Review of policy and provision for children and young people with SEN and/or disabilities

Terms of reference

1.1 Purpose

It is important that Kent’s SEN Strategy and Policy make clear:

• How outcomes for all children and young people with SEN/LDD will be improved across the age range 0 – 24 through transition into adulthood.
• How the policies will be supported across the four SEN/LDD dimensions and the seven need groups by respective trans-disciplinary colleagues and agencies.
• How parental confidence will be developed and required cultural change made across all professionals, provisions and processes.
• How in the current economic climate, both nationally and locally, all resources are deployed effectively, coherently and cohesively, with an appropriate balance between school localities and the centre that provides maximum protection for the future.

The review will ensure that the Local Authority can:

• Secure appropriate provision to meet the special needs and/or disabilities of all children and young people of Kent
• Ensure there is equity of access to quality provision across all areas of Kent
• Ensure a continuum of provision from universal services within mainstream settings to highly specialist provision for very severe and complex needs
• Enable children and young people as far as is compatible with their needs to be educated with their peers within their local community and to minimise the travel time to and from school
• Ensure appropriate access to quality provision for those children and young people for whom education within their local community is not compatible with meeting their needs

1.2 Key Partners

The development of the strategy will require multi-agency commitment and participation.  It will include the following key partners:

• Services from across all units in the Children, Families and Education Directorate
• Health commissioners and providers
• Schools, including special schools, PRUs and academies
• Parents/carers of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities
• Children and young people for whom the strategy has potential current and future implications
• Voluntary agencies and the Independent Non-maintained sector

1.3 Principles

In the development and implementation of the strategy we will:

• Consult as widely as possible with all partners
• Take account of good practice that is already taking place and be positive about identifying lessons that can be learned from practice that has failed to deliver good outcomes
• Not permit the programme of review and change to compromise the education of any children or young people
• Give sufficient time for transition from the current model of provision delivery to the new model
• Develop and implement an effective on-going evaluation programme to ensure the suitability for purpose of the new model and the flexibility to enable necessary on-going changes to improve outcomes
• Develop robust funding arrangements that facilitate sufficiency and efficacy of service delivery, demonstrate lines of accountability, allow for local flexibility and responsiveness and provide value for money 
• Develop a service framework for working with academies to ensure their effective  inclusion in the both the review and delivering within the continuum of provision
• Ensure the plan to develop and implement the strategy is a main strand of, and is coordinated with, the County’s Children and Young People’s Plan

1.4 The Plan

We will prepare a detailed Action Plan and, to ensure its effective and efficient implementation, we will:

• Constitute a Strategy Steering Group to oversee the development and implementation of the strategy
• Constitute a working group for each of the four dimensions of SEN to scope and plan the work of developing provision and services
• Constitute a parent/carer reference group to assist the work of the Steering and Working Groups
• Ensure appropriate stakeholder representation on each group

Please see Annex 1 for a copy of the proposals for the constitution of each of the groups and their remit.  

1.5 Timeframe

The timeframe aims to commence the implementation of the Strategy in September 2011.  This is to allow sufficient time for preparing recommendations, including time for consultation, and for SMT and elected members’ decision-making.  The commencement date for the implementation represents only a start date for a transition process and it will be important that any action plan builds in a very gradual transition period with no assumptions being made about the new provision being fully operational within a short timescale.  The intention is that the strategy will require a 3 year period to be fully implemented. 

2. Action Plan

The following is a brief summary indicative Action Plan, until such time as the Strategy Steering Group meets and agrees a more detailed one (Please see Annex 2 for a summary copy):

• By end July 2010 constitute the various groups
• By early September 2010 hold an initial meeting of the Steering Group and confirm overarching timeframe for work and implementation
• By end September 2010 hold initial meeting of each Dimension Working Group
• September 2010 present lead school evaluation to SMT, CMT and Cabinet and use to inform recommendations for the way forward on the Strategy
• September 2010 put proposals to Schools Funding Forum (SFF) on possible funding options being considered
• October 2010 prepare detailed Action Plan with timelines as soon as the way forward is clear following SMT and elected members’ decision on the lead school evaluation recommendations
• November 2010 – March 2011: prepare proposals, including detailed funding proposals, informed by the Parent/Carer Reference Group, and undertake consultation (including consultation of funding proposals) with all partners and stakeholders
• December 2010: take funding proposals, including transitional arrangements from 2011, to SFF
• By July 2011: Finalise proposals for consideration and decisions by SMT and elected Members
• September 2011: commence implementation

      Annex 1 to the SEN Strategy Project Plan

SEN and disabled children and young people's strategy policy, and provision steering and need dimensions working groups

Steering group
Remit

• Oversee the development and implementation of the SEN and Disabled Children’s Strategy
• Oversee the work of the Need Dimensions Working Groups
• Consider recommendations from the working groups and parent/carer reference group
• Plan and oversee the consultation process
• Ensure an effective communications strategy is in place
• Ensure an appropriate monitoring and evaluation strategy is in place
• Prepare reports for SMT, elected Members and other interested parties
• Make recommendations to SMT and Members for provision development and implementation

Membership

• Director of Specialist Children’s Services (Chair)
• Director of Learning
• Head of SEN and Resources
• Schools Finance Manager
• County SEN Manager – Project Lead
• Parent Partnership Services Head of Service
• Senior Inclusion and Access Adviser
• Head of Psychology Service
• Head of Specialist Teaching Service
• Head of Attendance and Behaviour
• Health Commissioner for Disabled Children’s Services
• Area Children’s Services Officer
• Chairs of Dimensions Working Groups
• Secondary School Head (academy or maintained)
• Primary School Head

Need dimensions working groups
Remit, in relation to the dimension of need the Group is addressing

• To provide an overview description of the continuum of provision that should be available for the particular need type(s) 0 - 24
• To prepare and provide a Policy document for the SEN dimension of need for approval by the Strategy Steering Group, SMT and Members for consultation and publication
• To consider and make recommendations on the features of a mainstream school (including PRUs as appropriate and Academies) to ensure the delivery of a universal provision for the particular need type
• To consider and make recommendations on what mainstream schools could reasonably deliver, with additional input, in terms of an enhanced level of provision and what the features of that provision would be
• To consider and make recommendations on the features of specialist provision within mainstream schools
• Map what is currently available within each locality/district, identify gaps and make recommendations about developing and/or redistributing current services and resources
• Describe what an appropriate specialist outreach service might look like and how that could be delivered, clarifying the relationship between mainstream and special schools
• Establish criteria for access to specialist resourcing, including outreach, and placements within mainstream schools
• Establish criteria for partnership working with the Independent and Non-Maintained sector and other Local Authorities to ensure a complete continuum of provision including any out county day and/or residential provision

Dimensions of Need for which Groups to be constituted

BESD; Cognition and Learning; PD/MED/HI/VI/MSI; ASD/SLCN

Membership (where relevant, representatives to come from particular area of specialism)

• Head of Special School
• Secondary School Head*
• Primary School Head*
• EP representative
• SEN and Resources representative
• Specialist Teaching Service representative
• Attendance and Behaviour Service representative
• Relevant Health representative
• Inclusion and Access Adviser representative
• Preventative Services Manager representative
• Head of SEN and Resources or County SEN Manager

* preferably at least one to be from a school with a unit or with lead school status

           
Annex 2 to the SEN Strategy Project Plan

SEN and disabled children and young people strategy policy and provision summary indicative action plan

Timeframe Action

• End July 2010 - Constitute Strategy Group and sub-group
• Early Sept 2010 - Hold an initial meeting of the SEN strategy steering group and confirm overarching timeframe for the work and implementatio
• End September 2010 - Hold meetings of each dimension of need working group
• September 2010 - Present lead school best practice evaluation report to SMT, CMT and Cabinet to inform decision-making on way forward on the strategy
• September 2010 - Update and Options proposals for SEN Strategy Policy and Provision to SMT, Members and POC
• September 2010 - Put proposals to Schools Funding Forum (SFF) on possible funding options to be considered
• October/November 2010 - Consultation with schools on identified funding SEN options and proposals as part of Autumn consultation on all schools formula funding considerations
• October 2010 - Prepare detailed action plan with timelines as soon as the way forward is clear following SMT and Members’ policy decisions in September
• November 2010 – March 2011 - Prepare proposals, including detailed funding proposals, informed by the parent/carer reference group, and undertake consultation with all partners and stakeholders
• December 2010 - Take funding proposals , including transitional arrangements from April 2011, to Schools Funding Forum following consultation feedback and outcome
• July 2011 - Finalise proposals for consideration and decision by SMT and Cabinet
• September 2011 - Commence implementation