Assessment, EHC Plans and Personal Budgets Andrea Scrivens, 28 April 2014

Starting assumption An Education, Health and Care Plan should be as good as, if not better than, a statement.

What does ‘better’ mean? An increased focus on outcomes Children having their needs rigorously assessed and identified Parents having confidence in the process and assessment Parents having communication with professionals early in the process Lamb Report (2009)

SEN Support School Action and School Action Plus are now merged. Schools should follow an “assess, plan, do, review” cycle, involving external professionals where necessary (Draft Code of Practice, 5.35, 6.40). No requirement to produce an IEP, but, “Schools should particularly record details of additional or different provision....A local authority that is considering or carrying out a statutory assessment of the pupil’s needs, will wish to review such information.” (6.68)

Requesting a statutory assessment Can be requested by parents and young people over 16 (or their advocate), EY practitioners, schools, post-16 institutions and many others, including foster carers and health and social care professionals. (9.7) Evidence will need to be gathered about the nature and extent of the child’s SEN, evidence of the action already being taken to meet the SEN, evidence that where progress has been made, it is only as a result of much additional effort and support at a sustained level over and above that which is usually provided. (9.13)

Requesting an assessment LAs must inform parents of their decision (whether or not to assess) within six weeks of the request and must give reasons for the decision. (9.15)

Better assessments...

Better Assessment, Better Plans, Better Outcomes Framework Purpose: To provide a multi-disciplinary framework for the assessment of the need of a child or young person with sensory impairment.

Drawing up a plan New process is shorter. Reduced from 26 to 20 weeks from receipt of request to issuing final plan. (See process chart on p.140 of draft CoP) Plans should be clear, concise, understandable and accessible to parents, CYP and providers/practitioners. (9.59)

Drawing up a plan Must be evidence-based and focus on how best to achieve outcomes.(9.59) LAs must give parents and YP 15 days to consider draft plans and give views and ask for a particular school/other institution to be named.(9.39)

Content of a plan Must include, as lettered, but in any order: A:views, interests and aspirations of the CYP and their parents; B:description of SEN; C: the child or YP’s health needs which are related to their SEN; D: social needs related to SEN; E: outcomes sought for the child or YP, including outcomes for adult life;

Content of a plan F: special educational provision required by the child/YP. G: any health provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN, and where an Individual Health Care Plan is made for them, that plan;

Content of a plan H1: any social care provision which must be made for a child or young person under 18 resulting from section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970; H2: any other social care provision reasonably required by the learning difficulties or disabilities which result in the child or young person having SEN;

Content of a plan I: the name and type of the school, maintained nursery school, post-16 institution or other institution to be attended by the child or young person and the type of that institution; J: details of personal budget if parents/YP have opted for this;

Content of a plan K: The advice and information gathered during the EHC needs assessment must be attached (in appendices). There should be a list of this advice and information.

The search for the ‘perfect EHCP’ Collected many examples of EHCPs from across the country Most emerging from clear processes involving strong parental engagement Most have the required sections from the Draft SEN COP and are 18-22+ pages long Some exceedingly artistic and creative formats Most have had some interesting, good parts: - - some excellent one page summaries - good ideas for tables for outcomes etc.

BUT, not found yet……… Sometimes there is lack of clarity about the CYP’s SEN – lost in continuous prose Basic information can be repeated especially when the CYP’s story written in the first person Hard evidence based information (especially assessment) often not recorded or cited Confusion around outcomes, aspirations etc and their timescales – lack of clarity in the Draft SEN COP on this Some are going to be difficult to review due to lack of clarity around outcomes

What might a plan look like? DRAFT model Education Health and Care Plan:  “Kirsty” Hearing impaired child, aged 4 (See copy in delegate pack)  

The ‘search’ for the perfect EHCP continues……… If you would like to help by trialling resources and/or giving comments on publications, please contact: lilias.reary@natsip.org.uk

Personal budgets: delivery Can be delivered four ways: Direct payments. Funding is delegated to the family or young person who directly manage it themselves. Notional or organised budget. Funding is retained by the local authority who commission the support required on behalf of the parent or young person.

Personal budgets: delivery Third party arrangements. Funding is paid to an individual or organisation nominated by the family or young person, who manage the funding on their behalf. This is sometimes known as an individual service fund. Schools or post 16 institution or local parent groups, for example, could act as a nominee. A combination of the above.

Personal budgets: entitlement Parents and young people over the age of 16 have the right to request a personal budget during the planning or review process for an EHCP. LAs have a duty to consider any such request. They may provide direct payments only if they are satisfied that:

Personal budgets: entitlement the recipient will use them to secure the agreed provision in an appropriate way; where the recipient is the child’s parent or a nominee, that person will act in the best interests of the child/YP; it will not have an adverse impact on services provided to other children/YP; it is an efficient use of resources.

What can a personal budget be used for? A Personal Budget is an amount of money identified by the local authority to deliver provision set out in an EHC plan where the parent or young person is involved in securing that provision (9.92) Can’t be used to buy a place at a school or post 16 institution. (Draft regulations, 6(2))

What can a personal budget be used for? Won’t normally be used for a service provided by a school or college from its own budget as part of the local offer.

Personal budgets: level of funding They must be set at a level that will secure the provision specified in the EHC plan. If a direct payment is not set at a suitable level, it must be reviewed and adjusted. (9.116)

Naming an education provider The draft plan must not include the name of a school or other education provider. LAs must have regard to the general principle in section 9 of the Education Act 1996 that children must be educated in accordance with their parents’ wishes so long as this is compatible with the efficient education of others and does not mean unreasonable expenditure. (9.82)