Children & Families ServicePolicy Website

Mark GradyPrincipal Policy Officer

Children & Enterprise Directorate

Children & Families ServicePolicy Website

• Online procedures for Halton covering the full spectrum of the Halton Levels of Need Framework, including Early Intervention, assessments, CART and Children in Care

• Site links closely to the new Pan-Cheshire Procedures site for Halton,

where key information on Child Protection processes across all agencies can be accessed

• The website is intended to be a live resource that will grow over time http://www.online-procedures.co.uk/halton/

SEND Reforms EventBriefings for Social Care Staff

Pam BeaumontProject Officer SEND Reforms

 

Debbie HoughtonPrincipal Policy Officer

 

Tracy RyanPolicy Officer

 

Children & Enterprise Directorate 

To raise awareness of key legislative changes

To understand the implications for specific services

To share Halton’s approach for implementing the SEND Reforms

To participate in case studies & share good practice in the workshop activity

To demonstrate the SEND Local Offer for Halton

Aims & Objectives

SEND Reforms Key Messages

Working Together

Mediation

Advocacy

Streamlined Assessment

s

Happy & Fulfilled Lives

Aspirations & Better Outcomes

Personal Budgets

Employment

Informed Planning of Services

Joint

Commissionin

g

Participation

Person-Centred

Positive

Wellbeing

Disagreement Resolution

Early Help

Cultural Change

SEND ReformsKey Messages

Children and Families Act 2014 : Overview

• New requirement for LAs, health and social care services to commission services jointly for SEN and disability

• LAs to publish a clear, transparent ‘local offer’ of services

• More streamlined assessment process, co-ordinated across education, health and care

• New 0-25 Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans for those with more complex needs

• New statutory protections for young people aged 16-25 in FE

• A new duty on health commissioners to deliver the agreed health elements of EHC plans

• The option of a personal budget for families and young people with an EHC plan

We want children and young people with special needs and disabilities to:

• Have high aspirations & a focus on outcomes• Achieve well in their early years, at school and college, and transition

smoothly into adult life; • Find meaningful employment; • Lead happy and fulfilled lives; • Have choice and control over the support they receive. 

What we want to achieve

What is an Education, Health & Care (EHC) Plan?An EHC plan is a statutory document with a legal duty on education and health support, it should be:

• Clear, concise, readable and accessible to parents, children, young people and professionals

• Specific about Special Educational Needs, outcomes, health and care provision needed, with clearly identified sections

• Mindful of key transition points and be portable• Person-centred putting children, families and young people at the heart of the

process• Issued within a maximum of 20 weeks from initial request, assessment and

planning • Co-ordinated between education, health and social care services with joint

agreement on key outcomes

EHC Plan: Eligibility CriteriaFrom 1st September ‘14 under the SEND Reforms, the definition of SEN has not changed

Education is the key driver for an EHC Plan

• An EHC needs assessment may be triggered if a child or young person has learning difficulty or disability which requires special educational provision to be made for them

• A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:

• Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or

• Have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 settings

The main legal duties on schools will not change, from 1st September they will need to:

• use their ‘best endeavours’ to meet pupils’ SEND. Schools no longer have to record pupils as ‘school action’ or ‘school action plus’

• inform parents when pupils receive support for special educational needs & involve them in reviews of progress

Schools

Post-16 settings

• Further Education colleges, Sixth Form colleges and approved Independent Specialist Providers will be under new legal duties from September 2014

• Extends comparable rights and protections for young people aged 16-25 in further education as to those found for children/their parents in school

• Should use ‘best endeavours’ for all young people (up to the age of 25) with SEND, regardless of whether or not they have an EHC plan

Preparing for Adulthood• A single system from 0-25 for EHC plans, removing the current ‘cliff edge’

at 16;

• Focus on outcomes and preparing for adulthood – employment, health, independent living and community inclusion

• Local authorities to involve training providers when reviewing their special educational provision and developing their local offer

• Role for local authorities in commissioning post-16 provision, to deliver outcomes for young people, including supported internships, study programmes and specialist provision

• Young people with EHC plans can remain in the SEN system between age 19 and 25, where the extra time will allow them to consolidate their learning

Social Care• The SEND Reforms will allow a more joined up assessment process for

children and young people with SEND, across education, health and social care

• The majority of children and young people’s needs will still be met by:– Commissioned services – Occupational Therapy services– Short Breaks– Access to information via Charities

• The locality-based Early Intervention Teams will still undertake CAF’s

• Children’s Social Care will still undertake single assessments

EHC Plan reviews should be synchronised with social care statutory reviews and must always meet the needs of the individual child

• If you are working with a child and still involved at the time of the conversion to an EHC Plan you will be asked to contribute to the process

• Health or social care may be treated as Special Educational provision in an EHC Plan if it is reasonably required by the child or young person to support their education in school and/or training, for exampleo Where a child requires support with feedingo for an escort getting to/from school due to their behaviour

• Conversions from SEN Statement and Learning Difficulty Assessments will take place over a 3 year period on a phased basiso A step down process would need to considered for any child or young person

whose SEN Statement wasn’t converted to an EHC Plan - eligibility criteria not met

Social Care, EHC Plan & Conversions

Triggering an EHC Assessment

“ anyone else can bring a child or YP who has or may have SEN to the attention of the LA & may need EHC assessment – e.g. foster carers, health/social care professionals, early years practitioners, youth offending teams, those responsible for education in custody, school or college staff or a family friend…..”

• Only 1-2% of children and young people overall with the most complex needs will require an EHC Plan

• Currently around 15 children/young people known to social care– Early Intervention is key– Robust School Offer– Needs engagement from parents, carers and young people– Diverse range of services in place – must emphasise universal

services

• This can include any services assessed under a CAF and/or under S17 or S47 of the Children Act 1989

• This can include services for parents/carers which will support the child’s outcomes , such as access to short breaks or respite provision

• The introduction of the EHC plan does not affect a local authority’s duties to provide social care services to disabled children and young people. Children’s Social Care will still have a key role in providing practical assistance to disabled children and young people under the Chronically Sick & Disabled Persons Act to enable then to access education, recreational facilities, holidays etc must be included in the EHC Plan for child or young person under 18

For example:• A single parent needs two people to safely hoist a child and has no one to assist them• A disabled child with challenging behaviour may be so challenging that one parent cannot

safely manage, and safety cannot be achieved with aids and adaptations nor behaviour modification

• The parent has a broken leg or is pregnant and cannot lift the child and does not have a partner or another friend or family member who can provide temporary assistance

• Children over 16 years old, where a young person wants to be cared for by the same gender and this cannot be facilitated in the family or friendship networks

Social Care

• We need to ensure that education, health, care are co-ordinated effectively within the process of care and pathway planning to avoid duplication and delay for looked after children and care leavers

• Will require liaising with Virtual School Head & relevant staff

• Assessments and Termly PEPs may identify a child’s potential SEN

• Independent Reviewing Managers may also make recommendations following a statutory CiC Review

• CiCOLA - an EHC assessment MUST be carried out by the authority where the child lives i.e. ordinarily resident

• If disagreement arises, the LA that looks after the child will act as the corporate parent in any disagreement resolution

Co-ordination of reviews/meetings: Children in Care

CiN/Child Protection Process

Under S17 where a child is subject to a Child Protection or a CiC, the legislative framework hasn’t changed

If during this process the Social Worker identifies that they are working with a child or young person who:• may have SEND they need to know how to trigger an assessment • has an existing EHC Plan - liaison with the Assessment Co-ordinator is key to

ensure the current EHC Plan is shared for relevant information that may be required for social care statutory reviews

Personal Budgets

As part of our local offer, we have set out a co-produced local policy for personal budgets.

• It focuses on short breaks

• Continuing care

• Education top-up funding will be explored further

So what is Changing?

Halton SEND Partnership Service (Formerly Parent Partnership): SEND Partnership Officer Sharon Spruce 0151 511 7733 SENDpartnership@halton.gov.uk

Independent Supporters:New role – to support parents and young people through the statutory process

Additional advice and support through various organisations and charities

Mediation must be considered before SEND tribunal. To find out more about mediation services contact Halton SEND Partnership.

Support, Advice and Information

What is Independent Support?

• A 2-year programme to provide additional support to young people and parents during the implementation of the SEND reforms

• Independent Support is Government funded

• CDC have commissioned organisations to provide Independent Support locally. (Barnados / PSS )

• Halton SEND Partnership will have trained IS who will work in collaboration with local provider PSS

What happens locally?

Locally, the IS service will: • Work directly with a range of partners,

including Halton SEND Partnership• Assess local need in consultation with local

partners • Complement local provision and add value • Retain appropriate independence

Education, Health & Care Plan

Eileen O’BrienSpecialist Teacher Enhanced Provision

Children & Enterprise Directorate

Halton’s Template: Education, Health & Care Plan

Please look at the copy of the Education, Health & Care Plan provided in your packs.

Education, Health and Care PlansEHC plans should:• Establish and record the views, interests and aspirations of the parents

and child or young person

• Provide a full description of the child or young person’s special educational needs and any health and social care needs

• Establish outcomes across education, health and social care based on the child or young person’s needs and aspirations

• Specify the provision required and how education, health and care services will work together to meet the child or young person’s needs and support the achievement of the agreed outcomes.

The EHC Assessment and Planning Process should:

• Focus on the child or young person as an individual

• Enable children and young people and their parents to express their views, wishes and feelings

• Be easy for children, young people and their parents or carers to understand, and use clear ordinary language and images, rather than professional jargon

• Highlight the child or young person’s strengths and capabilities

Tea/Coffee Break(15 mins)

SEND Local Offer for Halton

Debbie HoughtonPrincipal Policy Officer

Tracy Ryan

Policy Officer

Children & Enterprise Directorate

SEND Local Offer requirements• The SEND Local Offer describes Education, Health and Social Care

provision for children and young people aged 0-25 years

• Information is clear, comprehensive and accessible

• It is not a directory – it will be responsive to local needs, involving Children, Young People and parents in development and review

Halton SEND Local Offer process• Task and Finish Group established

• Consultation and training - partners, council staff, parents, schools and young people

• Website launched 1st September 2014, however site will continue to grow and develop

www.halton.gov.uk/localoffer

An online feedback form https://www.halton.gov.uk/questionnaire/localoffer.htm

Case Study 1 - Tom

Q1. What are the main considerations that you would be looking at within Liam’s case and how might they relate to an Education, Health & Care Plan now or in the future?

Case Study 2 – Sarah & Jenny

• Q1. Considering the information you have about the SEND Reform Programme, comment on what is likely to happen with Sarah’s Statement of Special Educational needs & why?

• Q2. Mum has also noticed that Jenny’s behaviour has become more challenging. Does this mean that Jenny has SEN? Would Jenny qualify for an Education, Health & Care Plan?

Social Care Protocols (in pack)• Social Care input into the EHC Review Process

• Social Care Participation in SEN mtgs

• Disagreement Resolution and Mediation – social care focus

• Complaints procedures – social care focus

• Requesting assessments from social care to inform EHC process

• Pre-assessment enquiries from social care

Where can I find out more?

www.SENDpathfinder.co.uk for: • Latest information packs from the pathfinders, including case

studies, video clips and links to useful materials e.g. Nottingham EHC animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU2puyxuQz0&list=FLphppjsuJ3xYrXknsSBYGIw

• Pathfinder evaluation reports• Information about the Delivery Partners who are supporting the

reforms and can offer help and advicewww.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/sendreforminfosheet For regular updates, sign up to receive CDC’s e-bulletin by e-mailing cdc@ncb.org.ukAccess the Preparing for Adulthood support materials:http://www.preparingforadulthood.org.uk/Independent Supporters: http://www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/news/january-june-2014/public-tender-for-evidence-and-build-phase-of-independent-support-programme-is-launched

Myth BustersDebbie Houghton

Principal Policy Officer  

Tracy RyanPolicy Officer

 

Pam BeaumontProject Officer SEND Reforms

  

Children & Enterprise Directorate

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