changes to SEN SUPPORT AND EHC PLANS
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'MY GUIDES' Bexley Voice are co-producing with Bexley LA a series of guides for parents and carers on various subjects including guides on SEN Support and EHC Plan Needs Assessments in Bexley. Download your copies by clicking here: |
In September 2014, some of the biggest changes in almost 30 years for special needs children came into force, due to the introduction to the Children and Families Act 2014 (Part 3 of this act is commonly known as the SEN Reforms).
This includes:
The Children and Families Act 2014 takes forward the Coalition Government’s commitments to improve services for vulnerable children and support families. It underpins wider reforms to ensure that all children and young people can succeed, no matter what their background. It has reformed the systems for adoption, looked after children, family justice and special educational needs. It will encourage growth in the childcare sector, introduce a new system of shared parental leave and ensure children in England have a strong advocate for their rights.
Key principles
The law aims to improve the SEN system by giving more importance to the views, wishes and feelings of children and young people and their families. It is based on these principles:
Participation
Local authorities and health partners must work with parent carers and young people to improve services in their area, for example through their local parent carer forum.
Outcomes
Local authorities must offer support in a way that enables children and young people with SEND to achieve the best possible educational progress, and helps them do what they want in their lives as they grow up.
Joint decisions
Local authorities must make sure that young people and their families get the right information and support to take part in decisions which affect them.
Joint working
Education, health and social care services must work more closely together when they are deciding on the support available for children and young people with SEN and disabilities in their area.
The Children and Families Act 2014 gives parents greater say over their personalised care and assistance and puts in place a new birth-to-25 system for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). This will include:
This includes:
- In mainstream schools, SEN Support replaced School Action and School Action Plus.
- Changed from 'Statements' to the new 'EHC' (Education, Health and Social Care) plan.
- The 'Local Offer' - a website of information for each borough
- Individual/Personal Budgets
The Children and Families Act 2014 takes forward the Coalition Government’s commitments to improve services for vulnerable children and support families. It underpins wider reforms to ensure that all children and young people can succeed, no matter what their background. It has reformed the systems for adoption, looked after children, family justice and special educational needs. It will encourage growth in the childcare sector, introduce a new system of shared parental leave and ensure children in England have a strong advocate for their rights.
Key principles
The law aims to improve the SEN system by giving more importance to the views, wishes and feelings of children and young people and their families. It is based on these principles:
Participation
Local authorities and health partners must work with parent carers and young people to improve services in their area, for example through their local parent carer forum.
Outcomes
Local authorities must offer support in a way that enables children and young people with SEND to achieve the best possible educational progress, and helps them do what they want in their lives as they grow up.
Joint decisions
Local authorities must make sure that young people and their families get the right information and support to take part in decisions which affect them.
Joint working
Education, health and social care services must work more closely together when they are deciding on the support available for children and young people with SEN and disabilities in their area.
The Children and Families Act 2014 gives parents greater say over their personalised care and assistance and puts in place a new birth-to-25 system for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). This will include:
- replacing old 'Statements of Education' with a new birth-to-25 'EHC' (Education, Health and Social Care) plan, setting out in one place all the support the family will receive including short breaks.
- The 'Local Offer' bringing together the support available to all SEN and disabled children and young people improving cooperation between all the services that support children and their families,
- Individual/Personal Budgets - Parent/carers and young people may be able to receive a personal budget to fund educational, health or social care provision set out in an EHC plan. Once a child is over 16 they will have a right to make decisions about the support made for them unless they lack the capacity to do so, putting families firmly in charge of planning, arranging and purchasing their care and support.