As we approach the first anniversary of the publication of the SEND and AP Improvement Plan, Mari Davis, NASS Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer reflects on the journey so far. She considers what the future holds and questions whether the Change Programme to date fails to enable the ‘best possible’ outcome for children and young people with SEND.
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The SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan was published on Thursday 2nd March 2023. Even in the early days following its release, we voiced our disappointment and noted in our ‘NASS Guide to the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan’ that “we can foresee continued uncertainty, a patchwork of different approaches and systems and even more confusion and disparity for parents, children and families”.
Our concerns extended to the lack of clarity regarding checks and balances for the Change Programme and we emphasised the importance of considering the views of all stakeholders, as well as the impact of changes on children and young people.
Experience has taught us that without a clear vision from DfE on how the improvement plan would be implemented, we would find ourselves still trying to get clarity and stakeholder engagement a year on.
So, what do we know?
The Reaching Excellence and Ambition for all Children (REACh) consortium was appointed as the delivery partner to the Department for Education (DfE) to test the proposed changes to the SEND and AP System, as set out in the Improvement Plan. Furthermore, nine Change Programme Partnerships (CPP) with 32 local authorities in total involved, have been selected and are tasked to test and pilot the key elements of the Change Programme.
NASS sent a letter to each and every lead local authority participating in the CPP, to offer our support for effective co-production and testing with special schools within their area. The response has been interesting, with most ignoring the original letter and the rest stating that they have been told not to share anything externally. It is evident that the current approach, at least at this stage, is focused on local government systems and processes (and ultimately reducing spending) rather than the SEND system as a whole.
At present there appears to be a void and a lack of consideration in how the reforms will work together, how the programme identifies and learns from existing good practice and what changes has the greatest impact on enabling the ‘best possible’ outcome for children and young people with SEND.
There appears to be a lack of willingness to work with other key stakeholders, that may hold a different view or perspective. Isn’t that what pilot programmes are for? To work with key stakeholders who act as critical friends, experts and system users?
Regardless of what is being communicated through newsletters and soundbites, there is clear evidence of a lack of co-production with key stakeholders, outside the local government family, who play a key role in the SEND system.
But even more disconcerting is the apparent shift towards the sole focus being on improving systems and processes from the perspective of local government - how the system works best to reduce costs, reduce administrative burden, and reduce demand. We fear this approach is to the detriment of children and young people with SEND, and their families. We are concerned that there is a real shift towards ‘good enough’ for SEND children and young people and that by piloting within these narrow silos, the findings of the pilot programme will not identify the true impact of the proposed changes at this crucial testing stage.
We believe that the commitment within the Children’s and Families Act 2014, that stipulates that the choice of placement should enable the achievement of the ‘best possible’ outcome for Children and Young People with SEND, should be the driving force for any changes to policies, system or legislation going forward. It is why we will be asking the future government, post general election, to uphold and continue to commit to ensuring that the principle of achieving the best possible outcome for children and young people with SEND is the key driving force for any modern SEND system.
We will be asking the future government, post general election, to uphold and continue to commit to ensuring that the principle of achieving the best possible outcome for children and young people with SEND is the key driving force for any modern SEND system.
The Reaching Excellence and Ambition for all Children (REACh) has introduced a monthly newsletter to inform about what is happening across the Programme. You can sign up to receive the newsletter here: Reaching Excellence and Ambition for all Children (councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk)