Decision details

Rosanna Border, Senior Advisor, provided a briefing on the emerging statutory reform programme in relation to children and young people with special educational needs (SEN).

The reforms were currently going through the second stage of the Parliamentary Committee process and it was expected that the majority of the changes set out in the legislation would be implemented through clauses within Section 3 of the Children and Families Bill that would receive Royal Assent in mid 2014.

The key changes that the Children and Families Bill would introduce were:

• The age range of those eligible for SEN to be increased from 19 years to 25 years old
• The replacement of statements and learning difficulty assessments with  Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP)
• The introduction of a statutory requirement to involve young people and families in the assessment process, the development and review of the local offer and in reviewing SEN provision
• The introduction of a mediation advisor to support those appealing to the Special Educational Needs Tribunal
• The introduction of the option of personal budgets enabling families to manage their child’s SEN package

Although the authority would not be developing EHCPs until clear guidance about what they would require had been published work was already taking place to develop the systems already in place to enable changes to progress in advance of the legislation.  Positive feedback had been given on pilot projects already in place including work with families at Holly Spring Schools to review the local SEN offer available.

The Panel questioned whether schools had the resources available to meet the ongoing budget pressures particularly in light of the presumption that schools and colleges would have to meet up to the first £6,000 of additional cots incurred for each child’s SEN Provision.  Officers acknowledged the Panel’s concerns and stressed that this figure was on top of the existing pupil funding received by schools and officers were working to develop more creative ways of delivering the SEN service.  Staff were also working closely with those mainstream schools with high SEN levels.  It was also noted that SEN needs often reduced over time as the focus moved to encouraging a child’s independence and self advocacy as they grew older.  In addition, work undertaken at Kennel Lane and College Hall had found that often a child’s SEN needs weren’t just about the requirement for additional equipment or material resources and that the attitudes of teachers had a far greater impact on their ability to learn.

The Panel was reassured that the method of funding used for Special Schools would remain unchanged with Kennel Lane School being funded on the basis of £10,000 per pupil plus top up funding according to need and provision would be put into place to charge pupils who lived outside the Borough at a set cost.  Notwithstanding this officers would continue to monitor the situation to ensure that funding was equitable and that educational resources met the needs of pupils.  It was agreed that the Panel would monitor the situation.

The Panel was informed that autism and social and communication problems were the main growth areas for SEN diagnosis and that the Local Authority remained committed to early identification and intervention through the Margaret Wells Furby Centre.  To help ensure that any potential problems were picked up as early as possible in a child’s life early years practitioners were receiving training to help them identify any social development or language skills problems. It was confirmed that funding for testing of two year olds came from the Department of Health.

It was agreed that the presentation would be circulated to the Panel.

The Panel thanked Rosanna Border for her update, wished her well in her forthcoming retirement and thanked her for all the positive work that she had carried out for the Borough over the years.