Medway's Strategy for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) 2019-2022
Part 1 Introduction And Context
As a strong partnership across all relevant partners and agencies in Medway we are ambitious for all of our children and young people. We are committed to providing the best quality education and support for children and families and to securing good outcomes and effective transition to adulthood. These priorities are set out in Medway’s Children and Young People’s (Cyp) plan.
Linking to the Cyp plan this document sets out our shared strategy across Medway for improving outcomes and life chances for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) age 0-25. It outlines our vision, plans and ambitions and has inclusion at its heart.
The strategy sets out an ambitious programme which can only be achieved with the full commitment of all key partners at every level from strategic directors to front line practitioners.
The work is driven by the SEND Improvement Board which includes representatives from the Local Authority (LA), Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (Ccg), health providers, schools, early years and further education providers, children and young people and parents/carers representatives.
This SEND strategy has been co-produced with parents/carers and children and young people and with all key stakeholders. We will continue to work together to deliver our priorities and in evaluating the difference we are making. The consultation stage of developing the strategy asked the following key questions:
National Policy Context
The strategy has been developed in a time of significant change in national policy for Cyp with SEND with the Children and Families Act in 2014 that introduced some wide ranging reforms. A new SEND Code of Practice came into force in January 2015 to underpin the reforms and the key aspects are to:
• Extend the age range of the statutory duties for Cyp with SEND from 0-25 years. • Introduce Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) that are co-produced with parents/carers. • Ensure the views of Cyp and parents/carers are at the centre of what we do and that they are fully involved in decision making enabling greater choice and control. • Publish a Local Offer setting out all the opportunities and services for Cyp with SEND and their families. • Ensure that LAs and health services and other partners work effectively together to commission services for Cyp with SEND.
Are these the right priorities?
Are the actions the right ones to move us forward?
Have we missed anything that we should be focusing on?
• Have a clear focus on four main long term outcomes for Cyp:
In Medway we are committed to the effective implementation of the SEND reforms and to working together to drive improvements forward. We have made some good progress since 2014 and many Medway children are already benefiting from the reforms. However, there is still more to do to embed the changes that need to be made to achieve our ambitions and the outcomes we desire for our children and young people. Local area inspection of SEND
In December 2017, Medway Local Area underwent the OFSTED/Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection of the arrangements for children with SEND. The report highlighted many strengths in the provision across Medway, the support children receive and the progress they are making. There were also areas that needed to be improved and a Written Statement of Action was required as an outcome of the inspection to do the following:
Medway Council and the Ccg have responded to this and the SEND Improvement Board is implementing a detailed action plan to bring about sustained improvements and these are reflected in this strategy.
Make sure the decison-makers work together across the area
Ensure everyone takes responsibility for the new ways of working
Monitor performance to know how well we are doing
Improve the quality of our Education, Health and Care Plans
Increase involvement of parents/Cyp in the design and delivery of services
Make a smooth
transition to
adulthood
Be as independent as
possible and participate in
society
Achieve higher
education or employment
Be as healthy as possible in adult
life
Who Is The Strategy For?
This strategy is for all in the local area of Medway to adopt and support and contribute to delivering the ambitions for all of our children and young people with SEND age 0-25yrs.
SEND encompasses Cyp who have a broad range of needs. These affect their ability to learn, making it harder for them to learn than Cyp their age. For some the focus of support will be mainly educational. For other Cyp and their families, they will need support from a number of services and this may continue throughout their childhood and, for some, into adulthood. A child or young person may have Special Educational Needs or a Disability or both.
The SEND Code of Practice sets out a definition:
“A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. If he or she:
• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or • has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of the facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post 16 institutions.
For children age 2 or more, special educational provision is educational or training provision that is additional to, or different from, that made generally for other children or young people of the same age by mainstream schools, mainstream nursery schools, mainstream post 16 institutions or by other early years providers. For a child under two years special educational provision means educational provision of any kind.”
Children and young people may have needs in one or more broad areas of need and these needs can change over time. The broad areas include:
Most Cyp will have their needs identified and met at early stages and they will access support through their school or early years setting. In schools this is called SEN Support stage.
Only Cyp with the most severe needs (nationally it is about 2.9%) will have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP). The EHCP is statutory and sets out the child or young person’s special educational needs along with the provision they need to help them overcome the barriers to learning that these needs present. (SEND Code of Practice 2015)
Communication
and interaction including children
with Autistic
Spectrum Disorder (Asd)
Cognition and
learning
Social, emotional
and mental health difficulties
Sensory and
physical
Who Is Involved?
An essential and valuable contribution to this strategy came from our discussions, meetings and workstreams, consultation events, satisfaction surveys and feedback from a wide range of people. This has included children and young people, parents, carers and representatives Medway Parents & Carers Forum, headteachers, school governors, SENCOs, service managers in health and other organisations and voluntary groups.
In November 2018 a survey of parents was conducted and there were 89 respondents. Whilst many parents expressed the view that they were happy with services and the EHC assessment process, 40% of parents expressed some degree of dissatisfaction with services across education, health and care. The comments reinforced the messages below and highlighted the need for better communication and clearer information for parents. Too many parents (69.7%) said they had not heard of the Local Offer.
Parents/carers told us that they wanted:
• School provision for Cyp with SEND to be more local with more specialist provision in mainstream and special schools and nurseries so that children do not need to travel long distances. • Staff in all services and educational settings who are knowledgeable and skilled in SEND should have more training, especially in Asd. • More joined up working between professionals and services – “tell the story once” – and better communication between services and with parents – they want to be listened to and fully involved. • Greater involvement of and co- production with parents and carers in the design and delivery of services – take the “do nothing about us without us” approach. • Better help at times of transition and change as this can be difficult for Cyp with SEND and their parents/carers • More help and opportunities for young people post 16. • To have to wait less time for assessments, diagnosis and treatment. • Access to services at earlier stages “before things get really bad.” • Mainstream schools to be more inclusive so that children have their needs met and do not get excluded.
Co-chaired by the lead elected member for Cyp
and Ccg chief
nurse
Officers from
the LA and
health
SEND Improvement
Board
Parents/
carers
Representatives
from schools
and settings
Young people
Our Achievements
There have been a number of key achievements since the last SEND strategy and since the introduction of the SEND reforms in 2014 and since our inspection in 2017. The following are examples:
• Medway has made good progress in implementing the SEND reforms and this is changing the way we work with parents and carers and with children and young people by ensuring that they are fully involved in producing the EHCP and that the voice of the Cyp is captured in every plan. • Medway converted all previous statements of SEN to EHCPs by the Government’s deadline of March 2018. • Medway Parents & Carers Forum has increased its membership and is actively involved in strategic meetings and in helping to improve services and policies and undertake surveys. Priority areas for co-production have been agreed for 2018/19, and these include transition to secondary school, SEN transport, quality of EHCPs, procurement of voluntary services and preparing for adulthood pathways. • Two new specialist provisions have been opened locally – the Thomas Aveling Unit for Children with Hearing Impairment and “Triple Rs”( Rivermead Route Reintegration) which is an eight place resource for Cyp with a high level of mental health needs. • The second year of the pilot programme with the Royal Opera House to support vulnerable pupils on transfer to secondary schools is underway. It involves two secondary schools and the associated linked primary schools. This will be evaluated and the findings and good practice shared more widely. • A review of Alternative Provision (AP) has been completed and a strategy developed to reduce the need for pupils to be excluded and have access to appropriate AP that will lead to improved outcomes for this vulnerable group. • Twelve young people with EHCPs had a supported internship at Bemix with a further 15 offered at Mid Kent College. Further internships are planned for 2019/20 at Bemix and at Bradfields Academy. • The Early Years planned intervention programmes “ Little Builders” for children between 10 months and 1 year old and “Big Builders” at 2 to 2 and a half years undertaken by health visitors successfully identifies children with SEND at the earliest stages possible and provides interventions and support for children and families. Families value this service. • The new Children’s Community Health Services currently provided by Medway Community Healthcare (Mch) have been fully implemented. Whilst there is still work to do to fully embed the new service, the service transformation has enabled a number of improvements to be put in place. There is now a single point of access to all services whether by email or telephone together with an open referral service and pathways for Adhd and Asd. • There has been a particular focus on care for children with long term conditions where children are seen by a whole clinical team in one appointment reducing the number of repeat appointments required. • Since the start of the new children’s integrated community health contract in June 2018, Mch has delivered 36 parent support sessions with up to 25 parents attending each session to support parents on a range of issues such as fine and gross motor skills, challenging behaviour and developing language.
Parent Quote: “Come on Medway – you have some good people who come to work to make a difference - let’s do that together. Be creative and target those limited budgets to make successful outcomes rather than poor expensive ones”.
• The Children with Disabilities Social Care team and the Transitions team have been brought together to form the new integrated Disability Team 0-25 to ensure more seamless and consistent services for Cyp and their families. • The new Young People’s Wellbeing Service (Ypws) has been established in 2017 through and the current provider is North East London Foundation Trust (Nelft). The service offers a number of pathways including for behaviour and anxiety issues. Whilst there is still a lot to be done to embed the new service particularly in responding to the high demand, it has an open referral system and offers intensive interventions and specialist support.
What we know about Cyp with SEND in Medway
It is important to gather and analyse data about the range of SEND in Medway to understand the needs of children and young people and their families. It helps ensure that the pattern of provision for Cyp with SEND is planned carefully, suitable to meet their changing needs, and that we have sufficient provision to meet those needs. More information can be found in Appendix 1 but in summary:
• The population in Medway is growing and there is an expected increase of approximately 20% from the current numbers of approximately 276,000 to 323,000 by 2035. This is higher than the projected growth for England and the South East. • Medway’s population is also younger than average. In January 2107 there were 74,447 children and young people aged 0-19 who were registered with a Medway General Practitioner (Gp). • Across England the number of school age children with SEND has risen for the second consecutive year from 14.4% of all school age children in January 2017 to 14.6% in 2018 and this growth is also reflected in Medway. • The needs of Cyp are becoming more complex and there are more children with Asd and Semh needs in Medway. • Nationally the percentage of Cyp with an EHCP rose to 2.9% after remaining constant at 2.8% from 2007 to 2017. This population growth is mirrored in Medway. • In Medway the percentage of Cyp with an EHCP is higher than national at 3.2%.
Key Challenges
Whilst great progress is being made we must recognise that there are a number of challenges for Medway. It needs to be acknowledged that the strategy is set in the context that all public services are facing significant financial challenges. We are required to achieve greater value for money from the resources that are available to the Local Authority, to health services and to schools and other educational settings. Together with the rise in the number of children with SEND in Medway, the growing complexity of need in the area and the extended age range 0-25 means that existing budgets are under significant pressure to meet the demand.
The increasing demand for specialist placements within Medway is a challenge. If the current rate of growth continues, it is estimated that Medway will need 484 more special school places, 200 more resourced provision places and 500 more children supported in mainstream placements by 2024/25. Therefore we need to work closely with a wide range of schools and partners to enable these places to be developed to ensure we make best, and most creative, use of the resources we have to meet the needs of our children and young people locally wherever possible.
In Medway in 2018, 86% of children attend good or outstanding schools. All our special schools are good or outstanding.
The attainment of children and young people with SEND is good in some areas but less consistent in others eg, Key Stage 2. However, we lack information about post 16 outcomes. We also need to develop more opportunities for our young people age 16-25 in the local area.
Ensuring the consistency of support for Cyp with SEND in schools, settings, colleges and services remains a challenge. We would like more parents to report that they are happy with the support their child receives. This means that we need to ensure that we have highly skilled staff with expertise across all areas of SEND.
The significant increase in the number of children diagnosed with Asd is putting pressure on all services and budgets whether it is waiting for an assessment and diagnosis or requiring a specialist placement.
The other area of significant growth in need in Medway is Cyp with Semh and this is higher than national. We need to understand why this is the case and what services are available to respond to this need.
We are confident that by working effectively together with all partners and parents/carers on this joint SEND strategy, it will help to ensure we are well placed to meet these challenges.
Part 2 Vision & Priorities
Our vision for children and young people with SEND
We believe that all Medway Cyp should get the best start in life, be able to access high quality services locally and get the right support and opportunities at the right time. For our Cyp with SEND we believe they should:
• Be happy, healthy and safe
• Achieve their full potential
• Be part of, and contribute to, their communities
• Be resilient and as independent as possible and able to make choices about their future
Be happy, healthy and
safe
Achieve their
potential
Be part of, and
contribute to,
their communities
Be resilient and
as independent as possible and
able to make choices about
their future
Our strategic priorities
We have identified the following seven strategic priorities to be implemented over the next five years.
Underpinning Principles
We have the highest expectations for Cp with SEND in Medway. To deliver the vision and achieve these priorities our principles for all of our services across partners and agencies we want to:
• Put children and young people and their families at the heart of service design and delivery through co- production and a person centred approach with the opportunity to work together to find solutions. • Ensure that children and young people with SEND feel safe and protected from harm. They are seen and heard and supported at as early a stage as possible to prevent escalation to more specialist services • Ensure Cyp with SEND are included in all educational settings effectively, removing barriers to learning with high quality teaching and support from services and access to opportunities. • Deliver services within local settings and communities wherever possible. • Break down the cultural and structural divisions between agencies in the interest of improving outcomes for Cyp so that professionals can work seamlessly and effectively together. • Make best use of resources that are jointly planned to meet needs and allocated fairly and openly. • Work together to evaluate and plan for change and continuously improve.
Enable Cyp with SEND to have the
best possible physical and mental
health and
wellbeing
Early identification and
help at all ages
including an improved Local
Offer
Make sure that SEN provision in schools, settings and services
is high quality to ensure inclusion and good progress for all
Plan for more specialist provision in schools, settings and services – more
places locally 4
Support young people to have
more opportunities to be as independent as possible as they
become adults
Increase working together with Cyp and parents/carers – participation and
co- production
Ensure joint planning and pooled resources
for accessible services locally
Strategic Priorities And Action Plan
Priority 1
Provide early identification and intervention at all ages to support Cyp and their families to prevent escalation to more specialist services.
By:
Develop a pilot programme of support and training on the identification of the wide range of SEND within schools and settings. This work will be enhanced by the support of specialist services such as outreach services, CAMHS, other health specialists, Social Care etc, who can provide advice, consultation and training to staff in universal settings such as schools and Early Years settings
September
Map and review the support that is available for parents of Cyp with SEND particularly Cyp with Asd and Semh, pre and post any relevant diagnosis. Following this review, establish programmes of support and training to enable parents to support their Cyp at home and in the community
September
Ensure that there are systems in place for a joint response from services to support vulnerable children through a Team around the Child approach. This should be targeteted to children with SEND or those at risk of exclusion so that their needs can be met as early as possible to prevent the need for more specialist services
ongoing
Working with schools, review the criteria for additional SEND funding available to support Cyp at SEN Support stage without the need for an EHCP and monitor its use and effectiveness
September
Review and improve the Local Offer ensuring that it is clearly communicated so that families are effectively signposted to universal and targeted services that can support them in the community
September
Priority 2
Make sure that SEN provision in early years settings, schools, colleges and training providers is of high quality so that children and young people with a wide range of SEND can be included and that they attend school, make good educational progress and achieve outcomes that are consistently good.
By:
Evaluate the “Effective Leadership: Inclusion Programme” currently operating in 20 targeted schools and share best practice at a conference for all schools
September
In collaboration with Medway Education Leaders Association (Mela) Medway Secondary Headteachers Association (Msha), teaching schools, special schools, the Education Psychology Service (Eps) and outreach services including health services such as Salt, Ot and CAMHS who offer training for school staff, establish a working group to review and develop a co-ordinated and comprehensive SEND training offer for staff in schools and settings. The training offer will be based on feedback about training needs as well as national developments around SEND to meet needs across the SEND continuum
December
Establish arrangements to ensure that alternative provision is of high quality and delivering good outcomes and qualifications for those children and young people for whom this is an appropriate pathway
September
Provide support for school and Early Years SENCOs to ensure that they are fully trained on EHCP processes and new SENCOs are inducted to build SEND expertise
ongoing
within settings
Establish a programme of school to school support with a system of peer review for schools to evaluate their SEND provision in partnership with a SEND expert drawn for example from schools, the Eps or other relevant service. Undertake a pilot in the first instance
September
Develop a programme of moderation across schools undertaken by SENCO networks to ensure that the identification of needs is consistent
June 2019
Implement a multi-agency audit programme of EHCPs to ensure that they are of consistently high quality, delivered within required timescales and that they are holistic and outcome focussed
Bi monthy
and ongoing
Review the format of the EHCP and associated documentation and provide guidance and training for professionals who are involved in the EHC assessment and planning process so that audits of EHCPs show that they are of consistently high quality
April 2019
Priority 3
Ensure sufficiency of specialist provision in schools, settings and services within Medway so that children and young people can have their health, social care and educational needs met locally.
By:
Work with schools, settings and partners to provide more specialist resourced provision within mainstream schools in Medway as well as more places in special schools so that children can have their education, health and social care needs met locally and reduce the need for out of area placements. This should have a priority focus on Asd, Semh and Mld
September 2022
Publish a school place planning strategy for Medway to ensure there is sufficiency of specialist education places over the next five years and that partner organisations are involved in any new developments that impact on their services
June 2019
Work with partners to ensure that plans to develop new provision such as free schools or independent specialist provision meet the identified needs of Medway children
ongoing
Review the sufficiency of respite provision and short breaks including shared care, foster carers, holiday schemes and publish a revised short break statement
June 2019
Priority 4
Improve outcomes, life chances and opportunities for children and young people with SEND so independent as possible with effective transition into adulthood.
that they can be
as
By:
Gather and analyse outcomes data to develop and commission high quality alternative provision and vocational pathways that lead to positive outcomes for children and young people with SEND
September 2020
Ensure all young people with SEND including those who do not meet the threshold for social care support have the necessary skills, advice, information and support to make informed choices and a smooth transition into adulthood through a co-ordinated approach across relevant services
September 2020
The post 16 working group to develop and publish a transition to adulthood protocol agreed by all services particularly to secure timely and smooth transitions between children and adult services in both health and social care and across educational institutions
September
Undertake a mapping exercise of provision for young people with SEND age 16-25 (especially for young people aged 19-25) in order to identify gaps in provision and develop appropriate pathways
January 2020
Create more post 16 opportunities for young people with SEND through, for example, more supported internships and work experience with a wide range of participating employers
September
2020 and ongoing
Priority 5
Ensure participation and co-production with Cyp and their parents and carers so that they are at the centre of all that we do.
By:
Continue to develop and strengthen relationships with a wide range of parents/carers and Cyp through the Medway Parents & Carers Forum so they are involved in strategic and decision making groups and meetings and support them to actively shape policies, strategies and evaluate service effectiveness and impact that lead to service improvements
ongoing
Ensure that parents/carers and Cyp are involved in the co-production of the EHCP including, wherever possible, attendance at a co-production meeting and that there is systematic feedback from them about their experience of the EHCP process and the EHCP itself
April 2019
Establish a process for regular feedback from parents/carers and Cyp to review and expand the Local Offer ensuring that it is accessible and well communicated and publicised
June 2019
Improve communication with, and information for, parents and carers at every stage of the EHC assessment and planning process with systematic feedback into service improvements, in particular about transition points
ongoing
Priority 6
Provide high quality integrated and accessible services through effective joint commissioning so that vulnerable Cyp can have their needs met locally wherever possible.
By:
Continue to build on the single point of referral for as many services as possible and communicate this through the Local Offer
January 2020
Work with partners on a tripartite basis to ensure effective joint planning and funding for local packages of care, health and education to reduce the need for out of area residential placements and to make effective use of resources
September
Gather information through the Local Offer about the gaps in services to inform joint commissioning
ongoing
Further develop the pooled funding arrangements to address gaps in services and commission services in an integrated way
January 2020
Ensure health providers commissioned to undertake an assessment have systems to deliver their accessibility policy and that failed appointments related to safeguarding or access are escalated
June 2019
Priority 7
Enable Cyp with SEND to have the best possible physical and mental health and wellbeing.
By: Continue to improve access for Cyp and families to health services so that assessment, diagnosis and treatment is delivered in a timely way
Evaluate the arrangements for the transition from children’s mental health services to adult services to ensure a smooth and seamless pathway with protocols in place
Promote clear pathways for specialist health and care services aimed at young people aged 19-25 years
Review the impact of special school nursing arrangements so that the most medically vulnerable children and young people with complex health conditions have timely access to specialist nursing in all schools
Work with schools and health provider networks to undertake a review of provision and services for Cyp with Semh and develop a framework to access emotional health and wellbeing services across the continuum of need from universal (services for all Cyp) through to targeted and specialist services. This will build on positive behaviour approaches.The aim is to achieve greater integration and co-ordination of services as well as effective use of resources and expertise available
Parent quote Big Builders:
“I found the Early Years team to be so friendly, professional and understanding. I’ve picked up great advice and given much needed information to help my son thrive. I’ve seen a big difference in my child’s development - he’s become more confident, happier and so much easier to handle. I would like to thank all staff for simple and clever ideas that have made such a huge impact in me and my son’s life”.
Part 3
Taking The Strategy Forward: Governance, monitoring and review
The delivery of the strategy is not the responsibility of a single agency. It requires a partnership approach with a commitment from all stakeholders working with children and young people and their families. These include health, education, social care, schools and settings and voluntary and community organisations and parents and carers.
Governance and monitoring for this strategy is provided by the SEND Improvement Board. This Board is co-chaired by the Lead Member for Children and the Ccg’s Chief Nurse. It meets monthly. In turn the Board reports to both the Health and Wellbeing Board and to the Governing Board of the Ccg (Clinical Commissioning Group) and to the Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Working to the SEND Improvement Board there is an operational group and a number of work streams have been established to take forward the actions from this strategy.
A number of methods will be used to measure performance and progress on implementing the actions in the strategy:
• Qualitative measures – multi-agency audits will help us evaluate the quality of our work to support families and in the quality of our EHCPs and the assessments reports and advice that contribute to this work. The findings from these audits will be reported to the SEND Improvement Board. Other qualitative measures will include monitoring the progress of Cyp with SEND as well as exclusions and attendance. • Performance measures – a SEND performance framework and scorecard is in place and this is reported regularly to the SEND Improvement Board for scrutiny. This includes a range of information such as the number of children with EHCPs, the timeliness for completion. It also includes information on the progress on young people with SEND and the rates of exclusion. • Feedback from parents/carers and Cyp - this will be ongoing work to gain feedback from surveys, consultation events, regular meetings and work with the Medway Parents & Carers Forum. Feedback on the Local Offer indicate that parents/carers and Cyp are accessing the Local Offer and feedback from it will inform further service developments. • Feedback from schools and other educational settings and practitioners - views will continue to be sought through regular consultation opportunities such as workshops, training events and conferences to inform planning and developments.
How Will We Know The Strategy Is Making A Difference?
We are clear about what we want to achieve over the next three years and it is ambitious. We also need to be flexible in our approach so that we can respond to ongoing legislation and funding changes as well as emerging needs. But for children and young people and their families ultimately it will mean that there are positive impacts:
Teachers and professionals are skilled in identifying and assessing
SEND, in delivering effective
interventions and Smart
outcomes for Cyp.
Cyp with SEND make appropriate
progress and outcomes are
improved.
Children and families have access to timely support at earlier stages
reducing the need for more specialist services and to help them maximise their potential.
Support is consistent from a team
around the child and young
person building strong relationships with the family.
Parents report that they are confident that their child’s needs
are being met in their mainstream schools, other settings or resourced provision.
Parents/carers and Cyp report
that at transition times this is well-planned and supported.
Parents/carers are actively engaged in the co-production of
EHCPs and meaningfully participating in the design and delivery of services and there is
an embedded culture of co-
production across services.
More young people with SEND have access to employment and
community activities to support
them to lead independent lives
with seamless pathways to
adulthood.
Parents/carers and Cyp have good information and advice and
access to support and services through the Local Offer including
a range of short breaks.
Cyp have places to play and
activities and opportunities where they feel safe and happy.
EHCPs are holistic in setting out
all the needs and aspirations of the Cyp and are completed within
the required timescales.
The Local Authority and Ccg jointly commission services for Cyp with SEND to ensure the right
provision is in place and making
best use of resources.
Waiting times for access to services are reduced to within
national guidelines.
Parents/carers report improved satisfaction with services and that
the right support is better co-
ordinated with reduced duplication – “tell the story once”.
Part 4 Appendices
Appendix 1: Children and Young People with EHCPs in Medway
Analysis of SEND data shows us that the population of children and young people in Medway is increasing and there is a proportionate rise in children with SEND. Needs are also becoming more complex and this is having an impact on the demand for specialist services and school provision.
The proportion of children who attend schools in Medway including pre-school, post 16 and alternative provision and who have an EHCP is higher than the average for England.
Year as at January SEND 2
return England Average % with EHCP % with EHCP attending a
Medway school/setting
2018 2.9% 3.2%
2017 2.8% 3.0%
2016 2.8% 3.1%
Source: SEND 2 return Jan 2018
In Medway the overall number of EHCPs for ages 0-25 that the Local Authority maintains is also rising. The rise also takes account of the extension of the age range since the reforms were introduced in 2014. There is a great deal of mobility in Medway and about 50 children and young people with SEND move into the area each year.
SEND 2 Return 201 4 2015 2016 201 7 Jan 2018 Sept 2018
Nos of EHCPs 140 9 1500 1678 177 9 2034 2134
Since 2014 Medway is supporting 725 more children and young people (age 0-25) who have an EHCP. This represents an average increase of 9.6% per year. If this trend continues then there is the potential that Medway will be supporting 3,216 children and young people by January 2023.
Requests for statutory EHCP assessment
The number of initial requests for statutory EHCP assessment in Medway continues to grow. This is also reflected nationally.
EHC assessment
requests
Jan
Fe
b
Ma
r
Apr
Ma
y
Ju
n
Jul
y
Aug
Se
p
Oct
No
Dec
Tota
2016 21 19 30 14 36 44 21 9 23 29 44 24 245
2017 29 19 40 25 59 35 34 9 34 44 59 31 387
2018 46 39 29 46 41 48 56 10 40 40 55 25 475
EHCPs Issued Ja
n
Fe
b
Ma
r
Ap
r
Ma
y
Ju
n
Jul
y
Au
g
Se
p
Oct No
Dec Tota
2016 13 18 11 20 20 9 19 14 19 11 8 18 138
2017 9 13 19 16 16 27 18 7 14 14 20 27 200
2018 10 15 31 27 34 25 42 19 17 26 22 16 284
Source: SEN2 return
A large number of requests for EHCP assessment are refused mainly because there is not enough information about the interventions that have been put in place and over a sufficient length of time to demonstrate that an effective “Assess Plan Do Review” approach has been followed. Many requests are received in the summer months which means that it is difficult for the process to be completed within the required 20 week timescale.
EHCPs issued within the time scale of 20 weeks
100.0
*Ec Exception Cases
90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0 2014 2015 2016 2017
The graph above highlights that Medway had a large increase in the timeliness of assessment completion between 2014 and 2016. In 2016 the percentage of EHCPs issued within timescales, excluding exception cases, in Medway was better than the national percentage. However, in 2017, whilst still above national, performance dropped.
The table below shows the percentage of EHCPs delivered within the 20 week timescale with or without exceptions compared to national.
Excluding Exception Cases Including Exception Cases
20 14 201 5 20 16 20 17 20 14 20 15 201 6 20 17
Medway 43. 6 79. 6 92. 2 87 25. 8 68. 8 80.1 60. 2
England 64. 3 59. 2 58. 6 64. 9 61. 5 55. 5 55.7 61. 3 Overall South East Performance
32. 7 56. 8 43. 1 52. 8 28. 9 47. 1 42.5 51. 1
Source: SEND 2 return
The drop in performance up to March 2018 can also largely be accounted for due to the additional demands of transferring the existing statements of SEN to EHCPs whilst responding to the growing number of new requests.
Medway Excluding Ec
National Excluding Ec
National Including Ec
Medway Including Ec
In 2018 indications are that the percentage of EHCPs being produced within the 20 week timescale has further declined both with and without exceptions. The challenges associated with this performance include the growth in demand for EHCPs and capacity in all services to undertake assessments and provide advice within the statutory timescale of six weeks. There are also situations where parents are unable to attend appointments or they are unavailable during the school summer holidays. Further delays can arise when consulting schools to secure a
placement particularly if schools have no places available at that time. The key issue however is the lack of available special school places both within Medway and more widely given the growth in demand locally and nationally.
Tribunals
The number of tribunals lodged by Medway parents has increased since 2015.
Academic year 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 (Dec 18)
Tribunals lodged 28 54 50 21 so far
The tribunals lodged are mainly either for refusal to undertake an assessment or to challenge the placement decision. However since the reforms were introduced more mediation opportunities are being taken up by parents which can often resolve issues thereby avoiding the need for a tribunal.
Children and young people in schools and settings on SEND support (without an EHCP)
The proportion of children who are in mainstream schools and settings and who have been identified with SEND and are on SEN Support is also higher than the England average.
Schools and settings are required to review their SEND registers on an annual basis to ensure the correct identification of children with SEND and also to publish a SEND report on their websites.
Year as at January SEND2
return
England Average % on SEN
Support Medway % on SEN
Support 2018 11.7% 13.6% 2017 11.6% 13.4% 2016 11.6% 14.2%
Analysis of needs in Medway
Nationally, Autistic Spectrum Disorder (Asd) is the most common type of primary need for pupils with EHCP (28.2% in 2018). This is followed by Speech, Language and Communication Needs (Slcn) (14.6%), Social Emotional and Mental Health needs (Semh) (12.8%), Severe Learning Difficulties (Sld) (12.5%), 12.8% and Moderate Learning Difficulties (Mld) (12%).
Analysis of data in January 2018 shows that in primary schools in Medway for children who either have an EHCP or who are supported at SEN Support stage, the most prominent need recorded by schools is Slcn and this has increased over the last four years. This area of need often changes as children move to secondary school. By this time they may have had a diagnosis of Asd which therefore changes the need that schools will record on their registers.
The next two highest areas of need in primary schools in Medway are Semh needs (a significantly growing area of need in Medway) and Mld.
Primary schools (needs per pop.1000)
Speech, Language and Communication Needs
Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Moderate Learning Difficulty
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Specific Learning Difficulty
SEN Support No Specialist Assessment
Other Difficulty/Disability
Physical Disability
Hearing Impairment
Visual Impairment
Multi-Sensory Impairment
Severe Learning Difficulty
Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulty
Source School Census 2018
0 50 100 150 200
Medway National
250 300 350
In Secondary Schools the highest area of need recorded by schools was Semh needs and this is higher than the national trend. The next areas of high need are Sld, Asd and Mld.
Secondary schools (needs per pop.1000)
Social, Emotional and Mental Health
Specific Learning Difficulty
Autistic Specitrum Disorder
Moderate Learning Difficulty
Other Difficulty/Disability
Speech, Language and Communication Needs
Physical Disability
Hearing Impairment
SEN Support No Specialist Assessment
Visual Impairment
Multi-Sensory Impairment
Severe Learning Difficulty
Profound & Multiple Learning Difficulty
Medway National
0 50 100 150 200 250
Source School Census 2018
Mental and emotional health is fundamental to good health and wellbeing and there are clear links to the personal and social development of children and young people and good educational outcomes.
The latest Mental Health of Children and Young People Survey in 2017 (NHS Digital 2018) suggests that one in eight (12.8%) of children and young people in England had a mental disorder.
Social and Emotional and Behavioural difficulties are much more common. It is estimated that these can affect in excess of 30% of children and young people at some time. For children in care or in the criminal justice system this figure can be even higher (up to 70%). This is also evident in the data from the school census which shows the rise in the recording of Semh in schools.
The information about changing needs is important to help us map where our specialist provision is across Medway and also where we need to ensure we develop the right expertise to meet those needs.
Special educational provision in Medway
The percentage of children with an EHCP attending specialist schools or specialist provision as opposed to mainstream schools has increased in Medway and is higher than national. This is putting pressure on the demand for specialist school places in Medway. We need to acknowledge that there will always be a number of children whose needs can only be met in a highly specialist or residential setting. Indeed, for some children a special school place out of the Medway area may well be their local school and nearer to where the child/young person lives.
The place planning strategy is incorporated into this SEND strategy. This aims to plan for sufficient places for children and young people with SEND both in resourced provision within a mainstream setting or in a special school and enable us to further expand the existing rich range of provision and expertise in Medway.
Special schools in Medway
The tables below show the current capacity of Medway special schools and resourced provision in mainstream schools.
Name of school
Type of need
met
No of places commission
ed 2018/19
No of Medway Cyp on roll Nov
Varian
ce (+/)
Abbey Court (Primary and Secondary)
Pmld/Compl
ex Asd/Sld
+ 1 3
Dane Court (Primary )
Mld/Sld/ Complex Asd
Bradfields Academy (Primary and Secondary)
Mld/Asd
+ 3
Inspire Free School (Secondary)
Semh
63 (ESFA Funded)
- 6
Rivermea d (Seconda ry)
Asd/Compl
ex Needs
+ 1 5
Total 801 825 + 2 4
Resourced provision in Medway mainstream schools
Name of resource
Type of need
met
No of commission
ed plac
es
No of Medway Cyp
on roll - Nov
Varian
ce (+/- )
All Faiths Hi 24 15 - 9
Brompton – Elliot Centre
Slcn 100 99 - 1
Delce Semh 25 27 + 2
Elaine Primary Semh 20 26 + 6 Hoo St. Werburgh – Marlborough Centre
Asd 65 74 + 9
Riverside Asd and Vi 13 16 + 3 Hundred of Hoo Academy St. Werburgh
Asd 65 65 0
Robert Napier Vi/PD 9 10 + 1
Thomas Aveling Hi 5 4 - 1
Twydall Hi and PD 25 25 0
Warren Wood Slcn 20 27 + 7
Total 371 388 + 1 7
Out of area and independent placements
The majority of Medway children and young people who are placed in independent provision have a primary need of Asd or Semh. There are 40 children and young people placed in an independent residential school or college. Their needs include Mld, Asd, Semh and Sld.
Prim
ary nee d
52 week resident ial
38 week resident ial
Independ
ent day
out of
area
Independ ent day in
Medway
Total by primary
need
Asd * 9 52 51 113
Semh * * 48 25 79
Hi 0 * 0 * *
Slcn 0 0 8 9 17
Sld * 7 5 * 17
SpLD 0 0 * 5 6
PD 0 0 * * *
Pmld * 0 * 0 *
Mld * 11 8 * 24
Total 1 0 30 125 98 263
*denotes fewer than 5
Types of Placements for Cyp with EHCPs - November 2018
Provision type Number
in area
Number
out of area
Tot
al
% of childre n with EHCP Mainstream 474 98 572 26. 8% Mainstream specialist
provision
305 12 317 14. 8%
Special 718 172 890 41. 7% Residential - 38 week
placement
0 29 29 1.4 % 52 week placement 0 7 7 0.3 % Alternative Provision/Eo 208 0 208 9.7 % Home educated 12 0 12 0.6 % Apprenticeship 11 0 11 0.5 % Cookham wood Hmyoi/Stc * 0 * 0.1 % Pupil Referral Units * 0 * 0.1 % Pre-school 12 0 12 0.6 % Other 33 37 70 3.3 % 1,7 79 355 213 4
*denotes fewer than 5
Place planning
All special schools are full with many operating over capacity and it is difficult to increase the number of places at the special schools any further due to space and buildings capacity.
It is estimated that if the predicted growth in demand for specialist provision continues, there will be a need for 484 more special school places, 200 more resourced provision places and 500 more children with EHCPs in mainstream schools by 2024/25 to meet the demand.
A bid for a new free school for children with Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (Pmld) has already been submitted and, if successful, this will go some way to expanding the number of places in Medway.
Analysis indicates that there is also an urgent need for additional secondary Pmld/Sld/Complex Asd special school places, additional complex Asd and Sld special school primary places and additional Semh special school places.
Planning for post 16 provision
There is a range of provision available locally for young people post 16. Most stay on at their special school or go to
Mid Kent College. There are also opportunities in North Kent or Hadlow colleges for courses in horticulture, forestry and agriculture. A programme of supported internships is underway with 12 at Bemix, five at Bradfields and three at Mid Kent College. Plans are in place to increase these numbers with up to 45 places overall in 2019. However, there is a need to plan for more provision for our older young people to ensure continuity of learning and care right up to age 25 or independence whichever comes sooner.
The place planning strategy is to develop special provision locally wherever possible to reduce the need for out of area placements and children and young people travelling long distances to school or respite provision. However, it is recognised that for a few children with very complex needs an independent school or out of area placement will still be required and will be cost effective.
Exclusions
The report from the local area SEND inspection noted that the level of fixed term and permanent exclusions is high in Medway schools. In 2016/17, the rate of permanent exclusions in primary schools was lower than the national average but higher in secondary schools. Fixed term exclusions were higher than national in both primary and secondary schools. Research also indicates that children with SEND are more likely to be excluded.
Effective challenge and support to schools is now leading to notable improvements. Indications are that, in 2018, fixed term exclusions have reduced from three times the national average to 2.5 times the national average. In the five highest excluding secondary schools work to support their strategies to prevent exclusions is underway.
Progress of children with SEND
In 2018 in Medway 86% of children attend good or outstanding schools. The five special schools in Medway are judged good or outstanding. At foundation stage the number achieving a good level of development continues to improve and is above the national average.
In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) children in Medway are outperforming the national average. However children with EHCPs are not achieving national standards. The attainment of children at SEN Support is in line with national.
At Key Stage 1 the gap between children with SEND and their peers was greater than the national average. There is an improving trend in reading and writing but not in Mathematics. For children with EHCPs the attainment is lower than national but the gap is improving in reading but is less good in writing and Mathematics.
At Key Stage 2, in 2017, Medway continued to narrow the gap for children with SEND. Seven percent of children with an EHCP achieved the expected standard of reading, writing and Mathematics. This is now only 1% below the national average, an improvement from previously being 33% lower than national. For children at SEN Support there has also been improvement with 26% of children achieving the expected standard which is higher than national (21%) and an improvement from 2016 (16%).
At Key Stage 4, in 2017, the percentage of children with EHCPs achieving a standard pass fell from 12.7% in 2016 to 10.9%. This is still in line with, and slightly above, the national average at 10.7%. However, the percentage of children achieving a high pass was lower at 3.7% compared to national at 5.3%. For children at SEN Support the percentage of children achieving a standard pass reduced from 40.1% in 2016 to 29% in 2017. This is lower than the national average of 30.2%. However, 16.4% of children at SEN Support achieved a high pass in 2017 which is above the national average of 15.6%.
Young People with SEND Not in Education Employment or Training (Neet).
Medway performs well in the number of young people age 16-17 with SEND who are Neet. Nationally it is 4.4% and in Medway it is 1.0%.The number of Medway young people age 16-17 with an EHCP who are Neet is 14. This is 4.3% of an overall cohort of 325 16-17 year olds. There are 1.2% of this cohort with EHCPs whose destinations are recorded as “unknown” at age 16.17.
Appendix 2: Glossary of Terms
AP Alternative Provision
Asd Autistic Spectrum Disorder
CAMHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
Ccg Clinical Commissioning Group
Chc Continuing Health Care – assessment and funding from health for people with severe complex health needs who require ongoing nursing support
Cin
Child in Need – Children Act 1989 – a child who is unlikely to achieve or maintain a reasonable standard of health and development without the provision of services by a Local Authority – includes some children with disabilities CQC Care Quality Commission
Cyp Children and Young People
Eha Early Help Assessment
EHCP Education Health and Care Plan - a statutory plan following and assessment process for Cyp age 0-25 with SEND (formerly Statement of Special Educational Needs)
Ehe Elective Home Education – parents have chosen to withdraw their child from the school system and educate the child themselves
Ep Educational Psychologist
Eps Education Psychology Service
Ey Early Years
Fe Further Education
Fex Fixed Term Exclusion
Hi Hearing Impairment
Hmyoi Her Majesty’s Young Offender’s Institution
Iag Information Advice and Guidance – usually provided by schools
LA Local Authority
Lac Looked After Child (Children Act 1989) – a child in care of a Local Authority in accordance with section 22 of the Act Mch Medway Community Health
Mela Medway Education Leaders Association (Primary headteachers in Medway)
Mld Moderate Learning Difficulties
Mpcf Medway Parents & Carers Forum
Msha Medway Secondary Headteachers Association
Neet Not in Education Employment or Training
Nelft North East London Foundation Trust
Nice National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Ot Occupational Therapy
PD Physical Difficulties
Pex Permanent Exclusion
Pmld Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties
PRU Pupil Referral Unit – to provide education for children who have been permanently excluded from schools from day 6 of the exclusion
Salt Speech and Language Therapy
Semh Social, Emotional and Mental Health
SENCO Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator
SEND Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities
Sendias Special Educational Needs and Disability Information Advice and Support service
Slcn Speech, Language and Communication Needs
Sld Severe Learning Difficulties
SpLD Specific Learning Difficulties such as Dyslexia
Stc Secure Training Centre
Vi Visual Impairment
Ypws Young People’s Wellbeing Service (Nelft is the provider in Medway)
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