Lincolnshire JSNA: Special Educational Needs

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1 Lincolnshire JSNA: Special What do we know? Summary Special is a label used to describe a child who requires additional support in a school or other learning environment above the level of support that is ordinarily available. There will be at some point in a child s life where they will need help in achieving their potential. In some cases there are some children who need more support than their peers. It is at this point that the child can be identified as having Special. There are three levels of additional support a child can access while in school. Firstly there is School Action, which includes targeted support provided by a school when there is evidence that a child has some learning difficulties. Secondly there is School Action Plus which continues the support available at School Action but whereby the School or child requires additional intervention and advice from a professional source, for example an Educational Psychologist or Speech and Language Therapist. Finally, when a child is experiencing learning difficulties despite the targeted support of School Action Plus a school or parent can request a Statutory Assessment for their child. During a Statutory Assessment the Local Authority determines whether or not the child s learning needs are being met in school and if not will issue a Statement to determine what provision should be put in place by school and others to support the child s learning and development. Every year the Local Authority is required to report on indicators set by the Department for Education. These indicators show the position of Lincolnshire in regards to SEND. In summary: o o 100% of Statements of Special are issued within timescales set out in the Code of Practice for special (2001) This excludes any Statements of Special that have missed timescales due to a delay in the Statutory Assessment process. These are not included as the delay was due to one of the accepted exceptions set out in the Code of Practice. (For example, medical advice not being received within the allocated timescales) The number of Statements of Special issued by Lincolnshire County Council is lower than predicted. This is to be expected due to the new funding scheme introduced in Lincolnshire in April 2010 which delegated funds to mainstream schools for all but exceptional special educational need. On a geographic level the data provided by the Lincolnshire Research Observatory indicates that: o East Lindsey has the highest number of children at School Action, School Action Plus and Statemented level. Although as a percentage of the total numbers of pupils on roll at by home address Lincoln has the highest concentration of children at School Action, School Action Plus and Statemented level. 1 of 7 May 2011 (v0.1)

2 o Lincoln also has the highest percentage of children at School Action, School Action Plus and Statemented level compared to number of pupils on roll by school address. Facts and figures SEN A / P / S or Early Years Action by home address (Oct 2010) District SEN A SEN P SEN S % of district population Boston East Lindsey Lincoln North Kesteven South Holland South Kesteven West Lindsey Total The above table indicates the number of children accessing School Action (A), School Action Plus (P) and Statemented (S) support at school by the district within which they live. The final column demonstrates the number of pupils accessing SEN as a percentage of pupils on roll at schools within the same district. This final column is included to show that although one district may have a larger number of children accessing SEN provision, such as East Lindsey, in proportion to the school population another district, such as Lincoln, has a higher percentage of children accessing SEN provision Trends It is expected that the number of statements of Special issued from the Local Authority will continue to decrease although at a slower rate. Some districts will continue to have a higher number of children with SEND than their neighbouring districts. It is expected that the number of statements issued within the 26 week deadline (excluding exceptions) will be maintained at current levels. There are national proposals to reduce the statutory time scale for completion to 20 weeks. The Service is preparing to implement this proposal. Targets Tables 1 and 2 below outline the indicators that are used within the Local Authority to measure the services performance. The indicators are reported on at different times of the year (as shown below). Local indicators are set by the Local Authority on an annual basis whereas National Indicators are set annually by the Department for Education Local Indicators & Frequency Local Indicator CS105: No. of Statements Issued Frequency 2 of 7 May 2011 (v0.1)

3 CS121: % of school population with statements of SEN CS122: % of 0-19 population with statements of SEN CS123: No. of LA funded SEN independent sector placements Quarterly Quarterly National Indicators & Frequency National Indicator NI103a Special - statements issued within 26 weeks excluding exceptions NI103b Special - statements issued within 26 weeks Frequency Performance As a Local Authority performance is measured against the national indicators outlined in the tables under the target section of this document. Some of the targets are reported on monthly while others are reported on quarterly. Performance against Local Indicators (Apr 10 Feb 11) (A= Actual T= Target) Indicator CS105 (N) CS121 CS122 CS123 (N) Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Avg A T A T A T A T The table above demonstrates the services performance as it relates to the local indicators that the Local Authority set each year. Specifically these indicators show that the number of statements issued over the period April 2010 to February 2011 was below the target of 198 with only 132 statements issued (Indicator CS105). As a percentage of the whole school population of Lincolnshire there was a slightly higher percentage of Statemented children (1.09%) over the target of 1.08% (Indicator CS121). This was also true with 0.73% of children aged 0-19 being statemented against the whole school population being slightly higher than the target of 0.72% (Indicator CS122). Finally, the number of independent placements funded by the Local Authority 3 of 7 May 2011 (v0.1)

4 for SEN purposes was consistently under target with a final average of 86 placements bought. This is below the target of 88 (Indicator CS123). Performance against National Indicators (Apr 10 Feb 11) (A= Actual T= Target) NI103a NI103b Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Avg A T A T The table above highlights performance against the indicators set by the Department for Education on an annual basis. Specifically the table illustrates that the percentage of statements issued within the 26 week timescale (excluding any delays in the assessment that had matched any of the permitted exclusions outlined in the Code of Practice Section 7:73) was on target throughout the year with a final average of 100% statements issued against a 100% target (Indicator NI103a). The percentage of statements issued within 26 weeks including any exceptions was slightly below the target of 92% with 89.88% of statements issued within the 26 week timescale (Indicator NI103b). 4 of 7 May 2011 (v0.1)

5 What is this telling us? Summary That performance by LCC is consistently high That the strategies in place for modernising service delivery and the proposals for the review of special school and designated unit provision will assist in sustaining this high level of performance within a changing national context. There are a substantive number of national changes proposed in regards to the constitution of educational institutions The Green Paper Support and Aspiration a new approach to special educational needs and disability highlights a number of potential changes. The track record of the service over the last two quarters has significantly improved to date and the improvements put in place and those planned to be in place indicate that the service is secure in terms of implementing any national change and in sustaining further improvements Demand for Educational Psychology Service is very high and the continued need for a workforce that understands the statutory SEN processes is indicated particularly in the areas of learning support (providing specialist teachers for dyslexia and autism being two examples, sensory support in the provision of specialist teachers in visual and hearing impairment and in the statutory provision for excluded children. That there is a need to ensure provision is equally accessible across the County Local views The introduction of the Review of Special School and Mainstream Unit Review and its implementation proposals have been disseminated and discussed with all key stakeholders In April 2010 the delegated funding scheme for mainstream schools introduced by Lincolnshire County Council changed the way in which schools and education providers received funds to provide support for children with Special and Disabilities (SEND). This has been received positively overall and has influenced the number of statements issued target CS105 which saw a difference of minus 33.5% between target and actual performance. This indicates that schools are effectively providing support to individuals with SEND, decreasing the need to make provision through a Statement of SEN. National and local strategies There have been significant changes across schools in relation to SEND where as academies are exempt from some legislation and requirements but are required to meet the terms and conditions of their funding arrangement with the Department for Education. The recent publication of the Green Paper: Support and aspiration if agreed will signal significant implications for current service delivery models surrounding SEND 5 of 7 May 2011 (v0.1)

6 There have been significant changes across schools in relation to SEND where as academies are exempt from legislation requirements. The recent publication of the Green Paper: Support and aspiration if agreed will signal significant implications for current service delivery models surrounding SEN. Current activity and services The Additional Needs service is currently being realigned to meet present and predicted need and the priorities identified in Lincolnshire County Council s Core Offer. Key inequalities The Marmot review identified three themes which directly apply to children with SEN. They are; Give every child in life the best start, Enable all children, young people and adults to maximise their capabilities and have control over their lives and to create fair employment and good work for all. All three themes relate to the fact that children require the best support in their early years and throughout their school life to give them the best chance in life. Also the Special Educational needs and disability review document issued in September 2010 by Ofsted states that as a whole, pupils currently identified as having special educational needs are disproportionately from disadvantaged backgrounds, are much more likely to be absent or excluded from school and achieve less well than their peers, both in terms of their progress over time and their attainment at any given age. It is these socio-economic inequalities that are sought to be balanced through support given to children who are identified as having learning difficulties. By providing support to children aged 0-19 the Local Authority aims to meet the following priority objectives set out in the Marmot Review: Reducing inequalities and to meet the needs of children across the social gradient. To build resilience and well being of young people. Reduce the social gradient in skills and qualifications To improve the access and use of quality life long learning across the social gradient. To make it easier for people who are disadvantaged to obtain and keep work. Lincolnshire County Council aims to work towards these objectives by providing children with learning difficulties with the support and provision they need to make the best start in life as well as access to other services tailored to meet their needs. By providing children with the support they need at the appropriate time will ensure that the local authority is preparing children and young people with special needs for the future. If this support was not offered then the objectives would not be met and some children with special educational needs would become increasingly disadvantaged Key gaps in knowledge and services There needs to be significant staff training and Continued Professional Development in relation to emerging and proposed new agendas in the area of SEND. The need for the Educational Psychology Services and Learning Support Services is very high and the continued need for mainstream school support to SENCOs is indicated along with support and challenge provided by the Lincolnshire School Improvement Service. 6 of 7 May 2011 (v0.1)

7 Risks of not doing something There will be a significant implication to the health and well being of children and young persons across the county. Children and young persons with SEND will be unable to access the provision and support they need to succeed in education, training and employment and the authority will be unable to sustain the improvements made and will not be in a position to respond positively to the national agenda. What is coming on the horizon? There is proposed legislation change around SEND coming in the near future What should we be doing next? Plans are in place for stakeholders; in depth data analysis is underway into how we support children with SEND in learning environments and in preparing for change. 7 of 7 May 2011 (v0.1)