SEND reform proposals

[IdentityCris]

Being extensively leaked ahead of the White Paper - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2d041wl6po

Doesn't look good.

Yes, having ploughed my way through most of the WP this evening, that's about the sum of it. There's also lots more early intervention so children don't get to the point of 'cannot cope'. There's a raft of standards and guidance the resource bases would be able to draw down on and the idea is you don't have to wait for an EHCP and don't have the LA as a gatekeeper (which as we all know by the time it comes is often too late). The funding will be moved away from LAs and into the schools' core budget, over time.

There are some recourse methods set out in the WP as well if schools aren't doing what they are supposed to and it's also supposed to be inspected. Schools will have to publish much more detailed plans including how they are spending funding (as a governor I welcome this for accountability!), and some of this funding will be pooled to manage uneven needs across schools. There's a new additional attainment measure for CYP that start school behind their peers so schools can't just decide they won't count for Progress 8 and then not bother with them.

It's worth having a read. I'm cautiously optimistic on the mainstream related reforms but the LA commissioned special provision is still a bit opaque. They have thought a lot about incentives and oversight though which I'm pleased with and the closer relationship with ICBs should support some of that commissioning.

I think it's really natural to look for your own child in this but that's not really how the reforms will ever be set out (I can see that DC will be in the first transition year with their 16+ phase transfer...). If a child is in special in September 29 they will be able to stay there until the end of their education which I think a lot of people will find reassuring.

Without proper funding, schools are heading to a decline. Four billion pounds sounds like a lot of money but it is not.

4 billion pounds , over 3 years (what they promised) , divided by 20k schools in England, works out at about 66k per school.

They are better off opening state SEN schools with that money.

That's not the only budget though. The 3.7 billion is for the 60,000 new places (not divided up by school). Then another 1.8b for experts at hand and then a move of funding from the LA to schools core budgets, plus 1.6b for improved training and capacity in mainstream.

I agree it's not enough money but it is an increase on current budgets and should lead to some purchasing efficiencies.

Not every child with SEN or an EHCP needs a special. I have a child with both, who is academically able and should be (is!) supported in mainstream. Not a single special within 60 miles gets anywhere near the number of GCSEs they should get.

I highly doubt there will be high quality MDT input available without an EHCP in reality. LAs can’t even achieve that now for those with EHCPs. Hallmarks of the promises made to the Welsh public and look how IDPs have turned out. That system has not been the amazing success it was hailed to be by those in power.

RBs work well for some. For many they either don’t work because they are ultimately still part of the MS with all that entails or they could in theory work but they don’t in practice because the RBs are run poorly with too few staff (as a result of poor EHCPs) and a reliance on staff that are not properly trained and qualified. Too often with too little teacher input and sometimes even none. That won’t change.

@Newsenmum I think England is a particular difficult country for ASD, ADHD and Dyslexia. E.g. in Germany, you say what you mean, efficiently. In England, people tend to say the opposite of what you mean, and only subtle differences in tone make the difference between e.g. 'I'm alright' meaning everything from 'I'm about to die' to 'I'm ecstatically happy'. In England, queuing is a virtue while in Germany jumping to the front of the queue is normal. Reading and writing is also much easier in German than in English, as German is strictly phonetic and follows clear rules, while English is just a hot mess of jibberish where the pronounciation and writing often have nothing in common. Also, rules and laws encourage a neurodiverse life style, like strict rules that forbid noise, everything being closed on Sundays, more outdoorsy lifestyle, more part time jobs and oversl fewer work snd school hours. I'm certain that many Germans who are perfectly normal in Germany appear on the spectrum in England.

This is so interesting. And explains a LOT about one of my neighbours...

The trouble with the proposals is that they leave so much to schools and the funding spread amongst every school really isn't going to amount to enough to enable them to deliver.

The other major problem is that there is no realistic route to dealing with disputes. With the best will in the world, schools are not experts on all types of SEN, and if children are not assessed before going onto an Individual Support Plan, how do schools know that they are putting in the support that is actually needed? There are all too many horror stories of schools being totally unaware of the fact that children with ASD mask, or simply not noticing that a child has a sensory problem or a major speech processing problem. But if a school gets it wrong, the only redress will be through their internal complaints systems, slightly beefed up with the addition of a so-called SEN expert who could be just the Senco from another school down the road. It seems to me that it's going to lead to more disputes between parents and schools, particularly when parents feel that they have to take schools to court because there is no other satisfactory way of resolving a dispute about what is in an ISP or the school's failure to deliver the support required.

I agree with this. My son had an absolutely terrible time at his first school because the teachers and senco didn’t have the training to understand his disabilities or the resources to properly support them. He already had an EHCP before starting school - which gave him a full time 1:1 SSA - and even then his time there was a complete disaster.