WEBINAR WITH KCC & SCHOOL LEADERS
Did you join our webinar with KCC & School leaders in July?
This webinar entailed discussing the improvements to support children with SEND within mainstream schools in Kent.
Our facilitator Siobhan Price Assistant Director of School Inclusion Kent County Council, discussed:
- Why the changes are happening
- Why now
- What changes are being made and how will they help my child?
- How will the communities of schools approach aim to help my child?
Please see below the most common themed questions asked amongst all three sessions, answered by Siobhan:
Q.”Who holds KCC accountable to implement EHCP plans? Ombudsman does not provide a response at the “right time”, and it is not legally binding!”
A. It is the responsibility of the school to implement what is written in EHCP.
Q. “If schools don’t need to provide evidence to receive the support, how will it ensure those most in need receive the support as I thought there was no money? This seems to go against that and say anyone can have support so how long before the money runs out?”
A. The evidence required is of what progress the child/children have made as a result of the support.
Q. “How is this going to work in the real world? Our SENCO asked for support from pod recently for Ed Psych, and SALT reassessment and was told “not enough evidence” and current plan should be sufficient so still very process led and not child led. Plus high needs funding is secured yet when SENCO asked for more financial support to secure personal TA again KCC told not enough evidence. So again although KCC said be “very confident” I’m afraid experience has told us they don’t promise what is delivered and do try to fob us off as parents hoping we will just give up fighting for what’s best for our children.”
A. Under the current system, evidence has still been required to secure intervention. There is not a policy for any child to have a personal TA. Every school has a responsibility to ensure that support staff are trained and deployed to meet the needs of the children in their school. Recent research regarding the impact of teaching assistants demonstrate that children are better served when they have access to a wider range of familiar adults as it improves their independence.
Q. “Does KCC understand the impact of this new framework on children who have needs for consistency of support. This speaks to the equality impact assessment point. How has this been scoped? the communities of schools approach and an increase in shared support means children who have a need for a consistent adult often will be drawing on a larger pool of adults who they are unfamiliar with. These are needs directly related to their disability and not simply needing to increase independence.”
A. Every school has a responsibility to ensure that support staff are trained and deployed to meet the needs of the children in their school. Recent research regarding the impact of teaching assistants demonstrate that children are better served when they have access to a wider range of familiar adults as it improves their independence.
Q. “How regularly will the equality impact assessment (separately) be updated”.
A. This will be updated alongside the evaluation points over the next academic year, November, February, April and July.
Q. “What about boys around year 1 who end up coming out of schools that can’t meet their needs? Often autistic and ADHD with PDA profile”
A. Questions about individual children cannot be addressed. However, it is expected that schools access the huge range of training available to them to meet the needs of their cohort.
Q. “How can schools effectively plan provision for my child when they don’t know how much funding the community will agree to? What if the community thinks my child shouldn’t get the funding? Can I appeal decisions?”
A. Schools are expected to plan their provision in exactly the same way as they have always done. Schools are expected to make better use of their existing SEN budget and use their practitioners more strategically.
Q. “With better education and specialists available to help schools, will this mean the mainstream schools who have SRP units be more capable of accepting children with a pda diagnosis instead of the school saying they can’t meet need?”
A. It is intended that all mainstream schools are better equipped to meet need.
Q. “What’s happening with the KCHFT children’s counselling service? they emailed to say it was reduced capacity as part of the transition towards the closure of the service? will those on the waiting list actually be seen or will the list just close?”
A. Any queries re NHS services need to be directed towards the contacts on any communication you may have received. KCC cannot comment on NHS provision.
Q. “Will children lose their SEN place and be put back in mainstream my child is starting a SEN school in September”
A. No, children will remain in their existing provision. Any changes in provision are agreed through the normal transition processes.
Q. “How do I get an EHCP for my child? No support from school.”
A. For information on EHCP’s and the assessment process please find it here: What is an education, health and care plan – Kent County Council
Q. “It sounds like KCC’s new model is making SEN support more accessible to every child (great!) referral / diagnosis needed yet the budget has been frozen at last year’s amount and some taken away for a community pot this means less money for those already in the system and nothing for those new children trying to access how is this workable to even maintain current support?”
A. The evaluation points built into this new model will assess the impact to ensure there is equity of distribution.
Q. “I feel as a parent that the new model of increase shared support in classrooms in brackets I result of an increase in the move from 1:1 to individualised will discriminate against children who because of their disability need a familiar adult work with them how has this been assessed if at all in the equalities impact assessment?”
A. Every school has a responsibility to ensure that support staff are trained and deployed to meet the needs of the children in their school. Recent research regarding the impact of teaching assistants demonstrate that children are better served when they have access to a wider range of familiar adults as it improves their independence.
Q. “Are there no specialist schools? Isn’t an EHCP needed to access that?”
A. Every child in a special school has an EHCP. This is unlikely to change.
Q. “What is being done to ensure what is detailed on EHCP is being upheld and being put in place by schools?”
A. This process will not change. SEN Inclusion Advisors work with all schools to ensure that provision is in place.
Q. “Are they going to bring back the dyslexia screening as an extra and SEN parent with my own SEN”
A. Every school has access to dyslexia screening to use as required.
Q. “Will a child with an EHCP be able to access a secondary school SRP unit I have two ASD children older has EHCP and is starting secondary in September which is great but younger son has been refused EHCP So what will that mean for him in the future”
A. Any child will be able to access the support available in the school.
Q. “With the rapidly growing population how can the same budget be carried over and expected to meet the ever growing rapidly growing needs that are needed?”
A. Data shows that the birth rate in Kent is dropping.
Q. “How do parents access support from the specialist services mentioned?”
A. Please use the Kent Local Offer through the SEND Information Hub to access support. Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) – Kent County Council
Q. “And then it becomes a 2 tier system those that have EHCP’s and those that join comes needed on how that will be managed please?”
A. This ‘two tier’ system has always been in existence. The purpose of this model is to ensure that support is available to children more easily and sooner so that the need for EHCP can be negated.
Q. “What is being done to ensure the funding the schools get is being used to support the child in need and not generally the school forgetting about the kids needs?”
A. The school is expected to demonstrate the impact on the children and their progress.
Q. “What was the support you can get to do with dyslexia where there is no screening anymore so the school can know what they can get resources from and can use thank you?”
A. Every school has access to dyslexia screening to use as required.
If you would like to find more about the topics discussed during this webinar, then please get in touch with us at info@kentpact.org.uk