Education budgets, EHCPs, Your Rights and what you told us 10th March 2018 Dear All Once again – lots going on – and important news. We’ve grouped the items into subject headings and hope this makes it easy to find what you’re interested in… 1. Kingston's Education Budget for 2018/9 - Imminent Announcement & Important Parent Meeting (20th March) 2. Additional SEN places – parent consultation and meeting (27th March) 3. Transfer to EHCPs, frequently asked questions and what you can do 4. DfE newsletter; includes clarification on the legal status of Statements after March 2018. Also, news on a single route to redress in SEND Tribunal 5. Your rights! Three new resources to protect our children, including our new booklet on School Exclusions and SEND 6. What matters to you – what you told us and what we’re doing about it 7. Growing Up – news from world of post-16 8. In brief; events and tweets 9. Our Music & Magic event in brief
1 Kingston's Education Budget for 2018/9 Imminent Announcement & Important Parent Meetings Kingston Council are due to consider and set the education budget for 2018/9 at the Adults and Children’s Committee on 22 March 2018. Prior to this there will be an opportunity for families to meet with representatives from Achieving for Children (AfC) to discuss the background paper* to the committee decision & share views on its content.
The paper will be published here on March 15th https://moderngov.kingston.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=611&MId=8255
Parent Meetings As we have never been asked by AfC to attend a meeting so close to a Council Committee one before, we are anticipating that the background paper being published on March 15th will contain significant information. Please attend the parent's meeting for the opportunity to discuss AfC's background paper with their representatives at on: For parents: Tuesday 20 March - 10.30am to 12pm The King Charles Centre, Hollyfield Road, Surbiton KT5 9AL For staff or parents who can't make Tuesday's meeting above: Monday 19 March – 4pm to 5.30pm The King Charles Centre, Hollyfield Road, Surbiton KT5 9AL We will be in touch again as soon as we have read AfC's report on March 15th.
SEND Family Voices have not seen this background paper and do not know anything about its contents. These meetings have been set up by AfC, not SEND Family Voices.
Related reading Support for SEND threatened as DFE rejects funding requests: https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/exclusive-support-send-pupilsthreatened-dfe-rejects-funding-requests?amp&__twitter_impression=true London Councils & SEND https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/our-key-themes/children-and-young-people/educationand-school-places/do-maths-2017/special The state of SEND in Kingston & Richmond http://www.sendfamilyvoices.org/booklets-research/
2 Additional SEN Places in Kingston and Richmond Please contribute to the consultation In our last newsletter we told you about the proposed expansion of SEN places in mainstream schools in Richmond and Kingston and the consultation process, which will run until 30th March. The new places will be in so-called specialist resource provisions (SRPs) and will include a specialist teacher in charge, therapies and educational psychology support as well as bespoke accommodation. The proposals represent a significant expansion of existing capacity, with a potential increase in Kingston of up to 75 places in primaries and nursery and in excess of 25 places at secondary. In Richmond the current proposals encompass approximately 45 new primary and nursery places and 20+ at secondary. Achieving for Children (AfC) need to hear from parents regarding these proposals and there a number of ways that you can do this:
1. via the online consultation process on the AfC Local Offer website. All the detailed
documents on the proposals can be found there. The link for this is: https://www.afcinfo.org.uk/local_offer/blog_articles/1722-consultation-on-proposalsfor-the-establishment-of-new-school-places-in-the-london-borough-of-richmondupon-thames-and-the-royal-borough-of-kingston-upon-thames-for-children-andyoung-people-with-special-educational-needs-and-disabilities
2. Attend the next open meeting, hosted by SEND Family Voices. This will be on:
Tuesday 27th March – 7pm to 9pm Hyde Room, York House, Twickenham, TW1 3AA Please, if you can, email us to let us know you are planning to attend. Of course, you are also very welcome just to show up on the day – but if it is popular we may be short of seating. E: sendfamilyvoices@outlook.com
3. E-mail SEND Family Voices with your Comments / Concerns / Questions and we will
compile these into an overall report that we submit to AfC on the 30th March. The report will also include all the feedback from the 2 open meetings for parents (on 1 and 27 March). E: sendfamilyvoices@outlook.com
On 1 March we held our first open meeting, and 18 intrepid parents as well as the three speakers from AfC managed to brave the snow to attend. We have written up the notes of the meeting and you can access them here, in addition to AfC’s annotated presentation: http://www.sendfamilyvoices.org/reports
As a final point: the funding for the infrastructure to enable the expansion of places is coming from the Department for Education’s (DfE) award for capital spend that was announced around 1 year ago. If you’re interested to know more, here are two useful articles: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-funding-boost-for-pupils-with-send https://specialneedsjungle.com/215-million-cash-boost-for-local-areas-to-improve-sendfacilities/
3 Transfers from Statements to EHCPs Frequently Asked Questions As the March 31st Department for Education deadline for transfers from statements to EHCPs approaches we are getting increased numbers of calls from parents concerned about the deadline. The Department for Education have put out some useful clarification of the legal position of statements after the 31st March deadline, (see item 4 below. In brief, Yes they will still be valid). We have also had a meeting with the SEN team at AfC where we discussed how parents should expect their cases to be handled in the coming weeks. The questions are below, please follow this link to the full document: http://www.sendfamilyvoices.org/golden-binder
1. I have received my draft EHCP, but I am not happy with the contents, AfC have given me only 15 days to respond, what should I do?
2. I have received my draft EHCP, but there are significant pieces of advice missing 3. 4. 5. 6.
(e.g. speech and language therapist input), what should I do? I have been issued with a final EHCP but I am not happy with the content, what should I do? I haven’t yet received a draft. What should I do? I have reviewed the draft, but no final plan has been issued. What should I do? I still have questions. What can I do?
If you are having any difficulty with any of this do get in touch with us as we have agreed with the SEN team that we can contact them on behalf of any parent who is unhappy or has a problem. T: 07469 746 145 E: sendfamilyvoices@outlook.com
4 SEND Implementation March Newsletter This link takes you to a page with all the newsletters; go right to the bottom of the page to find March 2018. https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/help-resources/resources/department-educationsend-newsletters Items in the newsletter include: • Transfer deadline of 31 March 2018 (see extract below and Annex A in the full document) • SEND funding updates
• • •
Update on Dame Christine Lenehan and Mark Geraghty’s review of residential special schools and colleges SEND single route of redress national trial – regulations (see below) Annex A: Advice and clarification for families for specific situations around transfers from Statements to Education, Health and Care Plans
Clarification from the Department for Education on the Legal Status of EHCPs post March 31st 2018 In brief, the answer is Yes, our children are protected and the DfE will be working with local authorities (Achieving for Children) to get this right. “Transfer deadline of 31 March 2018 It is also important to note that for any statement of SEN for which a transfer review has not been completed by 31 March 2018, the special educational provision and the placement described in the statement will continue to remain in force until a transfer review has been completed and a decision is made about future provision. Local authorities must communicate, as soon as possible, with the families of children and young people whose transfer review will not be completed by the deadline, in order to provide reassurance about their provision and placement.”
SEND Tribunal: Single Route of Redress National Trial Whilst this is still a trial – it does mean that families can now challenge the Health and Care aspects of the Education, Health & Care Plan and the tribunal will make recommendations (these may be non-binding, but they will be viewed as strong advice). “A 2-year national trial begins on 3 April 2018 to extend the power of the special educational needs and disability (SEND) tribunal. As part of a special educational appeal, the SEND tribunal will be able to make non-binding recommendations on the health and social care aspects of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. This guidance sets out the extended powers and duties in the Special Educational Needs and Disability (First-tier Tribunal Recommendations Power) Regulations 2017. It explains how the appeal process will work, what happens if recommendations are not followed and the support available for commissioners and families.” https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/extended-powers-send-tribunal-national-trial
5 Your rights! School Exclusions and SEND – Young people’s rights and the laws that protect them This is our (SEND Family Voices) most recent publication. Why? Because recent reports and statistics indicate that children with SEND are much more likely to be excluded than children without SEND. The law around exclusions can seem complicated and the implications of going along with informal (unlawful) exclusions affect your children’s and young people’s rights. We hope this booklet will give you some clear advice on your children’s rights, the law and some good questions that parents, carers and young people can ask. (The booklet is still at the printers, but we’re delighted to share it with you here. Please contact us if you would like a printed copy/copies and we’ll get them to you.) “A child must not be excluded because they have additional needs or disability that the school feels unable to meet, or for which they have not provided appropriate support” http://www.sendfamilyvoices.org/booklets
Children with medical needs: What schools and settings need to know Whilst this booklet is aimed at schools, it’s equally important for families to know what we should expect. The booklet is clear and easy to read. There is a lot of common ground within this booklet to SFV’s booklet on Exclusions and SEND. NB: In Kingston & Richmond the role of the LA is taken by Achieving for Children “Local Authorities (LAs) have a statutory duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to provide education for pupils who are excluded, unwell or otherwise. This means that where a child cannot attend school because of health problems, and would not otherwise receive a suitable full-time education, the LA is responsible for arranging provision.” http://www.nasen.org.uk/resources/resources.children-with-medical-needs-what-schoolsand-settings-need-to-know.html
My Rights Your Responsibility Leaflets This is newly available as a free on-line training course. A set of modules that you can work through, and pause, at your own pace. “My Rights, Your Responsibility is a set of information written primarily for parents of disabled children. It provides information to parents on their child's rights to access activities, community facilities and other services.” https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/help-resources/resources/my-rights-yourresponsibility-leaflets?mc_cid=ec2d60b53d&mc_eid=04a93be95d
6 What Matters to You? Thanks to all of you who filled out our “What Matters To You Survey”, and congratulations to the 3 lucky winners of our prize draw. We have analysed your answers to ensure that we are focussing our limited resources and capacity on the areas that are most important to the parent community. Below is a summary of what we are doing as a result of the survey:
1. ‘Ensuring parent/carer voices are heard by decision makers’ was the top priority for
those filling out the survey. This is currently the area we focus on most, and we will continue to do this to the best of our ability. Currently we have ongoing projects focussing on EHCPS, Short Breaks team (Aiming High), and transition/post-16 team. We also have steering group members attending a range of other meetings covering Early Years, the Local Offer website, SEN Strategy, Therapy provision and CAMHS. We are also working to ensure that parent/carer voices are heard in the consultation relating to new SEN school places and we are also planning to respond, and encourage other parents to respond) to the consultation on the Kingston council education budget - which was only announced yesterday. (see items 1 and 2 in this newsletter) 2. We are in the process of reviewing our mission statement to ensure that it reflects what the parent community needs. 3. In terms of future events, we will focus on subject specific open meetings, with the balance of meetings during the school day and in the evenings to reflect the different preferences). The majority of meetings will be held during the school day, where possible at different locations across the boroughs. 4. Our newsletter received good reviews, although many observed they are rather long. We will also be acting on comments to make it clearer and easier for readers to identify and access the parts that interest them more quickly. We are getting to grips with the Mailchimp technology to enable us to do this, in the meantime, we hope the subheading and opening summary are an initial improvement.
Summary of SFV This seems a good moment to summarise what we do. We are all parent volunteers who fit this work around our other commitments, particularly looking after our children with SEND, day jobs, and running other charities. In the time we have available to run SFV (SEND Family Voices) we: Provide signposting to advice to parents via our phone, email and web forms (and sometimes some advice based on our own experiences). • Provide a listening ear and try to put parents in touch with other parents we know who have similar experiences where appropriate • Keep parents up to date with relevant developments around SEND both locally and nationally • To the extent that we are aware of them - inform parents of areas where changes in service is planned and work to ensure that parent voices are front and centre or any consultation • Inform parents around specific topics via publications and meetings • Log all calls and queries that come into us so that we have clear data and evidence around issues affecting our community. We use this data to bring issues to the attention of decision makers including: o Richmond and Kingston Councils o Achieving for Children (AfC) o Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) o Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) • Represent the parent voice in regular meetings with stakeholders on a variety of subjects. • Wherever possible we seek to involve the wider community in parent consultations NB: wherever we use specific examples in our evidence, they are always thoroughly anonymised •
And, what we don’t do: • Advocate for individual cases (we can advise parents regarding which organisations do offer this) • Any form of political campaigning (this is outside of the remit of the DfE recognised parent carer forums) - but we can speak to people in power about our concerns and the concerns of the parent / carer community. • Receive any funding from AfC
Would you like to join us? There is a long list of things that we would like to do, but just don’t have the capacity to do now. If you think you might be able to join us either regularly, or for a one-off project, please do get in touch. We are particularly keen for parent/carers of pre-school and primary school age children to join our steering group. T: 07469 746 145 E: sendfamilyvoices@outlook.com
7 Growing Up A busy week for Post 16, as two significant events were held locally. On Wednesday AfC’s annual ‘World of Work’ roadshow took place in Twickenham and on Thursday Hillcroft/RHACC launched their new supported learning curriculum at Hillcroft College in Surbiton.
World of Work
The World of Work showcases local colleges and businesses that are actively recruiting school leavers to join their vocational courses or on-the-job apprenticeships. The event is focussed on those young people in mainstream education and offers a ‘quiet hour’ for those that find that helpful. RuTC, Kingston and West London College were all in attendance and their supported learning specialists were available to speak to prospective pupils with SEND.
RHACC The new offer at RHACC is aimed at less able adult learners with SEND, with all courses at Entry Level or below. At the suggestion of SFV’s Post 16 team, they have published a dedicated Supported Learning Programmes leaflet which shows the college’s commitment to enhancing and publicising their SEND offer. Of particular note, is the new residential “Moving On” course which offers learners the chance to develop self-confidence and independence skills by spending three days and two nights a week at the Hillcroft site. They also have a range of leisure courses to complement their other learning opportunities. See their website for further details: www.rhacc.ac.uk
Gobbledygook? It has been observed that the various levels required for different post-16 options can feel like gobbledygook! AfC publish an ‘Opps Pack’ which aims to clarify this; take a look at the chart on pages 8 and 9: https://5f2fe3253cd1dfa0d089bf8b2cdb6a1dc2999fecbc372702016c.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/2 137/OPPS_PACK_Spring_2017.pdf
8 In brief… Downs Syndrome Awareness Week “This year we’re celebrating all the different ways people with Down’s syndrome make a difference to their communities. We’ll be highlighting some amazing stories during Awareness Week but we also want to hear from you.” https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/about/campaigns/awareness-week-2018/
World Autism Awareness – 22nd March at The Rose Theatre “Over the last few years Express has put on many events to raise autism awareness and understanding in the community. On Thursday 22nd March 2018 we are organising an event for World Autism Awareness, 10:30am - 2:30pm at The Rose Theatre in Kingston upon Thames including talks, information & product stalls. For more information about the talks and to book your tickets:” https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/express-autism-conference-2018-tickets-43306291283
@SENDFamilyVoice Solicitors Irwin Mitchell representing Surrey mum in her judicial review of Surrey's proposed SEND cuts of £20 million https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/mum-autistic-child-prepares-legal14368742.amp?__twitter_impression=true The law in relation to SEND: a summary of the #SENexchange Twitter discussion https://senexchangeuk.wordpress.com/2018/03/08/the-law-in-relation-to-send-a-summaryof-our-online-discussion-on-7-3-18-senexchange/ Tell Kingston Council your views on the riverside from the point of view of SEND https://www.kingston.gov.uk/riverside
A really great blog here on SEND life - the one on accessible playgrounds caught our eye https://theblogofourlifecouk.wordpress.com/ 41-page guide on improving wellbeing in young children with learning disabilities https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/cedar/parentsguide/a_parents_guide_-improving_the_wellbeing_of_young_children_with_learning_disabilities.pdf
9 Music & Magic Thank You so much to all those who came along to our event on Sunday 25th February - we had a ball and hope you did too! The feedback from Healthwatch and NHS SWLondon has been very positive; they tell us they found our event a lot of fun as well as extremely helpful in their research. Likewise, all the performers, helpers and hotel staff also commented on how much they enjoyed themselves. The Mayor excelled at Lego and seemed to try her hand at everything. The Fireman and Police all said they'd come back next year. What perfect guests our community is! We will be putting photographs onto our Events page and will let you know when they’re there. 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, Romany (for Richmond) and Caroline North (for Kingston) T: 07469 746 145 E: sendfamilyvoices@outlook.com W: www.sendfamilyvoices.org