SEN REFORMS Termly Briefings for Governors

1. SEN REFORMSTermly Briefings for Governors Caroline Underwood – Senior SEN Adviser

2. The Case for change • Parents confidence in SEN provision • Under achievement of pupils with SEN • Over identification of SEN

3. The Principles • Person centred - participation of children, their parents and young people in decision- making. • Whole school approaches. • Outcomes not processes. . • High quality provision to meet the needs of children and young people with SEN. • Successful preparation for adulthood, including independent living and employment. • Collaboration between education, health and social care services to provide support

4. Key Changes • 0-25 provision where needed • Education Health and Care Plans not statements • School Action and School Action plus replaced by SEN support • SEN information Report • Local Offer

5. Reform in practice: Legal duties Schools must continue to: • meet their Equality Act duties for pupils with disabilities; • use their ‘best endeavours’ to meet pupils’ SEN – this means doing everything they can to meet children and young people’s SEN; • inform parents when pupils receive support for special educational needs and involve them in reviews of progress; • admit a young person, where the school is named in an EHC plan; • co-operate with the local authority in developing the local offer; and • have regard to the new 0-25 SEND Code of Practice. New duties require schools to: • produce and publish online a School SEN Information Report; • appoint a suitably qualified or experienced member of staff as SENCO (National Award); • make arrangements to support pupils with medical condition and schools must have regard to statutory guidance supporting pupils at school with medical conditions.

6. What Schools need to do in September 2014 and beyond • Initiate a review of school’s SEN Policy engaging governors and staff, parents and young people. • Publish the SEN policy as set out in the SEND Information Regulations 2014. • Tell parents about the reforms and explain to them how the transition will happen, make staff aware of the reforms and start essential training needs. • Engage with LAs in relation to the requirements, in particular the development of the local offer and their process for transferring from statements to EHC plans. • Ensure the SENCO has the right qualifications and explore how the SENCO fits into strategic management of the school. • Have arrangements in place to support pupils with medical conditions.

7. Implementation: What schools need to do from September • Review and refresh the school’s process for the early identification and assessment of SEND to follow the graduated approach. • Review pupils currently on SA/SA+, engaging the child and parent in decision making and planning and being clear about the extra support that they need, what impact you expect support to have and by when. • Review and refresh the schools procedures for effective engagement to ensure children, young people and parents are involved in decision making and planning. • Review how the schools support pupils with SEN with their transition to post-16 education and preparing for adult life. • SEN support isn’t about ‘compliance’ – it’s a cycle of continuous improvement.

8. What the reforms means for governors • Must have regard to the SEND Code of Practice and should oversee the implementation of the reform and provide strategic support to the Headteacher. • Must publish information on the school’s websites about the implementation of the governing body’s or the proprietor’s policy for pupils with SEN. • Must ensure that there is a qualified teacher designated as SENCO. • Must cooperate generally with the local authority including in developing the local offer and when the school is being named in an EHC plan. • Must ensure that arrangements are in place in schools to support pupils at school with medical conditions. • Must also publish information about the arrangements for the admission of disabled children, the steps taken to prevent disabled children being treated less favourably than others, the facilities provided to assist access of disabled children, and their accessibility plans.

9. What the reforms mean for heads • Should take overall responsibility for implementing the SEND reforms • Ensure that the SENCO is able to influence strategic decisions about SEN. • Ensure the wider school community understands the implications of the reforms for whole school improvement (from governors to classroom teachers and teaching assistants). • Put in place arrangements to ensure parents are regularly engaged in discussions about the progress of their child (at least three times a year) and in reviewing provision.

10. What the reforms means for SENCOs The SENCO role is a strategic one working with the senior leadership to review and refresh the SEN policy and then with the classroom/subject teacher to review its practice ensure every child with SEN gets the personalised support that they need. The role involves: • overseeing day-to-day operation of school’s SEN policy; • coordinating provision for children with SEN; • liaising with designated teacher where a Looked after Child has SEN; • advising on graduated approach to SEN Support; • advising on use of delegated budget/ other resources; • liaising with parents of children with SEN; • links with other education settings and outside agencies; • liaising with potential next providers of education; • working with head and governors on Equality Act; and • ensuring that SEN records are up to date.

11. What the reforms mean for classroom/subject teachers Classroom and subject teachers are at the heart of the new SEN Support system, driving the movement around the four stages (assess, plan, do, review) of action with the support guidance of the SENCO and specialist staff. The classroom teacher should: • Focus on outcomes for the child: Be clear about the outcome wanted from any SEN support. • Be responsible for meeting special educational needs: Use the SENCO strategically to support the quality of teaching, evaluate the quality of support and contribute to school improvement. • Have high aspirations for every pupils: Set clear progress targets for pupils and be clear about how the full range of resources are going to help reach them. • Involve parents and pupils in planning and reviewing progress: Seek their views and provide regular updates on progress.

12. Engagement with parents: What do the reforms mean for parents? • A core principle of the reforms is that parents of children with SEN and young people with SEN should participate in decision making. • Parents should know what they can reasonably expect their local school, college, local authority and local services to provide. • Schools and local authorities should work with parents and carers to plan what services their children need. • Local authorities have a duty to provide information, advice and support on SEN to children and young people directly, as well as to parents; this has been extended to include children and young people with disabilities (even if they don’t have SEN) and their parents.

13. What does success look like for schools? Positive outcomes for children, young people and their families • Improved attainment and progression of pupils with SEN. • Increase in the percentage of KS4 and KS5 SEN cohort going to, or remaining in, Education, Employment and Training. • Reduction in percentage of pupils with SEN receiving one or more fixed period exclusions. • Reduction in school absence of pupils with SEN. Effective preparation for adulthood • Better support received to prepare young people for a successful transition to adulthood. Positive experience of the system • Planned and well managed transition at key points. • Parents, children and young people get the right support at the right time and feel that they are listened to and in control of their support, choices, decisions and opportunities.