Consulting with parents Nicola Ward Regional Director, London Nicola.ward@ndcs.org.uk

What will be covered? Why consult with parents? How? NDCS Strategic engagement What do parents say? Why is consultation with parents important? Feedback from parents to services Feedback from services to parents A Parent’s perspective

Why consult with parents? A major strategic aim of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms, embodied in the Children and Families Act (2014), was to enhance parental confidence in the special educational needs system. Growing body of evidence that: Greater the level of parental engagement, especially at the level of good home school working, the more likely children are to achieve better progression, attainment and outcomes Greater parental involvement leads to more appropriate services and effective use of resources in areas such as short breaks and other statutory services. Transparency and joint working can improve parental confidence and the working relationships between parents and schools, and parents and the LA Parents tell us Some parts of this presentation and references are taken from a paper written by Brian Lamb which will be published soon in the Journal of Special Educational Needs

Strategic Local Authority, health and commissioning requirements Duty to consult: On Local Offer and to keep the Local Offer under review and report on comments On joint commissioning of services On changes to SEND services With parents in the delivery of services and produce better outcomes (Sections 19, 23, 25, 28,29, 30, and 31 of the Children and Families Act 2014; The Care Act 2014; Health and Social Care Act 2012; Chapters 3 and 4 Code of Practice) There are key sections in the legislation which indicate when parent and children and young people consultation is necessary On this slide I have indicated the key sections of the Children and Families Act 2014, the Care Act 2014, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and the Code of Practice. These refer to the duty to consult on the local offer, joint commissioning of services, changes to SEND services and with parents in the delivery of services to produce better outcomes.

Assessment process and parental relationships with services Duty to consult with parents/carers in the production of an EHC Plan. Duty to discuss and potentially offer personal budgets. (Sections 36 – 50 of the Children and Families Act 2014; Chapter 9 Code of Practice (2015a))

How enforceable are consultation and planning duties for parents? Early judgement against Warwickshire’s Local Offer showed that the adequacy of the Offer could be legally challenged and improvement required if necessary (L&P,R 2015). Nevertheless much of the change being sought in the system is cultural (Lamb 2013). The legislation is trying to frame expectations and change behaviour.

NDCS Strategic engagement National Parent Carer Forums Ofsted/CQC inspections CHSWG EHC Plans SEN reviews and service restructuring The Local Offer

Parent carer forums Parent “I signed up to the parent carer forum via their website, which is clear and informative. My experience was very positive – the forum was well organised by knowledgeable parents. There is strength in numbers as there are lots of parents involved, and they are all in a similar position. I would attend again if I wanted to raise an issue with a wider group of parents, but it would be good to have more parents of deaf children involved.”

Ofsted/CQC inspections Parents comments “It was nice to let our feelings be known about the state of SEN service in the borough” ..”as the lead inspector spent the first 20 minutes explaining the changes in the law and what they wanted to hear, it didn’t leave a lot of time. Most participants hadn’t heard of the local offer. 67% of parents hadn’t been involved in identifying and planning the area’s needs. 70 parents took part” “The webinar was great, I wish it would have lasted longer and asked more questions. Would be nice if we could get a copy of the slides that were shown.”

What do parents say?

Why is consultation with parents important? “We are the users of the service on behalf of our children so consulting us should help improve the service” “Parents feel there is little interest in their views by professionals. A direct request from a person by phone or email would make them feel more valued”

“Parents would like to see commissioners take a more proactive attitude to preventing problems” “More effort needs to be put into accessing a wide range of service users to obtain their feedback.” “It is important because I don’t think that parents needs are always well understood. It seems odd to set strategic direction without understanding the needs of the end user” “I can’t stress enough how important it is for Commissioners to show parents they are listening to constructive comments and suggestions.”

How would parents like to provide feedback to local services? Parents meetings with professionals 1-3 times a year Feedback form after a visit Online survey (or paper) x1 per year Feedback via mobile phone Range of methods

Importance of feed back to parents “Informed of outcome by letter and email” “Great to be given an opportunity to provide feedback but it would have been better to receive a follow-up to points that were raised to know that my feedback was taken into consideration and what was done to improve the services” “May have felt included in process and listened to but unclear in relation to whether service improved as a result”

How to contact us!! NDCS Helpline 0808 800 8880 London Regional Director Nicola.ward@ndcs.org.uk