Introduction to SEND (schools)

Section 1 Changes to 2001 SEND Provision

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The Reflective Practitioner

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As you proceed through this course, some Discussion Points may be raised. To join in a discussion with other course members, all you have to do is click on the Course Forum in the course page menu. You may wish to create a Blog or make notes to reflect on your learning and create an evaluative log of your on and off-line activities e.g. comments on course reading/ classroom activities and/or comment on the quality/usefulness of course materials provided. To access your course blog or notes click on My Profile in the Navigation Pane on the left side of the course page. Then click Notes to enter course notes or Blogs View All Entries or Add a New Entry. Download: Notes on Creating a Reflective Summary

About the Course

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This short course is relevant for school leadership teams, SEN co-ordinators and all classroom teachers, since it is they who will have the most day-to-day contact with pupils who have SEN/disabilities and will be responsible for delivering programmes of support. It is important that the whole school community understands the reforms in the 0-25 SEND Code of Practice and adopts a whole school approach to supporting pupils who have SEN/disabilities. The course explores elements of the 0-25 SEND Code of Practice that all those who work with children and young people with SEN/disabilities and their families should have regard to.

Course Aims

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To raise classroom teachers awareness of recent changes to legislation and practice for making provision to support children/young people who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in the mainstream classroom. Local authorities, health partners, forums and other organisations need to work together as SEND reforms are implemented. All partners should work towards effective co-production in planning and strategic decision making to make the best provision for children/young people with SEND in their area. Watch video: Co-production Working Together in Partnerships

SEND Gateway

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The SEND Gateway is an online portal offering education professionals free, easy access to high quality information, resources and training for meeting the needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The gateway is hosted by NASEN - formerly the National Association for Special Educational Needs the leading organisation in the UK which aims to promote the education, training, advancement and development of all those with special and additional support needs. Watch video: What is the SEND Gateway The Department for Education already has many SEND resources on the SEND Gateway.

Case for Change of SEND Provision

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Every child deserves a fair start in life, with the best opportunity to succeed before 2014 life chances for SEND children were disproportionately poor

SEND children reported that they felt frustrated by a lack of the right help at school or other services

parents said that the system was bureaucratic, bewildering and adversarial and that it did not reflect the needs of their children

support needs can be identified late due to low expectations about what SEND children can achieve

Review: The 2011 Green Paper Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability

Relevant Legislation

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The Equality Act 2010 Part 6 Education Review/Download: Draft Code of Practice for Schools in England and Wales The Children and Families Act 2014: Part 3 Section 29 - Children and young people with special educational needs but no EHC plan Section 35 - Children with SEN in maintained nurseries and mainstream schools: Section 66 - Using best endeavours to secure special educational provision: Sections 67-69 Informing parents and young people Section 100 - Support for pupils/medical conditions: Download: (i) The SEND Code of Practice 0-25 (ii) The Schools Guide to the SEND Code of Practice

Overlapping Legislation

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There is a significant overlap between children and young people with SEN and those with disabilities and many are covered by both SEN and equality legislation. Watch video: Equalities Legislation (filmed in 2010) Part 6 of the Equality Act 2010 and Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 share a common focus on removing barriers to learning. Early years settings/schools/colleges support children/ young people to develop, learn, participate and achieve the best possible outcomes irrespective of whether it is through reasonable adjustments for a disabled child/ young person or special educational provision for a child/young person with SEN. Review: Factsheet - Children, Families & Care Acts

Equality Act 2010

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Part 6 of the Act applies to schools, further & higher education providers, general qualification bodies, educational charities and endowments. Watch video: Understanding the Equality Act 2010 Review: (i) Equality Act Guidance for Education Providers (ii) Guidance for Schools The draft Code of Practice for schools contains important implications about the implementation of Part 6 of the Act by the Responsible Bodies for schools (the local authority, the managers /proprietors etc). Review: (i) Equality Duty Guidance for Schools in England

Responsible Bodies (Schools)

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Education authorities, proprietors of independent schools and managers of grant-aided schools are legally responsible for acts of discrimination, harassment or victimisation committed by their staff in schools unless they can show that they took all reasonable steps to prevent the acts from taking place. It is assumed that responsible bodies will take action in the case of a member of staff who discriminates against a pupil who has a protected characteristic. Responsible bodies are given the opportunity to justify unfavourable treatment if it occurs in an attempt to achieve a legitimate goal - taking account of the severity of the discrimination in proportion to this goal.

Equality Law in Schools

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Schools have an obligation to ensure that all pupils have the same educational opportunities and the same chance to participate in school life. They must not discriminate against any child/young person directly or indirectly.

They are required to make reasonable adjustments so that the curriculum is accessible by all.

They need to provide plans to show how they intend to improve accessibility even if they do not currently have any pupils with a disability.

Watch video: Disability Equality an overview Review: Technical Guidance for Schools (England)

Reasonable Adjustments

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The requirement for schools to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that pupils with disabilities do not suffer a substantial disadvantage in comparison to other pupils, has been in place since 2001. The 2001 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act (SENDA) and the 2005 Disability Discrimination Act made unjustified discrimination by education providers against disabled pupils/students/adult learners unlawful. New requirements to provide auxiliary aids and services to avoid substantial disadvantage were introduced in the Equality Act and implemented in 2012. Download: Reasonable Adjustments for Disabled Pupils Watch video: Disability - Mobility

Changes from the 2001 SEN Code of Practice

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The SEND Code of Practice 0-25 includes changes to the support and services that children/young people with SEND may receive and involves parents in a structured and systematic way: School Action and School Action Plus replaced with more individualised SEND support

the principle of a 4 stage graduated response to SEND in the classroom is set out. IEPs no longer required but more frequent progress reviews needed

Statements of SEN and Learning Disability Assessments (LDAs) in post 16 education for children/ young people with more complex needs replaced with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans

Children & Families Act Part 3

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local authorities must publish a Local Offer of the services available for children/young people with SEND

joint commissioning requires local authorities/health bodies to take joint responsibility for providing services

new Education, Health and Care Plans replace SEN statements and Learning Difficulty Assessments (LDA)

parents/young people who may be entitled to personal budgets given choice and control over support

protections for young people aged 16-25 in FE FE colleges and academies now have the same duties as maintained schools to safeguard the education of children/young people with SEN

Review: SEND Code of Practice chapter 3

The 2014 Act and SEND

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The aim in Part 3 of the Act is to provide effective support for children/young people who have special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities (even if they dont have SEN) and their families. Under the Act, local authorities must identify children /young people in the area who might have SEND and work with partners to provide support from health care and social care services, as well as in education. Support may now be extended up to age 25, as those who have SEND may take longer than others to complete their education or training. Young people aged 16-25 now have rights to ask for their needs to be assessed, to say which college they want to go to, and to make appeals about the support they receive.

SEND - Managing Changes

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Changes to the support system for children/young people with SEND in England from September 2014, were required to be made by: local authorities those involved in assessments of special educational needs and disability (SEND)

providers of services for children and young people with SEND

early years/schools/further education settings training providers Review: The changing landscape of SEND.

SEND - Funding Changes

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The government made changes to the SEND funding system from September 2014 when the new SEND Code of Practice 0-25 was introduced BUT these changes did not alter the legal responsibilities of schools and local authorities for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Funding reforms introduced a common approach for calculating special educational needs funding for schools across the country but the funding available to schools remains at least the same. Review: Council for Disabled Children: School funding changes and children with SEN in mainstream schools: a briefing for parents

Education, Health and Social Care Working Together

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Local education, health and social care services have to work together to decide exactly what help each service will provide for children/young people with SEND and include other organisations, as required. They should co-operate when making an assessment of whether a child/young person needs an EHC plan so that individuals do not have to undergo a lengthy series of overlapping tests and examinations. If they agree that an EHC Plan is needed, the local authority must make sure the child/young person actually gets the help with their education and health care that their plan says they should get.

A Framework for SEND

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The framework for SEND provision has three parts, which should work together to provide structure for improving outcomes and experiences for children, young people and their families. The Framework will hold partners to account, evaluate the systems effectiveness and support improvement. The three parts are: local roles and responsibilities national roles and responsibilities independent assessment

Outcomes for SEND

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Improving outcomes and experiences for children/young people and their families: National roles & responsibilities Set and oversee statutory framework and guidance Local roles & responsibilities implement statutory responsibilities focus on local area partnerships share/support effective practice to support delivery accountability local area plans and evaluation Independent assessment OFSTED/CQC inspection of local authorities and clinical commissioning

Download: (next slide) Improved Outcomes diagram

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Local Offers & School SEN Reports

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The availability of SEND support must be published in Local Offers and school SEN Reports. Review: Information to be published in Local OffersThe SEND Code of Practice 0-25 introduces a graduated approach to meeting the additional needs of children/young people with SEND in the classroom to replace the School Action process.Individual Education Plans are no longer required in the 2015 SEND Code of Practice, though schools may choose to continue with these.Some schools and local authorities have devised SEND Support Plans (or Individual Learning Plans) based on the graduated approach to meeting individual needs.

Mainstream School Places

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The School Admissions Code of Practice requires children/young people with SEND to be treated fairly. Where a child/young person has SEND but not an EHC plan they must be educated in a mainstream setting except in specific circumstances. Admissions authorities: must consider applications from parents of children who have SEND but do not have an EHC plan as part of normal admissions procedures as published

must not refuse to admit a child who has SEND but not an EHC plan because they think they cannot meet those needs

must not refuse to admit a child on the grounds that they do not have an EHC plan

Working with Parents and Young People

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Local authorities must help children/young people/ parents to participate in decisions about their needs. Access to the information they need must be provided so that informed decisions can be made their views on the effectiveness of provision in the Local Offer should be taken into account at reviews. Young people who have EHC plans (or their parents) can request a personal budget and then have a say in what support this will provide. If the young person/parents do not agree with local authority decisions or they are unhappy about the support being provided, they must be given information about their right to make an appeal.

SEND Information

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A school/local authority must take account of any relevant advice and information provided to them by parents on behalf of their child, or the young person. For example, if the parents commissioned a private assessment or report on the child/young person, then the school/authority must take that report or advice into consideration if asked to do so. The authority must also seek and take account of the views of parents and, where appropriate, of children /young people themselves. Review: Chapter 2 SEND Code of Practice 0-25 for impartial information, advice and support.

Independent Supporters

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The Children & Families Act entitles parents of children (and young people) with SEND to have a personal supporter to help them through the EHC assessment process. This supporter will likely be a person recruited locally by a voluntary or community sector organisation to help families going through an EHC needs assessment and the process of developing an EHC plan. This person is independent of the local authority and will receive training, including legal training, to enable him or her to provide this support. Review: (i) Factsheet Independent Supporters (Afasic) (ii) Independent Support quick parents guide

Resolving Disputes

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Approximately two million children and young people in England have been identified as having a special educational need (SEN), and/or a disability. It is usually in everyones best interests to try to resolve disputes without taking legal action. In many instances a pupil (or parent) who believes the school has discriminated unlawfully against them will approach the school/authority before commencing legal proceedings. Governing bodies of maintained schools are required under section 29(1) of the Education Act 2002 to have a complaints procedure to deal with all complaints relating to the school this will cover discrimination, harassment and victimisation complaints.

School - Parent Disagreements

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Many school-parent disagreements are the result of poor communication or lack of a shared understanding of children/young peoples individual needs and/or the provision in place to meet these most of which may be easily resolved by discussing what is in Local Offers and the school SEN Report e.g. the SENCO or class teacher explains to parents that every child does not need every intervention listed only those that are appropriate to meet their individual needs and minimise barriers to learning. As a result, most disagreements are resolved at the school level and parents/young people do not have to participate in additional local authority arrangements. Watch video: About Luke: approaching the school

SEND Disagreements

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Where there is disagreement, an early resolution will benefit parents and young people and can avoid unnecessary stress and expense. In most cases, it is best to resolve issues locally and local authorities are required to set out disagreement resolution processes in Local Offers. See: SEND Code of Practice 0-25 chapter 11 Where agreement cannot be reached the Children and Families Act 2014 made provision for parents and young people to have access to voluntary disagreement resolution services, mediation (for education, health and care) and appeal. Rights to appeal and access to independent tribunal have been made for young people over 16.

Disagreement Resolution

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This is a statutory service commissioned by local authorities to provide a quick/non-adversarial way of resolving disagreements between parents/young people and bodies responsible for providing education (or health/ social care) in relation to EHC assessments and plans, whether or not the individual has an EHC plan. Local authorities must make known to parents/young people the possibility of resolving disagreements across education, health and social care. Disagreement Resolution services can be used in cases of disagreement between local authorities and health commissioning bodies in EHC needs assessments/drawing up of EHC plans or the reviewing of those plans. Review: SEN Disagreement Resolution Service - York

Appealing SEND Decisions

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Regulations 3-31 require local authorities to notify a childs parent or the young person of decisions about their SEND within certain timescales, as well as notifying them of any right to appeal such decisions. The Regulations (32-42) include details of mediation, both where mediation has to be considered before issuing an appeal in the First-tier Tribunal, and where mediation is desired in any other case, and the action local authority and commissioning bodies must take as a result of the mediation. Regulations 43-45 set out the powers of the First-tier Tribunal and the timescales in which local authorities must comply with orders of the Tribunal. Review: SEND Disagreement and Mediation leaflet

Mediation

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This is a statutory service commissioned by local authorities designed to help settle disagreements between parents/young people and local authorities over EHC needs assessments and plans and which parents/ young people can use before deciding whether to appeal to the Tribunal about decisions on assessment or the special educational element of a plan. Watch video: SEN Mediation Service (London) Mediation can cover any one or all three elements of an EHC plan and must be offered to the parent/young person when the final plan is issued. They may not appeal to the Tribunal about the health and social care aspects of the plan. Review: Complaints about health/social care

Mediators

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Local authorities and health commissioners are free to choose how they make arrangements to provide mediation information and mediation - by contracting a mediation provider or otherwise. Any mediation provision by mediation adviser (providing information) or mediator (conducting mediation) must be independent of local authorities in England and/or relevant health commissioners. No one directly employed by a local authority in England or a relevant health commissioner can be a mediation adviser or can act as a mediator. People who are contracted to act as mediators should have received accredited mediation training. Review: SEN Mediation service (Wakefield)

SEND Dispute Resolution

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In cases where parents/young people have not been able to reach agreement with the local authority about SEND support arrangements, dispute resolution arrangements (including mediation and the right to appeal a decision to the First-tier Tribunal) must be put in place, and apply if a local authority - e.g. decides to: cease a Statement of SEN and not replace it with an EHC plan

not issue an EHC plan to a young person who receives support as a result of an LDA

Review: Appeals to SENDIST parents guide

Equality Complaint Procedures

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Defending a discrimination claim can be lengthy and expensive, and it can have a damaging impact on a schools reputation. So it may be in everyones interest to try to put things right before a claim is brought though the authority must make a realistic assessment of whether what has been done (or not done) amounts to discrimination, harassment or victimisation. An authority must make reasonable adjustments to any internal complaints procedures to prevent disabled people from being placed at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with people who are not disabled. Failure to do so will amount to unlawful discrimination.

Appeal to Tribunal

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Parents/young people can appeal to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal. if the local authority refuses to: carry out a statutory assessment of SEN open an EHC after a statutory assessment reassess/maintain/amend a SEND/EHC Plan reassess/maintain/amend SEND support provision Equality discrimination cases in schools go to the First-Tier Tribunal (England & Wales) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission. must be informed of these. Review: What Equality law means for Schools

First Tier Tribunal

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The Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (1993 Education Act) is now a 2 tier tribunal consisting of a First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal. The First Tier Tribunal deals with parents appeals re disability discrimination and LEA decisions about childrens SEN when they cannot reach an agreement. Appeals against the First Tier Tribunals decision now go to the Upper Tribunal, not the High Court. Although judges and members are appointed by government, the Tribunal is independent. Matters considered by the Tribunal are strictly defined. Review: Dispute Resolution and Enforcement

Summary - Provisions in 2010 Equality Act Part 6

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Pupil have disabilities if they have physical or mental impairments which have a long term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Schools must not discriminate against any child/ young person directly or indirectly.

Since 2002 schools/LEAs have had a duty to provide reasonable adjustments for disabled pupils.

Provision of auxiliary aids and services to avoid substantial disadvantage was introduced in 2012.

Schools need to think in advance about what disabled pupils might require and what adjustments might need to be made for them.

Summary - Provisions in Part 3 of Children & Families Act

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1.Education/health/social care services to work together 2.Children/young people/parents to be informed of what they need to know about SEND 3.Local Offers of support to be published 4.Different local groups/organisations to work with LEA 5.Children/young people/parents to have more say about the support they receive 6.Right to request a joint assessment of education, health and social care needs 7.SEN statements and LDAs replaced with an Education, Health and Care plan showing support to be delivered by different professionals 8. Arrangements for resolving disagreements

Review of Section 1

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In this section, you have explored some current equality/disability and SEN legislation, together with published Guides and Codes of Practice for schools. You will have traced some of the provisions in recent Acts, and reviewed: (i) The Special Educational Needs Code of Practice: 0-25 (ii) The Schools Guide to the SEND Code of Practice (iii) EHRC - Technical Guidance for Schools in England You should also have reviewed;

EHRC - Equality Guidance for Education Providers