015 in year of transfer. £1.7m

Engaging parents/carers, children and young people ‘Practitioners ……………….need to be skilled in working with children, parents and young people helping them to make informed decisions’. ‘Children, young people and parents are provided with the information, advice and support necessary to enable them to participate in discussions and decisions about their support’

Key working - Code of practice LA must provide all parents CYP with impartial information, advice and support in relation to SEN including the statutory assessment, EHC Plans and Personal Budgets. This should include Key Working and as appropriate an independent supporter. CoP Section 7.4

My Story – Listen and Understand Ongoing assessment, advice ,support via the local offer that informs decision to refer for EHC Initial discussion and preparation with parents TAC/Family Meeting - key working to prepare for EHC assessment The Local Offer sets out services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and their families, from birth to age 25 which are available in their area.   Most children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities have their support needs met by their local agencies, schools and services (i.e. through the Local Offer) without the need for an EHC Plan. For some children and young people, an Education Health and Care Plan may be required. Advice and Support: ongoing multi-agency support Before a request is made for statutory EHC assessment, it is usual that advice and support for a child or young person will be coordinated through key working processes that aims for timely involvement of the right professionals according to each child or young person’s personal profile of education, health and care needs. The decision to request statutory assessment and an EHC Plan is made by the family and the advising professionals based on their observations and assessments over time of a child’s/young person’s special educational needs, future aspirations and how best to support these. Making a Request for Statutory Assessment and preparation of an Education, Health and Care Plan The keyworker organises a ‘Team around the Child/Team around the Young Person’ meeting with the family and key advising professionals. The purpose of the meeting is to gather the information for making the request for statutory assessment. To prepare for the meeting, the keyworker helps the family as required to complete the child or young person’s personal profile and plan their involvement. The keyworker also makes sure that the family have the information they need about the assessment process, including information about options for educational provision, travel assistance where applicable and personal budgets. At the meeting, the family and the key advising professionals contribute their views and information about the child or young person’s needs, their progress so far and what support they might need in the future to access learning and achieve success. After the meeting the keyworker completes the Request for Education Heath and Care Assessment form (EHCAR) and sends this with the supporting information to SENAR. The allocated SENAR Principal Officer receives the information and presents the request to the Education Health and Care Panel for consideration. Request for EHC. Assessment sent to SENAR

Key Working Parents with disabled children are likely to face higher levels of stress and they value the practical and emotional support of key working. This can reduce this stress, help parents to navigate through the system and help them to agree the right support for their child. Support and Aspiration

What is key working? Key working is an approach that: Builds on partnership working Facilitates the coordination of an integrated package of solution-focused support Is important to disabled children, young people and those with other additional needs and their families Helps support ‘ordinary lives’ Promotes disability equality, inclusion and anti- discrimination which are all human rights Helps build strong and resilient families We are already specialist in key working. This process enhances the experiences of CYPF and the EHC process. We are rolling this training to those who do not have this culture/practice embedded in their working practice. Expert model? SENCo – time implications Parent questionnairesKey working is an approach that: Builds on partnership working Facilitates the coordination of an integrated package of solution-focused support Is important to disabled children, young people and those with other additional needs and their families Helps support ‘ordinary lives’ Promotes disability equality, inclusion and anti-discrimination which are all human rights Helps build strong and resilient families

Key working Functions Emotional and practical support Providing emotional and practical support as part of a trusting relationship Enabling and empowering for decision making and the use of personal budgets Coordination Coordinating practitioners and services around the child, young person and family Being a single point of regular and consistent contact Facilitating multi-agency meetings Planning and assessment Supporting and facilitating a single planning and joint assessment process Identifying strengths and needs of family members Information and specialist support Providing information and signposting Advocating on a child’s, young person’s and/or family’s behalf Facilitating clinical and social care seamlessly, integrated with specialist and universal services in an equality promoting approach Uniquely placed SQW research paper describes the skill set for kw. Correlating to the 4 areas 2 models of support: model 1 we do it all – feasible for straight forward deaf/VI Model 2 – partnership working essential. Where knowledge and skills of all involved are complimentng each other demonstrates that

Key working in Birmingham Early Support training for trainers Training to SENCo networks throughout the city Training to multi agency groups including health, Disabled Children’s Social Care and early years and education providers Training to Access to Education SS, EPs, CAT Training for CYPF

Professionals involved… Speech and Language Therapist - Dysphagia Speech and Language Therapist - Tracheostomy Speech and Language Therapist - Sensory Impairment Community Childrens Nurse ENT Consultant Cochlear implant team - AVT therapist, audiologist, ENT surgeon Complex Care Co ordinator Complex care carers (two of) General Surgeon Orthoptist Specialist Dentist Social worker Occupational Therapist SI HLTA Nursery key worker/SENCO/Manager Dietician Neurosuregon Neurologist Geneticist Community paediatrian Physiotherapist/Orthotist Early years teacher Audiologist (hearing aids) Educational psychologist

Key working role of the Teacher of the Deaf Teacher’s Perspective Parent’s perspective Consistent and knowledgeable Understands his needs beyond his deafness Central role as his deafness affects all other areas of development At the heart of his care Attends key appointments Takes responsibility for information sharing Accessible and easy to contact Only professional who can interact directly with Ansel while other can only observe Built strong relationship Supported in different settings Consistency of support Facilitated multi agency approach Shared approach – strong relationship with other education services Provided the ‘link’ between agencies Joint key working – with family Difficulty in co-ordinating ALL agencies Time constraints Empowered family

A Parent’s Perspective

Thank you "The greatest danger is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that our aim is too low and we hit it" Michelangelo