SEN and Disability Green Paper Pathfinders

Purpose of SEND pathfinders The SEND pathfinders are working towards the following common objectives: To develop a new 0-25 assessment process and a single plan which brings together the education, health and social care services on which children and young people who are disabled or have SEN and their families rely and focuses on improving outcomes; To explore how the voluntary and community sector could explore access to specialist expertise and introduce more independence to the process; To ensure the full engagement of children, young people and their parents and families, schools and colleges; and To improve choice and control for children, young people and their families through the use of personal budgets and direct payments.

20 SEND pathfinders (31 local authorities and their Health PCT partners) Bromley and Bexley Calderdale Cornwall and Scilly Devon Gateshead Greenwich Hartlepool and Darlington Hertfordshire Lewisham Manchester North Yorkshire Northamptonshire and Leicester City Nottingham Oldham and Rochdale SE7 Solihull Southampton Trafford Wigan Wiltshire Geographical spread Rural / urban Size Partners SE7 largest consortium NW consortia

The SEND pathfinder story… Sep 11 Jan 12 April 12 July 12 Oct 12 Jan 13 April 13 2014 onwards Initial set up - Bids approved, programme launched (end Sept) Recruitment of families and ongoing engagement - Local governance in place; families recruited for single assessments starting in Feb (all pathfinders by July) Testing and learning - of assessment and planning process; action learning networks including personal & banded funding, assessment and plan (from March); regular feedback on learning New offer for children, young people & families – including use of education direct payments; EHC Plans in place; local offers in action Rollout phase - Final evaluation report (spring 2013). Best practice shared. Possible extension of pathfinders By 2014 all children currently with statement entitled to EHC Plan and choice of personal budget Pathfinder programme 18 months

Pathfinder Support Team Overview Our brief is to provide pathfinders regular, specialist advice, support and challenge including: regular on-site meetings with each pathfinder; specialist advice (either directly, or by finding the right person to speak to); facilitation for local and cross-site problem solving; sharing of learning and emerging thinking across pathfinders, DfE, DH and other stakeholders. Our underlying principles are to: support pathfinders across core and optional test areas; focus on the Green Paper commitments; build on existing best practice; provide challenge; provide a clear support offering which is scaled and appropriate; make the process of requesting support clear and simple. Commissioned to support and challenge pathfinders

Pathfinders Governance structure Different for all but with common elements Lead/Chair Majority - Local Authority Some - Health, Parent Carer Forum/Council Representation from: Local Authority, health (commissioners & providers), parent carers forum/council, VCS, schools, colleges, parent partnership services, children and young people groups/forums Strategic decision making & co-production Work streams / Task groups

Pathfinders Examples of family recruitment 40 families 0 – 25 years Any child whose needs are not met by universal services who has a SEN or disability Both new and existing cases Pathfinder 2: 20 families 0 – 5 years Most complex needs New cases only Pathfinder 3: 100 families 0 – 25 years Any child or young person who currently accesses additional services from health, education or social care Both new and existing cases

Pathfinders Examples of approaches Family support and help during the process Dedicated support from an EP Mentor from VCS Key worker support from any agency, VCS or parent carer Timescales for the assessment process 6 – 10 weeks Less than 20 weeks Based on the individual but no longer than 26 weeks Other points First families recruited Testing has started First plan in place by July 2012 First personal budget by Oct 2012 Using family journey maps Building on CAF Additional brokerage service from VCS Parent carer led Up to 100 families Large scale workforce development Wide stakeholder participation

Pathfinders Examples of approaches Family support and help during the process Key worker role via VCS organisation (small cohort) Plan Co-ordinator – VCS, Parents and Professionals Community Key worker VCS Navigator Timescales for the assessment process Less than 19 weeks Less than 26 weeks to be confirmed through testing To be confirmed through testing Other Providing training for a group of parents and frontline staff in person-centred planning Test key worker role with families Exploring how cloud technologies can deliver a intuitive, simple, safe and person focused solution for the EHC plan for families and professional System wide change Next - integrated Children’s Services community hubs which will coordinate planning across all services.

Pathfinders Emerging themes Integrated assessments and EHC plan Who should have a plan, what should it look like How to ensure the process is transparent with the child/young person and family at the centre Who is accountable for the delivery of the plan in the multi agency setting Commitment that it should be the families plan but at what point should/could it become the young persons plan Referral routes should be open/clear. Range of approaches to referrals e.g. multi-agency panel, extension of CAF approach It’s important that pathfinders have opportunities to support each other and share learning so we’re glad the programme of working groups and action learning networks is becoming established.

Pathfinders Emerging themes Integrated assessments and EHC plan National v localism How to work effectively with a range of VCS organisations during the pathfinder programme What should the role of VCS organisations be in providing greater independence to the process and to improve families confidence in the system How to develop the capacity of the VCS now and for the future How to use the EHC Plan to engage services and providers in more effectively planning for and supporting transition to post-16/post-18 provision The ‘Filing cabinet’ issue: we understand most pathfinders are planning to keep education, health and care assessments separate and bring the results together in a single plan. This may well make sense, especially given that separate statutory assessments continue to be needed in many cases. We’d like to hear from you today about whether this approach can yield the benefits we are hoping to see from the pathfinders in terms of reducing bureaucracy, cost and time taken to complete assessments, particularly from the child/family and young person’s perspective.

Pathfinders Emerging themes Parent carer participation Commitment by pathfinders that this is key but what does this look like: strategic voice, co-production, engagement Role of ‘key worker’ ‘mentor’ ‘trained facilitator’, ‘navigator’ Commitment by most that family choice is key Role being tested by pathfinders with representation across LA, VCS, heath, social care, community representatives, parent carer representatives Training, capacity We talked last time about the concept of keyworking as function rather than a specific job title, and we want to explore that more – particularly in situations where a child might need multiple statutory Plans Again, the culture change we need to effect in the workforce is a huge challenge

Pathfinder Emerging themes The local offer Involving local parents and young people in its development Provide clear information about what support is “normally available” from education, health and social care services to support disabled children and young people and those with SEN, and their families - and how to access it Provide information on how to seek support beyond provision that is “normally available” How far should it be prescribed nationally How does the local offer link with the EHC plan

Support team www.sendpathfinder.co.uk New ‘Food for thought’ section Pathfinder specific news Event write-ups Case studies Emerging themes ? Let us know your ideas

Keeping in touch Website www.sendpathfinder.co.uk Email pathfinder@mottmac.com Telephone 0207 651 0308