Implications of new SEN Code of Practice(Including changes to Appendix B)

September 2014

Objectives

• To understand the changes to practice and actions required to implement the new SEN Code of Practice

• To understand how to meet the statutory requirements to produce an SEN information report/SEN Policy

• To understand how to transfer existing Statements to EHC Plans

• To understand Personal Budgets• To understand how to apply for an EHC Plan in the

future.

Legal framework

• Children and Families Bill, Part 3 – received Royal Assent on March 13th 2014 and is now an Act of Parliament (law)

• Legislation relating to this Act comes into force on September 1st 2014

• The legal framework is contained within the associated regulations, the Code of Practice and other related documentation from the DfE.

• See Useful Links hand out

Post September 2014

• Definition of SEN remains the same• 2 categories – SEN Support and SEN with EHC

Plan • Definition of SEN Support will vary and is at

discretion of school/setting. Generally means provision that is needed where highly differentiated and high-quality teaching is not enough to meet the needs of some pupils.

• ASSESS, PLAN, DO AND REVIEW

Consultation with pupils and parents

• SEND guide for parents (see Useful Links hand out)

• Consultation is key• Gathering pupil views and parent views• Consult on policy• Collaborate at every stage• Increased requirement to report (3 x per year)

Independent support for Parents

• There must be independent support available to parents.

• Kent Parent Partnership http://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/special-educational-needs/support-and-advice/kent-parent-partnership-service

• Kent Parent Carer Forum website www.kpcf.co.uk• M4S currently recruiting independent supporterswww.m4s.org.uk• The LA has published details of Independent

Supporters and their contact details on Kent.gov.uk

SEN register

• Inform parents of any changes

• See draft letters

• Inform staff of changes and ensure parents get consistent messages from ALL staff in the school.

• Consider how you will do this and how your staff will make use of this information?

SEN Policy/SEN Information report

SEN Policy/SEN Information Report can be found at:http://www.kelsi.org.uk/pupil_support_and_wellbeing/targeted_support/sen_and_disabilities/sen_forms.aspx

• Key aspects: – User friendly language,– SEN Governor and Governor responsibility,– Consultation with parents, – Accessibility Plan– Publish on website

Transfer of Statements to EHC Plans• The LA intends to transfer all mainstream Statements

to EHC Plans in 2014-15• The transfer review will take the place of Annual

Review and will result in the creation of an EHC Plan that will remain in place until 25 or until discontinued.

• School must notify Area SEN office to send formal letter of transfer. The 14 weeks timeframe commences from date of letter.

• Remember: Schools are NOT writing legal documents. The school is making a recommendation to the LA which it will adopt and will maintain responsibility for in law.

Transfer of Statements to EHC Plans• Create timetable that reflects the current Annual Review

timetable – spread the workload but meet statutory deadlines. Prioritise Yrs R, 2, 5, 7 and 14 this year (and leavers in Yrs 11,12 and 13).

• Inform all concerned of dates and give Health at least 8 weeks notice for report/visit/attendance.

• Request electronic version of all Statements – must be password protected documents and issue formal notice.

• Familiarise yourself with documents and read guidance version

• Complete Transfer within 5 weeks of start of process (issue of letter) and send to Area Office.

Timescale for transfer

Transfer minus 8 weeks – set meeting date, notify health and request reports from SS etc1. Formal Notice to parents giving at least 2 weeks notice (Wk 1-3)2. Transfer Review held (Wk 3)3. Written Report (draft plan) sent to SEN (Wk 4-5)4. Quality Assure the draft plan (Wk 6-9)5. Draft Plan to parents for comments (WK 9)OR Decision not to issue plan6. Parents opportunity to consider (Wk 10-11)7. Checking parents views and finalising the plan (Wk 11-13)8. Finalise (Wk 14)

Timeline for Transfer (Mainstream)Year

2014-2015Convert yes /no Year

2015-2016Convert yes /no Year

2016-2017Convert yes /no Year

2017-2018Convert yes /no

R YES R YES R Yes * R Yes *

1 NO 1 N/A 1 N/A 1 N/A

2 YES 2 YES 2 Yes * 2 Yes *

3 NO 3 N/A 3 N/A 3 N/A

4 NO 4 NO 4 N/A 4 N/A

5 YES 5 YES 5 YES 5 N/A

6 NO 6 N/A 6 Yes * 6 Yes *

7 YES 7 N/A 7 N/A 7 N/A

8 NO 8 N/A 8 YES 8 N/A

9 NO 9 YES 9 Yes * 9 Yes *

10 NO 10 No 10 N/A 10 N/A

11 Leavers only 11 Leavers only 11 YES: whole cohort 11 N/A

12 Leavers only 12 Leavers only 12 Leavers only 12 Yes *

13 Leavers only 13 Leavers only 13 Leavers only 13 YES: whole cohort

14 YES: Whole cohort

14 YES: Whole cohort 14 YES: whole cohort 14 YES: whole cohort

Comments Comments Comments Comments

The only conversions which will be significant Must cohorts are For primary pupils - year R and

5 for Secondary pupils - year 7

and 14 and any leavers

The only conversions which will be significant Must cohorts are For primary pupils - year 2 and

5 for Secondary pupils - year 9,

14 and Leavers

The only conversions which will be significant Must cohorts are For primary pupils - year 5 Secondary pupils - year 8, 11

and 14 and any leavers

The only conversions which will be significant Must cohorts are for Secondary pupils - year

13 and 14

Transfer of Statements to EHC Plans

• Schedule meetings – beware of meeting overload/exhaustion

• Gather all relevant documentation but remember, this is not a re-assessment

• Request up-to-date reports• Start to gather pupil and parent views (this

can be done well in advance of the transfer meeting).

Transfer of Statements to EHC Plans

• Section A• Pupil and parent views – these should include

aspirations for the future as well as current interests, strengths and views

• Summarise how the pupil communicates best, their history and make clear whether the views are those of the child directly; whether they are being quoted or their views represented

Discuss Pupil and Parent Views Appendix 1.

Mental Capacity ActDecision making: Mental Capacity The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is a law that protects and supports people who do not have the ability to make decisions f or themselves. The Act applies to young people aged 16 years and over in England and Wales.

I have the mental capacity to: (please circle)

Make all my own decisions

Make some of my decisions

Or,

……. helps me to make my decisions.

Or, - - - - - - (please write name) has been granted deputyship under the court of protection to make decisions on my behalf in relation to Financial matters Healthcare and welfare matters Financial, healthcare and welfare matters The LA will need to have evidence of deputyship.

Transfer of Statements to EHC Plans

• Section B. • Consider whether primary need/description of

pupil needs remains accurate – update with new diagnoses etc.

• Describe child/young person’s needs in order of priority. Include Health and Social Care provision if these educate or train the child/young person

Section BThe Child or Young Person’s SEN Name’s current needs:

Overview NAME has significantly greater difficulty in learning than his/her age peers because: INSERT brief pen picture (including any diagnoses and arrange the following according to area of highest need 1. Communication and Interaction

2. Cognition and Learning

3. Social, Emotional and Mental Health

4. Sensory and/or Physical

Transfer of Statements to EHC Plans

• Section C• Specify any health needs identified which

relate to the child/young person’s SEN

Transfer of Statements to EHC Plans

• Section D• Specify Social Care needs where these relate

to the child/young person’s SEN or which require provision for a child/young person under 18 under Section 2 of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970

• Include reference to any CP/CHIN plans but not full detail

Transfer of Statements to EHC Plans

• Section E• Outcomes sought for the child/young person• A range of outcomes over varying timescales

covering education, health and social care.• Could be cut and paste of previous Statement

objectives if they remain relevant• Could require writing from new

What is an outcome?

• Outcomes should be focused on education and training, health and care. They should be designed to ensure that children/young people can progress in their learning and, as they get older be well prepared for adulthood.

• Outcomes should always enable children and young people to move towards long-term aspirations of employment or higher education, independent living and community participation.

What is an outcome?

• An outcome can be defined as the benefit or difference made to an individual as a result of intervention.

• It should be personal and not expressed from a service perspective

• It should be something that those involved have control and influence over

• It should be SMART

What is an outcome?

• Where an outcome is focused on education or training, it will describe what the expected benefit will be to the individual as a result of the education or training intervention provided.

For instance

Aspiration (Section A) – I want to be able to read so that I can pass the test to be a train driver when I am older.

Outcome (Section E) – X will be able to read the first 100 high frequency words by the end of Key Stage 2.

What is an outcome?• When composing Outcomes it is important to

consider both what is important to the child/young person and what others consider important for the child/young person.

• Outcomes will usually outline what will be achieved by an end of phase or stage of education – it must be related to the provision the school will make or that recommended by Health/Social Care.

• From Yr 9 onwards the nature of the outcomes will reflect the need to ensure young people are preparing for adulthood.

Provision to achieve the outcomes

• Section F - Provision Plans• Provision must be detailed and specific and should

normally be quantified, for example, in terms of the type, hours and frequency of support and level of expertise.

• Provision must be specified for each and every need described in Section B

• Where Health or Social Care provision educates or trains a child/young person, it must appear in this section

Outcome 

Enter 1 x outcome

Strategies  

Enter appropriate Core standards/generic strategies Or appropriate strategies for the special school

Bespoke /specialist Resources Enter any resources required to enable access to learning and any resources provided via a Personal Budget

Cost if applicable  

Intervention Recommending body

Frequency/duration

Staffing Cost per session/year

Milestones and Monitoring

Entry Data

Target Exit Data (progress to date)

A description of the intervention required   

  Identify the staff who is delivering Work out cost if in Mainstream (not Special or SRP)

Agree milestones that should be used to determine any changes in provision

  A specific target that can be used to measure small steps of progress towards outcome.

Record progress at each milestone/review

Annual Review    

  Changes to provision made or required 

Total cost (including resources) Schools to insert costs

Milestones reached

     

Has this outcome been met?  

Should the outcome be changed?  

Links to funding explained

• The provision you are making will be likely to meet or exceed the 6K mandatory funding; make sure that your Provision Plan includes evidence of this expenditure.

• At each subsequent Annual Review you will need to evidence the impact of that spending.

Personal budgets

• Local Authority Policy is being developed and will be published as part of the Local Offer on kent.gov.uk.

Key Points: • All have the right to request a personal budget• A personal budget can be notional – i.e. If all funds

have already been allocated in order to meet the needs and outcomes then there will be no opportunity to access a direct payment as part of a personal budget

• In a small number of cases the personal budget will be a direct payment

Personal Budget

It’s not about;• Transferring money from schools to parents• Allowing parents to dictate to schools who

they employ or how the money is spent

Making application for Statutory Assessment

• Application(school referrals) is ONLY through LIFT• At LIFT, decision will be taken to recommend

assessment or to recommend further SEN Support in school

• Schools will have to present evidence in much the same way as they do now, evidencing the impact of provision, (ASSESS, PLAN, DO AND REVIEW) but with greater emphasis on demonstrating that Mainstream Core Standards have been met.

Informed Consent

re Transfers• Must sign up to Kent and Medway information sharing agreement • must get informed consent • must use new documentation

Informed Consentfor new requests • sign up to Kent and Medway agreement as above if not already

done • Get consent - no consent no SA • Consent needed before you go to LIFT• Young people as defined in the Act need consent from them or they

need to request a SA • informed consent means explaining what information we will seek,

that the LA MUST seek if from those as outlined in the regulations (i.e. parent/carer/YP, school/education provider, educational psychology and so on ) it is important that families and YP recognise the no opt out clause (unless there is a safeguarding issue )and that the information we gather may include information about the whole family (including absent parents/step families for example) Child protection plans and so on

Appendix 2

Discuss differences between Appendix B and Appendix 2

Consider guidance notes and discuss

Checklist

• Review SEN Register – inform parents and staff• Create Vulnerable Register so that vulnerable non-

SEN pupils are not overlooked• Discuss SEN Policy/Information report with GB and

agree consultation method• Create timetable for transfer of Statements

(prioritise Years R, 2, 5, 7, 14) and alert all involved (Health, Social Care, Parents etc)

• Request electronic version of Statements plus issue of notice

Checklist contd.

• Lead staff meeting on changes to Code of Practice and alert teachers to roles and responsibilities. Invite governors to attend.

• Draft SEN Policy/SEN Information Report and consult with parents

• Analyse feedback from parents – make necessary adjustments and formally adopt.

• Publish SEN Policy/ SEN Information Report on school website