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Written evidence from the Department for Education and Depart for Health and Social Care

Introduction

1. We are striving for world-class education for all, whatever their background or needs; and for a more productive economy, so everyone has the chance to reach their potential and have a more fulfilled life. Every child and young person should be supported effectively to fulfil their potential and move successfully into adulthood.

2. The Special Educational Needs (SEN) system is crucial to achieving these aims. It sits alongside our commitment to supporting other vulnerable children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, those with mental health needs, Looked After Children, Children in Need and those in Alternative Provision. Local authorities play a key role here, in ensuring that the needs of vulnerable children are met.

3. In January 2017 around 1.2 million pupils in schools had identified SEN (14.4% of pupils)[1]; and around 194,000 students (21.2%) aged under 19 with a self-declared learning difficulty or disability participated in Further Education in 2016-17[2]. Across all age groups, there were 286,000 children and young people with statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and 34,000 children and young people with Statements of SEN maintained by local authorities as at January 2018[3]. The Government provides substantial funding for the support of children and young people with SEN. It is therefore crucial that the SEN system delivers the right outcomes and that resources are used to best effect.

4. There has been a clear consensus for some years that the SEN system needs to be strengthened, hence our SEN Green Paper[4] in 2011, the Children and Families Act 2014[5] and the ongoing reforms. We are confident these remain the right reforms and good progress has been made, but recognise that more must be done to implement in full the changes in culture and practice set out in our vision of a new SEN system.

5. The recent completion of the transition period (the completion of the reviews of over 230,000 Statements of SEN) marks a new phase for the SEN and Disability (SEND) reforms. Where services are strong we need to build on them; at the same time as addressing areas where improvement is needed to deliver quality services and better outcomes for children, young people and their families. In doing so we must keep striving to ensure that those with SEND and their families are at the heart of the system and that their voices are heard.

6. We will be responding to Dame Christine Lenehan’s report on residential specialist schools and colleges, Good Intentions, Good Enough?[6], and using this to give more detail on where we will focus our efforts going forward. As we move into a new phase over the reforms, we intend to set up a National Leadership Board to help drive forward the changes needed.

7. All these developments help make the Committee’s Inquiry both helpful and timely.

Aims of SEND reforms

8. Our principal aims in reforming the system are these:

1. earlier and better identification of Special Educational Needs, combined with the right provision, so that every child and young person receives the high quality teaching and support that best meet those needs;

2. an effective inter-agency approach, where educational settings work (where appropriate) in partnership with health and social care bodies to meet needs;

3. an improved experience for families, characterised by less conflict, having their voices heard and having genuine choice and control over the provision made for their child;

4. a positive experience of education for the child or young person, in which he/she feels a full part of the school or college community, feels safe and valued and has opportunities to grow both academically and as a person; and

5. children and young people are able to fulfil their potential – academically and in terms of preparation for adulthood (relationships, work-readiness, health and preparedness for independent living).

9. Progress over aspects of the reforms, such as the pace of transition to EHC plans, is important; but as a means to an end. The real goal lies in improved experiences for those with SEND and their families and ultimately in improved outcomes.

The SEND reform programme

10. The Children and Families Act 2014 provides a strong framework on which to build our reform programme. This is complemented by the Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years[7] (SEND Code of Practice), statutory guidance produced jointly by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department of Health, working in partnership with parents. The Code sets out a blueprint for good SEND practice across the whole system, setting high expectations and building on the lessons learnt over the years.

11. A commentary on some of the detailed provisions in the Act not covered directly by the Committee’s areas of focus (and the related secondary legislation) is attached at Annex A.

12. To support implementation we have focused on:

1. providing funding and support for implementation and improvement of SEND services to families, local authorities, providers and wider partners; and

2. clear accountability structures (see for example our publication, Special educational needs and disability: supporting local and national accountability[8]).

13. We introduced a new Ofsted/Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection framework in 2016, which has been a crucial change to accountability structures. Ofsted/CQC are to assess the effectiveness of SEND services in all local areas by 2021. The inspection reports have proved a catalyst for local change, both where written statements of action have been required and where they have not. Local authorities and their health partners have embraced the process and used inspection findings to prioritise areas for improvement. Nationally, inspection findings have shone a light on some of the strengths and weaknesses of the SEND system; and with this in mind we have quoted from various inspection outcome letters[9] in this evidence.

14.                                                                                                                                We have also:

1. invested in evidence-based tools to help local areas to improve their SEND services, including a SEND Review tool[10], our ‘What Works’ guide for schools[11] and the EHC plan journey website[12];

2. commissioned a large scale research project into families’ satisfaction with EHC plans; and

3. commissioned Dame Christine Lenehan to conduct an independent review of the residential special school and college system.

15. The 2014 Act aimed to achieve changes not just to the architecture of the SEND system, but also to the culture and the spirit in which the system operates. Section 19 of the Act (the first section relating to SEND) introduces the requirement of co-production with families, to which local authorities, in carrying out their SEND duties, must have regard. In particular, local authorities must have regard to the views, wishes and feelings of the child or young person and the child’s parents and both enable and support them to participate as fully as possible in decisions.

16. To support the development of the culture of co-production, we have invested in Parent Carer Forums (PCFs), Independent Supporters and support for strategic participation by young people and parents. We have given strong encouragement for co-production: both at the strategic level (for example with Local Offers or school SEN Information Reports) and with meeting the needs of individuals (for example in producing an EHC plan). We have also ensured that parents’ voices are built into our assessments of progress, for example by co-producing the implementation surveys that go to local authorities and PCFs and encouraging the surveys to be completed together.

17. The membership of PCFs has grown significantly – from under 60,000 in 2014 to more than 85,000 in 2018. Annual reports from the National Network of Parent Carer Forums and the charity Contact offer many examples of the impact local Forums and the National Network have had in influencing local and national SEND policy and delivery.

18. The input of parents, carers and young people is a key part of the Ofsted/CQC inspections, which have found positive examples of engagement. For example, ‘St Helens is embracing co-production ... Across the local area parents, professionals, children and young people are working effectively together to devise and implement improvements.’

19. A key ingredient to successful implementation is joint working across government, local authorities and the voluntary sector. We have funded consortia of charities and other bodies, including the Council for Disabled Children (CDC) as our SEND Strategic Partner, to drive change on the ground. Our delivery support focuses on:

1. training (working in partnership with IPSEA - Independent Parental Special Education Advice) for local authorities, health providers and parents;

2. support and challenge from our team of regional SEND advisers, working with NHS England regional leads; and

3. specialist support on key areas, for example through the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) on preparation for adulthood.

20. In this way, we aim to work collaboratively with users of the system to bring about the lasting change that was envisaged through the legislation.

21. We have also funded a range of condition-specific organisations to develop resources and training to equip practitioners to deliver the SEND reforms. This includes specialist resources in relation to dyslexia, sensory impairment, autism, physical disability and speech and language needs; Focus On SEND, a package of free online Continuing Professional Development for all mainstream settings; and ‘What Works’ evidence, including examples of effective interventions for those on SEN Support. All the materials funded by the DfE are hosted on the nasen SEND Gateway[13].

22. An example of DfE’s condition-specific support is our funding of the Autism Education Trust since 2011 to deliver autism awareness training to education staff in Early Years settings, schools and Further Education (FE) colleges etc. So far more than 175,000 people have been trained – not just teachers and teaching assistants, but also support staff such as receptionists, dining hall staff and caretakers, encouraging a ‘whole school’ approach to supporting pupils with autism.

23. Having funded a wealth of resources and training about specific types of need over recent years, our focus is now on ensuring that Early Years settings, schools and FE colleges etc prioritise SEND in improvement planning and staff Continuing Professional Development.

The Committee’s specific areas of interest

Assessment of and support for children and young people with SEND

24. We have sought through the reforms to strengthen the processes by which Special Educational Needs are identified and appropriate provision made, at as early a stage as possible. This is not just about those with SEN whose complex needs need to be met through the statutory EHC needs assessment and plan process, but is also about Early Years settings, schools and FE colleges etc identifying those children and young people with SEN whose needs can be met at ‘SEN Support’ level.

25. The Act and Code of Practice set high standards – for example that maintained nurseries, schools and colleges must use their ‘best endeavours’ to make provision to meet an individual’s SEN. Our aim is that earlier identification is combined with the right provision to ensure every child or young person gets high quality teaching and support that meets those needs. Getting assessment and support right is also about ensuring that the views, wishes and feelings of the child and parents or the young person are incorporated at every stage of the process; as the legislation and the Code of Practice make clear.

Early Years settings

26. The SEND Code of Practice highlights that early action to address identified needs is critical to future progress. The Early Years Action and Action Plus categories were replaced by SEN Support, supporting children with SEN through a clear focus on interventions that deliver clear outcomes (the ‘graduated response’ - assess, plan, do and review).

27. To coincide with the Code of Practice, the DfE published advice for Early Years providers about their new duties[14]. This reinforced the requirement in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework that all providers must have arrangements to identify and support children with SEND and to promote equality of opportunity for children in their care. It also built upon the EYFS progress check for a child aged between two and three; whereby Early Years practitioners must review progress and provide parents with a short written summary of their child’s development, focusing in particular on communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development. Early identification and intervention are imperative, with health services having a key role. Local authorities should integrate the health check that is part of the Healthy Child Programme with the EYFS progress check at age two: combining the processes offers the potential to provide better and earlier intervention to support children’s outcomes.

28. As part of their role in identifying and planning for the needs of children with SEND, local authorities are expected to ensure that there is sufficient expertise and experience among local Early Years providers to support children with SEND. All maintained nursery schools must ensure there is a qualified teacher designated as the SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator), who is responsible for co-ordinating SEN provision. All other providers are required to have arrangements in place for meeting children’s SEN and are expected to designate a SENCO (although the latter is not specifically required). Local authorities often use Area SENCOs to provide advice and guidance to Early Years providers on the development of inclusive early learning environments. The Area SENCO helps make the links between education, health and social care, to facilitate appropriate early provision for children with SEND and their transition to compulsory schooling.
29. In their report on the first year of the SEND inspections, One Year On[15], Ofsted/CQC noted that, ‘children’s and young people’s SEND were identified well in the early years, particularly for those with complex needs. Parents generally felt supported and involved in the process’.

30. Accessing Early Years provision early can make a big difference - a key study[16] found that children with no pre-school experience were more likely to be 'at risk' of SEN in terms of their cognitive development at entry to primary school and at the end of year 1, even taking into account the group's higher levels of multiple disadvantage. Because early action is important, children receiving Disability Living Allowance or with an EHC plan are eligible for 15 hours of free early education at age two, in addition to the universal 15 hours of free childcare at age three and four and the 30 extension hours for three and four year olds in working families.

31. The Government has put a range of measures in place to help to ensure that local areas deliver the right support for children with SEND and their families to access quality early education, including the changes to funding outlined in section 4.2 below. We have also invested £12.5 million in the Disability Access Fund, worth £615 per child, and introduced a requirement that local authorities establish an SEN Inclusion Fund, to ensure children with SEN get the best from the free childcare entitlements.

32. To support the workforce, the DfE has worked with organisations specialising in SEND to develop a specification for a Level 3 SEND qualification[17], an Early Years SENCO job description[18] and a package of free SEND resources[19] specific to the early years, focusing on early intervention and support. As part of Unlocking Talent, Fulfilling Potential: a plan for improving social mobility through education[20], the Government announced a partnership between the DfE and Public Health England to enable the Early Years workforce to identify and support children’s early speech, language and communication needs. The work will include developing training and an early language assessment tool to ensure that any delays can be picked up and the right early support put in place.

Schools

33. As with Early Years settings, the categories of School Action and School Action Plus were replaced with ‘SEN Support’, underpinned by the graduated response (assess, plan, do, review).

34. 14.4%[21] of pupils have SEN, so it is vital that all teachers see themselves as a teacher of children with SEN. The Teachers’ Standards[22] clearly establish this.

35. The school-led system means that school leadership teams are responsible for identifying SEND within their school improvement priorities, together with ensuring effective Continuing Professional Development (CPD) that meets the needs of all their pupils.

36. SEND needs to be a core component of Initial Teacher Training (ITT), CPD and school improvement more widely. In July 2016 the DfE published a new framework of core content for ITT[23], with SEND forming a significant part. Over the period 2018-20 we are funding University College London (UCL), as part of our contract with the Whole School SEND Consortium, to review SEND content in ITT and disseminate best practice case studies.

37. We recognise that SENCOs play a vital role in identifying and assessing SEN in schools and in supporting families. That is why the SEND Code of Practice strengthened their role, whilst continuing to maintain the requirement that every mainstream school (including academies and free schools) must designate a qualified teacher as the SENCO. Some local authorities provide ongoing access to support through local SENCO networks and forums and have provided training to all SENCOs about the reforms. As part of our support for SENCOs we have commissioned the Whole School SEND Consortium to develop a SENCO induction pack in 2018-19.

38. Ofsted/CQC local area inspections have highlighted the value of this local authority support, with positive mentions of the work of Cambridgeshire, Halton, Lewisham and North Yorkshire, for example, in supporting SENCOs. In Telford and Wrekin, ‘many of the parents who spoke with inspectors are very appreciative of the support their children receive as a result of SENCOs identifying and assessing their child’s needs quickly and putting in place suitable intervention and support’.

39. We aim to ensure that schools are equipped to meet the needs of all children with SEND, both those on SEN Support and those requiring an EHC plan. We have helped ensure that a wide range of support is available to schools, including through:

1. the Teaching School Alliance, where there are 927 SEN Specialist Leaders in Education. We also intend, through the Alliance, to support partnership working between special and mainstream schools to share expertise and support school improvement;

2. the SEND Review tool, which over 700 practitioners are now trained to use;

3. providing £3.4 million over the period 2018-20 to the Whole School SEND Consortium, led by nasen, to drive education institutions to prioritise SEND as part of their school improvement strategy; to equip schools to identify and meet their training needs in relation to SEND, to build the specialist workforce; and to identify and respond to any gaps in training and resources available. This has included our funding Consortium support for those local areas where Ofsted/CQC have highlighted schools’ provision as a significant concern; and

4. a new SEND lead in each of the eight Regional Schools Commissioner regions, who will bring together practitioners and networks in their local area to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise.

40. We need to build on these foundations - in their One Year On report Ofsted/CQC highlighted that children and young people identified as needing SEN Support in some areas had not yet benefited sufficiently from the reforms.

41. We have also launched a review of exclusions practice led by Edward Timpson CBE, looking at how schools use exclusion; and in particular why some groups of children, including those with SEN, are more likely to be excluded from school. In 2015-16, pupils with identified SEN accounted for almost half of all permanent exclusions and fixed period exclusions.[24] The review will explore the issues and identify best practice to be shared, including over behaviour management and the interventions that schools use as an alternative to exclusion. The review will aim to report by the end of 2018.

Further Education colleges etc

42. The 2014 Act brought the Further Education (FE) sector into a coherent SEND system. It placed four new duties on FE colleges and other specified post-16 institutions, to:

1. use their ‘best endeavours’ to secure the special educational provision a young person needs;

2. co-operate with the local authority;

3. admit a young person if the setting is named in an EHC plan; and

4. have regard to the SEND Code of Practice.

43. The Code sets out the expectation that colleges should focus on supporting young people to progress and reach positive destinations in adult life. Like Early Years settings and schools, colleges should follow the ‘assess, plan, do, review’ model of SEN support. The Code emphasises student participation in SEN support decisions. Unlike schools, colleges are not under a legal duty to have a SENCO, but the Code says they should ensure there is a named person with oversight of SEN provision, similar to the SENCO role.

44. The FE sector has welcomed the SEND reforms. Colleges are used to supporting students with additional needs, but we recognise that the SEND reforms introduced significant changes for the sector. We have worked closely with the sector, including through the Association of Colleges (AoC) and Natspec[25], to help put the Code into practice and improve provision for students with SEN.

45. Our support has included funding for guidance for the college sector on the reforms, regional events to support joint working between colleges and local authorities and specialist SEND teacher training bursaries.

46. We have worked closely with the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) to provide training for the FE workforce. We are funding the ETF £700,000 this year (2018-19), with £700,000 the year before. This included the development of teacher training modules, self-assessment tools for colleges on implementing the reforms and collaborative practice events so that colleges can learn from each other.

47. We recognise that FE colleges face challenges in implementing the SEND reforms and that there is still further to go, but we are already seeing positive impacts. For example, in Greenwich, inspectors found, ‘young people in a college setting report that ambitious targets combined with the support and aspiration of their parents and college staff are pushing them to achieve well and get good results’. In West Sussex, inspectors saw ‘an excellent example of joint working… in the work between a special school and a further education college, supported by the local authority, resulting in improved outcomes for young people post-16’.

The transition from Statements of Special Educational Needs and Learning Disability Assessments to Education, Health and Care plans

48. We introduced EHC plans to help join up services and improve the experience for families of those who have more complex needs. We provided local authorities £70 million in 2014 to help prepare for their new statutory duties and £153 million in ‘new burdens’ funding[26] to ensure that they were resourced to meet the additional costs of transition to the new system. We also introduced the Independent Supporter programme, with funding of £60 million over the period 2014-18, to provide personal support to families going through the transition from Statements of SEN to EHC plans. This has reached more than 100,000 families, mainly through one-to-one support but also through group activities (for example, workshops run in schools). User surveys have indicated very high satisfaction with the quality of Independent Support: the CDC’s Quality Measures survey, for example, found that 90% of 1,404 respondents who had accessed Independent Support found the service very or extremely useful[27].

49. Learning Difficulty Assessments (for students with complex SEN studying with post-16 learning providers) have been phased out, so those young people that require a statutory plan now have an EHC plan, with the rights that come with this. As at 31 March 2018, 98.4% of the 236,225 Statements of SEN in place on 31 August 2014 had been reviewed[28]. The legal test of when a child or young person requires an EHC plan is the same as that for a Statement for SEN; so no-one should have lost their Statement and not had it replaced with an EHC plan simply because the system was changing. Throughout the transfer period we have made it clear that the transfer process must follow the EHC needs assessment process and that resulting EHC plans must be good quality. We have also been clear that the provision set out in a Statement of SEN must remain in place until the transfer process is complete.

50. We have seen the positive impact of EHC plans through the Ofsted/CQC inspections. For example, in Greenwich inspectors found that, ‘since the reforms, schools and parents report that the views of children are better captured during the EHC plan assessment process. The EHC plan has the child at its heart and some professionals report the process as being ‘cathartic’. Young adults feel central to their EHC plan.’

51. Amba, one of the members of the young people’s participation group (FLARE) that we have set up, said, ‘Since I had my diagnosis, I managed to get an EHC plan put in place and I receive very good support whilst doing my GCSEs and A levels which helped me to achieve my eight GCSEs. This made a huge difference for me getting my good grades at GCSEs.’

52. In 2016 the DfE carried out a survey of over 13,000 parents and young people who received an EHC plan in 2015[29]. The survey asked respondents for their views on different aspects of the EHC needs assessment process and the impact of their EHC plan. Two-thirds (66%) of parents and young people were satisfied with the overall process of getting an EHC plan. The majority (73%) of respondents agreed that the EHC plan had already made a difference to the child or young person getting the help and support that they need.

53. In 2018 we published Education, Health and Care plans: A qualitative investigation into service user experiences of the planning process[30]. This included an expert review of the quality of eighteen EHC plans from different local authorities, which showed encouraging progress and highlighted where we need to continue to focus improvement.

54. We now have an EHC assessment and planning process that has bedded in and is growing in effectiveness. We have seen improvements in timeliness, with 64.9% of new EHC plans (excluding exception cases) being issued within 20 weeks in 2017 (up from 58.6% in 2016)[31]. But there is much still to do. We will be focusing on continuing to improve quality going forward, particularly emphasising the importance of annual reviews of plans. We continue to provide delivery support as outlined in section 3 above and also announced in November 2017 an additional £29 million of direct funding to local authorities to support implementation beyond the end of the transition period.

The level and distribution of funding for SEND provision

55. An effective funding system is a cornerstone of an effective education system. The funding system should underpin the delivery of our educational priorities, supporting every child and young person to reach their potential whatever their background.

56. By introducing a national funding formula, we are reforming the school and high needs funding systems, driving resources to where they are needed most and providing greater transparency and predictability.

57. We have also introduced an Early Years National Funding Formula, which has an additional needs factor, directing more funding to local authorities with more need.

58. The Government is investing record amounts of funding in schools and high needs this year and introduced a new national funding formula from April 2018. Core funding for schools and high needs will rise from nearly £41 billion in 2017-18 to £42.4 billion in 2018-19 and £43.5 billion in 2019-20.

59. Our school-led system places the responsibility on schools on how this money is best spent to meet the needs of children with SEND. More detail on the funding system for both schools and colleges can be found in the DfE’s evidence to the Committee’s Inquiry on school and college funding.

High needs funding

60. High needs funding pays for the additional support required by children and young people aged 0 to 25 who have more complex SEND, generally defined as those whose education costs more than £10,000 per annum. It also pays for pupils of compulsory school age who cannot attend school, because for example of medical reasons or exclusion, and who therefore require Alternative Provision.

61. In 2018-19, high needs funding will total £6.0 billion. The vast majority is allocated to local authorities, who are responsible for assessing SEN and securing special provision. They have significant discretion in the way they allocate high needs funding to schools, academies and other providers. Ultimately, a significant majority of this funding is directed to individual schools (both special and mainstream schools/academies).

62. Mainstream schools pay for the costs of additional support for their pupils with SEN, up to £6,000 per annum, from their general school budgets. Factors in the local funding formula, such as the number of pupils with low prior attainment or who are eligible for Free School Meals, provide additional funding to schools likely to have larger numbers of children with SEN. The local authority pays top-up funding from its high needs budget to the school if a pupil’s SEN support costs are above £6,000 per annum. Local authorities also pay for high needs places in special schools, special units attached to mainstream schools, colleges and other post-16 institutions; and they may use their high needs budgets to pay for SEN support services that schools can use.

63. This year we introduced a National Funding Formula for allocating high needs funding to local authorities. The formula targets funding on the basis of the needs and characteristics of the local area, instead of solely on the basis of how much each authority had previously spent. All authorities are receiving a minimum increase of 0.5% in 2018-19. Previously under-funded authorities are receiving up to 3% more. Similar increases will flow through in 2019-20.

64. We are planning to improve the allocations methodology and process in some areas, for example for special free schools and hospital education. We made a commitment to review the formula in four years, including the significant element in the current formula that is based on each local authority’s historic spending on high needs.

Managing special educational provision

65. The 2014 Act places statutory responsibilities on local authorities to support children and young people with SEND. The role requires long term strategic planning; informed by detailed local knowledge including through consultation with families, good relationships with local schools and data to inform future demands.

66. The 2014 Act requires local authorities to keep the provision for children and young people with SEND under review (including its sufficiency), working with parents, young people and providers. The Act also reinforced the legal right for a child’s parent or the young person to request a particular school (mainstream or special), college or other setting to be named in their EHC plan. In January 2018, there were 126,960 children and young people with Statements of SEN or EHC plans in special schools, including academy, free, independent and non-maintained special schools. This compares to 105,442 in 2014[32]. This also amounts to an increase in the proportion of pupils with Statements of SEN or EHC plans in special schools.

67. Supporting local authorities to ensure that there are sufficient good places for all pupils, including those with SEND, is a high priority. Actions we have already taken include:

1. Publishing guidance for local authorities on strategic reviews of special educational provision[33], together with £23 million of additional funding in 2016-17 to support strategic planning of high needs provision.

2. An allocation of £265 million of capital funding (additional to basic need funding) to help build new places at mainstream and special schools and to improve existing places to benefit current and future pupils.

3. Enabling local authorities to commission new schools (both special and mainstream) via the free school presumption route, drawing on the basic need and special provision capital funding sources, and inviting local authorities to play a more proactive role in commissioning new special free schools that would be funded centrally. We are keeping the supply of specialist places for children and young people under review.

68. Dame Christine Lenehan’s independent review of placements in residential specialist schools and colleges[34] highlighted issues with the ability of the State-funded sector to meet effectively the needs of children and young people with complex SEND, which leads to pressure on the availability of specialist residential placements. She highlighted the importance of local authorities working with parents, young people and providers to ensure there is a clear, strategic plan for meeting the wide range of special educational needs, making best use both of local and specialist provision. We are considering how best to support local authorities and providers to achieve this.

Other funding sources (transport, health and care)

69. The overall educational experience of a child or young person with SEND and the outcomes they achieve can often be strongly influenced by other services provided by health bodies and their local authority:

1. the NHS commissions community paediatrics and therapy services for children and young people, including physiotherapy and speech and language therapy; children with the most complex needs receive children’s continuing care;

2. GP practices provide annual health-checks for people with a learning disability who are 14 and over;

3. DHSC gives an annual grant of £11 million to children’s hospices, to support young people’s respite (in addition to any local funding from Clinical Commissioning Groups - CCGs); and

4. local authorities spend nearly £1 billion per annum to provide home to school transport, with around £600 million of this spent on transport for pupils with SEN. This funding comes from outside the Dedicated Schools Grant.

70. Local authorities also spend money on family support services for disabled children. This includes the duties on authorities to provide a range of short breaks for disabled children, young people and their families; and prepare a short breaks duty statement giving details of the local range of services and how they can be accessed, including any eligibility criteria. Local authorities must publish the statement on their website and review it on a regular basis, taking account of the needs of local parents and carers. Co-produced statements therefore form a core part of Local Offers.

Funding the training of educational psychologists

71. The contribution of the educational psychology workforce is vital to providing high quality advice and guidance on identification and meeting of children and young people’s SEN. That is why we retained their contribution to the EHC needs assessment as a statutory requirement. We continue to fund the initial training of educational psychologists (EP) and have increased the number of places available from 120 in 2014 to 160 from September 2019. We are gathering evidence on the distribution and demographic characteristics of the EP workforce.

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

72. The 2014 Act contained a number of provisions aimed at improving health, social care and education services’ joint working to meet needs and improve outcomes and experiences of the system. These include that services for children and young people (up to age 25) must be jointly commissioned, services must collaborate on a published Local Offer and they must work together to deliver joined up services to individuals through EHC plans.

73. To support the on-going improvement in joint working, we have:

6. established a national network for Designated Medical Officers and Designated Clinical Officers, funded a local authority-led regional network and developed resources to support joint self-assessment and peer review;

7. funded a consortium of partners, including the CDC, to work with health and social care services, including producing guidance on effective joint commissioning and improving EHC plans; and

8. funded a SEND leadership programme and legal training for all local authorities and their health partners to ensure they are clear on their statutory responsibilities.

74. We have strengthened the accountability for SEND services through:

9. the introduction of the Ofsted/CQC inspections of SEND services;

10. the introduction of a two year trial, which began in April 2018, extending the remit of the First-tier Tribunal (SEND) to make non-binding recommendations on health and social care elements of EHC plans. This is an important development that will provide a more streamlined appeal route for families;

11. the DfE, DHSC and NHSE collaborating to engage local services where we identify concerns with performance. This includes support and challenge to local areas following their Ofsted/CQC SEND inspection; and
12. the 2017-18 NHS Provider Contract for NHS Trusts including a new requirement to report on meeting the six week deadline for health input into EHC plans.

75. We have launched a major transformation programme for children and young people’s mental health services, supported by an additional £1.4 billion over the period 2015-20; and consulted on additional proposals to increase mental health support linked to schools and colleges.

76. We have also consulted on new guidance for health, care and special school settings on reducing the need for restrictive interventions.

77. We will confirm next steps on these consultations separately later this year.

78. We have set up a multi-sector Children’s Complex Needs Board; and a Transforming Care Children and Young People’s Steering Group to shape the business plans of NHS England, the DfE and DHSC and improve support for those with the most complex needs.

79. We are beginning to see positive results on the ground in relation to joint working between education, health and care; and are particularly encouraged by the joint ownership by local authorities and CCGs of Ofsted/CQC inspection findings and their proactivity in working with partners, including families, to take forward learning. For example:

1. Wiltshire’s inspection: ‘senior leaders in the local area from education, health and social care are working together constructively to deliver and improve services for children and young people who have [SEND].’

2. West Sussex: ‘local area leaders have established strong and well-conceived joint commissioning arrangements. For example, the majority of health services that support children and young people who have SEND are commissioned jointly by the local authority and clinical commissioning groups who work within the local area.’

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

Access to education and support for 19-25 year olds

80. Reforms to the SEND system should mean that children and young people are better prepared for adulthood. Most young people with EHC plans complete further education with their peers by age 19 and our expectation is that this will continue. However, we recognise that some young people with SEND need longer to complete and consolidate their education and training. Data issued in May 2018[35] shows a further increase in the number of young people aged 20-25 with EHC plans – with 14,176 in place in January 2018, compared to 7,708 in January 2017.

81. One of the distinctive features of the SEND Code of Practice is the high expectations it sets in relation to the four Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) outcomes:

1. higher education and/or employment;

2. independent living;

3. participating in society, including having friends and supportive relationships; and

4. being as healthy as possible in adult life.

82. Early Years settings, schools, local authorities and relevant health professionals should all, from an early stage, place a clear focus on PfA for children with SEND; and do what they can to encourage these ambitions. One important element is that from year 9 onwards, local authorities have a statutory duty that EHC plan reviews have a focus on preparing for adult life.

83. A key vision for the reforms is that improved and earlier PfA will result in young people moving earlier into employment and independent living. This is an essential outcome for these young people and achieving it will also reduce the current demand on budgets across education, health and welfare. This cross-Government ambition is complemented by work led by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to improve the employment of people with learning disabilities. The transition to adult social care is key and as part of the programme to reform adult social care, DHSC and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government are leading work looking at support for working-age adults, including the transition to adulthood.

84. Since 2016 we have invested nearly £1 million in the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) to support understanding and implementation of PfA at a local level, through: the establishment of PfA regional networks where local authorities, education providers and parents focus on local implementation of PfA; and the delivery of training across the whole sector. For example, NDTi provided targeted support for Peterborough in 2016. Peterborough now has a thriving PfA network and supported internships are delivered in both its local colleges, with 80% of young people with SEND going into employment. NDTi run the PfA website[36], which is widely used by practitioners, commissioners and a growing number of parent carers. Hosting a wealth of PfA resources, the website had nearly 144,000 hits last financial year.

Independent living

85. As part of the transition to adult life, local authorities should work with families to support young people with SEND to live as independently as they can, ensuring they have the right support to make this happen. The available options should be included in Local Offers. There are many examples of good practice nationally. One such is that since 2013 Cheshire West local authority have funded United Response to teach young people with SEND to develop independent living skills. Young people aged 18-25 live in two student houses within walking distance of their local FE college and local amenities. The skills they learn include shopping, cooking, managing their finances, caring for pets and socialising in the community. Support workers liaise with the college to teach complementary skills, such as maths and paying bills. The focus is on outcomes and maximising opportunities and young people stay within their communities as an alternative to residential college provision.

86. A key part of education in most special schools and colleges is independent living, such as learning to use public transport and buying ingredients to make and cook simple meals.

Transition to adult services

87. Smooth transitions from children’s to adult’s services ensure a young person remains focused on a long term goal and retains the right level of support to facilitate progression. To smooth the transition between children’s and adult’s services, local authorities are increasingly joining up EHC plans and statutory Care and Support plans, which help those with more complex needs to participate in work, education, training or recreation.

Vocational and technical education, access to apprenticeships and work: post-16

88. Most young people with SEND can work, with the right preparation, support and opportunities, and want to do so. We have put in place a range of programmes to support the different abilities and aspirations of young people with SEND, as they prepare for paid employment: including the supported internship programme and work to make apprenticeships and traineeships more inclusive. We have made it clear in study programme guidance[37] for education providers that young people with SEND should have tailored programmes to meet their individual needs and aspirations. We encourage providers to consider how work experience could help students with SEND to develop and demonstrate the skills that will help them gain employment.

89. We are also introducing T Levels, as a high quality technical alternative to A levels. Alongside apprenticeships, these all provide a pathway at level 3 into skilled employment. Young people with SEND need to be able to benefit fully from the opportunities T levels will bring and we are committed to making these qualifications fair and accessible. Industry placements will be a significant feature of T levels; we committed in our T Levels consultation response[38] published in May 2018 to work with industries, providers and SEND organisations so that students with SEND can have access to, and successfully complete, these placements. Employers and providers will receive guidance so that these students have the necessary support and where appropriate reasonable adjustments. We also committed to ensuring a fair assessment of progress and achievement in the T level for students with SEND and will look further at how we can support students, including those with SEND, who may find the English and maths exit requirements difficult to attain.

90. But we know that many post-16 students with SEND are on programmes below level 3. We have committed to reviewing qualifications at level 2 and below. We recognise that programmes at these levels can be a valuable direct route into employment for post-16 students, including for young people with SEND. We also propose to review non-GCSE qualifications for 14-16 year olds and will be consulting on the principles for this.

91. Supported internships enable young people with complex needs to access work placements and have a good success rate in terms of young people moving into paid employment. We have funded local authorities nearly £15 million since 2015 to develop pathways to employment for young people with SEND. Our most recent data[39] shows that 1,214 young people were undertaking a supported internship in January 2018, compared to 715 in January 2017.

92. An evaluation of supported internship trials beginning in 15 colleges in England in autumn 2012 found that of the 190 participants involved, 36% had gained paid employment[40] when outcomes data was collected in July/August 2013[41]. The evaluation of employment outcomes of Project SEARCH (a type of supported internship based at a large employer, often a hospital) also showed promising results[42]. We take confidence from this that supported internships have much potential, which is why we are aiming to increase the number available, by establishing local supported internship forums and training additional job coaches.

93. The Ofsted/CQC area inspections are also finding encouraging outcomes in terms of employment. For example, in Cheshire East inspectors found that, ‘the proportion of young people who are in paid employment is much higher than the national average. This is as a result of the local area’s work to engage with the various employers and local businesses.’

94. We are delivering the recommendations of the Maynard Taskforce to improve access to apprenticeships for people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LDD). This includes legislation to allow the minimum English and maths requirements to be adjusted for a defined group of people with LDD to entry level 3. We are developing new communications and guidance products to show that apprenticeships are an option for those with LDD and to support and encourage employers to take on apprentices with LDD.

95. It is important that young people with SEND are supported to make decisions about their post-16 study and future career. The careers advice they receive should be aspirational, personalised and well informed. That is why the Government’s Careers Strategy[43] sets out a range of actions to improve careers support for young people with SEND, including training for careers professionals, guidance on good practice, targeted work with employers, highlighting good practice and setting up a fund to test new approaches.

96. As part of our commitment to support one million more disabled people into work, the DfE works closely with the DWP to support the transition of young people from education to employment. This joint work includes extending Access to Work funding to supported internships and traineeships, to ensure the right support is in place for a successful work placement.

Conclusion and looking ahead

97. We are pleased that there remains a real commitment from families, statutory services and the voluntary sector that the 2014 reforms remain the right ones. We are encouraged by the early evidence of the impact of their implementation in improving the lives of children and young people with SEND. The completion of the statutory transition to EHC plans is an important milestone, but we know there is much more to do to embed the changes and achieve consistency across the country.

98. We have identified a number of priorities:

1. to continue to foster the spirit of co-production with parents, young people and children across the system;

2. to improve assessment processes, both for those at SEN Support and for those who need an EHC plan, so that they lead to better outcomes. Where an EHC plan is needed, we want to ensure that this is a quality plan, with specified and quantified provision and clear outcomes;

3. to provide ongoing support for local authorities in their role as champions of children and young people with SEND, including improved strategic planning and budget management;

4. to continue to monitor the impact of our National Funding Formula allocations for schools and high needs on local authority spending decisions and, taking into account the costs of provision and services, to keep the overall amount of funding for high needs under review;

5. to ensure that the workforce across all education settings has a better understanding of the needs of children and young people with SEND and can support them more effectively using evidence-based interventions;

6. to ensure that health and social care services undertake their SEND duties, including more effective joint commissioning arrangements;

7. to continue to develop improved pathways for preparing for adulthood, including transition to work and supported internships; and

8. to continue to promote the use of effective practice, data intelligence and independent assessment (including information from the Ofsted/CQC inspections) to drive improvement.

99. We look forward to the inputs to the Committee’s Inquiry and ultimately its report. These will help inform our plans for ongoing improvement to the SEND system, as will the range of reports from condition-specific organisations in recent months; so that we can improve families’ experience of the SEND system and help deliver better outcomes.

June 2018

Endnotes