Special Educational Needs Reforms

1. Special Educational Needs Reforms What is happening in Wandsworth

2. Summary • Working in partnership with parents and young people • Progress so far in Wandsworth • Local Offer • Assessment, Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) • Personal Budgets • Preparing for Adulthood • Joint Commissioning • Resolving some myths and misconceptions

3. Partnership with parents / carers Ladder of involvement Co-production Participation Consultation Information

4. Progress so far in Wandsworth Involving families: Parent co-chair and representatives on each working group Parent representatives support group Joint conference with Positive Parent Action Jointly developed information leaflet Engaging young people working group

5. Involving Children and Young People • Our local approach • Small working group which includes representatives from mainstream and special schools is working on this collaboration • One of the SENCOs is pulling together the good practice around young person involvement that is already taking place in schools • A residential weekend is taking place in April for a group of young people to contribute to key issues

6. Involving Children and Young People • What we want to understand: • What kind of information young people in Wandsworth want • How they would like to receive this including where they are likely to look for it • How they want information to be presented (including testing out some of the suggestions for the Local Offer – use of symbols / icons) • How they want to be involved in discussions about their future and who they see as the key people in supporting them

7. Progress so far in Wandsworth • 5 multi-agency and cross age group workstreams • Transformation plan • Family Information Service web site host for local offer • Regular input and feedback to existing team and professionals meetings (e.g. SENCo forum; headteachers; community paediatrics; management teams within the council) • Proposed “dry run” of assessment and planning process for education, health and care plans • Accessing support provided by “pathfinder” authorities both through events and published materials • Sharing a half termly progress update

8. The Local Offer • A comprehensive offer covering all services that children and young people with SEN and disabilities aged 0 to 25 and their families might use both within and outside Wandsworth • Developed in collaboration with parents, children and young people • A transparent offer, with clear information about eligibility and who is entitled to services • Opportunities to influence service development, give feedback and make complaints

9. Assessment / EHCP • New process – what have we been working on? • A new pathway • Early collaborative planning between parents and professionals • Shaping professionals’ roles and responsibilities – lead professionals • Education health and care plan (EHCP) • Template for the plan – agreed contents • How the plan will actually be brought to life through the process

10. Personal Budgets • What have we been working on? • A key facts sheet to help clarify what personal budgets are / are not • Identifying areas where we would be able to consider a personal budget in the “dry run” • By the summer developing clear guidance for parents / young people on personal budgets, including consideration of how multi-agency budgets would work • System to manage / monitor financial arrangements

11. Preparing for Adulthood • What have we been working on? • Working out how some young people who will be moving on to college in 2015 could be included in our dry run • Developing shared principles for preparing young people effectively for adulthood • Ensuring clear information is available about the services in the borough and eligibility for services • Specific project work on the transition between children’s and adults’ social services

12. Joint commissioning • What have we been working on • Establishing a group with broad representation • Ensuring there is a good understanding of different organisational responsibilities and how the duties in the new legislation will impact on these • Developing an action plan and identifying our early priorities • Arrangements for multi-agency decision making • Arrangements for responding to complaints where there are education, health and care issues • Arrangements for resolving disagreements between agencies

13. Common misconceptions or myths • “Fewer children and young people will get an Education, Health and Care plan than get a statement of special educational needs.” • The criteria for an Education, Health and Care plan will be the same as the current criteria for a statement. • “After a child turns 16 a parent CANNOT be involved in decisions about their child’s support” • Young people can continue to have their parents involved as much as they want. The difference is, when a person with an Education, Health and Care plan turns 16 years old, they have the final say (subject to their mental capacity).

14. Common misconceptions or myths • “All parents and young people with a plan will be able to access direct payments” • All parents and young people will be able to request a personal budget where an EHC plan is in place. A personal budget is an amount identified by the local authority as being available to secure particular provision that is specified, or proposed to be specified, in the EHC plan. Once identified parents and young people can then request that some or all aspects of the personal budget be converted into a direct payment, but the local authority, and the education provider where relevant, must agree to this and have significant discretion about what they agree to.

15. Common misconceptions or myths • “ALL young people who have the new Education, Health and Care plans in school will have a plan until they are 25” • An Education, Health and Care plan will continue only for young people who stay in education or training. For most young people this will be to go to further education (college), or to get an apprenticeship.