40+ , SEND Myths & Facts

40+, SEND Myths & Facts 17th November 2017 Dear All Not overly long this week and a definite focus on EHCPs…

DCT…. Wot’s that then?

DCT = Disabled Children’s Team One of the most common queries we get is about the specialist social workers and family support workers from the DCT. Why? Because it’s confusing and hard to understand from outside the system.

And… do you know how to place your child on the DCT register? What does that mean?

For the first time ever, we are pleased to offer the opportunity to talk directly to the members of the DCT. Sophie Evans, Rhiannon Doyle and Brenda Mistry will be attending to give a short presentation and to take questions.

We’re anticipating the meeting to cover How do you work? What is the eligibility? What are the options?

Thursday 23rd November - 10am to 12.30pm at King Charles Centre, 22 Hollyfield Rd, Surbiton, KT5 9AL Thursday 7th December - 10am to 12.30pm at York House, Richmond Rd, Twickenham, TW1 3AA The meetings will be informal. You don’t have to book, but it helps us if you do.

E: events@sendfamilyvoices.org

40+ The EHCP Transfer workshops were a great success… the process is confusing and happening fast. We met over 40 families and all were very pleased to get good advice from their peer group.

You can read our summary of common questions in our newsletter dated 4th November; it’s on our website here: http://www.sendfamilyvoices.org/news We’re going to run a couple more EHCP Transfer workshops in January and we expect to be answering different questions. More news to follow once we’ve fixed the dates.

"Thanks to Penny, Alex and team for the session, great to connect and very valuable." "…I am so glad I came along. It was very informative and provided good sound practical help, so just wanted to say a big thank you to Penny and Alex and all involved."

In the meantime, here are some further thoughts…

From the SEN Team…

They really would like to hear from you. Without direct feedback, it’s very hard to improve things. This survey is 5 questions and is anonymous.

“Your views are really important. If you've had recent communication (email, phone call or meeting) with the SEN team, we would like to know about your experience. Please take the time to complete this short survey. This survey is designed to help us to improve our customer service.“ http://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/RNLHN/

SEND Myths ‘17 From the Council for Disabled Children – November 2017 We’ve published the full document below, and you can find the source here: https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/information-advice-and-support-servicesnetwork/what-send-information-organisations-group 1. Myth: “All young people [YP] who have an Education, Health and Care plan in school will have a plan until they are 25.”

Fact - An EHC plan can continue as long as the YP stays in some kind of education or training (this doesn’t cover higher education), and it is still necessary for the local authority to arrange the extra support they need in order to achieve the educational outcomes set out in their EHC plan.

2. Myth: “The requirement for social care needs to be identified and met is not applicable if the child/YP is not currently known to social services.”

Fact - The EHC needs assessment must include advice on the child/yp’s social care needs (although this may not need to be via an assessment under section 17 of the Children Act, it could be via Early Support or other non-statutory assessment processes).

3. Myth: “A young person over 19 can only keep their EHC plan if they are working towards an educational qualification.”

Fact – Recent case law, Buckinghamshire vs SJ made it clear that not attaining qualifications or only making limited progress does not mean that SEN provision is not needed or of benefit.

4. Myth: “If the parents’ preferred school is named in an EHC plan, the LA does not have to provide transport to the school.”

Fact – If the child is eligible for school transport then the LA must provide it (Education Act 1996). When there is disagreement over the cost of placement LAs and parents can make a deal whereby the LA names the parents’ choice of school if the parent agrees to provide transport.

5. Myth: “Under the new law, LAs no longer have to specify provision in section F, we just enter the amount of funds allocated.”

Fact - if anything, the new law is clearer that provision in section F must be detailed and specific and should normally be quantified.

6. Myth: “A child will only be eligible for an EHCP Assessment if they have an EP Report/been through 2 cycles of plan/do/review at SEN support/are 2 years behind/have spent £6000.”

Fact – The legal test for statutory assessment under the CfA [Children & Families Act 2014] is whether the child/YP has or may have SEN and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made for the child or young person in an EHCP. All LAs will have criteria for making decisions on assessment but these must not impose a higher threshold than the legal test. The LA can reasonably expect the education provider to be able to evidence that they have taken ‘relevant and purposeful action’ (although a lack of this will not necessarily be

enough to prove that an EHCP is not necessary), the LA cannot insist on an EP or any other report as part of any eligibility criteria.

7. Myth: “All provision supplied by the NHS should be in section G as it is health provision.”

Fact: provision supplied by health providers which educates or trains the child/YP should be in section F. This is particularly applicable to speech and language therapy since communication is clearly essential to education, but it can apply to other types of health provision.

8. Myth: “You can’t ask for a school placement outside your LA area.”

Fact: Yes, you certainly can, and the LA must comply with your preference unless the suggested placement is incompatible with the efficient use of public funds or the efficient education of other pupils.

9. Myth: “Maintained mainstream schools can refuse to admit your child if they choose.”

Fact: No, they can’t, unless admission of your child would be incompatible with the efficient education of other children AND there are no reasonable steps that can be taken to overcome that incompatibility.

My child still has a statement, what should I do?

From Special Needs Jungle “We already know from the Department for Education National Statistics, published on 25th May 2017, that in January 2016 there were 182,106 children and young people with Statements.

By January 2017, only 59,545 children and young people had transferred from Statements to EHC plans; this is a success rate of just 32.7%.

It therefore came as no surprise that in September 2017, the Department issued a letter to all LAs raising concern about their ability to meet the 31st March deadline.” https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/my-child-still-has-a-statement-of-sen-what-should-i-do/

SEND Forum with local MPs - 1st December Ruils and SEND Family Voices are jointly facilitating this opportunity for parents, carers and young people to address their concerns directly to local MPs Vince Cable and Ed Davey (unfortunately Zac Goldsmith is unable to attend) 1st December 2017 -12.30pm to 2.30pm at DoubleTree Hilton,1 Skerne Road, Kingston, KT2 5FJ The aim is to allow the MPs to understand the extent and seriousness of the issues faced by families as a result of the 2014 SEND reforms and cuts to education budgets.

During the first hour facilitators will listen to parents’ concerns and produce an agenda. In the second, we will be joined by the MPs, we will present our agreed issues and they will hear your stories.

Time will be very limited, and if you wish to contribute it would be very helpful if you could send a precis of your experiences / concerns, as soon as possible, to: Alex: alexhardy@ruils.co.uk or Penny: penny@sendfamilyvoices.org This is an extraordinary chance to influence local and national policy through personal testimony, and we hope you will join us; please register here so we know how many people

to cater for.

Booking: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/send-forum-tickets-38335644946

In the News Heads complain of having to ask parents for school funds Head teachers representing more than 5,000 schools across England are supporting a protest letter to the chancellor over "inadequate" funding. The letter, being delivered to Downing Street, warns of schools increasingly having to make "desperate requests to parents for 'voluntary' donations". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-41969961

@SENDFamilyVoice Think this might have been our busiest week yet on Twitter - so many retweets & campaigns out there: The Changing Places campaign made it into the national media earlier this week. Watch this great alternative to the John Lewis Christmas ad - 'all I want for Christmas is a loo' http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/real-john-lewis-christmas-ad-11523509.amp BBC Woman's Hour explored question of how much parents worry about what happens when we're not around to look after our kids http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09drjj1 What can be done to help people living with epilepsy safer? https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=TuIXhlNCPMg Why volunteer as a playworker? http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/youngreporter/15626346.Local_Support_Group__Yorda_A dventures___Zia_Eustace__Tolworth_Girls__School_and_Sixth_Form Sick children denied out of hours care https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/health-41927703 Government's social care Green Paper will only focus on older people. Yet the fastest rising cost is young adults with a learning disability https://theindependentlivingdebate.wordpress.com/2017/11/17/does-it-pay-to-design-onesocial-care-system-from-cradle-to-grave/amp

Autism assistance dogs for children Thank you to Joe for this link. Lovely short film (under 2 minutes) with further links on more information. “Our autism assistance dogs transform the lives of families affected by autism, helping a child remain calm and focused in busy places� https://www.dogsforgood.org/how-we-help/assistance-dog/autism-assistance-dogs-children As ever, if you have any queries at all, please ask and we'll always do our best to find an answer.

With best wishes, Caroline North (for Kingston) and Romany (for Richmond) Phone: 07469 746 145 www.sendfamilyvoices.org