Information, Advice and Support Services Waltham Forest 17 th March

1. Information, Advice and Support Services Waltham Forest 17th March

2. The Information, Advice and Support Service Network • The Information, Advice and Support Service Network (formerly the National Parent Partnership Network - NPPN) was established in 1995 under the auspices of the Council for Disabled Children (CDC) to support, develop and promote the work of parent partnership services (PPS) – now IAS Services. The IASS Network is funded by the Department for Education (DfE).

3. IAS Duties – Key Legislation/Documents • Key legislation/guidance which guides new Information, Advice and Support Obligations: • Children & Families Act 2014 • Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 • SEND Code of Practice

4. C&F Act: Section 32 – Advice & Information

5. Parent & CYP Participation C&F Act: Section 19 - Local Authorities MUST have regard to: • Views, wishes and feelings of the child and his or her parent, or the young person • Importance of the child and parent, or the young person, participating as fully as possible in decisions • Importance of the child and parent, or the young person, being provided with the information and support to enable participation in decisions; • Need to support the child and parent, or the young person, to achieve the best possible outcomes.

6. Joint Commissioning of IAS Service • C&F Act: Section 26 - Joint commissioning arrangements must include arrangements for considering and agreeing — • What advice and information is to be provided about education, health and care provision; • By whom, to whom and how such advice and information is to be provided; • AND • SEND CoP: 2.6 - The design and commissioning of the IAS Service should involve CYP and parents

7. Provision of Impartial IAS - SEND Code of Practice • A dedicated and easily identifiable service; • Built on existing Parent Partnership Service to create an Information, Advice and Support Service; • Young people and children must be able to access IAS independently from their parents; • Should be impartial, confidential, arms length, free and accessible; • Information, Advice and Support Services should be impartial, confidential and accessible and should have the capacity to handle face-to-face, telephone and electronic enquiries.

8. IAS - What Should be Provided? • Local policy and practice; • The local offer; • Personalisation and personal budgets; • Education law on SEN and related law on disability, health and social care, through suitably independently trained staff; • Helping children, young people and parents to gather, understand and interpret information and apply it to their own situation; and • Provision of advice through individual casework and representation for those who need it.

9. Continued • support in attending meetings, contributing to assessments and reviews and participating in decisions about outcomes for the child or young person; • directing children, young people, parents and those who support and work with them to additional support services where needed; • supporting children, young people and parents in arranging or attending early disagreement resolution meetings; • supporting children, young people and parents in managing mediation, appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability), exclusions and complaints on matters related to SEN and disability.

10. Working together • Children, young people and parents should be involved in the commissioning of the local IASS • Staff providing information, advice and support should work in partnership with children, young people, parents, local authorities, CCGs and other relevant partners. – supporting everyone to get the best outcomes possible. • Staff providing IAS should work with their local PCF and other representative user groups…..to ensure that the views and experiences of children, young people and parents inform policy and practice.

11. Health and Social Care - IAS duties • The Care Act requires local authorities to establish and maintain a service which must provide information and advice relating to care and support for adults and support for carers (of adults). • The Health and Social Care Act 2012 shifted responsibility for provision of Independent Complaints Advocacy Services from the Secretary of State for Health to local authorities from April 2013. • Health Watch – consumer champion, representing user views, signposting and may provide advocacy on complaints.

12. IAS - Children and Young People Expectation that many children and young people will receive IAS via or alongside their parents But… Local authorities must also ensure that they (CYP) are able to receive IAS separately from their parents

13. Rights to Decision Making • All children, young people and parents have a right to IAS, regardless of their age or mental capacity. • When a child reaches the end of compulsory school age, rights to make decisions around Education, Health and Care plans transfer from the parent to the young person. • If parents and young people do not agree post – 16, the young person’s decision will prevail. • As is the case with parents, young people’s rights to make decisions are subject to them having the mental capacity to do • So….

14. Mental Capacity Act 2005 – Five Key Principles • A person should make their own decisions unless it can be shown that they need support. • A person should be given as much support as possible to make their own decision. • A person is allowed to make an unwise decision • When a person can’t make their own decision about something, other people must act in his/her best interest. • Every decision made must respect the person’s right to freedom

15. Young People – what decisions? • The right to request an EHC assessment • The right to make representations about the content of their plan • The right to request a particular institution is named in the plan • The right to request a personal budget • The right to appeal to the SEND Tribunal

16. Parents • Even if the young person has decision making rights, parents can still access IAS Services on behalf, or with, the young person. • If parents and young people disagree, then IAS Staff should work impartially and separately with both the parents and young people. • In the vast majority of cases, young people should be encouraged to include their parents in the decisions= making process.

17. What does this mean for children? • 1. Children and young people have a separate right of access to confidential IASS.. • 2. Parents will not generally have a right to be informed about a child’s or young person’s access to IAS – nor indeed do other organisations such a local authorities or schools.

18. IASS Network - Some of things we provide • Quality Standards (endorsed by DfE) for the provision of impartial Information Advice and Support through IAS Services Longer term there will be a quality assurance scheme • SEND legal advisers training - 3 levels, covering the new framework, health, social care, exclusions, mental capacity and more… accredited by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. • A series of resources and information explaining the new SEND framework to be used by IAS Services for leaflets/websites etc. • A dedicated member of staff looking at supporting IAS Services in the provision of IAS to children and YP.

19. Continued • Health Training • Providing IAS to children and young people – including resources, guidance, regional training days (jointly produced and delivered by YP), dedicated website area and a toolkit. • Looked after • Residential • Young offenders • Data collection

20. Information Advice and Support Services Network Website - www.iassnetwork.org.uk Email – iassn@ncb.org.uk Phone – 0207 843 1900