400 likes | 408 Views
Join us in November 2017 to discuss national developments, current SEND status in Nottingham, school funding, and more. Engage with experts to influence future SEND support and provision.
E N D
Nottingham City SEND StrategyConsultation with SchoolsNovember 2017
Aims of the day • Update on national developments • To understand the current picture of SEND in Nottingham • To be updated on the schools funding formula and data projections • Opportunity to share ideas and shape future SEND support and provision
The National PictureCharlie Palmer, DfE Regional SEND AdviserPat Bullen, East Midlands SEND Reforms Lead
Overview of Reforms (Children and Families Act 2014) • 0-25 years Education Health and Care (EHC) Plans have replaced statements and LDAs • SEN Support has replaced school action and school action plus • Local Offer sets out provision for children and young people • Joint Commissioning arrangements must be in place • New requirements for Parent and Carer Forums, Strategic Partners, IASS, Mediation and Disagreement Resolution • New SEND Code of Practice • Local Area Reviews by OFSTED
Where are we now? • 36,000 new EHC Plans issued and 59,545 transfers in 2016, across England • 66% of families satisfied with new arrangements- 13,000 families (CEDAR Research 2017) • Parents typically report good level of strategic engagement with LAs via Parent and Carers Forums • EHC Plans are improving across the country: with outcomes and provision being better specified, and more involvement of child/young person
National Challenges • Increasing complaints to Ombudsman (109 15/16 to 217 16/17), 79% upheld (average 53%) but 95,000 EHC Plans issued in 2016. • Ombudsman cases were 0.23% of EHC Plans issued • Completing the transfer of statements to EHC Plans • Exclusions of children with SEN are high • Building capacity and confidence of mainstream providers
Local Area Inspection Framework • In reaching their judgements, inspectors, in line with the requirements of the Code of Practice, will pay particular attention to: • the accuracy and rigour of the local area’s self-evaluation and • how this is being used with partners to develop an effective strategy • Monitoring and evaluation processes to ensure the • strategy is improving outcomes for children and young • people with SEND
Local Area SEND inspections: one year on • Reports from local area inspections to date have identified varying levels of success in the delivery of the new reforms nationally • In the most effective of local areas inspected, strong strategic leadership had led to established joint working between education, health and care services. This underpinned their success when implementing the reforms
Lenehan Review Nov 17 Good intentions, good enough? A review of the experiences and outcomes of children and young people in residential special schools and colleges Commissioned by previous Minister for Children & Families, Ed Timpson, following the initial report for DH, ‘These are our children’ January 2017
Lenehan- recommendations • Recommendations for DfE • The DfE should consider how the mainstream school and college workforce can improve their understanding of the reasons for challenging behaviour, and the proactive steps they can take to reduce it for children with autism and SEMH. • The DfE should develop a strategy to ensure mainstream schools and colleges can meet the needs of children and young people with SEND. This should include providing greater incentives to schools and colleges to do their best for this cohort, and ensuring that leaders in mainstream have the skills and vision to meet these children and young people’s needs. • The DfE should ensure that LAs are offering sufficient short breaks to the families of children and young people with SEND.
Lenehan- recommendations • The DfE should support LAs, working with CCGs as necessary, to make the best use of data and forecast need effectively, and give them an avenue through which to create new provision where a requirement is identified. Providers should also be involved in these discussions. • The DfE should work with LAs to improve understanding of when is and isn’t appropriate to contest a parents’ or young person’s choice of placement, and the SEND Tribunal should produce a regular digest of significant cases to reinforce this learning.
Lenehan – recommendations for LAs • Local authorities, working regionally with CCGs, parents and young people, should plan and commission provision strategically to meet upcoming patterns of demand, locally where possible. To support this, local authorities should build understanding and data about local and regional trends in SEND needs.
Purpose of an SEND Strategy • Opportunity to create a shared view of issues and actions with partners about SEND • Take up National Funding Formula Opportunities for Strategy Review • Bring partners together in a shared understanding of the area • Combat exclusionary pressures in the system • Local Area Inspection/ self evaluation • Reporting a complex area to elected members and boards • Improving progress and outcomes for CYP with SEND
Strategy Requirements • Vision and purpose (what are we trying to achieve) • Summary of where we are now (LA process data, needs analysis, provision map and outcomes) • Resources (current) • The gaps - what needs to change / be done differently going forward • Summary of priorities for development with timescales and with attached detailed Action Plan • How the plan will be resourced (expected resources and potential grant resources for new developments) • Expectations on improving outcomes and how strategy will be reviewed.
Financial Context • Overview of high needs funding arrangements • National high needs formula design • Technical changes affecting schools • Impact on Nottingham City • Profile of current high needs spend • Benchmarking findings • Budget pressures • Capital funding
Overview • New national funding formula for high needs underpins high needs block allocation from 2018/19 onwards • Move from a system based on historic spend to one based on proxy indicators of need • Flexibility to transfer up to 0.5% of schools block funding into the high needs budget, with the agreement of schools forum • Around a 0.5% per annum uplift in high needs allocation on a per head population basis for the next 2 years • There is a 3% per head cap on gains
High needs national funding formula • This is how each local authority’s high needs allocation is calculated. The EFA funds gains of up to 3% per head of population for those local authorities due to receive more than their 2017-18 baseline through the formula
High needs formula weightings These are the final values and weightings for the factors and adjustments in the national high needs funding formula.
Technical changes affecting schools • Core per pupil funding for pupils in special resource units will be funded via the schools block from 2018/19 • Not possible to identify a notional SEN budget under the national schools funding formula • Importance of accurately recording top-up flag against high needs pupils on school census
Impact on Nottingham City • Nottingham is due to be the highest gaining LA in percentage terms (23%) • Our full NFF high needs allocation is £6.745m higher than our 2017/18 baseline • BUT our gains will be capped at 3% per head of population for at least the next 2 years • Projected increase of around £1.049m in 2018/19 and £1.869m in 2019/20 • BUT we are currently overspending by £2.440m • Funding increases from 2020 subject to next Spending Review
Benchmarking • DfE benchmarking tool provides comparative costs per head of 2-18 population (as at 2016/17) • Can also compare to statistical neighbours. Due to our demographics we would expect overall higher spend per head than the national average (by £22 according to new NFF)
Budget pressure (1) – ASD pupils • Analysis of trends in HLN top-up pupils (mainstream and special) by primary need identifies ASD pupils as the one group that are growing significantly in numbers • In 2014, there were on average across the City 19 primary ASD top-up pupils per year group but this has now risen to 30 (a 57% increase) • Secondary numbers are likely to double by 2025 once these pupils transition through, a forecast increase of 110 • Supporting an extra 110 pupils in mainstream would require around £0.835m per year from the high needs budget. Supporting them in special school would cost £1.893m.
Budget pressure (2) – SEMH pupils • The cohort of SEMH top-up pupils is very dynamic • Around 19% of all pupils with a recorded primary need of SEMH receive top-up funding • Nearly a third of pupils in mainstream receiving top-up funding have a primary need of SEMH • The number of permanently excluded pupils continues to rise • Of 300 pupils on roll at the PRUs in June 2017 only about 10% had a history of receiving top-up funding when in mainstream • A proportion of the new HN NFF allocation is notionally for AP. This works out to around £4.9m of our full allocation, or £4.0m of the capped 2018/19 allocation. • Our current level of spend on permanently excluded pupils exceeds our current notional AP allocation by £1.7m
Capital Funding Constraints • Capital Funding is becoming tighter.
Capital Funding Available • Specific Capital Funding for provision of pupils with high needs. A total of £1.258 million over three years starting in 2018/19. • High needs funding supporting particular pupils (presently £0.2 million per year). • Basic Need funding for pupil places. No allocation until 2019/20, awaiting confirmation of funding beyond that.
Westbury Expansion • Expanding provision by 60 pupils. • Cost of expansion £4.5 million. • The scheme does deal with some abnormals but Special School expansions are significantly more expensive than secondary or primary schools
ESFA Feedback • Basic Need Allocation includes an allowance for provision of high needs places in addition to Primary and Secondary places.
Options to use high needs funding (£1.258m) • A 4/5 classroom extension on a single site. • Two smaller extensions. • Reconfiguring existing schools to improve facilities in the way that the DAG funding has been used over the last few years.
SEMH – strategic response - primary • Routes to Inclusion: • To develop a systematic and robust graduated response to SEMH which is supportive to schools, promotes inclusion , builds capacity and helps to identify our most vulnerable and needy children so that resources can be targeted effectively. • Developed by Sencos from Nottingham City schools, together with Educational Psychology and Behaviour Support Services. • Reduction in Primary exclusions, increased knowledge, skills and capacity around SEMH. Embedding of a graduated response which fits with statutory assessment processes and HLN requests.
Outcomes • Pupils in EYFS achieve an average score of 25.1. The average score for statistical neighbours is 26 • Phonics screening check: SEN Support pupils equalled statistical neighbour average and improved notably from 2016 • In KS1 assessments, pupils on SEN support scored consistently less than the national average. The SEN/non SEN gap was largely in line with national • At KS2 (2016) the number of pupils on SEN Support achieving level 4 or above in RWM is 50% - an increase from 45% and higher than statistical neighbours and national data • Key stage 4 attainment (2016) for pupils at SEN Support is lower than national but numbers of pupils achieving English and maths A*-C has increased
Discussion • How do we need to change provision in order to meet changing needs • of pupils, through a continuum of support? • In considering responses bear in mind: • Trend data on need e.g. increasing population of ASD/MLD • Financial implications of directing funds to a particular solution – impact on each element of provision • Accountability of schools and LA in use of funding to improve outcomes • How do we ensure that the right children access the right provision at the right time – evidence of need and graduated approach to support placement process
Next steps • Collation of feedback from this session • Governor briefing 23rd November • Consultation with early years and post 16 settings • Consultation with children, young people and families • Development of costed models of provision • Draft strategy to be developed and circulated ready for publication by Autumn 2018 • Publication of funding commitments April 2018 • Please contact Janine Walker or Alison Weaver if you would like to be part of strategic developments