Outcome Focused Plans

What is an outcome ? How would you describe this to a child/young person/parent. ?

What is an outcome ? “An outcome can be defined as the benefit or difference made to an individual as a result of an intervention. “ pg 163 SEN and Disability Code of Practice : July

A Personal Outcome should Keep something working Change something that isn’t working Move some one closer to the future they want.

What does the code say ? “ Outcomes should always enable children to move towards the long term aspirations of employment or higher education, independent living and community participation. “ Pg 162 SEN and Disability Code of Practice: July 2014

Independence for the long term You will be working on different things for different children at different times in their school career but when considering outcomes it is important to keep the long term in mind. i.e. What do we want this child to be able to do by the time they become an adult ?

What does the code say “ Outcomes are not the description of a service being provided “ They are the expected benefit to the individual of receiving the service or intervention. e.g. Josh will be able to tie his shoelaces by Xmas 2015 not Josh will receive six 1:1 OT sessions.

What does the code say “ Long term aspirations are not outcomes in themselves ….. The local authority cannot be held accountable for the aspirations of a child or young person “ pg 163

BUT ……… An outcome is not any use if it does not mean anything to the child or their family. Outcomes should move people in the direction of their aspiration. Whose Outcome is it ?

Just learnt to read and write, Still not got a grasp of basic maths Is learning to look after her rabbit, watches Young Vets on TV. Qualifications Experience To be a Vet Jane’s Plan To get a qualification in animal welfare.

Not just better bits of paper… Help people get better lives

What does the code say ? “ EHC plans should be clear, concise, understandable and accessible to parents, children, young people, providers and practitioners. They should be written so they can be understood by professionals in any local authority “ pg 160 SEN and Disability Code of Practice : July 2014

What did you do last weekend? Outcomes-What does that mean? Using Person Centred Approaches!

My Day – a life in adult services This morning I woke up, and straight away began to attend to my personal care routine for which I only require verbal prompts. I made an informed choice about my self-presentation. Over our breakfast I engaged in a conversational interaction with the gentleman / lady who is the other resident of my accommodation “what activity would you like to participate in this weekend? Should we stay at home and participate in our relaxation programme, engage in a learning opportunity or would you prefer to go on an outing?” “An outing?” said my housemate /partner/ resident “Yes, we could access the community independently as part of our broad and balanced programme of activities ” “Why don’t we attend bowling with the other Ladies and Gentleman at Tyne St?” “That is not one of our planned activities for today and changing our routine may render our risk assessment inappropriate and invalid, let’s invite them over to our house for an afternoon playing pool”

“Don’t you remember what happened last time they attended? They had a negative interaction with alcohol and began to display challenging behaviours. Remember how Pete won the game, and Carole became verbally aggressive toward him? We had to de- escalate the situation to avoid an adverse incident. Not to mention your behaviour, you began to vocalise repetitively, and became inappropriately tactile. I felt so wound up I nearly absconded. I had to PRN myself later because I was so agitated.” “Well then, why don’t we just make an informed choice to access a restaurant in the community?” “Great idea, shall we go on one-to-one or shall we socialise with a few of our peers” ???????????

“ Josh will self – regulate sensory information by the end of key stage 1” What does this mean to you ?

Write Specific Outcomes “ By the end of key Stage 1 Josh will tell us when he needs to get out of his chair for a break rather than running up and down in the classroom.”

Outcomes must be S pecific M easurable / M eaningful A chievable R ealistic T ime bound

Johnny A plan defined his outcomes as; To be as independent as possible to improve his health and well being. To attend a youth club once a week for social stimulation. To make further academic progress at Smithsville College. What is wrong with these as outcomes ? How would you rewrite them ?

Questions to consider when writing outcomes. Is the outcome realistic and achievable if we work hard ? Does it take the person closer to their aspirations and what is important to them ? Does the outcome change something that is not working or build on something that is working ? Have we considered long term independence? Have we said what the person will have achieved or just written the description of a service ? Is the outcome written in a way everyone can understand ? How will we know when we have reached the outcome ? Have we defined when we expect to reach the outcome ?