1. Making the ‘C’ count in EHC Plans
Bromley Parent Voice conference
Friday 7th October 2016
Debi Christie
16-25 Commissioning Manager
London Borough of Bromley

2. xx

3. What does the ‘C’ stand for in the EHC Plan?
Government’s word is Social Care, but what do we really mean?
We’ve all lived in ‘service land’ for 30 years
‘Service land’ means that we think of social care services
How might we think about what ‘C’ represents to make it more meaningful…..?
Connections
Inclusion
Enjoyment
Safe and Healthy
Well-being
We all have Social Needs but do we all have Social Care Needs?

4. Social Needs and Support Networks
Children and young people all have needs to keep well, be interested in life and feel connected
This could mean support to:
Develop and maintain well-being
Be connected and part of a community
Feel socially included
Families may be able to draw upon support, which could include:
Immediate family
Wider family
Friends and relationships
School/college and work
Community groups
Specific interest clubs
Voluntary sector activities and support
Universal healthcare providers
Important to remember that support networks for families look very different – one size doesn’t fit all

5. It may be useful to think
about a
relationship circle
Helps to think about the support that is already surrounding a child, young person and family
It can help to think about who people are and how they can help a child or young person have a full life
It is a way of identifying who is important to a child or young person and could highlight the people that should be involved in planning
It can also help to discover which relationships are important to maintain and develop

6. Aspirations EHC Plan – Section A
A hope or ambition of achieving something
Aspirations for Life:
Paid employment;
Independent living;
Community participation;
Good health
Long term aspirations are not outcomes in themselves… a local authority cannot be held accountable for the aspirations of a child or young person (CoP page 163)
Local Authorities must ensure that the EHC plan review at Year 9 includes a focus on preparing for adulthood. Planning must centre around the individual and explore the child or young person’s aspirations and abilities, what they want to be able to do when they leave post-16 education or training, and the support they need to achieve their ambition (CoP page 125)

7. EHC Plan – Sections B, C & D
Needs
EHC Plan – Sections B, C & D
Requiring something because it is essential or very important, rather than just desirable
A child or young person has special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty or disability, which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her (CoP page 15)
EHC plans must specify the special educational provision to meet each of the child’s special educational needs (CoP page 164)
EHC plans must also specify any health or social care needs a child has
Provision cannot be stated in this section and must be separated accordingly

8. Outcomes EHC Plan – Section E
The benefit or difference made to an individual as a result of an intervention. It should be personal and not expressed from a service perspective (CoP page 163)
The ‘so what’ question
What is important to them, and for them (CoP page 163)
SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound (CoP page 163)
Set out what needs to be achieved by the end of a phase or stage of education. Short term targets set outside the EHC plan (CoP page 164)
From Year 9 onwards, the nature of outcomes will reflect the need to ensure young people are focused on preparing for adulthood across the four life pathways (CoP page 163)

9. EHC Plan – Sections F, G & H
Provision
EHC Plan – Sections F, G & H
Provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children of the same age (CoP page 16)
Detailed, specific and normally quantified, in terms of type, hours and frequency of support and level of expertise, including where this support is secured through a personal budget (CoP page 166)
The LA must set out in its Local Offer an authority wide description of the special educational, training, health and social care provision it expects to be available in its area (CoP page 68)

10. Key things to consider when developing outcomes (1)
The Golden Thread
Aspirations, needs, outcomes and provision
Think about outcomes as steps on the journey towards the aspiration
Making use of existing resources
Make use of all available resources
Relationship circle (sometimes called circle of support)
Person Centred
Specific to the child or young person
Expressed from a personal perspective, not a service perspective

11. Key things to consider when developing outcomes (2)
Holistic
Multi agency approach where required
Provision section should set out what each agency or supporting role is doing to achieve the outcome
Outcomes and provision
Outcomes and provision must be kept separate
Outcomes must support aspirations
Learning from other young people and families about what has worked for them
Build on what is working well and address what is not working well

12. Using an Outcomes Pyramid to help ‘join the dots’

15. Testing the use of Outcome Pyramids in Bromley (1)
Small pilot using the outcome pyramids – pre-school, school and age and preparing for adulthood
Using the aspirations and needs from real EHC Plans to write outcomes and provision needed to achieve outcomes, with a focus on including non-statutory support to think more holistically
Feedback from parents
Very scary to think about aspirations, particularly at an early age
Some felt they were unable to think about long term goals
Some liked the idea of thinking to the future and one said that it ‘gave them hope’
Pyramids were a useful tool to try and ‘get your thoughts in line’
Good to think about non-statutory support - social care provision in the statutory sense can have negative connotations
The focus is really on ‘getting the placement’
Made it feel more ‘joined up’
Would be a good tool to help practitioners who are working with children, young people and families to have a more holistic conversation when developing EHC Plans

16. Testing the use of Outcome Pyramids in Bromley (2)
Feedback from practitioners
Helped structure thinking about a child or young person’s needs, linked to longer term outcomes and aspirations
Helped to think more holistically because it made you think about what other support (non-statutory) could be included
Felt like a logical way of thinking about the plan instead of completely separate sections
In completing this, it helped support much more confident and meaningful conversations with families and schools
Welcome the use of the pyramids to support practitioners think about the process differently
Next steps
Develop guidance for young people, families and practitioners about how the tool could be used
Training module to upskill practitioners across education, health and care
Support for schools and colleges
Informing the thinking around key working

17. Thank you