SCN0443

Written evidence from Derwen College

Summary of key points

1. Derwen College strongly supports the ‘spirit’ of the SEND reforms. It is the unintended consequences caused in the implementation that has had a negative impact on young people, parents and carers and providers. The Funding Reforms have had and continue to have an adverse impact upon the range of opportunities open to young people with SEND and their ability to secure funding to access specialist provision of their choice.

1. It is of particular concern that a similar path is being followed in Wales by the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill and Social Services reforms which is likely to lead to similar outcomes longer term for Welsh learners.

2. We are extremely concerned that the ‘Local Offer’ system is confusing to parents and potential students, specialist education routes are effectively ‘hidden’ and the impartiality of Information, advice and guidance is potentially compromised

3. In our opinion the timeliness of funding decisions is inadequate in some areas placing unreasonable stress upon families and their young person and leading to a huge increase in tribunal activity. Once on-programme young people are left uncertain about the duration of their programme from year to year adding to their insecurities and making planning by the organisation extremely challenging. We feel very strongly that reducing the time allowed for young people with SEND to prepare for adulthood is short term thinking and ultimately detrimental to them and the public purse.

4. We have concerns about the timeliness and quality of EHCPs which remains inconsistent and is poor in many areas. There is a lack of relevance and focus to many of the stated outcomes and an out-dated over-reliance upon achievement of accreditation as the sole benchmark.

5. We consider that the current application, assessment and funding process has placed unprecedented administrative demands upon Derwen and other specialist providers, diverting precious resources.

6. Derwen College is a nationally renowned centre of excellence for the training and development of young people aged between 16-25 with learning difficulties and disabilities. Despite high demand for places from prospective students and their families fewer than ever are successful in securing funding to come to Derwen threatening, not only their rights and best interests, but the ultimately the future viability of this Outstanding provision.

About Derwen College

2. Derwen College is a specialist residential and day College with a mission to: “provide inspirational learning, development and care and enable the achievement of aspirations which transform lives”.

3. The specialist nature of provision means that students are drawn from across the UK and then are enabled, through comprehensive transition support, to return to their local area with the aim of gaining employment, education and/or independent living accommodation.

4. Derwen College is one of the leading specialist colleges in the country and has been recognised as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted on three consecutive occasions and ‘Good’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).   Through a diverse range of opportunities and a highly skilled staff team our learners are enabled to transform their lives to attain their aspirations.

5. The College’s specialism is to teach through the medium of vocational and life skills programmes that provide direct experiences of living and work.  In providing services to members of the public, all students have opportunities to learn skills for the world beyond College.  The whole learning experience provides students with the skills to work and live in the community with the greatest level of autonomy of which they are capable. 

6. The College’s main campus is located in Gobowen, near Oswestry Shropshire close to the border of North Wales with satellite centres in Wrexham (north Wales), Walford (mid Shropshire) and in Craven Arms (south Shropshire). 

7. Currently there are 180 students, all of whom have a combination of learning difficulties and/or disabilities and many with additional communication and behavioural support needs, accessing the College in either a residential or day capacity. 

8. In April 2016 Ofsted said:

1. Students benefit from a wide range of real working environments at the college, which offer authentic opportunities to develop work-related skills.
2. Leaders and managers’ innovative partnership working with ‘industry champions’ substantially increases students’ opportunities for employment.
3. Leaders and managers ensure that the curriculum is individualised to meet the needs of each student; as a result, students develop valuable skills that prepare them for their future life exceptionally well.

Reasons for submitting evidence

9. We are concerned that the Children and Families Act, the Code of Practice and the Funding Reforms have had a huge impact upon the range of opportunities open to young people with SEND and their ability to secure funding to access specialist provision of their choice.

10. A similar path is being followed in Wales by the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill and Social Services reforms which is likely to lead to similar outcomes longer term for Welsh learners.

11. The ‘right’ to access the most appropriate, high quality education available has become more difficult and more bureaucratic - young people with SEND are being pushed towards their local provision, only required to be adequate, while Derwen as an Outstanding Specialist provider is seen as the ‘last resort’. Derwen College is a nationally renowned centre of excellence for the training and development of young people with learning difficulties and disabilities and this wealth of expertise is at risk under the new funding system.

12. As an organisation we are concerned that application, assessment and funding system for high needs provision has become overly bureaucratic, the impact of which is delayed decisions, late placements and incomplete documentation in the pre-entry and admissions stages of a young persons’ programme. For example, as of May this year, 20 young people have asked for Derwen College to be named on their EHCP, been assessed and offered a place for September 2018 but have not yet had their places and funding confirmed. The impact of late placements and confirmation of funding causes significant stress to the young person and their families as well as significant difficulties for Derwen, the provider, to plan the resources needed in a timely manner to ensure that the young person’s needs are met.

1. Assessment of and support for children and young people with SEND

1.1      As a national provider Derwen deals with a large number of Local Authorities – 47 at current count. The varying approaches of each authority is placing an unrealistic demand upon College resources.

1.2      There are a wide variety of assessment practices across LAs and quality of information is inconsistent and not always relevant as the young person prepares for adulthood. It is vital that assessment information is current and timely. For example, Section B of the EHCP is often not current and, in our experience, just a duplication of the previous school report. Recently we received an application for a young person to come to Derwen and the information provided for a 2018 placement was based on a 2015 school report.

1.3      Reliability of assessment information is also a key issue, particularly in relation to qualification achievement as often it is not clear as to the level of support a young person has received to achieve stated outcomes in the past. In many instances our own diagnostic assessments show that the young person is working at a lower level than achieved at school and on their Personal Learning Record. This makes programme planning and funding even harder as often the young person cannot achieve the next level as the jump between levels within qualifications is too great. Correct assessment is key to getting the starting point right and achieving the best transition plans. In our experience this lack of relevant assessment information within an EHCP is potentially putting funding applications at risk.

Recommendation

1.4      We would like to see a more personalised focus within EHCP outcomes on what the young person needs to do and funding not so reliant upon achieving a higher qualification. In our experience it is not the qualifications that gets the young person a job or secures them a better future but the experience of being offered a bespoke programme where they can grow as an individual and develop transferrable work skills.

2. The level and distribution of funding for SEND provision

2.1      In our experience the distribution of funding appears disproportionate and something of a ‘post code lottery’. A side-by-side comparison of students with similar needs sees them getting a very different response from different LAs, leading to different levels and lengths of provision. Some Local Authorities are now seeking to only fund one year post 16 placements as they work on an annual, high needs budget allocation despite the clear need for a two or three year programme to achieve the best possible outcomes for the individual.

2.2      The concept of a ‘programme of study’ appears to have been lost. This is a huge disadvantage for young people with SEND who are left uncertain about the length of programme they are on as increasingly LAs will only fund a year at a time.  For example, 45% of Derwen students moving this year (2018) from year 1 to year 2 have not yet had their place confirmed for the following year (2019) – we are already in June – this would not happen to young people in general FE on a programme of study.

2.3      For those parents with the capacity, resources and resilience to fight for a place at specialist provision, in our experience, the outcome of tribunal is generally positive. Six of the students who came to us in 17/18 went to tribunal and three of these cases were settled within two weeks or less before the planned tribunal date. Four of the young people hoping to achieve a placement with us for 18/19 have taken their cases to tribunal and await a decision – it is already June – this is for a September programme start – the cycle of stressed young people and families, uncertainty and delay continues…

2.4      We question how ethical this system is when the majority of young people without SEND leave school to go onto further education and access the course they choose for the amount of time the course runs. For example, the majority of FE courses are two years (18months). We are receiving more and more challenges from Local Authorities over proposing a three year programme which often gets the best outcomes. If the average young person goes to FE to access a course of two years (18months) we question why young people with SEND who have significant barriers to learning can be expected to achieve the same outcomes in the same or less amount of time?

2.5      We feel very strongly that reducing the time allowed for young people with SEND to prepare for adulthood is short term thinking and, ultimately, detrimental to them and the public purse. When Local Authorities visit us they see for themselves the difference we make to individuals’ lives.  In January 2018 one Local Authority Audit stated:

‘The provision is student centred and that the teams work with the best interests of the young people at the fore at all times. The proactive use of external companies to bring excellent learning facilities and post college employment is most noteworthy and should be showcased as an example of good practice.’ 

3. The roles of and co-operation between education, health and social care sectors

3.1      Whilst we support the concept of the EHCP and the format has the potential to offer structure, in reality, the quality of these documents continues to be poor. We suggest that there is insufficient accountability in the system and that much closer monitoring and quality assurance across the board is required. For example – one student has a 90 page EHCP while a different student has a plan of just 8 pages. One student has 26 EHCP written outcomes, whilst another student just four. Some consistency and joined-up thinking is desperately needed.

3.2      Co-operation between education, health and social care sectors and joint commissioning is not working and often we have to chase both to secure funding and finalise formal paper work way beyond the time when this should have been completed. For example, education agreed the placement for one student because there was nothing appropriate locally and social care then questioned the cost of the residential placement – this is just one example and administratively very time consuming – not the best use of precious College resources.

4. Provision for 19-25-year olds including support for independent living; transition to adult services; and access to education, apprenticeships and work

4.1      Transition support is, again, a post code lottery with significant variances between provisions for post-18 opportunities in different regions. For many of our final year students the future post College is very uncertain and despite our best efforts to support them to become ‘work ready’ and make links with local employers much hinges upon the available housing – often not known until after they have left us.

Recommendation

4.2      In order for LA’s to ensure value for money and truly support the focus on preparing for adulthood there needs to be more ‘joined up’ thinking and planning between education, social care and health. Those young people who leave us and go on to live independently reduce support needs and the need for social care. This is a highly positive outcome, as not all outcomes should be measured on accreditation success alone.

June 2018