1. Implementation of the SEND Reforms
SEN Fest
Newcastle College,
Jane Carr
Team Leader, FE implementation, 0-25 SEND Unit 1

2. SEND Implementation Survey February 2015: Key findings
Assessment Compliance:
93% of LAs - extremely or very confident that their EHC pathways comply with the Code.
20 weeks:
59% of LAs - extremely or very confident about meeting 20 weeks.
New assessment requests:
22% of LAs - same number of new requests in first 6 months of new system compared to a year ago;
33% of LAs - more and
45% - fewer.
Year 1 priority transfers:
40% of LAs - extremely or very confident that those expected to transfer to EHC plans will do so within the required timescale.
How well practitioners are ensuring that families are experiencing person-centred review as part of EHC needs assessment pathways:
Extremely well – 36%
Quite well – 57%
Limited progress – 7%
Local Offer:
100% published – range of quality .

3. SEN 2 Data (Jan 2015) (published May 2015, pertaining to 2014)
240,000 have EHC plans or statements/LDAs
Over 4,000 children and young people had an EHC plan – 1/3 new assessments
Nos with a statement or EHC plan increased by c. 3,000.
No of new assessments dropped by about 2,000;
Significant increase in assessments for under 5s;
90% statements completed in time; 65% of new EHC plans were completed in 20 weeks;
165 EHC plans included a personal budget.

4. Colleges – progress
Engaging young people and families – Young people and families feel there is a more ‘wrap-around’ process and the new system will be better when working properly.
Enthusiasm – local authorities and colleges are overwhelmingly positive and willing to respond to the challenge of the reforms.
Positive relationships – closer relationships between colleges and LAs being developed in some cases, and between colleges and schools. Some colleges have taken on informal local leadership role.
Study programmes –some examples of creative practice, with tailored study programmes for every SEND learner, and a mixture of college and non-college based provision.
Workforce – most colleges have assigned a member of the college SMT to oversee the reforms. Some colleges are employing EHC plan co-ordinators and have re-structured work portfolios of other staff members. 4

5. Colleges - Challenges
Leadership being bought in – some learning support managers feel that management not on board with reforms, with too many other competing priorities.
Answers are not all cut and dried – the system is new and still bedding in, and even we at DfE don’t always have all the answers! We and SEN Advisors are receiving a large volume of queries from LAs on post-16 issues.
Funding – funding system does not always support reforms. Disagreements between colleges and LAs unhelpful and time consuming.
EHC Plans – some colleges are getting Plans late, or getting Plans with insufficient detail to be able to design appropriate study programmes. Writing outcomes remains an issue.
Making sure reforms lead to real changes – not just about paperwork/legal duties, but having flexible, creative provision which leads to better outcomes.
EHC assessment and planning – concerns about college capacity to effectively support EHC assessment and planning, particularly in terms of staff time needed to plan for and attend annual reviews. 5

6. What’s DfE doing? SEND Advisors - working with local authorities.
Ofsted - influencing the CIF and Handbook, review into high needs learners.
Regional workshops for LAs and colleges - in March (led by NDTi/PfA) on practical issues around EHC plans. More workshops planned for October/November around writing outcomes and designing study programmes.
Delivery support grants and contracts – Achievement for All (implementation reviews in 40 colleges), Ambitious About Autism (‘achieving at college’ project targeting 70 colleges with training on school-to-college transition and creating a PfA-focused curriculum.) LA delivery support contract – Regional Leads and PfA developing regional training events and targeted support for individual LAs/colleges. Regional lead in NE is Durham.
Ongoing monitoring and issue resolution - including visits in summer term to colleges across country to assess how things are going after most EHC Plans for Y11s completed.
SEND FE sector working group – advising DfE on front-line issues and developing solutions.
FE workforce improvement - working with BIS/ ETF to ensure that work to improve the FE workforce has a positive impact on students with SEND and that programmes to enhance the workforce, improve leadership and train new teachers all consider the needs of students with SEND. 6

7. Further Information
SEN gateway with all information, training materials and advice funded by DfE and produced by voluntary and community organisations on SEND:
Information on LA delivery support, including Regional Leads:
Preparing for Adulthood support materials:
Quick Guide to the Code for FE:
Supplementary materials for FE providers on AoC website, including a slide pack for staff and governors:

8. Further Information (cont.)
AoC – case studies and materials from events on the reforms:
ETF excellence gateway SEN platform (good practice examples and other tools e.g. RARPA) -
Supported Internships:
EFA High Needs Funding webpage-
16 – 25 High Needs Funding: Additional Information -