SEND+Newsletter+March+2013.pdf

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Pathfinder Progress

Spring 2013 Issue 3

Brighton and Hove SEND PathfinderNewsletter

Inside this issue:

Education & Healthjoint progress report

Pathfinder extension

Update on parent

support

Children & Youngpeoples workshop atthe Amex

SE7 as a ChampionPathfinder

Edward Timpson MPsvisit

Single Plan update

Amaze - Insiders Guidearents ex eriences

Inside this issue:

Its all coming together

The new Children and Families Bill was published on 5February 2013and this gives us a clearer picture of whatthings will look like in the SEN world in the future. We are abit disappointed that the changes proposed are not as radicalas we would have hoped for, but the challenge for us now is

to use the framework of the new legislation to introduce newways of working, that we feel will make a real difference forus in Brighton and Hove. We expect to be consulted on thenew slimmed-down Code of Practice, which has beenrecently published.Of course, the new Bill is not just about SEN, and you cansee a summary of the changes it introduces, here. The linkbelow is a brief summary given by the DfE:http://www.education.gov.uk/a00221161/children-families-bill

The bill itself and the fact sheet can be accessed by going to

the Southeast 7 Pathfinder website at:http://www.se7pathfinder.co.uk/news/childrenandfamiliesbill

Joint progress report

Hot off the press:

On 5 March 2013, the Department for Education and theDepartment of Health published a joint report that outlinedthe progress on the Pathfinder project.The report also highlights the results from a selection ofcompleted education health and social care plans, from asample of 65 families.Click on the link below and it will take you straight to theDfE Pathfinder progress page:http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/send/b0075291/green-paper/pathfinders

Then click onjoint report on progress across thepathfinder programmeand it will take you straight to thereport itself and an executive summary.


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Pathfinder extension

Encouraging newsBrighton and Hove is offered the opportunity toextend our Pathfinder project until September

2014.The government realised that a longer period of timewas needed to trial new ways of working, so that theevidence base for the final version of the legislation isrobust. We are currently negotiating with the DfE as tohow we prioritise our time over the extension period.We will need to increase the number of families andschools that we work with in the coming year, so wehope that you are all up for this! We also want toensure that what we are doing is an integral part ofBrighton and Hoves new SEN strategy, which waslaunched in November 2012, and we are working hardto achieve this in the coming months. If you would liketo be involved in any way in our project, then pleaseget in touch. Our contact details are on the last page ofthis newsletter. If you have ideas about how we candevelop more effective ways of working with our youngpeople with SEN, or improve the confidence of parentsin what we are doing, then wed like to hear from you.

Update on Parent Support by Debbie Collins

As many of you will know here in Brighton & Hove we have been working to try and improvethe confidence of parents in schools by working in partnership with some of the citysschools and their parents.

We now have seven schools, who have chosen to take part in this work which include fiveprimary or junior schools, one secondary and one special school. We have been reallyexcited to see how schools have embraced the prospect of finding new and innovative ways

to work in partnership with parents, in order to change the way they communicate andinvolve their parents.

A common theme emerging in all of the schools showed that parents did not have theopportunity to meet at the school, with other parents of children with SEN. Creating theseopportunities has led parents to form new friendships and provide support for each other,but also has given them the chance to meet and chat to the SENCo in an informal setting.By listening to parents, staff have been able to devise training programmes for parentstailored to their needs and make little changes to their working practices, which have madehuge differences to families.If you wish to discuss anything in relation to parent support or staff and parentstraining together, please contact me at the email address on the last page of thisnewsletter.


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Children & Young peoples workshop at the AmexStadium

A workshop was held on 29 November 2012, at the Amex Stadium, for the children and youngpeople involved in the Pathfinder project. This event was organised and orchestrated by LalliHowell and was a huge success. In addition, parents/carers, SENCos headteachers, teachers,Amaze and any other professionals involved in the scheme, were also invited. We heard from

many of the young people on that day, in particular a group of young people from AHA (AimingHigh Advisory Group) about the independent travel pilot, Simon Smith an inspirational young manwith Autism and many other students from mainstream and special schools. You could not fail tolearn so much from the children and young people who were present. Lalli put together anevaluation summary, for those of you who were unable to attend; here are a few comments thatwere collated from the feedback:

Parents/carers recognised theimportance of the change in cultureneeded amongst the agencies involved

in order to make it work. Not everything that the child needs costs

money.

Some parents/carers felt that it was thecommitment from the leadership team inschool that was key to their childssuccess.

Tremendous value of the AmazeInsiders Guide course was evident.

Recognition from parents/carers thatchildren learn differently.

Hove Parks videoing idea and DownsParks new style plans showcased thechild focused approach, rather thanpaper focus approach.

All the comments and ideas we receivedgave us invaluable insights into how wecould work together to help our youngpeople learn.Champion Pathfinder

The SE7 as a consortium hasalso been appointed as aChampion Pathfinder, tosupport other Local Authoritiesin London and the South Eastto introduce the changesrequired by the new legislation.

Visit from Edward Timpson MP

Edward Timpson, Minister forChildren and Families, paid a visit tothe SE7. He visited a nursery inSurrey, and reported that he hadreally positive feedback from parentsand young people; in connection to

their experiences of the newapproaches we are trialling.


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Single plan update by Lalli Howell

We have been piloting the single plan with 45 children andyoung people from a range of mainstream and specialschools. We have recently collated all the learning fromeach of them and have used this to draw up a draftversion of the single plan, on which we will be consultingyou over the summer term.We have learnt many extremely valuable lessons in theprocess, most importantly that it cannot work without theactive involvement of the parents/carers and the youngpeople themselves. It is our job to collaborate and to listento the needs of the families involved.We are also aiming to reduce the time for the assessmentprocess from the current 26 weeks down to 20 weeks andare negotiating with all the agencies involved to achievethis.Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to say that

we are very much enjoying working with all the familiesand young people who have given their time andcommitment to this pilot scheme.

Amaze Insiders Guide course Parents experience by Ros Cook

Some of the parents taking part in the pilot of single EHC Plans were able to come together as agroup in the autumn as part of an Insiders Guide course with Amaze. This gave them extra space tothink about how the Pathfinder was working and how the plans were taking shape. The parents hadchildren across the school age range, in mainstream and in special schools. The group talked abouttheir hopes for the pilot; how they thought this new way of planning for children with SEND might

make a positive difference. This group of parents met again recently and talked about whether thingshad moved in the ways they hoped. This was what they fed back:Everyone was well aware they were taking part in a pilot. There had been a few frustrations oruncertainties back in the autumn, but a willingness to suck it and see. By the time the group metagain in February things were a lot clearer. Most (though not all) parents were pleased with progresstowards getting a new plan and what that was bringing for their child and the family.Some parents had been looking for practical change, for daily life to get easier in the short term andfor relationships between home and school to be stronger. Most felt the Pathfinder had worked in thisway, with a spotlight on their childs needs, more exchange of information and more focus on thefamilys views. This had helped people come up with and act on helpful ideas and strategies. Differentschools had taken different approaches and at times parents had felt a bit confused about what was

happening, but most of the parents thought that their schools had really embraced the Pathfinder andthis had brought a positive shift in attitudes. Although the plans were only just taking shape, parentsfelt they were looking more holistic and more individual to the child. They hoped for other families thatthis would stay true as single EHC plans are rolled out more widely. The group noticed that all thischange was school or education based. They were not sure yet if the single planning approach willlead to better integration between services for their child or different attitudes in the wider world,though they very much wanted this to happen. Experience also suggested that change was greater inspecial and primary schools. Many parents had looked further ahead and hoped that EHCPs wouldmean better communication and continuity of support across their childs school life and into thefuture, with less uncertainty and more security that things were planned ahead. They like the idea of aplan that will stretch beyond school and there was a strong feeling that the child or young personsvoice should become more important. They wanted their childs plan to be a step towards futureindependence. They remain hopeful about this but felt it was far too early to say.If you would like to find out more, please contact Ros via the Amaze helpline on: 01273 772289.


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The voice of the young peoplethemselves:

Meeting other parents/carers involved in the Pathfinder has given us support and reassurance that weare not alone in our concerns for his future. Lalli has been wholeheartedly in support of my son andconstantly tuning into his needs and requirements which, admittedly, have changed and evolvedduring the last few months. The Amaze course was immensely helpful. The other parents/carers wereopen and supportive, sharing what, at times, must have been painful experiences and offering waysforward and solutions to issues and problems that emerged. The Amaze facilitators were also superb.

In my opinion, the development of the Single Plan has a long way to go before it will be fit for purpose.The 'one size fits all' approach is not appropriate for the diversity of special needs demonstrated in thesmall sample of families that I met. The Pathfinder team have been tremendously approachable,clearly working to directly help the children and families involved in the SEND Pathfinder. As a resultof attending the event at the Amex Stadium, my son's attitude to his 'condition' changed dramatically.He felt truly empowered and has had a positive attitude to school and home alike, concluding in hisattaining two A's and an A* in subsequent assessments in Science, English and History. He has alsobeen awarded permission to use a computer for word processing during his GCSE's which, for him, isa relief and an acknowledgement that he is more than capable of very high attainment at school, withjust a small amount of help, appropriate to his particular needs. Id like to thank Lalli and the team forgiving us the opportunity to take part in the SEND Pathfinder and look forward to it continuing towards

an improved system for our SEND children now, and in the future.

A parent told us

Children and young peoplesperspective:

What the children and young people themselvessaid that they want:

Better work environment in secondaryschools.

More effective support in class.

Less noise as I find it hard to concentrate. More space for wheelchairs on the bus.

More horse riding.

More dancing.

Schools and LA shouldnt need telling, somuch of this is misconduct.

Our own written statement.

More meaningful information of our needs tosupply teachers.

Staffroom to have students information.

Better reading books. Less punishment and more warnings.

Students with needs not segregated to lowersets.

The B & H SEND Pathfinder Team

acqueline Coe - [email protected]

ebbie Collins - Parent [email protected]

alli Howell - Single Plan

[email protected]

aniel Weiner - Local [email protected]

For more information pleasecontact:Lisa Brown or Kieran Lee on:01273 293568Lisa.a.brown@brighton-

hove.gov.uk

Next edition: Major focus on the

Local Offer

SEND+Newsletter+March+2013.pdf

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