Implications of Part 3 of the Children and Families Act for children, young people, families and professionals Philippa Stobbs, Council for Disabled Children

Implications of Part 3 of the Children and Families Act for children, young people, families and professionals NatSIP National Working Day 4 June 2014 Philippa Stobbs Council for Disabled Children

Broad purposes of the legislation What they mean for different groups How they might be realised First steps in implementation and how this might affect what we achieve longer term

The information and support necessary to enable participation The culture change, s19 The views, wishes and feelings of the child and their parents, or the young person The importance of children, parents and young people participating ‘as fully as possible’ in decision-making The information and support necessary to enable participation Support to ‘achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes’

Young people in their own right from the end of statutory school age The culture change Young people in their own right from the end of statutory school age Disability included in the strategic duties in Part 3 Joint working across agencies, services and institutions: duties to co-operate, jointly commission and integrate

Participation in decision-making The big difference for children and families Should feel listened to Paperwork should reflect their views Should be involved, in all the meetings where decisions are made Should feel in control

What this means for professionals Listening to parents Parents in the meetings where decisions are made Involving parents in identification of SEN Being able to reflect views of children, young people and parents in reports Bringing relevant evidence and expertise to the discussion Additional time, SQW Period for transfer from statements to EHC plans

Information and support to enable participation Parent partnership services (PPS) become information, advice and support services (IASS) extended to include: health and social care IAS on disability children and young people Provision of Independent Support for 2 years over the period of transfer form statements to EHC plans

Information and support: local offer Developed with children, young people, parents, schools, colleges, other services Builds on existing legal requirements (e.g. short breaks statement) Includes what schools and others expected to provide from their delegated budget Using comments on the local offer to inform future commissioning

Information and support: Schools’ SEN Information Report Information about implementation of the school’s policy for pupils with SEN Must be on website Must be updated annually Includes a range of policies on: identification, involving parents, support at transition, staff expertise and training, how specialist expertise secured, how children with SEN engage in activities with others

Best possible educational and other outcomes EHC plans must focus on education and training, health and care outcomes that will enable progress Distinction between aspirations and outcomes ‘A benefit or difference made to an individual as a result of an intervention’ Personal and ‘not expressed from a service perspective’ and not a description of a service being provided What needs to be achieved by end of a phase or stage

Best possible educational and other outcomes To be able to go out with my friends To be in school more To have three hours speech and language therapy a week To be able to communicate with my friends at playtime To enjoy school To be able to travel to school on my own To recognise that the classroom is not a playground To get on to the college course I want

Best possible educational and other outcomes Challenges for professionals: Cultural and educational baggage Expectations Data Equality Act and entitlement Challenges for parents

Young people in their own right Young people in their own right from the end of statutory school age Rights to participate in decision-making transfer to young people Subject to mental capacity Anticipated that ‘in the great majority of cases’ parents will continue to be involved, or will be asked to act on behalf of their child

Young people in their own right Children and preparing for decision-making Establishing child’s preferred method of communication Challenges for parents and for young people Challenges for professionals Where there is disagreement

Disability included in strategic duties in Part 3 Overlap: estimates suggest 75% disabled children may have SEN Children and Families Act 2014 and Equality Act 2010, SEND Code of Practice Section 100 C&FA, duties on schools in relation to pupils with medical conditions Individual benefits: thinking about reasonable adjustments and special educational provision together Strategic benefits: planning across both groups

Joint working across agencies Integrate services to promote the well-being Joint commissioning by local authorities and clinical commissioning groups Requirement to co-operate to meet EHC needs: Schools Colleges Local authorities, including social care Alternative provision Health agencies LAs to keep education & social care under review

The information and support necessary to enable participation The culture change, s19 The views, wishes and feelings of the child and their parents, or the young person The importance of children, parents and young people participating ‘as fully as possible’ in decision-making The information and support necessary to enable participation Support to ‘achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes’

Building a change in culture Developing a common understanding and language Embedding change in strategic and individual planning Planning for success in early encounters Workforce development Building on existing mechanisms and creating new ones