SE7 Code of Practice Workshop

Kate Sturdy and Francine Hudson, SEND, Division, DfE

25 March 2013

Overview of the BillOn 4 February 2013, we introduced a 111 clause Bill to:“Make provision about children, families, and people with special needs; to make provision

about the right to request flexible working; and for connected purposes”

The Bill covers the following areas: Adoption (led by DfE) Looked after children (led by DfE) Family Justice (jointly led by DfE/MoJ) SEN (led by DfE) Childcare (led by DfE) Office of the Children’s Commissioner (led by DfE) Shared parental pay and leave (led by BIS); Right to request flexible working (led by BIS)

The Bill Ministers in the Commons will be: Edward Timpson MP, Minister for Children and Families and Jo Swinson MP, Minister for Employment Relations and Consumer Affairs. The Bill Ministers in the Lords will be: Lord Nash (DfE), Lord McNally (MoJ) and Viscount Younger (BIS)

House of Commons timetable

1st Reading

SecondReading

Motion/vote: 2nd Reading

MoneyProgramme for

Committee

Report 3rd ReadingCommittee

4/5 Feb 25 FebBegins on 5th March –

23rd April (subject to passing of the Programme

Motion)

1-2 days 1 hour

Public Evidence sessions, followed byline-by-line scrutiny of

the Bill (including selected amendments)

Debate of whole House; all MPs

can lay amendments &

vote

Short debate; no further

amendments; final vote

Introduction/1st Reading

SecondReading

Grand Committee or Committee of

the whole house

Report Stage

ThirdReading

Detailed line by line examination.

All Lords have a further opportunity to consider all amendments.

Amendments can still be

made at Third Reading in the

Lords

House of Lords timetable

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Timeline for reform

March 2011 •Green Paper: Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability

May 2012 •Support and aspiration: Progress and next steps

Sept 2012 •Draft provisions published for pre-legislative scrutiny by the Education Select Committee

Feb 2013 •Government response to pre-legislative scrutiny; and •Children and Families Bill published

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Involvement of children, young people and parents at the heart of legislation, including assessments and local offers

New requirement for local authorities, health and care services to commission services jointly, to ensure that the needs of disabled children and young people and those with SEN are met.

LAs to publish a clear, transparent ‘local offer’ of services, so parents and young people can understand what is available; developed with parents and young people

More streamlined assessment process, which integrates education, health and care services, and involves children and young people and their families.

New 0-25 Education, Health and Care Plan, replacing the current system of Statements and Learning Difficulty Assessments, which reflects the child or young person’s aspirations for the future, as well as their current needs.

Option of a personal budget for parents of children with a Plan and young people with a Plan, extending choice and control over their support.

New statutory protections for young people aged 16-25 in FE and a stronger focus on preparing for adulthood.

Academies, Free Schools, Further Education and Sixth Form colleges, independent special schools / colleges can be named in EHC Plans.

Legislation - key highlights

Changes following pre-leg scrutiny

• Involvement of children, young people and their parent-carers at the heart of legislation, including assessments and the local offer

• Parent protections maintained and extended: e.g. requesting an assessment

Over-arching

• Arrangement for parents and young people to be able to consider mediation

• Can opt to go straight to appealMediation

• Involve children young people and parents in reviewing the local offer

• LAs to publish comments about the local offer and what action they will take to respond

• Consult parent-carers and young people when reviewing provision

Local offer

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• Developing proposals for providing co-ordinated information, advice and support for parents and young people across education, health and social care; and ensuring that local authorities consider support parents need to navigate the assessment process

• Provision in the Bill for joint commissioning arrangements and regulations on assessments to include such support.

Health

• Code of Practice approved by Parliament (by negative resolution)Code of Practice

• Young people on apprenticeships to have EHC Plan where appropriate

• EHC Plans maintained for young people who become NEET while 16-18 (compulsory participation age)

• LAs review EHC Plan of a 19-25 who becomes NEET and where re-engagement in education is right option, maintain it

• Youth Offending Teams in co-operation duties

Post-16

Changes following pre-leg scrutiny

Pathfinders informing reforms

The pathfinder programme is central to informing new legislation. The Bill has been revised to reflect pathfinder learning as well as feedback from pre-legislative scrutiny. For example:

• Pathfinders’ experience of person centred planning has influenced the clauses on assessment and Education, Health and Care Plans, ensuring that parents’ and young people’s views and aspirations are taken into account at all stages of the process.

• A new clause added setting out the key principles for the SEN provisions which place involvement of children, young people and their parent-carers, at the heart of legislation.

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Sharing learning from pathfinder areas

•Regular pathfinder learning events and case studies are informing practice and policy on an on-going basis – follow progress at www.SENDpathfinders.co.uk •Pathfinder learning and evaluation is feeding into draft Regulations and the new SEN Code of Practice•We are accelerating learning on key areas among a small number of pathfinders – including on personal budgets and EHCPs for 19-25 year olds and new entrants to the system•We are developing a change guide and emerging principles grid •We are recruiting between 9 and 15 pathfinder champions to support non-pathfinder areas in the run up to national implementation and working with CIB on a wider support strategy•We are drawing up a national implementation plan to take us from piloting to roll out

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Next steps - pathfinders

End Feb •Headline evaluation results from a telephone survey of over 60 pathfinder families with completed EHCPs•New case studies published demonstrating pathfinder progress across the range of Green Paper reforms

From April •‘Pathfinder champions’ will begin their work to support non-pathfinders in preparing to implement the reforms•Work informed by a set of principles of emerging practice

By Sept •Second interim evaluation report published - analysis of the experience of the first cohort of families•This will inform scrutiny of the Bill

The new (0-25) Special Educational Needs Code of Practice

The current SEN Code of Practice

• The current Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice is statutory guidance that provides advice to local authorities, schools, early education settings and other professionals (including health and social care) on the legislation surrounding the educational provision for children and young people with special educational needs. These bodies have a legal duty to have regard to the Code.

• The current Code of Practice is in its 2nd edition and was last revised in 2001.

• The current Code of Practice covers education for children and young people with SEN in school settings. Post-16 is currently covered by statutory guidance to local authorities on Learning Difficulties Assessments (LDAs).

The Green Paper & Children and Families Bill

• In the Green Paper Support and Aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability (published March 2011) we said that we would revise the SEN Code of Practice in line with the new changes to the education and health care system and previous changes to the legislative framework.

• We are now in the process of developing a new Code of Practice in line with the Children and Families Bill and draft regulations.

• The new Code of Practice will be approved by Parliament using the negative resolution procedure

The new (0-25) SEN Code of Practice

The new SEN Code of Practice:

• The new Code will be a single piece of statutory guidance to replace the current Code of Practice, the Learning Difficulties Assessment guidance and the DfE’s Inclusive Schooling guidance.

• It will cover 0-25

• The following bodies will have to have regard to it:

• Schools • Academies • Colleges• Early years settings • Local authorities

• Pupil Referral Units• ISPs (pre and post-16)• Health Bodies – including the NHS

Commissioning Board; clinical commissioning groups; NHS trusts; NHS foundation trusts and Local Health Boards.

What does the Code of Practice do?

• This is known as Primary Legislation• The Bill or Act provides the legislative framework

for the new system

Children and Families Bill

• This is known as Secondary Legislation• The regulations provide the detail of the new

legislation• Regulations tell organisations what they must do to

carry out the law

Regulations

• The Code of Practice is statutory guidance• Statutory guidance tells professionals what they must

do to make sure they work within the law and provides further detail on how the law works in practice

• Professionals have to have regard to it – this means they must do what it says unless they have a very good reason not to

Code of Practice

Timetable for the new Code

The timetable for developing the new Code of Practice is set out below.

Stakeholder engagement - September 2012-January 2013 Initial Drafting - New Year 2013 Publish indicative draft of Code to support Parliamentary

progress of the Children and Families Bill - Committee Stage, Spring 2013

Public consultation on draft Code - Autumn 2013 Code of Practice laid before Parliament – Spring 2014 Final Code of Practice published - Spring 2014

This means that there will be opportunities throughout the process to be involved in commenting on the new Code.

What are the headline changes to the Code?

• The most significant change in the new Code is that it will be a new single piece of statutory guidance on SEN that reflects the new 0-25 SEN system, bringing together what are currently two different systems (the pre-16 SEN system and post-16 system) into one consistent system.

• The new Code will be significantly shorter, clearer and more concise. It will include information on the provisions set out in the Children and Families Bill such as the Local Offer, Personal Budgets, Joint Commissioning, Assessments and Education Health and Care Plans.   

• For the first time the FE sector will be included in the list of organisations that must have regard to the Code when carrying out their duties in relation to young people with special educational needs.  

What does this mean for Health Bodies?

• The new Code of Practice will highlight the central role of Health and Social Care in the system that supports children and young people with SEN.

• The Bill will clarify that the Code applies directly to health bodies and professionals, and make clear that these bodies include Clinical Commissioning Groups, NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts, the NHS Commissioning Board and Local Health Boards.

• The new Code will include information for Health Bodies and Health Professionals on their role in the assessment process and the Education, Health and Care Plan.

• The Code will also include information about the new Joint Commissioning and Co-operation duties set out in the draft SEN clauses.

• The Code will cover key roles in the SEN system such as the Designated Medical Officer.

What does this mean for Social Care?

• The new Code of Practice will include information about the new integrated assessment and plan process which will bring together all the relevant agencies including social care.

• We are currently working with the Pathfinders on what this will mean.

Stakeholder Engagement

• The Department has been working with representatives of the special educational needs and disability sectors and wider groups on both the scope and the content of the Code.

• This has included consulting a wide range of stakeholders including SEN organisations, voluntary organisations, FE colleges, professional bodies, Government Agencies, other Government Departments and the SEN Pathfinders. We have also consulted with parents of children and young people with SEN through a series of events organised by the Parent Partnership Service and the Parent Carer Forum. We are also working closely with the Department’s Young People’s Advisory Group (EPIC) and the Education Forum as well as the teaching unions.

• We will continue to work with these groups as we develop a draft of the new Code.

Summary

The new (0-25) SEN Code of Practice will:• Be statutory guidance • Be shorter, clearer and more concise• Cover the new 0- 25 system • Include FE colleges for the first time• Include information for Health and Social Care professionals

(they are named explicitly on the face of the Bill)• Include information on the new provisions in the Children and

Families Bill i.e. EHC Plans, the Local Offer, Joint Commissioning etc.

• Include information on the new ‘Single Category’• Be approved by Parliament using the negative resolution

procedure