Asked by: Lord Lingfield (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Berridge on 13 March (HL2079), whether any regional workshops on the annual reviews of Education, Health and Care Plans have taken place so far in 2020; and if so, which local authorities have sent representatives.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
In February and March 2020, we delivered training on Annual Reviews of Education Health and Care Plans across the country. 11 out of 13 planned workshops were delivered. The remaining 2 workshops were postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
A total of 98 local authorities attended the training events. The local authorities in attendance at the training events are listed in the attached table.
Asked by: Lord Lingfield (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that, where local authorities have decided to place a child's Education Health Care Plan at a particular school, that the school has sufficient funds to make the provisions specified.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
For a child with an education, health and care (EHC) plan, the local authority is responsible for securing the provision specified in that plan, including making arrangements for the child to attend any school named in the plan.
A local authority is required to provide each mainstream (primary or secondary) school in its area with a budget that is sufficient for it to meet the additional costs of supporting all its pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, including those with EHC plans, with up to £6,000 per pupil, per annum. Where the costs of making the provision specified in an EHC plan exceed £6,000, the local authority responsible for securing the provision and placing the child in the school pays top-up funding to the school so that the school can make the necessary provision. This top-up funding comes from the local authority’s high needs budget. Nationally, high needs funding will increase by £780 million in the next financial year, up to £7.2 billion. This will be the largest year-on-year increase since the high needs funding block was created in 2013.
Similarly, where a pupil with an EHC plan attends a special school, the local authority responsible for the plan provides top-up funding in respect of the child, to enable the school to make the provision specified in the plan. The top-up funding for a special school is intended to contribute to the costs that exceed the total amount of place funding the special school receives, at £10,000 per place.
Asked by: Lord Lingfield (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to address the concerns raised by the report by Special Needs Jungle Education, Health & Care Plan annual review, published 10 December 2019, and in particular the findings relating to the low completion rates of statutory Education Health and Care Plan annual reviews by local authorities.
Answered by Baroness Berridge
The annual review process for Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, set out in the Children and Families Act 2014 and the special educational needs and disability (SEND) Code of Practice, requires local authorities to ensure reviews are conducted within twelve months from the final EHC plan being in place, or within 12 months of the last review of the plan.
The department has sought to strengthen local area’s knowledge and understanding of their duties in relation to the completion of annual reviews. Between January and April this year, a series of regional workshops have been planned. A number of have already been delivered, with good levels of attendance from local authority education and social care teams, health teams from clinical commissioning groups, and parents. Part of the workshops include planning for improvements and this will be followed up through the department’s team of SEND advisers.
More broadly, we recognise that there are a range of concerns with the SEND system. We announced the SEND Review in September 2019 to ensure the system is working best for all families, and that support in different areas is consistent, available and joined up across health, care and education services.
Asked by: Lord Lingfield (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which transfers to date of Statements of Special Educational Needs to Education, Health and Care Plans meet the expectations set out by the Minister of State for Children and Families in a letter to Directors of Children's Services on 12 September 2017, for example, that "good quality assessments are undertaken and high quality plans are in place".
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government has commissioned several pieces of research on user satisfaction with the Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan process since the 2014 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms were introduced. ‘Experiences of Education, Health and Care plans: a survey of parents and young people’, attached, asked young people and parents/carers of children and young people about their experiences of and satisfaction with the EHC plan process. Over two-thirds of respondents (67%) agreed that the help and support outlined in the EHC plan had improved the child/young person’s experience of education.
We are also using other sources of evidence to inform our assessment including the findings from Ofsted / Care Quality Commission SEND local area inspections to understand progress and quality at a local and national level, as well as feedback from our team of professional SEND advisers, from lead tribunal judges and parents.
Local authorities are working hard to complete the transfer of all Statements of special educational need (SEN) to EHC plans by the statutory deadline of 31 March and we are monitoring progress closely and providing support and challenge. The latest published data shows that there were 287,290 statements of SEN or EHC plans maintained by local authorities as at January 2017, of which 61% were EHC plans. The data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2017.
Asked by: Lord Lingfield (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress across all local authorities in England in transferring Statements of Special Educational Need to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs); and, based on that assessment, how many Statements they expect to miss the deadline for transition to an EHCP of 31 March.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The government has commissioned several pieces of research on user satisfaction with the Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan process since the 2014 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms were introduced. ‘Experiences of Education, Health and Care plans: a survey of parents and young people’, attached, asked young people and parents/carers of children and young people about their experiences of and satisfaction with the EHC plan process. Over two-thirds of respondents (67%) agreed that the help and support outlined in the EHC plan had improved the child/young person’s experience of education.
We are also using other sources of evidence to inform our assessment including the findings from Ofsted / Care Quality Commission SEND local area inspections to understand progress and quality at a local and national level, as well as feedback from our team of professional SEND advisers, from lead tribunal judges and parents.
Local authorities are working hard to complete the transfer of all Statements of special educational need (SEN) to EHC plans by the statutory deadline of 31 March and we are monitoring progress closely and providing support and challenge. The latest published data shows that there were 287,290 statements of SEN or EHC plans maintained by local authorities as at January 2017, of which 61% were EHC plans. The data is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statements-of-sen-and-ehc-plans-england-2017.
Asked by: Lord Lingfield (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of each of the funding streams to support implementation of Special Educational Needs and Disability reforms as listed by the Council for Disabled Children in its July Digest.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
As set out in the Council for Disabled Children’s digest, the government has provided significant resources to support implementation of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms. This includes £223 million to local councils between April 2014 and March 2018 and, during the same period, £60 million for around 1,200 Independent Supporters to help families with the Education Health and Care (EHC) plan process.
We have also funded training and a SEND leadership programme to support local councils and health services deliver their SEND services and a school improvement programme to further embed good SEND practice in schools. This includes a ‘what works’ resource, drawing on evidence-based practice on SEND in good and outstanding schools and colleges, published earlier this month.
These resources, among a wide range of others, can be found at: http://www.sendgateway.org.uk and https://send.excellencegateway.org.uk.
We gather intelligence from a wide range of sources to understand where services are working well, where they could do better, and to focus our resources on where we can make a difference. This includes activity the government funds, surveys, research and inspections, feedback from our team of professional SEND advisers (who work directly with local councils to improve the delivery of services) performance information and feedback from lead tribunal judges and parents. We welcome the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s report, published on 23 October 2017.
We are beginning to see some very positive feedback from parents and young people. A large-scale survey of over 13,000 families who gained an EHC plan in 2015 found that two thirds of those families were satisfied with the overall experience of getting a plan, and three-fifths agreed the help and support set out in the plan would achieve the desired outcomes. The Inspection report from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which looks at SEND in local areas, also identifies that many areas have strengths with aspects of services. For example, in North Yorkshire, inspectors found a “large majority of EHC plans evaluated by inspectors were strong and effectively supported the progress of children and young people.”
Where local area performance is a particular concern, departmental officials working closely with partners, including NHS England, have engaged with local areas to provide support and challenge, and have seen a proactive and positive response. On the specific finding on the exclusion of pupils, we are also clear that any decision to exclude should be lawful, reasonable and fair. As announced by the Prime Minister, the Department for Education will take forward an external review of exclusions practice, focused on the experiences of those groups who are disproportionately likely to be excluded.
Asked by: Lord Lingfield (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission Local Area SEND inspections: one year on, and in particular, the common areas of significant concern listen in that report.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
As set out in the Council for Disabled Children’s digest, the government has provided significant resources to support implementation of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms. This includes £223 million to local councils between April 2014 and March 2018 and, during the same period, £60 million for around 1,200 Independent Supporters to help families with the Education Health and Care (EHC) plan process.
We have also funded training and a SEND leadership programme to support local councils and health services deliver their SEND services and a school improvement programme to further embed good SEND practice in schools. This includes a ‘what works’ resource, drawing on evidence-based practice on SEND in good and outstanding schools and colleges, published earlier this month.
These resources, among a wide range of others, can be found at: http://www.sendgateway.org.uk and https://send.excellencegateway.org.uk.
We gather intelligence from a wide range of sources to understand where services are working well, where they could do better, and to focus our resources on where we can make a difference. This includes activity the government funds, surveys, research and inspections, feedback from our team of professional SEND advisers (who work directly with local councils to improve the delivery of services) performance information and feedback from lead tribunal judges and parents. We welcome the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s report, published on 23 October 2017.
We are beginning to see some very positive feedback from parents and young people. A large-scale survey of over 13,000 families who gained an EHC plan in 2015 found that two thirds of those families were satisfied with the overall experience of getting a plan, and three-fifths agreed the help and support set out in the plan would achieve the desired outcomes. The Inspection report from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which looks at SEND in local areas, also identifies that many areas have strengths with aspects of services. For example, in North Yorkshire, inspectors found a “large majority of EHC plans evaluated by inspectors were strong and effectively supported the progress of children and young people.”
Where local area performance is a particular concern, departmental officials working closely with partners, including NHS England, have engaged with local areas to provide support and challenge, and have seen a proactive and positive response. On the specific finding on the exclusion of pupils, we are also clear that any decision to exclude should be lawful, reasonable and fair. As announced by the Prime Minister, the Department for Education will take forward an external review of exclusions practice, focused on the experiences of those groups who are disproportionately likely to be excluded.
Asked by: Lord Lingfield (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman Education, Health and Care Plans: our first 100 investigations, and in particular, of the recommendations concerning good practice for councils.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
As set out in the Council for Disabled Children’s digest, the government has provided significant resources to support implementation of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms. This includes £223 million to local councils between April 2014 and March 2018 and, during the same period, £60 million for around 1,200 Independent Supporters to help families with the Education Health and Care (EHC) plan process.
We have also funded training and a SEND leadership programme to support local councils and health services deliver their SEND services and a school improvement programme to further embed good SEND practice in schools. This includes a ‘what works’ resource, drawing on evidence-based practice on SEND in good and outstanding schools and colleges, published earlier this month.
These resources, among a wide range of others, can be found at: http://www.sendgateway.org.uk and https://send.excellencegateway.org.uk.
We gather intelligence from a wide range of sources to understand where services are working well, where they could do better, and to focus our resources on where we can make a difference. This includes activity the government funds, surveys, research and inspections, feedback from our team of professional SEND advisers (who work directly with local councils to improve the delivery of services) performance information and feedback from lead tribunal judges and parents. We welcome the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s report, published on 23 October 2017.
We are beginning to see some very positive feedback from parents and young people. A large-scale survey of over 13,000 families who gained an EHC plan in 2015 found that two thirds of those families were satisfied with the overall experience of getting a plan, and three-fifths agreed the help and support set out in the plan would achieve the desired outcomes. The Inspection report from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which looks at SEND in local areas, also identifies that many areas have strengths with aspects of services. For example, in North Yorkshire, inspectors found a “large majority of EHC plans evaluated by inspectors were strong and effectively supported the progress of children and young people.”
Where local area performance is a particular concern, departmental officials working closely with partners, including NHS England, have engaged with local areas to provide support and challenge, and have seen a proactive and positive response. On the specific finding on the exclusion of pupils, we are also clear that any decision to exclude should be lawful, reasonable and fair. As announced by the Prime Minister, the Department for Education will take forward an external review of exclusions practice, focused on the experiences of those groups who are disproportionately likely to be excluded.
Asked by: Lord Lingfield (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the extent to which local authority performance targets for special educational needs teams, or individual staff within those teams, align with current legislation and guidance, in particular in relation to (1) the production of education, health and care plans, and (2) the number of placements in special schools; and what actions they propose to take in response to that assessment.
Answered by Lord Nash
Local authorities are responsible for fulfilling the statutory duties on special educational needs (SEN) and disability placed upon them by the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. This legal framework sets out clearly the process and timescales for producing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans; and the process for determining the school placement of children and young people with EHC plans.
Local authorities must issue final EHC plans within 20 weeks of commencing an assessment. Data published in May showed that 59.2% of EHC plans were issued on-time, excluding exception cases. Some areas are managing 100%. We have emphasised to local authorities that, where there are delays, they need to communicate clearly about them with families.
The SEND Code of Practice is clear that EHC plans must be issued in sufficient time prior to a child or young person moving between key phases of education, to allow for planning and, where necessary, commissioning of support and provision at the new institution. The Children and Familes Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2014, as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2015, require local authorities to prioritise the review of statements of SEN or Learning Difficulty Assessments (LDAs) for children and young people approaching the end of an educational phase.
Young people aged 19-25 are only able to draw on high needs funding from the Education Funding Agency where they have an EHC plan. Because some local authorities may not complete all the necessary transfers from LDAs to EHC plans by 1 September, EFA-funded institutions can continue to deliver programmes to 19-25 year olds where the young person has a Learning Difficulty Assessment and is receiving high needs funding, and where the local authority is in the process of an EHC assessment but has not finalised the EHC plan.
The Department does not set targets for the performance of individual local authorities. The Department monitors very closely nationally-published data on local authority performance on SEN and disability and provides support and challenge as appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Lingfield (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to address delays in the production of education, health and care plans in cases where (1) plans are produced by a local authority outside the timescale specified in regulations, and (2) plans are not produced for the start of a new school or academic year where a young person is transferring to a new stage of education at the age of (a) 16, and (b) 18.
Answered by Lord Nash
Local authorities are responsible for fulfilling the statutory duties on special educational needs (SEN) and disability placed upon them by the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice. This legal framework sets out clearly the process and timescales for producing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans; and the process for determining the school placement of children and young people with EHC plans.
Local authorities must issue final EHC plans within 20 weeks of commencing an assessment. Data published in May showed that 59.2% of EHC plans were issued on-time, excluding exception cases. Some areas are managing 100%. We have emphasised to local authorities that, where there are delays, they need to communicate clearly about them with families.
The SEND Code of Practice is clear that EHC plans must be issued in sufficient time prior to a child or young person moving between key phases of education, to allow for planning and, where necessary, commissioning of support and provision at the new institution. The Children and Familes Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2014, as amended by the Children and Families Act 2014 (Transitional and Saving Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2015, require local authorities to prioritise the review of statements of SEN or Learning Difficulty Assessments (LDAs) for children and young people approaching the end of an educational phase.
Young people aged 19-25 are only able to draw on high needs funding from the Education Funding Agency where they have an EHC plan. Because some local authorities may not complete all the necessary transfers from LDAs to EHC plans by 1 September, EFA-funded institutions can continue to deliver programmes to 19-25 year olds where the young person has a Learning Difficulty Assessment and is receiving high needs funding, and where the local authority is in the process of an EHC assessment but has not finalised the EHC plan.
The Department does not set targets for the performance of individual local authorities. The Department monitors very closely nationally-published data on local authority performance on SEN and disability and provides support and challenge as appropriate.