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The SEND Green Paper consultation was recently published, what do these new SEND changes mean for your local area or authority?
The long-awaited SEND Green Paper consultation was recently published, following the initial sharing of the proposed changes to the SEND system in March 2022. So, what do these new SEND changes mean for your local area or authority? Well, nothing immediately. Although timescales have been included in the newest publication, further development will include more consultations and tests before daily implementation. We highlight some of the most important proposals and share some steps you can take to get ahead of the timelines.
What are digital EHCP plans?
Who will be involved in the new digital EHCPs?
What is the SEND change programme?
What is the National Inclusion Dashboard?
What is a Local Inclusion Plan?
What are the new SENCO qualifications?
What are digital EHCP plans?
The current EHCP system is struggling. Struggling with the caseload, the navigation between different providers and achieving consistency across local authorities and areas. The move to digitise the EHC Plan process is a step in the right direction to allow uniformity, standardisation and to improve the SEND journey for pupils and their families.
Government guidance on how local areas will make the digital move will be published in 2025, giving each local area an EHC Plan template to follow.
Many local areas have made the move towards digitising part of the EHCP process already utilising the Invision360 platform, and their measures taken to ensure rigour are positively recognised by Ofsted.
Invision360’s EHCP Audit Tool provides local authorities recognised standards to audit the quality and consistency of an EHCP, providing evidence and data for target and outcome improvements. Particularly supporting local areas with the challenges faced when collecting quality health advice for EHCP creation.
‘Leaders have taken effective action to improve the quality of EHC plans…This has led to a robust quality assurance process, supported by *Invision360, to ensure rigour.’ Ofsted and CQC Inspection Letter, 2022.
*The EHCP Quality Assurance Tool mentioned in the above quote is referenced as external partner in the Ofsted Inspection Letter.
The new digital EHC Plans will involve a multi-agency panel for the decision-making process. These multi-agency SEND panels will be similar to those used in safeguarding hubs and will spread the decision across providers who will collectively make decisions with improved outcomes at the heart. The hope is, a multi-agency panel approach will provide the breadth of knowledge, communication and consistency needed to improve the standard of the EHCPs created.
You may have heard of the SEND change programme, so what is this programme, and how does it affect your local area? The SEND change programme is a £70 million funded programme by the Department for Education. It will establish 9 regional partnerships that will be made up of groups of local authorities, who will refine the key reforms suggested in this green paper over the next 2 years. You will be able to receive regular updates on the progress via the national SEND and AP implementation board.
The SEND change programme, alongside other proposals, will create a new set of national standards for SEND which will be published by the end of 2025. These national standards for SEND will make the process easier and more collaborative for SEND pupils and their families.
Data will be taken from national and local levels for the National Inclusion Dashboard. These metrics will be captured to help the DfE measure the progression of the changes made. The performance of local areas and authorities will be shown transparently with the dashboard, highlighting those who have robust standardisation across their EHC Plans and identifying local authorities where inconsistency and quality are areas for improvement.
A local inclusion plan (LIP) will be created by the local SEND and AP partnerships (local authorities, education providers, care providers and other partners like youth justice). A LIP will set out the plan with commissioning and organising the SEND provision (including services), helping families to understand the support available to them.
The timeline for the local inclusion plans begins in 2023, with non-statutory guidance expected to be published. Progressing in 2024 with the development of LIPs, finally moving to 2025, where the legislation that will make the local SEND and AP partnerships (who create the LIPs) statutory is expected.
With SEND reform come new SENDCo qualifications, moving towards the other recognised qualifications in education and fitting into the National Professional Qualification (NPQ) terminology. The NASENCo Award is proposed to change to a leadership-level course of SENCO NPQ.
Recognising the need for increased understanding and focus on SEND for teacher training, Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses will be reviewed with the Early Career Teacher (ECT) framework to analyse if SEND needs of pupils are being met through the current course content.
Early Years Foundation Stage professionals have been highlighted as some of the most influential professionals working with SEND children. Early identification of SEND and aiming to close the gaps effectively in EYFS where possible is a focus of the SEND green paper. Funding for 5000 EYFS staff to complete their SENCO training has been provided, with the training application process already open.
Alongside new SENCO qualifications and routes, there is the expectation of funding (£21 million) for educational psychologists to be trained and available for the SEND provision. Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) has been highlighted as a service most valuable; increasing the access available to families is also proposed. Upskilling the workforce for SEND includes teaching assistants and teachers, with new SEND practice guidance promised, as well as more efforts to train teachers in sensory impairments.
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