The SE7 Regional SEND Pathfinder Evaluation: Emerging findings

1. The SE7 Regional SEND Pathfinder Evaluation:Emerging findings Presentation to the Steering Group Graham Thom, Meera Prabhakar and Rhian Johnson 29th May 2012

2. Outline • Introduction • The regional evaluation • Objectives • Our approach • Scene setting • SE7 Pathfinder regional aims and objectives • The existing systems • Progress made to date • Theme 1: Organisational engagement and cultural change • Theme 2: Engaging and involving families • Theme 3: Setting up the infrastructure • Theme 4: Safeguarding and risk management • Conclusions and final thoughts

3. An introduction to the evaluation and scene setting

4. Regional evaluation objectives Building on the objectives of the National Evaluation… • Establish the impact of the SE7 pathfinders • Compare and assess the effectiveness of the models developed and used by the SE7 pathfinders to identify key similarities and differences in approach • Undertake comparative cost-effectiveness analysis across the SE7 • Establish the barriers to delivery across the 7 areas and how these have been addressed • Identify and draw out the implications and actions that the SE7 will need to consider to enable the successful implementation of a new assessment and single plan

5. Our approach to the regional evaluation • Dynamic regional evaluation that will provide real-time evidence from the regional and national Programme • Tailored the national tools (where possible) to meet the needs of the regional evaluation • Evaluation framework – set of SE7 questions added to reflect regional nature of the Pathfinder • Monitoring data – local analysis to be undertaken to reflect position of the SE7 and individual areas • Family survey – local analysis of the survey data to be undertaken to reflect the experiences of SE7 families • Staff work and satisfaction survey – set of questions added to understand joint-working across the SE7 • Case studies – 5 case studies to be undertaken in Kent, Medway, B&H, Surrey and W Sussex • Which will complement the E Sussex and Hamps national case studies

6. Scene setting: SE7 Regional Pathfinder aims & objectives • Pathfinder to build on SE7 SEN existing intentions • Existing arrangement between SEN leads since 2010 • Creation of shared direction of travel for SEN • Consideration of structural and commissioning arrangements and portability across the area • Intention to develop broad high level thinking with operation subject to local interpretation • Provision of opportunity to share learning and influence the national agenda

7. Scene setting – the existing system • Different starting points • Size and nature of area • Historical developments • Majority felt existing operating systems sound but varying levels and types of integration between services • Some movement towards use of personalised approaches • Varying levels of parent/carer involvement

8. Theme A: Organisational engagement and cultural change 1. Engagement of relevant stakeholders 2. Recruitment of designated staff 3. Change management 4. Market development and the local offer

9. 1. Engagement of relevant stakeholders: governance and commitments the regional picture • Regional Steering Group set up to steer the Pathfinder • Good representation from all relevant parties • Includes reps from all 7 areas, the 4 PCT clusters, the SHA, national and local VCS, 2 parent/carers and an independent parent/carer advisor • Established ToR including local requirement to set up a Local Change Board • Feedback showed group was useful, albeit a bit ‘unwieldy’ as a result of its size • Regional Parent Carer Participation sub group set up • Provides a strong influence for similar local engagement • Co-production was felt to have been effective • Regional sub group of Pathfinder Leads meet on a regular basis • Some concern that operational decision were being made without sufficient representation from other parties • Regional arrangements were viewed positively across the areas • Provide useful form of accountability for local areas • Forum to share what’s working and what is not • Has enabled provision of support and inputs from external organisations

10. 1. Engagement of relevant stakeholders: development of objectives and work-streams the regional picture • Development of SE7 core commitments • Original intention to develop four regional frameworks to be operationalised at the local level • Two developed • Assessment and Planning • Parent Participation • Two in development • Personal Budgets • The Local Offer • Each area leading development of different strands • PBs – West Sussex • LACs – Kent and Surrey • Local Offer – Parent Partnerships • Support to parent/carers – Hampshire and Brighton & Hove • Age range and employment – Surrey and Medway • Banded Funding – Hampshire • Low incidence needs – East Sussex …Some strands progressing effectively, whilst others had stalled

11. Summary of progress made against elements 1 & 2

12. 1. Engagement of relevant stakeholders: governance and commitments the local picture • Good levels of strategic engagement from across most parties • Challenge will be to gain buy-in from operational staff to support delivery • Challenges arisen as a result of restructuring and job losses • Causing discontinuities and delays in development in some cases • Exceptions in some cases include limited engagement from health and schools – similar to national picture • Due to capacity and resource issues • Willingness to contribute staff time but limited funding committed for both development and service provision to date

13. Recruitment of designated staff (element 2)

14. 1. Engagement of relevant stakeholders: development of objectives and work-streams the local picture • Common local objectives relate to: • Creating more holistic parent and family focused system – with agenda driven by families • Improving joined up working between agencies • Improving outcomes for children • Increase parental understanding and influence on the system • Less bureaucratic and adversarial system …and therefore align well with those in the SEND Green Paper • Areas are developing activities in different ways: • Most sites established formal working groups • Commonly included a Personal Budgets group, assessment and planning group and cohort specific groups • Early stages but attendance tends to be good • Clear process and timescales for reporting back important

15. 1. Engagement of relevant stakeholders: parent/carers, children and young people and the VCS • Strong intention to involve parent/carers • Parental presence on all Local Project/Change Boards and in various working groups • Most felt that key parental involvement was a strength • No engagement of children and young people in development of the Pathfinder to date • Have commissioned KIDS to set up a regional group to effectively engage children and young people • Regional expectation that local areas will put in place additional engagement measures…but not evident as yet • VCS engagement from both national and local organisations • VCS involved in development at both regional and local levels • Unclear at present on remit of their role in delivery of the Pathfinder

16. Pause for thought… • Should we be concerned about the lack of agreed staff engagement? • What are the implications if this isn’t agreed? • What needs to be achieved over Summer 2012? • What support are you likely to require to achieve the required buy-in?

17. Summary of progress made against elements 3 & 4

18. 3. Change management • Although all areas recognised importance of change management, consideration of how and when to be delivered was limited • Limited delivery to date • Initial focus in majority of the areas on introducing the Pathfinder to strategic leads/senior staff and informal development for those involved in the work-streams/project boards • Some early intro Pathfinder workshops for families and operational practitioners • Two broad approaches • Exposing as many staff a possible to the new approach as it develops • Intro sessions with staff and issuing an invitation to a personalisation workshop for each participating family • Focus on offering training to only those directly involved due to resource issues • Issued invitations to schools/SENCOs to engage, with offer of support to those who volunteer (and possibly some funding) • Joint training for parents and professionals to get all thinking and working together to facilitate co-production

19. 4. Market development and the local offer • Regional framework being developed by all Parent Partnerships • Development subject to initial delay as took time to identify relevant representatives from each area • Have developed a set of draft principles which are currently out for consultation • Will subsequently be operationalised at the local level • Limited thinking undertaken at the local level to date • Important to tie in developments into expectations set out in Next Steps

20. Pause for thought… • Change management can take some time • When does this need to start to align to family recruitment? • Working back, when do you need to have agreed the approach and the content? • Is there any scope to join up some of this activity at the regional level?

21. Theme B: Engaging and involving families 5. Awareness raising with families 6. Peer support

22. Summary of progress made against Theme B

23. Engaging and involving families: recruitment to date

24. Engaging and involving families: raising awareness and recruitment intentions • Most age groups to be targeted • Unclear about 19+ years • Some Pathfinders still defining/refining target groups • Partly the result of internal restructuring Next Steps • Lack of clarity of recruitment timescales and numbers across some areas • Scale of recruitment sometimes small • Completed plans by Oct 2012 to feed into Evaluation • Majority of Pathfinder families to be identified by professionals • Majority of families are existing service users • Is this the group you have most problems with or who you think it would be most likely to work for?

25. Engaging and involving families: peer support • Two sites have begun work to develop peer support to parent/carers participating in the Pathfinder • Through workshops and the Parent Carer Forum • Sites have not yet begun to deliver peer support to children/young people

26. Pause for thought… • Are you concerned about your pace of recruitment? • Coverage of the 19+ years group? • How and when do you intend to deliver peer support?

27. Theme C: Setting up the infrastructure 7. Mapping of the single assessment and plan pathway 8. Development of personal budgets 9. Coordination and delivery of the Pathfinder approach 10. Development of IT resources

28. Setting up the infrastructure: regional framework • Regional assessment and planning framework developed

29. Summary of progress made against Theme C

30. 7. Setting up the infrastructure: mapping of a single assessment and plan pathway • Extent of development varied across the areas • Development of process pathways • Revision of assessment process • Development of single assessment and planning template/guidance • Emerging findings • Emergence of different models • Single and integrated assessments • Single and multiple stage planning • Use of the CAF as basis for single / integrated assessment • Consideration of how to bring professionals together as opposed to creating more paperwork

31. 7. Setting up the infrastructure: mapping of a single assessment and plan pathway • The approaches appear to fall out from the particular target groups • How can you therefore scale up for the whole 0-25 yrs post the Pathfinder? • How comfortable are you that what you and others are doing will be portable across the SE7?

32. 8. Setting up the infrastructure: personal budgets • Emerging issues and things to consider: • Majority focusing on just social care • Limited integration of PB and Pathfinder work as felt not feasible in many cases to trial both together • Limited development of resource allocation systems • Unclear whether PB families will use different planning structure to Pathfinder families – or whether single plan will be used across the board • Can PBs be integrated into the Pathfinder process?

33. 9. Setting up the infrastructure: key working • Things to consider: • Remit of the role? • Involvement of the VCS? • Sustainability of the approach over the longer term? • Scalability • Resource implications

34. 10. Setting up the infrastructure: information sharing • Importance of information sharing between agencies and with families widely recognised • Limited consideration of this element has been undertaken to date • Things to consider: • In the absence of a national solution, how will information be shared between agencies and with families? • Who will ‘own’ the data? • How and when will families be asked to provide consent for their information to be shared?

35. Theme D: Safeguarding and risk management

36. 11. Safeguarding • Limited consideration of this element made to date

37. Conclusions • What’s working well… • Regional Pathfinder approach • Setting of overarching principles • Sharing of ideas and emerging practice • Strategic engagement • Parent/carer and VCS engagement • Initial development of activities and work-streams • Development of single assessment and plan pathway in some areas • Points for development… • Developing the infrastructure • Single assessment and plan pathway (for some areas) • Personal budgets (for 5 out of 7) • Information sharing • Moving from design to delivery • Operational engagement • Change management • Pace of recruitment of families relative to the national picture

38. Conclusions and final thought… • Common objectives • Creating more holistic parent and family focused system – with agenda driven by families • Improving joined up working between agencies • Improving outcomes for children • Increase parental understanding and influence on the system • Less bureaucratic and adversarial system • How will the intended activities achieve the objectives? • Will they be less bureaucratic? • Will they be less adversarial? • Will they help to improve outcomes? • Will joined up working be sustained and scalable?

39. Contact Rhian Johnson Consultant SQW e. rjohnson@sqw.co.uk w. www.sqw.co.uk Graham Thom Director SQW e. gthom@sqw.co.uk w. www.sqw.co.uk Meera Prabhakar Senior Consultant SQW e. mprabhakar@sqw.co.uk w. www.sqw.co.uk