Letter from Special Educational Consortium (SEC) about academies and funding for SEN specialist services
Posted: February 6, 2012 Filed under: Education Leave a comment »03 February 2012
Academies and funding for SEN specialist services
I am delighted to inform you that the Government has decided to exempt local authority expenditure in relation to SEN services from the academy recoupment process for 2012-13. This means local authorities can retain their central funding for SEN services no matter how many academies they have in their area. This decision has come about following the Special Educational Consortium’s work on the Academies Act 2010 and mirrors the arrangement for 2011-12.
Technically, the Government has confirmed that expenditure in the line currently referred to as 1.2.2 (Provision for pupils with SEN, provision not included in line 1.2.1) in Section 251 statements will not be recouped from local authorities in the year 2012-13. Full information can be found in the Department for Education’s Academy Funding guide which is available here:
http://www.education.gov.uk/a00202784/academy-funding-lacseg.
This decision has two important implications:
- A local authority should not now cut SEN support services on the basis that a number of academies have opened in that area. Where there are academies in a local authority area, that local authority will now retain the money to keep SEN support services available;
- As they are retaining the money for SEN support services that was previously being delegated to academies, local authorities should provide these services to children in academies.
We know that many local authorities are currently setting their budgets. We would urge these authorities to consider any decision about funding SEN specialist services in light of this new information.
SEC continues to work with the Department for Education to ensure the wider changes to school funding do not disadvantage disabled children and children with SEN. In the meantime we welcome the Government’s continued protection of specialist provision for disabled children and children with SEN through these support services.
Kind regards
Julie Jennings
Chair, Special Educational Consortium
The Special Educational Consortium (SEC) is a group of organisations who protect and promote the rights of disabled children and children with special educational needs (SEN). We believe all children have a right to a high-quality education that enables them to reach their full potential. We work with the government, the Department for Education, members of parliament and other organisations when there are proposals for change in policy, legislation, regulations and guidance that many affect disabled children and children with SEN.
You can find our more about the Special Educational Consortium (SEC) by clicking here
Accessing your child’s files
Posted: October 4, 2011 Filed under: Education, General Info | Tags: data protection, health records, records, school file, subject access request Leave a comment »When your child has lots of tests and assessments done it can be almost impossible to try and keep up with them all. One good idea is to have a specific file where you keep copies of all the letters you receive.
There may be times when you want to be able to tell people about the tests or assessments that have been done or access copies of reports that have been written about your child – for example you might want these to support a request for a ‘statuatory assessment of special educational need’ (statement).
One way that you can get copies of everything is by using your rights under The Data Protection Act – you can find out more about your rights under this act here http://www.ico.gov.uk
How to get copies of your child’s files
The Data Protection Act covers personal information held about you (or your child) – this includes health records.
The ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) says a health record is “any record of information relating to someone’s physical or mental health that has been made by (or on behalf of) a health professional. This could be anything from the notes made by a GP in your local surgery to results of an MRI scan or X-rays”
Under the data protection act you have the right to see information which is held about you (or your child) – this is called your ‘subject access rights.’
To see the information that is held about you (or your child) you will need to write a letter and make what is called a ‘subject access request’ and ask for a copy of all the information they hold about you (or your child).
It is a good idea to put a heading in bold at the top of the letter which has your name, address and any reference numbers etc that will help them identify you.
You can access a template letter from the ICO website here http://bit.ly/cPPtfn
You can also access more information about accessing information in your child’s school file / a template letter here http://bit.ly/oYnWUa
Some organisations may charge you a fee upto £10 and according the ICO website, “There are special rules that apply to fees for paper based health records (the maximum fee is currently £50) and education records (a sliding scale from £1 to £50 depending on the number of pages provided)”
Make sure you are clear in your letter about everything you want to see – if you forget something and have to make a second request you will have to pay the fee again.
After you have made your request and the organisation has received the information they need to identify who you are and you have provided the fee. It should not take more than 40 days (for schools this is 15 days)
Make sure you keep a copy of the letter you send – ideally send it by email or recorded delivery so that if you need to you can prove when it was sent.
What to do if the organisation does not provide the information you asked for:
According to the ICO website “if you have sent all the necessary information (including any fee) and
- the organisation does not respond to your request within 40 days; or
- you are not satisfied with their response;
you should send them a reminder letter by recorded delivery (and keep a copy of the letter).
If you do not get a reply fairly quickly, or you think the information you receive is wrong or incomplete, you can:
- ask us to carry out an assessment to see whether it is likely or unlikely that the organisation has responded properly; or
- take legal action through the court. F
Our assessment will tell you if it is likely that the organisation has broken the Act and may help you decide whether to take legal action. However, you can take a case to court without asking us for an assessment”
Essential Items for your book shelf
Posted: September 16, 2011 Filed under: Education, General Info, Social Care Support | Tags: disabled children, education, law, social care, support Leave a comment »Disabled Children – A Legal Handbook
“The handbook aims to empower disabled children and their families through a greater understanding of their rights and entitlements. It is essential reading for the families of disabled children, their advocates and lawyers, voluntary and statutory sector advisers, commissioners, managers and lawyers working for public authorities, education, social and health care professionals, students and academics” (http://www.ncb.org.uk/cdc/resources/legal_handbook.aspx)
Chapters of the book are available to download as free PDF’s from the Council for Disabled Children here http://bit.ly/gRH0pU
You can buy the book for £40 from the Legal Action Group Website here http://bit.ly/92rdGg
SEN Code of Practice
The SEN Code of Practice lays out clear guidelines for supporting children with special needs in school.
You can order your free copy here and shouldn’t ever go into school without it! http://bit.ly/qp7FpT
Everyday is a school day
Posted: June 28, 2011 Filed under: Education | Tags: appeal, disabled children, education, schools, SEN, statement, support Leave a comment »
Sometimes getting the right support for your child in school can feel like a bit of a battle and the system can seem like a maze.
The key to getting through it is making sure you get the right support and information as early as possible and there are a number of organisations who can support you:
Network 81
0845 077 4055
ACE (Advisory Centre for Education)
0808 800 5793
IPSEA
0800 018 4016
Parents for Inclusion
http://www.parentsforinclusion.org/
0800 652 3145
IPSEA have a list of FAQ’s that cover common issue raised by parents
http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/advice-about-education-for-parents/frequently-asked-questions-faqs
You can also access information about educational stuff from Special Kids in the UK
http://www.specialkidsintheuk.org/lifestyle/school-and-special-needs.html
And access tips from Netbuddy
http://www.netbuddy.org.uk/get-tip/help-support/education/
IPSEA have a helpful jargon buster – http://www.ipsea.org.uk/what-you-need-to-know/understanding-jargon.aspx.aspx
Every parent of a child with special needs should get their own copy of the SEN Code of Practice.
It is free from the Department of Education – you will need to register and then they will send you out a copy.
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DfES%200581%202001
The code is relatively straight forward and it sets out clearly what is expected of schools – get out your highlighters and post it notes so you can easily find the relevant bits of information you need. Make sure you take it with you to any meetings you go to with the school or Local Authority.
When reading the SEN Code of Practice remember that if it says ‘must’ then this means this is the law. If it says ‘should’ then this is just guidance.
On page The SEN Code of Practice states that special educational needs are:
So special educational needs could mean that a child has difficulties with:
- all of the work in school
- reading, writing, number work or understanding information
- expressing themselves or understanding what others are saying
- making friends or relating to adults
- behaving properly in school
- organising themselves
- some kind of sensory or physical needs which may affect them in school. (SEN Code of Practice p5)
The Code goes onto identify key principles about how children with special educational needs should be supported:
If you are worried about your child in school start keeping a diary as early as possible noting down your concerns, issues that are arising, how your child is after school etc – this will be a useful basis to talk to the school about your concerns.
Early years support
Early years is the period before your child starts school. If they are already having difficulties then talk to their pre-school setting about what can be offered to help.
ACE have a leaflet that tells you how to do this – http://bit.ly/iCsFMH
School years
The national curriculum inclusion statement says that teachers must take account of 3 principles:
Setting suitable learning challenges
Responding to pupil’s diverse needs
Overcoming potential barriers to learning and assessment for individuals and groups of pupils
SENCO’s
All schools have a SENCO (Special Educational Needs coordinator) who is also a qualified teacher. They are responsible for overseeing the support given to children with special needs in the school.
Getting more support in schools
Ask your child’s school for a copy of their special needs policy and stick this into the front cover of your SEN Code of Practice – like with the code, go through the policy and highlight key bits so you can easily refer to it in meetings if needed.
Generally the first person to approach if you think your child needs extra help would be your child’s teacher. You can find out more and access letter templates from ACE here:
http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/Resources/ACE/advice%20booklets/Getting%20Extra%20Help%202010%20.pdf
IEP’s (Individual Education Plans)
The SEN Code of Practice states “Your child’s teacher is responsible for working with your child on a day-to-day basis but may decide to write down the actions or help for your child in an Individual Education Plan (IEP).
The IEP should say:
- what special help is being given
- how often your child will receive the help
- who will provide the help
- what the targets for your child are
- how and when your child’s progress will be checked
- what help you can give your child at home.
- Your child’s teacher should discuss the IEP with you and your
child if possible.
IEPs will usually be linked to the main areas of language, literacy,mathematics and behaviour and social skills.’ (SEN Code of Practice p9)
One of the key things to look out for on your child’s IEP is if the same targets are appearing again and again – this suggests that the measures being taken may not be working and other ways need to be explored.
Targets should be specific and you should be involved in setting them.
P Scales
P scales are a way of recording the levels of progress of children with special educational needs who have not yet reached Level 1 of the National Curriculum. They range from levels p1 TO p8. P8 is the highest and leads to National Curriculum level 1.
School Action
This basically means that the school recognise they need to take action as the child is struggling in certain areas. This will involve drawing up an IEP to set targets and plan what action will be taken.
School Action Plus
School Action Plus basically means that the school recognises that in addition to the action they are taking, the child needs the support of professionals from outside the school – i.e., a speech and language input
Statement of Special Educational Needs
Under section 321 and 323 of the education act 1996 Local Education Authorities (LEA’s) must identify and make an assessment of those children for whom they are responsible who have a special educational need and who might need a statement.
The process of applying for a statement can take a long time and it is a good idea to contact support organisations before you start the process so you fully understand what is in involved and know what to expect.
You can access more information about the statementing process here:
http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/Resources/ACE/advice%20booklets/Asking-Statutory-Assessment-Sep09LR.pdf
http://www.ipsea.org.uk/What-you-need-to-know/Common-problems.aspx#RequestingAssessment
http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/Resources/ACE/advice%20booklets/GettingTheStatementRight%20Mar2011.pdf
According to the SEN Code of Practice the LEA will look at the request for a statutory assessment and will tell you (normally within six weeks) whether they will carry out an assessment.
As soon as the LEA start looking at the request for a statutoryassessment they will write to you and:
- tell you that they are considering whether to carry out a statutory assessment
- tell you how they will carry out the statutory assessment if one is doneexplain the timescales (which will be no longer than six months in all)
- give you the name of the person at the LEA who will be your point of contact (the Named Officer)
- ask you to give written or spoken reasons, called ‘evidence’ about why you think your child should or should not beassessed (you have at least 29 days to send this in to the LEA)
- tell you about the LEA’s parent partnership service who will be able to help you with independent advice and support ask you if there is anyone else you would particularly like the LEA to talk to about your child
- ask you for any evidence or opinions you have collected or intend to get encourage you to provide written or spoken evidence for theLEA to consider (the LEA or the parent partnership service can help you make a written version).
LEAs have six weeks to tell you whether they will carry out a statutory assessment of your child.
If LEAs take longer than six weeks, you should ask the Named Officer (see page 39) page 14
Key things to remember about the statementing process:
- Get information and support before you start
- Ideally you want the school to be on board supporting your request for an assessment – however if they won’t support it you have the right as a parent to make a request directly to the LEA. You can access a letter template from IPSEA to do this here – http://www.ipsea.org.uk/Apps/Content/html/?fid=89
- If you are making a parental request for assessment it is a good idea to get copies of all and any reports you can to submit as evidence to support your request. As a parent you have the right to request a copy of your child’s school file – this can be helpful as you can go through all the reports etc they hold and see if there has been progress over time. You can access more information about this and a template letter here – http://www.asperger.org.uk/Downloads/info-sheets/Child%27s_School_Record.pdf
- The statementing process is in two stages – in the first instance you are asking for your child to be assessed – just because the LEA agrees to asses your child’s needs at this stage this does not mean they will automatically get a statement
- If the LEA refuse to assess your child’s needs (stage one) or decide not to issue a statement (stage two) you have the right to appeal. You can get more information about this here -
http://www.ipsea.org.uk/AssetLibrary/Downloadable%20documents/IPSEArefusaltoassesspack_v2.1.pdf
http://www.ipsea.org.uk/what-you-need-to-know/going-to-a-send-tribunal/refusal-to-assess.aspx.aspx
http://www.ipsea.org.uk/Apps/Content/html/?fid=56
http://www.ipsea.org.uk/what-you-need-to-know/going-to-a-send-tribunal/refusal-to-assess.aspx.aspx
- If the LEA agree to issue a statement you will be issued with a ‘proposed statement’ – it is important that you go through this very carefully to make sure it is specific to your child and can be ‘quantified’ – i.e how many hours of support will be provided etc. You can get more information about this from ACE – http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/Resources/ACE/advice%20booklets/GettingTheStatementRight%20Mar2011.pdf
- The SEN code of practice says it should take 8 weeks from the proposed statement being issued to the final statement being signed off – however if you need more time to go through the proposed statement and submit any amendments you want made you can notify the LEA that you will be responding and that you require more time.
- Part of the statementing process will be to name a school that can meet your child’s needs. As parents you can state you preference but the LEA is not legally obliged to go with this. If the LEA name a school you don’t agree with you can find out what to do here from IPSEA
- Remember that getting a statement is not unfortunately ‘a magic wand’ and you will need to work with the school to get it implemented.
- Statements should be reviewed every year at an ‘annual review’.
Annual reviews
According to the SEN Code of Practice an Annual Review must be held at lest once a year but can be more. You should be notified of the meeting in writing and asked to contribute your views on how you think your child is doing.
The school may also ask for the written views of other professionals who know and work with your child – all these documents should be circulated before the meeting so everyone is fully prepared to discuss if the statement still meets your child’s needs.
It is a good idea to take someone with you to your child’ s annual review to support you and take notes – remember to ask at the beginning of the meeting who will be taking minutes and when these will be circulated.
At the end of the meeting make sure you get someone to run through the list of actions from the meeting and agree who will do what and by when – make sure this is in the minutes.
After the review meeting new targets for your child will be set and the head teacher send a report to the LEA stating whether any changes need to be made to the statement – the school must to this within 10 working days of the meeting or before the end of term (depending on which is sooner) and should send you a copy of the report
You can access the ACE leaflet on Annual reviews here -
http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/Resources/ACE/Understanding%20Annual%20Reviews%202010.pdf
Finding the right school
Admissions processes will be different depending on whether your child has a statement or not. You can find out more information about admissions and appealing if you didn’t get the school that you want here –
- applying for a school
http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/advice-about-education-for-parents/Admission_and_Admission_Appeals
http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/Resources/ACE/advice%20booklets/Applying%20for%20a%20School%202010%20.pdf
- appealing for a school
http://www.ace-ed.org.uk/Resources/ACE/AppealingForASchool_MCIS_Mar2011_LR.pdf
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Schoolslearninganddevelopment/ChoosingASchool/DG_4016309
- school admissions code
Travel
Some children cannot travel to school independently but it is not always easy sorting out travel.
IPSEA have a handy checklist to help you work out if your child is entitled to free school transport -
http://www.ipsea.org.uk/Apps/Content/HTML/?id=115
Sometimes things don’t always work out the way you want so if you want to complain or to know more about Educational Law, IPSEA have some guides you can access here –
Education law – http://www.ipsea.org.uk/what-you-need-to-know/law-and-guidance-in-depth/sources-of-law.aspx.aspx
Making a complaint – http://www.ipsea.org.uk/what-you-need-to-know/how-to-complain.aspx.aspx
(Pictures reprodcued curtesy of Nic Watts, ‘Special Needs in the Early Years’)
- Links here are included for information and does not mean Genetic Alliance UK endorses any of these organisations
