SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS: CHANGING CULTURE Richard Mulcahy Head of ALN Reform Welsh Government 25 June 2013
Real Opportunities • Aiming for new approach to meeting needs • Greater involvement of different people • Lead to better attainment and better opportunities
Reform? • Parents saw the statutory assessment process as a battle • Statements hardly changed even over 10 years • Process too long and difficult
Pilots Need to: •include actions from all agencies •make sure plan is effective •parents/carers as equal partners •easy to change and read - online
People first ‘Person-centred planning’ •support needed in order for person to be fully included and actively involved •home, school, work and pleasure •way to help people achieve goals, fulfil potential and realise dreams •plan with a person, not for them
Planning and Plans PCP designed to identify • What’s important to • What’s important for • What’s working • What’s not working
Individual Development Plan (IDP)
Need to get the balance right…
So people want… System that is •Person-centred •flexible & adaptable •about needs of child/young person •keeps looking at those needs over time – changes as child/young person changes
Does it work? • Quality Assurance – all agencies check how provision works • successes and weaknesses fed into planning process • individual pupil tracking help to show how effective any intervention is or isn’t
Where are we now? • Plan to roll out person-centred planning across Wales • Work on Quality Assurance system to share information • More discussion – what do we need to change in the law?
What law? • National Assembly now has power to change law • Need to know from people involved what is needed • Asked questions in 2012 – didn’t give people enough detail…
Why change the law? Definitely need new law if we want to: •change from ‘Special Educational Needs’ to ‘Additional Learning Needs’ •cover everyone from birth up to 25 years old
No need to change? Don’t need new law to •change way people work •use person-centred planning •think differently!
Changes after 16 • Local authorities will assess needs of 16+ learners as they move into college, training • Means better transition at 16 moving on from school as same people involved before and after leaving school
And finally… • Improving chances for SEN/ALN is central to improving schools • Need Special Schools to support ALN in mainstream schools • Want system that is about opportunities
Diolch Unrhyw cwestiynau? Thank you Any questions?