Agenda item

To hear from Retired Headteacher, Fran Goggins working with SEND and SEND Tribunal Mediator, Catriona Ogilvy on SEND.

The commission first heard from Fran Goggins retired Headteacher working with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) on the following points.

• Personal experience of SEND processes and appeals with her grandson (Frank);  many Early Learning and Child Care (ELC) schools in Southwark unable to meet needs such as behavioural issues, social communication and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD); eventually a 7 Form entry school in Southwark agreed to admit Frank, however on meeting with the Special Education Needs Co- Ordinator, it was concluded that even this school would not be suitable, this led to an appeals process.
• Appeals process for EHCP had very slow responses, parents not privy to schools’ responses for declining the placement offer, reasons given for declining from schools were arbitrary such as SEND facilities located on second floor of the school. Liaise with legal team at Southwark two weeks prior to EHCP appeal hearing and Frank was placed in an out of borough school that met his needs. Time taken off work from transportation to school causing further expenses.
• 14 other children from Southwark with ASD (Highest needs level) go to this out borough SEND school. Southwark needs specifically a SEND school instead of bearing costs for children to go out of Southwark. Parents forum highlighted that many children with SEND in Southwark are not in school.

The commission then asked questions on the following themes

·  Suitability of another SEND placement offer; Complexities of the EHCP process for parents.

·  Legal process within Southwark Council on EHCPs’; SEND recommendation

Fran explained to the commission that in the case of her grandson with ASD, the other placement offer was to put him in a school where certain behavioural policies put him at risk of being excluded. He would have to ask for help to go to another room if he was overwhelmed, children with ASD have social communication issues. Parents and families are often from different cultures and not been in the country for long, in these situations acknowledgment of child’s needs is often not recognised. Furthermore, the complexities of long application forms and requirements for EHCPs’ causes delays in children getting help.

Fran informed the commission that staff from Southwark’s legal team were very supportive and helpful. However the transition from the case being transferred from the EHCP co-ordinator to the legal team was very quick, this was very intimidating and daunting for the parents. Furthermore, as a SEND recommendation, the commission heard that information on EHCP are often years out of date and the reasoning given for unsuitability at certain schools were not satisfactory. There is a need to oversee the responses from parents during such processes and consultations. Ideally, the EHCP funding should be used to build schools catering to special needs within Southwark, rather than out of borough placements.

The commission then heard from Catrina Ogilvy, Children’s Occupational Therapist (OT) (SEND) on the following topics of discussion.

• Southwark Council website on EHCP and SEND provisions, difficulties in SEND across London Boroughs; Tribunals and SEND; EHC Plans issues within 20-week deadline are often not fit for purpose; therapy and speech and language support often not provided in plans, which is a detriment to the SEND Childs development.
• 20-week statutory deadline being met, still leaves the child 1-2 years behind in receiving SEND support; Schools often tell parents that they need a diagnosis before they could apply for an EHCP which is incorrect; Schools lacking funding to undertake EHCP needs assessments leading to children being on waiting lists.
• Provisions in proposed EHCP plans often misrepresented and vague with regards to length and number of sessions, term time periods of coverage etc. Annual review of EHCP plans is often difficult, wherein provisions need to be readdressed and increased.
• In Southwark SEND tribunal cases, there is hostility towards parents from the opposing (council) appointed legal counsel and solicitors, approach has been confrontational and adversarial rather than assessing the child needs objectively. This leads to failing trust between families and Local Authority, not just in Southwark but also nationally.
• Particularly this academic year schools have fed back that they are unable to provide SEND support in majority of the cases, and the OT recommendations have not been accepted.

The commission then asked questions around the following points of discussion

• SEND system fit for purpose
• Tribunal costs, Nursey and SEND Inclusion Funding (SENDIF), Occupation Therapist (OT) Funding
• Families raising concerns about SEND support

The commission heard form Catrina that the current SEND system is not fit for purpose especially in the areas of Early Years Health Services and funding issues, other factors are prevailing issues such as cost of living crisis.

The commission learnt from Catrina there are two costs involved in the tribunal process, firstly the cost associated with support the child is currently receiving which might not be fit for purpose and secondly the legal costs associated with tribunals. In addition, much wider costs include parents having to take time off work to care for their children and mental health impacts on parents due to tribunal processes.

Children going from nursery to schools often are not handed over, Nursery SEND provision details, and the schools would immediately put the child on a reduced timetable, in order carry out assessments and have provisions in place. Even though, the child would get an EHCP plan in 20 weeks the whole process in schools could take up to 18 months.

Catrina explained to the commission that families are raising concerns on SEND provisions and funding, in some cases Local Authorities (LA) are in discussions with schools to provide some funding, however there is no improvement in SEND support.

The commission heard form Fran that it’s very difficult to get SENDIF funding for Early Years Help and it’s even more difficult to obtain OT funding. Senior Leadership and Staff in schools need to take account of the training of Teaching Assistants (TA) who are not qualified to undertake the instructions provided by speech and language therapists.

The commission then asked further questions on the following themes

• Sources of funding for SEND (EHCP) in schools and academies
• Specialist SEND settings in mainstream schools

Catrina informed the commission that LAs’ are responsible for all the funding provided in an EHCP, but this varies in how it is provided amongst different schools, academies and this also varies amongst different boroughs. In some cases, EHCP funding is provided directly to the schools by the LAs’ and in other cases the funding is provided through the LA commissioning OTs’ directly, this creates confusion and debate over how funding for EHCP should be commissioned.

On specialist SEND settings in mainstream schools, the commission learned from Catrina that resolving SEND provision issues would not only be resolved by having more SEND schools, additional SEND resource provision in mainstream schools with specialist settings also needs to be considered. Some schools are using their empty classrooms to provide additional resource provisions for SEND children, this results in more of an exclusion of the SEND child rather than inclusion and does not fulfil the requirements of a specialist setting. SEND children need access to therapy rooms, sensory rooms, messy playrooms and outdoor play areas.

The Chair addressed the commission the need for the Southwark Council to clarify the process for EHCP funding and SEND provisions across the borough.