1. Achievement for All and other recent developments on SEND
Brian Lamb

2. Outcomes
“Educational Achivement for Children with SEN is too low and the gap with their peers too wide”
Lamb Inquiry
Parents wanted success for their children in a wide range of outcomes:
educational, emotional, social, behavioural.
Social outcomes were mentioned in 44% of parents’ responses.
39% of parents said that their child’s school or early years setting had not discussed outcomes with them.
Performance of children with SEN falls far below non SEN Peers

3. Parental Involvement
Lamb Inquiry- Evaluation of Parental Involvement Projects.
“Fundamental to success was the commitment of LAs to true, not tokenistic or paternalistic parental engagement and a clear aim to improve confidence and work collaboratively with parents.” “the specific focus was less important than the manner in which it was carried out, including the commitment of the LA and its engagement with parents.”

4. Pilot Programme Primary (85%) Secondary Special schools
454 schools in England Across 10 Local Authorities
Primary (85%)
Secondary
Special schools
Pupil Referral Units

5. Pilot results in 454 schools
37% of SEND pupils achieved or exceeded expected levels of progress in English compared to ALL pupils nationally
42% of SEND pupils achieved or exceeded expected levels of progress in Maths compared to all pupils nationally
10% drop in persistent absenteeism
36% increase in number of schools reporting that they now have excellent relationships with parents
clear improvement in pupils’ behaviour, along with reductions in bullying

6. National Evaluation
Many schools reported an increased awareness of and focus on SEND and inclusion issues
Many schools reported a greater emphasis on understanding and addressing pupils’ wider needs.
In many schools teachers began to take a more active role in the assessment and monitoring of pupils with SEND in their classrooms.
In many schools, continuing professional development (CPD) associated with Achievement for All, particularly around the structured conversations were applied more widely in day‐to‐day interactions with staff and non‐Achievement for All parents.

7. School Level
“In terms of the strategic leadership of the school …we meet with our School Improvement Partner termly and she looks at pupil progress data ... we look at the emerging trends, in terms of each year group to see whether there’s any patterns or under achievement. We talk to the teachers about what the priorities have been, who the target groups are and why and …we’ll talk about individual children, their performance, what are the potential barriers for learning for individual children …there are systems in place that never used to be in place before.” (School )

8. Structured conversations with parents
Used positive experience of parents who had attended to try and engage parents who had not attended
Picked parents up
School staff made home visit
Held meetings at most convenient time for parents

9. Not just another initiative
‘this one we can tailor very specifically, so we’re looking at it in a very different light. And for once we actually felt this is something we can see will make a difference with the children and we’re not doing it just because we are told this is what we have to do’ (School)

10. Achievement for All Extended
Success of AfA pilot framework resulted in Department for Education extending it to all schools in England announced in the Green Paper
To align it with SEND green paper (DfE, 2011) Achievement for All widened to cover 20% special educational needs and disabled learners and vulnerable learners

11. 4 Elements
Element 1 Leadership: to ensure schools maintain a sharp focus on the achievement, access and aspirations of the 20% vulnerable learners and those with SEND.
Element 2 High quality teaching and learning: leading to improved progress for all pupils (assessment and target setting).
Element 3 Structured conversations with parents/carers: to improve parents’/carers’ engagement with school and their involvement in their child’s learning and achievement.
Element 4 Wider outcomes: to support the participation, enjoyment and achievement of children in all elements of school life.

12. The Journey for Schools-Core programme elements
School Registers
AfA Achievement Coach allocated
School Champion appointed
Needs analysis with focus on SEND and vulnerable pupils

13. The Journey for Schools-elements tailored to each school
Develop Staff
Structured conversations
Develop Teaching and Learning
Increase opportunities for target children
Evaluate outcomes
Expand AfA to all pupils

14. Models of LA engagement
Basic: LA officers and Achievement for All -information given regarding schools registered and possible secondment of Achievement Coaches. LAs are agreeable for us to send information to their schools and give us access to meetings and conferences, especially HT and SENCO conferences
Standard: LA officers and Achievement for All -information given regarding schools registered and possible secondment of Achievement Coaches. LAs recommend Achievement for All to schools but do not give schools financial support to register nor release LA staff as coaches
Enhanced: The LA and Achievement for All 3As- work together to incorporate Achievement for All into LA suite of intervention programmes aimed at narrowing the gap or schools causing concern, etc. LA makes a financial contribution to schools to support registration and release LA staff to be trained and work as Achievement Coaches – effectively building AFA into the SI system for the LA.

15. Value for money?
Exclusions: the cost of one excluded child is in the region of £14,664pa
Persistent absence: dealing with each absentee cost is in the region of £1,696pa
Specialised interventions: intervention costs between £1,000 and £3,000pa
Disruption: costs of supporting a disruptive pupil in school are around £6000pa

16. Next Steps Roll out to all schools in England
Quality Mark and Quality Lead Status – OFSTED
National College – Leadership modules
Regional Surgeries
National Events
Increased working in partnership with Trusts, LA’s, SEN specialists, NASEN, CDC
Policy impact – Green Paper / DoH / Trusts / Schools

17. OFSTED Achievement of pupils at the school
When evaluating the achievement of pupils, inspectors consider:
how well disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs have achieved since joining the school
how well gaps are narrowing between the performance of different groups of pupils in the school and compared to all pupils nationally
how well pupils make progress relative to their starting points.

18. Personal Budgets
Sarah Teather
17th May
Select Committee
“A statutory duty that we are putting in place is the statutory duty to provide a personal budget, and that entitlement to a personal budget will put the bite on the system, meaning that people have to budget for it…..the legal entitlement to a personal budget- provides the bite in a different way, on the health service, so that the health service cannot avoid the issue.”

19. Personalisation and Personal Budgets?
The Special Educational Needs (Direct Payments) (Pilot Scheme) Order 2011has now been passed.
New section 532A creates a power for a local authority in England to make a direct payment for the purposes of securing goods and services in respect of a person for whom they maintain a statement of SEN; or a young person who is subject to a learning difficulty assessment by the authority. New section 532A(3) provides that direct payments can only be made in accordance with a pilot scheme made under section 532B.
New section 532B gives the Secretary of State the power to make pilot schemes by order, and stipulates certain matters that must be included in any pilot scheme.. Subsections (3) to (6) set out what the pilot scheme must make provision about, including who direct payments can be made to, how the amounts are to be calculated, and arrangements for monitoring the scheme. A pilot scheme may also include such other provision as the Secretary of State thinks appropriate. Subsections (7) to (10) provide that a pilot scheme may stipulate that goods and services purchased by a direct payment can be treated as provided or arranged by a local authority in pursuance of their relevant statutory duties, which are listed in subsection (9).
New section 532C requires that an order creating a pilot scheme must set out the local authorities that will take part in the scheme and how long it will last. The duration of an initial scheme is limited to a maximum of two years, but a scheme can be extended by order so long as it is not extended to continue past the date which is four years from the date this Act received Royal Assent.

20. Direct Payments
The pilot scheme allows direct payments to be made to parents of a beneficiary who has not attained the age of 16 and a beneficiary who has attained the age of 16 and who has capacity to consent to the making of direct payments to them. Payments may also be made to a nominee or a representative to enable parents or young people (aged over 16) who may not otherwise be able to or wish to do so to have the opportunity of direct payments.
The scheme safeguards the use of public funds through a requirement for local authorities to consider, before agreeing any individual direct payment, whether the payment is compatible with the local authority’s efficient use of its resources and that it will not have an adverse impact on services for other children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
The scheme will require local authorities to monitor the use of direct payments and, as a minimum, undertake a review within three months of the first payment being made and at the end of the first year of their use by an individual and thereafter at appropriate intervals. The pilot scheme will operate for two years.

21. For further info on Achievement for All www.afa3as.org.uk
To contact me