I know that special educational needs provision in Brent is an issue of concern for many parents and teachers as funding becomes tighter and schools are pressured by high stakes testing. This report from the BBC may be of interest:
A new code for special educational needs and
disability came into effect last year. Even so, a series of changes has left
pupils in England with special educational needs and disability (Send) in a
"fragmented" system, a charity has said. The Driver Youth Trust
report says the changes have caused confusion and a greater variation in the
quality of help offered. The charity calls for a review of support for children
with Send.
The Driver Youth Trust outlines a number of
changes since 2010 that have affected children with Send and their families. It
highlights the Academies Act 2010, which enabled more schools in England to
become academies, free from local authority control, as well as changes in 2012
aimed at ending disparities in school funding. Also, in September 2014, a new
special educational needs (SEN) code of practice came into force in England,
with the stated aim of putting pupils at the centre of their education
planning.
Changes under the new Send code of practice
include:
♦ covering young people from birth to the age
of 25 - previously it was from the age of two to 19
♦ parents and children are supposed to have a
greater say in decisions that affect them
♦ local authorities have to publish a
"local offer" for Send - details of what support services they have
available
♦ SEN statements and learning difficulty
assessments (LDAs) have been replaced with education, health and care (EHC)
plans taking children and young people through to the age of 25
♦ a new system for categorising pupils' needs,
so that support can be more graduated
♦ young people and parents of pupils with an
EHC plan can ask for personal budgets, which give them more say in how money
for their provision is spent
The
charity says some schools are struggling to provide high-quality teaching and
support.
The Driver Youth
Trust says these changes have contributed to a fragmentation that means
"navigating the system has become incredibly challenging for students,
parents, schools and sector organisations". And with school increasingly
expected to meet children's needs in the classroom rather than through
specialist provision, teachers "more than ever need training and accurate
information about their pupils".
The outcomes for Send pupils are increasingly
dependent on a school's leadership, it says.
The charity is
calling for school leaders to regard Send pupils' achievement as a whole-school
priority, not just that of specialist staff. It calls on the government to
reform school admissions so that all schools are part of the same process and
subject to independent appeals - whether or not they are an academy. And it
urges councils to engage parents and young children in the development of their
local offers.
The DfE said it had received positive
feedback about the changes from many families. A spokeswoman said: "A year
ago we introduced the biggest reforms to the Send system in a generation. These
are ensuring that support is focused on needs and aspirations - and we know
that when parents and young people are properly involved with the development
of that support, their experiences improve. We are already seeing a real
difference, with parents telling us the process is much more straightforward -
but we want these experiences to continue improving.
"That's why
we are providing more than £1.5m between 2013 and 2016 to the Driver Youth
Trust and the Dyslexia Specific Learning Difficulties Trust to provide expert
advice and training to schools, ensuring that good practice is shared and the
best support possible is available.
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