Leaks in the press about reduction in send spending

[Perzival]

I haven't seen a thread on this so thought i'd start one.

Over Christmas some newspapers inc the Times and Telegraph have leaked reports that the Government intend to tackle the cost of SEND by only issuing EHCP's to those children with the most severe needs. School's (mainstream) will then be responsible for meeting the needs of those with "moderate" or "minor" (not my wording) needs. Appeals to sendist by parents will be restricted (i'm guessing to those who still have an EHCP) and schools will have to liase with the LA regarding the needs of the other children requiring support.

To avoid drip feeding, my ds has severe/complex needs and attends special school, he'll never be able to live alone....

I have really mixed feelings about this. The current system is causing some LA's to go bankrupt, schools are already massively underfunded, lack of special school places, time it takes for tribunal and don't have the specialisms required but i also see huge waste like the removal of LA owned transport in preference for taxi contracts, the cost of inde provision (not disputing need but wish there was a way for thatto be provided locally by LA's without the profit margin) and the cost to families for professional reports from inde speacialists for tribunal / section f- provision.

If this goes ahead what will happen to the kids who will be failed? What impact will it have on the kids without send in classes with more children with unmet send? If something doesn't change where will the money come from for send with some LA's already blamimg SEND for bankrupsy?

I'm not looking for a discussong rather than an argument. The SEND groups can be an echo chambre so looking for different views.

https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/leaks-denials-fake-conversations-not-inspire-parental-confidence-send/?fbclid=Iwb21leAPInu5jbGNrA8iej2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHrItacXo4jijUu3mrF_32165ExI-sVCsVWcUNjc49IsMqP3NOT7kEg3neK8j_aem_AOqVBm2C3Uk7R5u6D-3GIw

Thank you. Dc4 is thriving in mainstream with support so I wouldn't want to move him. With dc5 I wanted him to move to special needs school for secondary but the autism support teacher laughed at me for suggesting it. Our local mainstream secondary school said they couldn't meet needs and he needed special school but the LA named them on his ehcp anyway. Then didn't tell the school they had done it.

Personally I think all of the children are being failed. I think we should have MUCH smaller local schools and local special schools. All this carting children miles from their community and educating children in vast soulless institutions does nothing for anyone able or disabled.

I have a summer born 4 year old that we deferred (he was supposed to start school in the reception class last September but is now due to start this September) and nursery applied for the EHCP in time but the SENCO has recently told us that the earliest he will get it/be assessed is Easter time next year so definitely not in time to start school 😬

We’re currently thinking of homeschooling him as sending him to school with no support in place seems really wrong 😥 I think he would be fine in mainstream reception with the right support but without an EHCP there’s no guarantee of any support and a lot of the schools we’ve been to see haven’t been the best…

OP I also saw these articles last week. Am I right in saying that there will be a white paper published soon?

The thing that really jumped out was the point that schools will liaise with the Local authorities not the parents, thereby removing parental rights it seems.

I think most parents who have been through this system will tell you how stressful and difficult it is, you have to fight every step of the way and then continue to fight. Local authorities don’t always adhere to the statutory guidelines but there is a system in place where parents can ensure that the law is followed. I can’t really see how this will continue if schools take over this role.

I did notice in one of the articles I read that they mentioned children having falconry lessons or equine therapy as part
of their EHCPs and it was too expensive to fund these sort of things. I have never met a child with an EHCP or heard anecdotally anyone who has anything like this. It seems the government are happy to spread a rhetoric that is far from reality to stir up ill feeling towards children and young people with SEN.

You haven't answered the question though have you. You're claiming she's using unnecessary funding yet have no solution. Her child has a legal right to transport. She's doing nothing wrong in using it.

Yes there is a white paper due soon. I believe it has been delayed.

I think the yp who have those type of provisions must be eotas. I only know of one special school that provides horse riding in a diff area to where i live. They have a rda near by and the school habe their own transport (provide home to school and vice versa too with school ta's). Nearly all children there have 1:1 or 2:1 provision due to the severity of need.

I cant say i have come across falconry.

I have come across equine therapy. There are several charities around here that offer equine therapy for children with emotional regulation issues or ebsna or victims of abuse for instance. Its often instead of other therapies that can be more expensive and less effective. Talking therapies can be useless for certain children. I think people see it as a luxury item and dont realise it can be very cheap due to the charity subsidising it.

I agree with many of the comments about school environments being generally worse - poor behaviour, centrally mandated teaching content and approaches, focus on numbers and stats rather than the children. My non-SEN child would not have coped at our local secondary school (Ofsted condemned it the year she was due to join, it's finally turned a corner now 6 years later) - bullying, violence and misogyny was absolutely rife.

Schools need to be better funded so they can adapt to suit as many children of as wide a range of abilities as possible, with special schools for those with more severe disabilities. Every SEN child will have talents and potential that a school should enable them to develop. They should not be reduced to their disabilities or conditions.

Animal-assisted learning/education and animal assisted therapy, including equine-assisted, are not uncommon in EHCPs. Not just for those with EOTAS/EOTIS. It is only provided via EHCPs when it is legally reasonably required. It can help with numerous aspects of a child or young person’s SEN. For example, with mental health difficulties (it is often used where more traditional therapies such as CBT aren’t appropriate), social communication and interaction, sensory needs, motor skills, physiotherapy… It is often cheaper to provide than the alternative provision to meet each of those needs.

It is also sometimes provided as s19 provision. If LAs could arrange cheaper s19 provision that provided a suitable alternative education, they would.

I have come across falconry experiences as part of an EOTAS/EOTIS package. Again, this about mental health, social communication and interaction, engaging with others/the community/the world. It can be a way of engaging a CYP with learning - learning about how to care, geography, science… It is also worth remembering EOTAS/EOTIS/C is only possible when it is inappropriate for provision to be made in a school or college.

Similar for the exercise/sports that are sometimes provided via EHCPs and are so often criticised by those lacking in understanding of SEN.

Is this really a surprise OP? There was hundreds of threads predicting Labour would have to do this after introducing VAT on education.

@BlearyEyes2 no surprise at all, i've noticed the ramp up in press coverage and i kind of see both sides and that's as a parent of a yp with an ehcp.

What kids do you think will keep their ehcp's. I read that it would be those in special schools.

There is a special school near that i drive past quite regularly and know families who have kids there. It's an inde, fees are about £100k. Here's the thing, it's like a prep school, uniform and all, the kids/ yp that go are academic and achieve a good crop of exam results (better than the local high schools), they have social/ communication needs. These are kids which with the right support could goto a unit/ mainstream (i think- i don't know each child) but it is still a special school. Should these keep their plans and kids with different needs or aren't going to be able to sit exams lose theirs or maybe a yp with similar needs but attends mainstream because their parents couldn't face fighting the LA?

Removing support from any yp is going to cause at the very least stress (this being the most minor outcome i can think of, there is obviously worse) but how is it going to decided who keeps theirs and who doesn't?

I’ve had a refusal to assess so I’m appealing, I look at some specialist provisions they’re like £60k a year per child! Is it really that expensive? I know it depends on the needs of the child but I can see why it’s so prohibitive and so costly.

How do we get this we’ve had an OT report a SalT report and a EP report I have a highly masking PdA autistic daughter no one has suggested anything around this for her?

Placemarking

@itsthetea
unpopular and maybe politically incorrect but add to your list screen time, more people who have SEN themselves having (multiple) children and also attachment problems because of childcare use full time from a young age.
Also older parents probably….

i don’t know the ‘cause’ I don’t know the solution but I currently have multiple (contradictory)EHCPs to follow, then multiple children with support plans, and then others I am worried about who are not coping, limited TA support, trying to adapt and scaffold lessons 5 different ways- which takes hours - only for my lesson to go down the pan as we all have to evacuate the room when a child kicks off.
(2 who regularly do this)
Teachers are leaving in droves and I would if I could afford to as every day I go home and sob because I have let the children down.
I am only one person.
I don’t think they can improve the situation without investing significant sums of money.
But we do need to work out the root cause(s.)

The future where more than half of society is not able to function/ earn a living is not sustainable.
I have had ‘manual handling’ training at my inset today and my head teacher said I need to always have my hair tied back and offered to buy me a bite shield for my arm…. This is not why I became a teacher.

But who will pay for it?
Your school will have no money

I read it would be those in special schools also, but I think there are some children in mainstream with equal or higher needs that some in special schools and these children almost need the ehcp more. I think people would be very surprised how high level of need is in mainstream or the overlap.

I say this because my son's special school is the right environment for him with lots of support. Once the funding was agreed, and a place found, the ehcp became a bit redundant in terms of all the provisions and outcomes. The school's full time OT, SaLt etc were professionals who constantly updated their practice rather than waiting for annual reviews. The teaching staff were specialists. All the ehcp really needed say was go to this school and let them do thier thing.

A child in a cash strapped mainstream with less expert staff would need the protections and ability for enforcement more

@nondrinker1985 you need evidence. Provision in EHCPs is taken from the evidence. This evidence should cover needs and provision reasonably required. Many have to appeal and seek independent assessments.

@twinkletoesimnot the LA is responsible for ensuring SEP detailed, specified and quantified in F is provided. That includes ensuring there is sufficient funding. Besides, not all DC with EHCPs are in schools.

@AutismMama4 the EHCP process is governed by statutory timescales. Unless you have to appeal, which some do, the process takes 20 weeks from the initial EHCNA request. LAs often think these don’t apply to them, but you can force them to act, including via JR if necessary. When was the EHCNA requested? Is the LA sticking to the timescale currently?

Think carefully before EHE. If you do that, the LA has even less incentive to issue an EHCP naming SS. This is because a proportion of people EHE will continue to EHE rather than appeal to SENDIST. It is easier for professionals to sweep DC’s needs under the carpet when you EHE.

Yes, apparently they’re going to say that every mainstream school is going to have a resourced base (a separate classroom) - I can see the thinking behind it in some ways, but equally, the answer for every child with SEN isn’t ’put them in the resourced base.’ Also, not all RBs are created equal!

Of course DC in SS should keep their EHCP. Not all SS are the same. That doesn't mean they don't need the provision any less.

it's like a prep school, uniform and all, the kids/ yp that go are academic and achieve a good crop of exam results (better than the local high schools), they have social/ communication needs. These are kids which with the right support could goto a unit/ mainstream

For many who attend this type of SS, their needs couldn’t actually be met in MS even if MS was more inclusive and even if said MS had an ARP/unit. Being able to sit exams doesn't negate that fact.

In lots of cases, if these DC didn’t have such schools to attend, they would EOTAS/EOTIS packages. EOTAS/EOTIS isn’t the cheap option. It can be every bit as expensive as independent SS and more. I have 3 DSs with EHCPs - 2 with EOTAS/EOTIS and 1 in MS. And LAs hate proper EOTAS/EOTIS packages.

I’ve just left working in secondary as couldn’t bare watching the trauma of children who I was trying to help but can’t do it all alone . I’m so sad for the children and the parents

I think ultimately, teacher training needs to change. Despite being a teacher, I have no idea HOW, but given the rate of SEN in the mainstream classroom, the place to start surely is how the children are taught?

One of the newer initiatives in the classroom, 'teach to the top' and differentiate down is a clear favouring of the highest ability children. The current focus of teachers, to support the middle band of children (what used to be called the C-D borderline students) means that the top and the middle are supported. The top, because they're clever and the lesson is aimed at them. The middle by the teacher. While the bottom 1/3 (I have no idea of the actual proportion) which will be where the SEN children end up are just... left.

Certainly, this has been my experience in my DC's class at school. The SEN children are sometimes given a bit of help by a TA, but rarely by the teacher and are falling further and further behind.

We're returning to the old system where clever or middle class (because parents can top up their education with tutors etc) will succeed, and the less able / SEN / other children are filtered out. Not by leaving early, but because education is inaccessible for them.

So when are they going to phase them out?

It just seems so very unfair

There will be a huge explosion in requests now !!!!

Totally agree with this. I hope the taxi scams are dealt with in the legislation. LAs should use their own fleet. The whole thing is a racket.