A journey to a journey – transformation of Home to School Travel
A journey to a journey – transformation of Home to School
Widening the lens through which our clients begin to tackle the challenge.
This article was originally published in CYP Now
Rebalancing the High Needs system – what role can the SEND review play?
By Dame Christine Lenehan (Director of the Council for Disabled Children at the National Children’s Bureau) and Leo Jones (Director, IMPOWER)
Last week, we facilitated a hugely inspiring discussion between local system leaders (Directors of Children’s Services and Directors of Education) and the DfE SEND review team – around how best to rebalance the national SEND and High Needs System. This is clearly an urgent task.
Despite an investment of over £1.5billion in High Needs Block funding over the last two years, the number of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and their associated costs continues to increase, leading to forecast overspends this year of over £600million. This shows is that money alone isn’t the answer; the system needs a reset across a number of areas.
Our roundtable discussion was wide ranging, and the passion amongst those working in the sector to get the very best for children and young people with additional needs was clear. The positive impact that some councils have managed to achieve across one of the most complex policy and delivery areas is inspiring. The good news is that in a number of areas there was significant alignment between what the sector is calling for and what the SEND review is trying to achieve:
What also emerged from the discussion is that there are three key themes that need to be considered in any discussion about rebalancing the SEND and High Needs system, and that there is a need to rebuild trust and confidence between parents, partners and local authorities. The challenge will be to establish where these themes need national intervention and where change can be better affected at a local level.
Crucially, we must not lose the core ethos of the 2014 Care Act as it relates to children with additional needs – that integration of support across education, health and care is key to driving the best outcomes. Too often parents end up repeating their stories multiple times, to different people in different organisations – because they are dealing with a system where accountable bodies are not working together in partnership to deliver integrated care.
In keeping this at the core, the review must consider cross departmental working and how new Integrated Care Systems have the right accountability frameworks to put children at their centre, wrapping care and support around universal provision such as schools to support greater aspiration and independence for children with SEND.
It is clear that the SEND review cannot rebalance the complex High Needs system on its own, and that further work is needed to test emerging ideas and crucially ensure often good ideas on paper can be delivered in the field. But the will to improve the outlook for children with additional needs is certainly there if we can better define the way.