0. Lessons learned from the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEN&D) Pathfinder Programme
Meera Craston, Director, SQW
Lead for the National Evaluation of the SEN&D Pathfinder Programme
4th June 2014 – NatSIP National Working Day

1. An introduction to the SEN&D Pathfinder Evaluation
Evaluation led by SQW, in association with Ipsos MORI, OPM & BPSR
Commissioned by the Department for Education in September 2011
Original aims of the evaluation were to consider if the pathfinders…
Increase real choice and control, and improve outcomes for families from a range of backgrounds with children and young people with SEN and disabilities
Make the current support system for children and young people with SEN and disabilities, and their parents or carers more transparent, less adversarial and less bureaucratic
Introduce greater independence into the assessment process by using the voluntary sector
Demonstrate the value for money by looking at the cost of reform and benefits
…and, was a need to comprehensively understand the processes and approaches that were developed to deliver the new system

2. Evaluation undertaken in two phases…
Phase One (Sept 11 – July 13)
Evaluated activity undertaken over first 18 months of the programme
Focus
Understanding approaches adopted to deliver the new processes
Assessing experiences and outcomes of initial cohort of participating families
Approaches used
Area case studies
Collection of monitoring data
Parent carer survey
Qualitative in-depth work with participating families
Staff work and satisfaction survey
Phase two (Jun 13 – Mar 15)
Evaluating activity undertaken in second 18 months of the programme
Focus
Understand progress made as transition from initial trials to roll out
Assess experiences and outcomes of second cohort of participating families
Approaches being used
Thematic case studies
Second parent carer survey
Qualitative in-depth work with participating families
England wide survey to assess readiness to meet the reforms

3. What have we learnt to date?

4. Initial cohort - Families’ experience of the process
Overall, the results show statistically robust improvement in families’ experience of the process
Pathfinder families more likely than comparison families to strongly agree that they understood the assessment and planning process (38% vs. 27%)
Pathfinder families more likely to strongly agree that their views had been taken into consideration (49% vs. 32%)
Pathfinder families more satisfied with the assessment and planning process (35% vs. 27%)
Pathfinder parents were more likely to ‘strongly agree’ that the different services involved in the assessment and planning process worked closely together (35% vs. 21%)

5. Initial cohort - Families’ experience of the process 2
However,
While the level of dissatisfaction had declined
… the extent of change reported was often not large
In part because quite a lot of satisfaction to start with
… and on some key indicators still some way to go
Just 17% of comparison families said had not understood the old process (compared to 11% of pathfinder families re the new process)
20% disagreed that their views were taken in to account (9%)
21% disagreed that they were listened too (7%)
29% disagreed that decisions reflected family views (14%)
32% disagreed services worked well together (21%)
34% said info not shared well (19%)

6. Positive impacts related to…
The role of the key worker
Parents’ capacity to take part in the process
A sense that all the required professionals had engaged
Activities and decision making had been transparent
The EHC Plan reflected families’ needs
Worked best where
Had knowledge of the child
Effectively combined different strands of info
Attentive and responsive
Able to influence others
Provided advice, were fair and impartial
Had experience of the ‘system’

7. Despite the improvements in the experience
No real change in outcomes
No consistent statistical evidence of the pathfinder approach having had an impact on wider child and parent outcomes (quality of life)
The evaluation identified that the pathfinder programme has had positive impacts in terms of parents’ understanding of the process, and how family-centred and joined up the process is
… however, there was still some distance to go on some key metrics
…further assessment being undertaken in phase two of the evaluation

8. Access the pathfinder evaluation reports here:
Contact
Meera Craston
Director
SQW t e. w.
Access the pathfinder evaluation reports here: