Hillingdon Council Cabinet Member and Officer Decisions
Special Educational Needs and Disability and Alternative Provision Strategy 2023-2028
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Democratic Services Location: Phase II Ext: 0692 DDI: 01895 25 0692 CMD No: 976 To: COUNCILLOR SUSAN O’BRIEN CABINET MEMBER FOR CHILDREN, FAMILIES AND EDUCATION c.c. All Members of t he Children, Families and Education Select Committee c.c. Abi Preston – Children’s Services Directorate c.c. Julie Kelly– Corporate Director of Children’s Services Date: 01 December 2023 Non-Key Decision request Form D SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITY AND ALTERNATIVE PROVISION STRATEGY 2023-2028 Dear Cabinet Member Attached is a report requesting that a decision be made by you as an individual Cabinet Member. Democratic Services confirm that this is not a key decision, as such, the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 notice period does not apply. You should take a decision on or after Monday 11 December 2023 in order to meet Constitutional requirements about publication of decisions that are to be made. You may wish to discuss the report with the Corporate Director before it is made. Please indicate your decision on the duplicate memo supplied and return it to me when you have made your decision. I will then arrange for the formal notice of decision to be published. Ryan Dell Democratic Services Officer Title of Report: Special Educational Needs and Disability and Alternative Provision Strategy 2023-2028 Decision made: Reasons for your decision: (e.g. as stated in report) Alternatives considered and rejected: (e.g. as stated in report) Signed ……………………………………………………… Date……………………. Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 1 Part I – Public SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITY AND ALTERNATIVE PROVISION STRATEGY 2023-2028 Cabinet Member Councillor Susan O’Brien Cabinet Portfolio Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education Officer Contact Abi Preston – Children’s Services Directorate Papers with report Appendix 1 – Consultation feedback Appendix 2 – Hillingdon Local Area SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy for Children and Young People 0- 25 years 2023 - 2028 Strategy Appendix 3 – Hillingdon’s Local Area SEND & AP Strategy for Children and Young People 0-25 years (2023-2028) (easy read) HEADLINES Summary The purpose of the report is to provide the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education with final Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Strategy 2023-2028. The strategy outlines how Hillingdon Council plan to further develop the SEND and AP offer in Hillingdon over the next five years to deliver our shared vision for Hillingdon to be a place where children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities and those who attend Alternative Provision and their families lead happy and fulfilled lives from early years through adolescence to adulthood, in communities that accept and understand them. Putting our Residents First Delivering on the Council Strategy 2022-2026 This report supports our ambition for residents/ the Council of: Live active and healthy lives This report supports our commitments to residents of: Thriving, Healthy Households Financial Cost There are no direct financial costs relating to this report. Relevant Select Committee The draft strategy was presented to Children, Families and Education Select Committee on 15 November 2023. Relevant Wards All RECOMMENDATIONS That the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education approves the Local Area Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Strategy 2023-2028. Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 2 Part I – Public Reasons for recommendation The Hillingdon SEND Strategy required updating in line with the new Council-wide strategy for our residents, updated national priorities and following further analysis of data. This is a key policy framework document for the Council and provides direction and priorities for the delivery of SEND and AP Services across the borough. The new strategy is in line with the new expectations nationally through the SEND and AP Improvement Plan, following the release of the green paper. Alternative options considered/ risk management The alternative option available to the Cabinet Member is not to approve the SEND and AP Strategy or to require further amendments prior to approval. Without a strategy, the Council would not be able to make clear its priorities in relation to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and those who attend Alternative Provision (AP) and potentially risk not improving outcomes for children and young people as a local area. Select Committee comments The initial SEND S trategy and consultation findings were presented to Education Select Committee on 03 November 2022. The Education Select Committee asked for further information about the SEND Strategy consultation engagement activity between the Local Authority and parents, young people, partners, and stakeholders and asked for further update briefings regarding implementation of the strategy. Extensive revisions to the existing draft strategy were made in light of feedback from residents, professionals and the select committee received. A new updated SEND and AP strategy was created that included the feedback and revised ambitions for the local area and was consulted on again with professionals, young people, Parent Carer Forum (PCF), partners and shared on the local offer. The SEND Executive Partnership Board were involved in the various iterations of the strategy and feedback sought. Health worked with education to input into the strategy, which was a positive step as this is a Local Area strategy rather than solely a Council one. Select Committee were supportive of the new version from 2023 and commented: “The Committee recognises that significant improvements have been made to the earlier version of this strategy. This new version incorporates more comprehensive ambitions and gives thoughtful consideration to what success actually looks like in practice. The Committee is keen to regularly monitor delivery of the aspirations and with this in mind, the Committee endorse this SEND Strategy.” SUPPORTING INFORMATION Background The strategy is aimed at Hillingdon children and young people aged 0-25 years who have Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND) or who attend Alternative Provision (AP) , their families and the professionals who work with them. Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 3 Part I – Public The draft strategy was co- produced by the SEND Executive Partnership Board, with representatives from Hillingdon Council (education and social care), NHS NW London Integrated Care Board, education settings and Hillingdon Parent Carers Forum. Following the previous draft version, feedback from the consultations with stakeholders was used, along with further use of data to understand our local area to create an updated version which aims to focus on our key priority areas. The new version also includes our strategy for Alternative Provision, which is in line with the new SEND and AP improvement plan nationally. Extensive analysis of our recent data trends has been undertaken and included in the strategy to set the context of Hillingdon. It has also been written in line with the draft updated DSG Safety Valve plan, in order to ensure we are working towards the same outcomes of improving outcomes, provision and support whilst focusing more on early intervention and being more financially sustainable. SEND and AP Context The strategy is set within the national context and our statutory requirement to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND under the requirements of the Children and Families Act 2014. The strategic priorities have also been aligned to the Department of Education (DfE) SEND Review: Right Support, Right Place, Right Time (Green Paper) and the updated Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) Local Area SEND Inspection Framework. SEND and AP Strategic Vision We want Hillingdon to be a place where children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their families lead happy and fulfilled lives from early years through adolescence to adulthood, in communities that accept and understand them. SEND and AP Strategy – key ambitions for our children are: Ambition 1: The right support, at the right time, in the right place We will improve children’s and parents’ experience of the SEND system by delivering the right support in the right place at the right time by focusing on early intervention, including an updated Childrens Integrated Therapies (CITs) contract to deliver therapies more effectively. There will be a focus on improving outcomes for all children with SEND, including those on SEND support and with EHCPs. Ambition 2: Fully inclusive education for all We will support all schools and settings in Hillingdon to be inclusive and welcome children and young people with SEND. We aim to increase training across the area for professionals, including school staff, health and LA officers. We will also focus on reviewing and refining support for SEND children and those who access AP with their transitions, attendance, exclusions and for children with SEND who are vulnerable. Ambition 3: Provision meets the needs of Hillingdon’s children and young people Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 4 Part I – Public We will deliver new, ambitious, and innovative provision that enables children and young people with SEND to receive excellent education in their local community . We will develop more places on a spectrum of provision to meet the needs of Hillingdon’s children and young people. We will also review the funding approach to SEND across the borough and develop an outreach model to support mainstream schools with their SEND provision. Ambition 4: Children and young people live happy and fulfilled lives where they are included in the community We will enable all children and young people to achieve independence, take part in activities they want to be part of, build good relationships and have meaningful outcomes in adulthood. We will look to support children with all aspects of their lives, including inclusivity of accessing clubs and post 16 options to enable young people to access work, internships or employment. We want our children and young people’s voices to be central to all we do and to also improve support for children with SEMH needs across the Borough. Ambition 5: There is a flexible offer and range of interventions available for children to access Alternative Provision We will create a three-tiered model for Alternative Provision that offers flexible interventions and supports children back into mainstream where possible. We are looking to work with providers to increase the proportion of children who are integrated successfully back into mainstream settings, reduce reliance on tuition for children and improve the commissioning of AP so we have a more flexible approach to Alternative Provision. An easy read version is available and currently being shared with young people for feedback to find out whether it is presented in the most effective way for our residents. Outcome of SEND Consultation Formal public consultation on the initial draft strategy took place from 14 July to 18 August 2022, and a consultation survey along with the strategy was launched on the Council and Local Offer website, with Easy Read versions made available. The survey asked respondents to comment on the overarching vision and three key priorities. Consultation feedback has been used to shape a final version of the SEND & AP Strategy. The new version of the strategy was shared with SEPB, schools, Parent Carer forum and a range of partners throughout October and November 2023. The consultation was also shared on the Local Offer and children and young people’s views were sought through consulting with Stepping Out (16 year olds), Step Up (12 to 15 year olds) and Youth Voice groups in November 2023. All groups supported the new strategy, with the exception of some professionals in our education settings. • Members of SEPB, Education and social care teams confirmed the vision and priorities as a positive framework for improving SEND provision and outcomes for children and young people. • All children in the various consultation groups (including feedback received from the local offer completed by young people) demonstrated that they supported the ambitions and aims of the strategy. They are keen for their voices to be heard more by schools, for their behaviour to be understood more and for more inclusion to be in place so they feel involved and accepted in their education settings. Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 5 Part I – Public • Feedback from schools and governors suggested the majority of school professionals supported the strategy and the priorities, there were some concerns raised about the funding and the levels of inclusion aimed for in mainstream schools. o 76% agreed with the principles in the strategy, 16% stated other, 12% did not agree o 51% agreed with the ambitions, with 24% stating they didn’t know and 24% not agreeing. o The main concerns related to the national policy in the strategy such as an increased focus on children with EHCPs attending mainstream settings where possible, which schools are not supportive of in some cases and concerns around funding changes. SEND & AP Priority Groups and Governance There are six established priority group workstreams who are overseen by the SEND Operational Group, which reports the progress against plans to Hillingdon’s SEND Executive Partnership Board. The groups will be reorganised to reflect the five new ambitions once the strategy is approved and action plans created to ensure outcomes are achieved and monitored. Financial Implications Key priorities outlined in the strategy are aligned with the aims of the updated draft DSG Safety Valve Agreement with the DfE, and with the actions outlined in the deficit recovery plan. Hillingdon has also invested in early intervention and SEND Support delivery model to promote early identification of needs and to provide proportionate support to children and families. The aim of this model is twofold. One is to support families and children at the earlies t opportunity and the second is to ensure that the request for Education Health and Care Plans are made for the right children who require statutory intervention. For those children who require Education Health and Care Plans , the SEND School Place Planning details how we build capacity in borough and reduce the reliance on Independent Non- Maintained Provision. Additional capital funding has also been secured for school expansion works and this, along with Hillingdon’s capital funding, will be used to develop additional school places in the borough as part of the strategic objectives. RESIDENT BENEFIT & CONSULTATION The benefit or impact upon Hillingdon residents, service users and communities Through the consultation process Hillingdon residents and particularly those with children and young people with SEND and who access AP were given the opportunity to share their views on the identified key priorities and approach. We listened to residents and the Parent Carer Forums and shaped the Local Area SEND & AP Strategy in light of their comments and views. The strategy outlines the Local Area’s commitment to improving the outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who access AP and will encourage active engagement and participation from parents, carers, and young people in strategic developments. CORPORATE CONSIDERATIONS Corporate Finance Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 6 Part I – Public Corporate Finance have reviewed this report and concur with the Financial Implications set out above, noting that there are no direct financial implications associated with the recommendation in this report. Legal There are no legal impediments to the recommendation set out at the beginning of the report. The strategy assists the local authority with complying with its duty under s27 Children and Families Act 2014. Local authorities must keep their educational and training provision and social care provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities under review. Local authorities must place children, young people and families at the centre of their planning, and work with them to develop co-ordinated approaches to securing better outcomes. BACKGROUND PAPERS NIL. TITLES OF ANY APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Consultation feedback Appendix 2 – Hillingdon Local Area SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy for Children and Young People 0-25 years 2023-2028 Strategy Appendix 3 – Hillingdon’s Local Area SEND & AP Strategy for Children and Young People 0-25 years (2023-2028) (easy read) Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 7 Part I – Public Appendix 1 – Consultation feedback SEND Executive Partnership Board (SEPB) Feedback and LA Services Feedback Parent Carer Forum: ‘W e agreed that the details in the 4 ambitions sound like great stuff, it's exactly what we want our local authority to be thinking and saying. Our hope is that the implementation and monitoring of all these ambitions are given as much attention, because ambitions are nothing if they are not acted on. We also wonder what all this would look like in practise. We would like the next stage to be that someone oversees an implementation stage for these ambitions.’ SENDIASS – ‘I do like this document, there are lots of great ideas and it feels like discussions that have taken place are taking shape in practice.’ Other professionals: The strategy is very clear on our 4 ambitions and how it aligns with other plans across services within Hillingdon working collaboratively with our stakeholders. The format of the document also allows for an easy read. All four ambitions are positives steps for our children with SEND. Good to see ambition 3 - assessment provision for children who clearly have a long term need but no special schools available - look forward to seeing this. The overall document is very informative and clear about areas of development and how this will be achieved. Really like the mention of community acceptance of SEND especially as the borough is so diverse Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 8 Part I – Public Schools’ Feedback from 2023 version of SEND & AP Strategy 2023 (Please note, the AP ambition was not included in the consultation version) SEND Strategy Do you agree with the shared principles in the strategy? Do you like the layout and overall content of the strategy? (N.B. it will be professionally designed in due course) Do you agree with the overall ambitions and how we aim to achieve them? Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 9 Part I – Public Ambition 1: Ambition 2: Ambition 3: Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 10 Part I – Public Ambition 4: Feedback from schools (direct comments) • Yes serious attempts should be made to achieve this. Totally agree but how will you ensure that the right support is available at the right time? • Yes - The most significant of this is make more support and resources available without the need for a diagnosis and without needing an EHCP. • This is a useful ambition, but parents do not feel this is applicable. • I agree with your statement that 'Not all schools in Hillingdon welcome children with SEND as much as others, whilst some schools are very inclusive.’ I have seen this for myself first hand. What is the LA authority going to do about these schools? • I agree with the aim. However, there is a significant gap in SEMH support for mainstream settings • Projections don’t seem to reflect that we are a “port authority” and have historically picked up a large number of movers in, particularly asylum seekers. • There needs to be a clearer approach that is easily accessible for outreach work that will make a difference • I agree with the aim and feel it would be helpful to develop a SEMH pupil and family support approach/services offered, which can then be shared with schools via a centralised website. Areas of concern • Funding – schools want to see more funding for SEND • Criteria for reducing EHCPs is a concern • With accountability creating very high stakes for HTs, what 'protection' could be put in place regarding results for schools who are inclusive? It almost feels as if you are penalised for inclusivity. • A sense that LBH is a port authority and therefore schools feel we shouldn’t compare ourselves to national data Schools wanted to see reference to LA compliance as actions – this was in the strategy but the wording was altered to further clarify this for schools. Cabinet Member Report – 01 December 2023 Page 11 Part I – Public Young People’s views of the Strategy Children shared some ideas for what helped them in school: • Exams in a different room to others • Need extra support • Offer different ways of communication • Mental health should be considered • Schools need to offer more support outside of EHCP, support is only given when you have one and not everyone has one ‘Children with behavioural needs feel they aren’t wanted in schools. They are the problem. Support isn’t shaped enough around what children need and how they learn.’ One young person felt that learning by reading didn’t work for them. They needed to be taught more thoroughly. Dyslexia can be hard – they need coloured overlays and different ways of teaching. Young people did not feel they are heard in schools. In reference to ‘Provision meets the needs of Hillingdon’s young people’ - children need the right staff, training, spaces etc. In reference to setting up SRPs – one young person felt this worked well for her and other children. ‘Schools need to adapt their settings to meet everyone’s needs and stop seeing the child as the problem’. Schools should have more options, learning is very important, every needs to do it, so the option should be available and resources for this should be provided. One young person felt they didn’t want an adult supporting them as others noticed and it didn’t help them. They got their teaching assistant to do all of their work so they didn’t have to bother but it didn’t help them to learn: ‘It shouldn’t be one approach for everyone because I hated having an additional teacher in the classroom but I know others like it, so it should be individual to the need of the child.’ Careers advice needs to improve – they felt their careers advice only helped them think of where to go next not the long-term options. Apprenticeships did not get promoted enough for the young people to understand their options fully. ‘I wasn’t taught practical skills at school (except cooking) so I was unprepared for the real world. I didn’t know how to pay rent or manage my money. PSHE was not taught regularly’. ‘You shouldn’t have to have an EHCP for additional help.’ Hillingdon Local Area SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy for Children and Young People 0-25 years 2023 - 2028 Strategy 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................3 2. Background and Context ..........................................................................................................................4 3. National Strategic Context ........................................................................................................................5 4. What are Special Educational Needs? ...................................................................................................6 5. What is Alternative Provision? .................................................................................................................7 6. The Aim of the Strategy ............................................................................................................................8 7. ICS Integrated Health and Care Strategy ..............................................................................................9 8. Our Shared Principles ............................................................................................................................ 11 9. Engagement ............................................................................................................................................ 12 10. COVID impact ...................................................................................................................................... 13 11. Leadership and Governance of SEND in Hillingdon ..................................................................... 14 12. Consultation – Key Messages .......................................................................................................... 15 12.1. What have children and parents told us? ................................................................................ 15 12.2. What have professionals told us? ............................................................................................ 17 13. The Hillingdon context ........................................................................................................................ 18 13.1. Population .................................................................................................................................... 18 13.2. Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) ............................................................. 19 13.3. Hillingdon’s Schools ................................................................................................................... 23 13.4. Alternative Provision in Hillingdon ............................................................................................ 23 14. SEND Support and Early Identification ........................................................................................... 25 15. Education Health and Care Plans .................................................................................................... 26 16. SEND Data Outcomes ....................................................................................................................... 27 17. DSG Safety Valve Agreement .......................................................................................................... 28 18. Previous Inspection Outcomes ......................................................................................................... 29 19. Our Ambitions ...................................................................................................................................... 30 20. Next Steps ............................................................................................................................................ 41 21. Appendices .......................................................................................................................................... 42 Appendix 1: Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................... 43 Appendix 2: Contextual Information about Hillingdon ........................................................................... 47 Appendix 3: Legal requirements underpinning the Local Area SEND Strategy ................................ 51 Appendix 4: Child and Adolescents Mental Health Service ................................................................. 52 Appendix 5: ICS Pyramid of care for improving health outcomes for babies, children, and young people ........................................................................................................................................................... 55 3 1. Introduction In Hillingdon, our aspiration is for every child and young person to be and feel safe, enjoy good physical, emotional and mental health, have pride in their unique identities, feel that they belong and have opportunities to thrive. Working in partnership, under the SEND Joint Executive Partnership Board, the Local Authority, Integrated Care Board (ICB) and our Parents and Carers Forum have developed a strong vision to reflect our belief that Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is everyone’s business. The Hillingdon SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy 2023 – 2028 outlines our vision, aspirations, and priorities for children and young people with SEND and their families to lead happy and fulfilled lives from early year s through adolescence to adulthood, in communities that accept and understand them. To achieve this, we want our children and young people to always be at the heart of everything we do. In developing this strategy, we listened to the experience and views of children who told us what they liked, what worked well, as well as what they would like to change and where we need to improve. We are grateful to the children and families who responded to the consultation and who helped us develop an ambitious strategy for the Local Area that reflects the experiences and needs of our children, young p eople and families in the true spirit of co -production. We want to also thank everyone who contributed to this strategy representing schools, service providers and voluntary sector partners. We would particularly like to recognise the efforts and involveme nt of our Hillingdon Parent Carers Forums who, through regular meetings with the Local Area Partnership as well as through consultation and survey contributed to this strategy and we look forward to continuing to work with them over the next few years. We consulted on the draft strategy from July 2022 to August 2022 with an online consultation survey and Easy Read versions made available. The consultation focused on asking respondents if we had the right vision and whether our three key priorities were the right ones. There was over 90% support from parents and professionals for the new SEND Strategy vision and priorities. We believe that our children and their families play a continuing, central role in helping us to shape the strategy, to offe r guidance on how to make it accessible and in helping us to develop it further. We are committed to continu ing to engage and consult with our children and their families on a regular basis. 4 2. Background and Context Hillingdon’s children and young people are the future of Hillingdon. We are just as ambitious for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and those who access Alternative Provision (AP) as for every other child. They are entitled to the best possible life opportunities that we can give them at every stage through from their birth and early childhood through education and as they transition into adulthood and employment. Our vision for children and young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND) and those who access Alternative Provision (AP) is the same as for all children and young people in Hillingdon: We want Hillingdon to be a place where children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their families lead happy and fulfilled lives from early years through adolescence to adulthood, in communities that accept and understand them. The purpose of this strategy is to set out how we will do this for those children and young people with SEND and those who access AP. It has been informed by and aligned with the following: • Local Area Joint SEND Needs Assessment (JSNA) 2022 • Local area SEND Inspection November 2016 • Co-production meetings, workshops and consultation This SEND and AP strategy is a ligned with various strategies/plans across the local area including the: • Hillingdon Council Strategy 2022-2026 • CNWL Strategy for 2022-2025 • Hillingdon Council Draft School Improvement Strategy • Hillingdon Council Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2022-2025 • Hillingdon Joint Autism Needs Assessment 2022 • Hillingdon Autism Strategy 2023 • Hillingdon Family Hub Strategy • Hillingdon Council Carers Strategy 2023-2028 • Hillingdon Early Help Strategy 2021-2025 • Hillingdon Safeguarding Children Education Inclusion Toolkit • Hillingdon Safeguarding children and young people with complex needs and disabilities • Hillingdon SEND Sufficiency Strategy This document describes our vision and the outcomes we want for our children and young people with SEND and those who access AP. It describes the context within which we work, the principles underlying how we will work and our strategic priorities for the next five years to help deliver improved outcomes for children and young people with SEND and children accessing Alternative Provision. 5 This strategy builds on the work of the previous strategy and has been jointly developed by the London Borough of Hillingdon, the NHS in collaboration with children and young people, Hillingdon Parent Carer Forum and other key stakeholders. 3. National Strategic Context The legal framework The following primary legislation and guidance specifies or duties and governs our practice: • SEND Code of Practice (0-25 years) 2015 • Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 • SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan 2023 • Equality Act 2010 • Education Act 1996/2011 • Children Act 1989/2004 • Mental Health Act 2010 • Care Act 2014 • Mental Capacity Act 2005 • Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 • Breaks for carers of disabled children regulations 2011 • Children and Families Act, 2014 established a clear programme of SEND reforms which developed best practice in service quality and service delivery into a set of robust requirements: o a person -centred, joined -up approach to identifying and meeting the needs of children, young people and their families; o increased engagement and participation of young people and families so that they have greater choice and control, are listened to and their concerns are resolved swiftly; o a published Local Offer of support, services and provision, how to access it and how to raise concerns or seek redress; o the use of effective practice, data and wider intelligence and independent assessment to drive improvement; o clearly defined and understood roles and responsibilities; o increased integration of services and joint commissioning across the LA and Health. This legislation sits in the context of the Equality Act 2010. Public bodies must give due regard to: • eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation and other conduct prohibited by the Act; • advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; • foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. 6 4. What are Special Educational Needs? A child or young person can be described as having special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) if he or she has a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child and young person is considered to have a learning difficulty if they have: • significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or • a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream school or mainstream post -16 institutions. For children aged two or over, 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, maintained nursery schools, mainstream post-16 institutions or by relevant early years providers. Children and young people may have needs in one or more broad areas of need and these can change over time: • communication and interaction including children with autistic spectrum disorder • cognition and learning • social, emotional and mental health difficulties • sensory and physical difficulties. Most children and young people will have their needs met at an early stage and they will access support through their school or setting (in schools this is called SEND support). Children and young people with the most complex needs will have an Educational Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This plan is statutory and sets out clearly the child or young person’s SEND, along with the provision they need to help them overcome the barriers to learning that these needs present. 7 5. What is Alternative Provision? The definition of alternative provision is education arranged by local authorities for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education; education arranged by schools for pupils on a fixed period suspension; and pupils being directed by schools to off-site provision to improve their behaviour. Alternative Provision can take many different forms, depending on the individual needs of the child. It is important the school or Local Authority service commissioning the provision is clear on whether the provision is a registered school with a DfE number, or an unregistered setting as this will have considerations regarding how many hours a pupil can access the provision. In all cases, the provision should be both efficient in its delivery of education and suitable to the child’s age, ability, and aptitude; and to any special educational needs they may have. Provision will differ from pupil to pupil, but there are some common elements that alternative provision should aim to achieve, including: good academic attainment on par with mainstream schools, particularly in English, mathematics, and science (including IT), with appropriate accreditation and qualifications; • that the specific personal, social, and academic needs of pupils are properly identified and met to help them to overcome any barriers to attainment; • improved pupil motivation and self -confidence, attendance, and engagement with education; and clearly defined objectives, including the next steps following the placement such as reintegration into mainstream education, further education, training or employment’ Alternative provision should be good quality, registered where appropriate, and delivered by high quality staff with suitable training, experience, and safeguarding checks. It should have clearly defined objectives relating to personal and academic attainm ent. Where an intervention is part -time or temporary, to help minimise disruption to a pupil’s education, it should complement and keep up with the pupil’s current curriculum, timetable, and qualification route. 8 6. The Aim of the Strategy Our SEND and AP Strategy is aligned to the five desired outcomes for all our children and young people in the borough, as per our Hillingdon Children and Young People's Plan 2021 -2024: Our strategy is rooted in Hillingdon Council’s ambitions for residents as set out in the Councils’ Strategy 2022-2026 and in the ICS’s Strategy for Integrated Health and Care: Our ambition for residents • live active and healthy lives • enjoy access to green spaces, leisure activities, culture and arts • live in a sustainable borough that is carbon neutral • be/feel safe from harm • live in good quality, affordable homes in connected communities • stay living independently for as long as they are able • achieve well in education, with opportunities for learning at all ages • have opportunities to earn an income that supports their families. Our strategy is in line with current legislation and with the aims of the SEND Reforms that, through the Children and Families Act 2014 and supporting SEND Code of Practice, January 2015, required Local Areas (made up of the Local Authority and Integrated Care Board) to implement a set of reforms to support children and young people with SEND and their families. The Act aimed to fundamentally change the relationship between professionals and children and young people with SEN D and their families while maintaining the existing protections in the system. Whilst the Act did not change the definition of SEND, it placed the views of children, young people and parents at the heart of the system. Education, health and social care services working together to ensure that we achieve the best possible outcomes for young people, including the skills and confidence to live and work independently. 9 7. ICS Integrated Health and Care Strategy The ICS Integrated Health and Care Strategy includes a focus on babies, children and young people. Childhood is a critical time to get things right for families. Needs and risks change as we grow from babies, into infants, children, and young people. Rarely can changes be made in children’s health services without considering the impact on education, social development, and families. Inequalities in childhood shape our long -term health outcomes, and our later independence in society. Having a supportive family, and a good education are some of the biggest protective factors for health outcomes. NW London Integrated Care Partnerships can now bring together key people within our health, education, and care systems with responsibilities across prevention, early years, education and children’s social services. The NW London ICS programme for babies, children and young people (BCYP) will tackle childhood inequalities in a systematic way and will challenge the status quo where necessary to co-produce improved services and deliver better health outcome for children and families. NWL ICS principles Our strategy for babies, children, and young people (BCYP) is underpinned by these key principles: • Listen with humility to children and their families; involve them in decisions about themselves. • Use local, multi -agency qualitative and quantitative evidence to coproduce service improvements with families. • Enable families to have better access to advice, preventative care, and early help, particularly in the first 1,000 days from conception. • Consider the childhood and family health inequalities, holistic needs of the child, their physical, emotional, and mental health, and the wider determinants of health by working with agencies across health, social care and voluntary sector. (Detailed child mental health plans are in the chapter on Mental Health, Learning disabilities, and Autism). • Balance the focus on reactive care with the proactive care to prevent later development of ill health in adulthood. • Deliver care in the most appropriate setting; locally where possible, centralised where necessary, and making best use of the health and care estate. • Improve equity of access, experience and outcomes across all ages, places, protected characteristics and other vulnerable groups. • Integrate our publicly funded resources in North West London to the benefit of all children. 10 Child with a single long -term health condition: Children and their parents in NW London with long-term conditions have told us it is difficult to navigate the health, education, and care system. As children grow, their care transitions to adult services. This occurs at a vulnerable time of their lives. Experience of transition is often poor. Health education can help maximise self-care and independence. The following are priority areas of focus for children with a single long-term condition: Asthma is significantly more common in black and minority ethnic groups. For children requiring admission to hospital, there is a widening difference between the least and most deprived population deciles. Environmental factors such as air pollution, access to s econd- hand smoke and poor -quality housing all contribute to poorer outcomes for children and young people. Diabetes Type 1 diabetes is affecting rising numbers of children and young people in the UK. Poor management of the condition in childhood can have severe long -term health implications. CYP with Type 1 Diabetes from minority ethnic backgrounds and those in more deprived areas have consistently poorer blood glucose control. Epilepsy: Optimal management of epilepsy improves health outcomes and can also help to minimise other impacts on social, educational and employment activity. Poor management of epilepsy can be life -threatening and may lead to children and young people requiring unplanned emergency care. Epilepsy is the most common cause of treatable death in children and young people with a learning disability aged 4-18. 27% of CYP aged 0-24 diagnosed with epilepsy are in the most deprived quintile, compared with 17% in the least deprived quintile. Epilepsy affects an estimated 112,000 CYP in the UK. Child with Complex Health Needs: Advances in paediatric care mean that more children with complex medical problems (for example, heart disease or neurodevelopmental problems) are surviving their early years. Given the susceptibility of these children to poor health outcomes, these advances in medical care have important knock -on implications for the design and delivery of community healthcare, and the forecasting of ‘special school’ places and the health workforce needed in schools. Importantly, their medical needs must also be understood and addressed within the context of the child and family’s life circumstances. There is growing recognition that many other factors contribute to a child’s complex health needs for example, family problems, fragmentation o f health, education, and care provision, psychological difficulties or social issues. Supporting children with complex health needs is a priority area of focus for NW London ICS. This includes supporting their social development and maximising their independence and decision-making as they grow older. When a child or young person has Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), we will meet the statutory requirements as a minimum. We will spread best practice across NW London ICS. NW London ICS BCYP programme will work to co-produce a framework for speech and language therapy to improve equality of access, experience, and outcome. Child with single long - term condition Child with complex health needs 11 8. Our Shared Principles To achieve this vision, families, support services and educational settings in Hillingdon have agreed the principles we expect each other to adopt when working with or caring for children and young people with SEND and those accessing Alternative Provision. We will work together to ensure that c hildren, young people, and young adults with SEND and those accessing Alternative Provision will: • be able to achieve the best they can in early years, at school and in Further Education including training, supported internships and employment and beyond into their adult lives. • have greater confidence and trust in the support we offer reporting better experiences of a system which is based on dignity and affirmation • have services that work in partnership to offer families joined up offers to improve outcomes and the achievements of their children and young people • have their needs identified early, with appropriate support put in place at the earliest opportunity to empower children to achieve to the best of their abilities • have opportunities to attend inclusive local good quality education settings that meet the needs of our children, with seamless transitions throughout their academic career. • be supported to develop the skills necessary for independence, in learning and everyday life • have access to support, in order to gain and sustain employment • have their health, social care and education needs understood, identified, and met in line with their aspirations • live in a society where people understand, respect, and accommodate differences and promote inclusion. • have good quality support to live as independently as possible • Be given access to a diverse, imaginative and engaging curriculum that is relevant and appropriate • Be involved in developing a plan which focuses on their reintegration back into mainstream school, where appropriate Our aspiration is that all children in Hillingdon feel included, understood and welcomed regardless of their needs. We understand that the barriers felt by children and young people with SEND are a result of the way society is organised, rather than something int
View Decision / Minutes Text
Executive Decision Notice – 14 December 2023 Page 1
This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk
OFFICIAL EXECUTIVE DECISION NOTICE
PUBLISHED BY DEMOCRATIC SERVICES
Notice is hereby given that the following decision(s) have been made today by
Cabinet Members at the London Borough of Hillingdon:
Title of decision
SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITY AND
ALTERNATIVE PROVISION STRATEGY 2023-2028
Reference No. 976
Date of decision Thursday 14 December 2023
Call-in expiry date Thursday 21 December 2023
Relevant Select
Committee
Children, Families and Education Select Committee
Relevant Wards All
Decision made
Cabinet Members
making the decision
Councillor Susan O’Brien – Cabinet Member for Children,
Families & Education
Decision Approved
That the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and
Education approves the Local Area Special Educational
Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP)
Strategy 2023-2028.
Reason for decision To ensure that the new strategy is in line with the new
expectations nationally through the SEND and AP Improvement
Plan, following the release of the green paper .
This is a key
policy framework document for the Council and provides
direction and priorities for the delivery of SEND and AP Services
across the borough.
Alternative options
considered and
rejected
The Cabinet Member could decline to approve the strategy or
request further amendments prior to approval.
Classification Part I – Public
Link to associated
report
Report
Relevant Officer
contact & Directorate
Abi Preston – Children’s Services Directorate
Any interest declared
by the Cabinet
Member(s) /
dispensation granted
N/A
Executive Decision Notice – 14 December 2023 Page 2
This notice is a public document also available to view on the Council's website www.hillingdon.gov.uk
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