Newsletter Oct 2008

November 2008 It has been a while since we published a newsletter on the units review but now that Phase One has started, we intend to publish them more often.

In this issue: 

When does it start?

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What is a lead school?

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Unit provision and lead schools

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Access to lead schools

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Are all Phase One lead schools up and running from September 2008?

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What happens for a child in a unit when it becomes a lead school?

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Who decides a child’s placement?

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How do lead schools fit in with the other services?

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How are lead schools funded?

When does it start?

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Can all children access lead school provision?

Phase One started formally on 1 September 2008. The first phase covers the areas of Ashford, Shepway and North-West Kent. The mainstream schools with specialist provision in these areas are now called ‘Lead Schools’.

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Can a child attend a school outside of their lead school catchment area?

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When does Phase Two start?

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Further information

We want to make them helpful and informative to all readers, whatever their relationship to children and young people, whether they are family, professionals or friends. We are interested in your views and would like to hear from you if there is anything you think we should include in future newsletters or should leave out or, indeed, if you have other ideas about improving how we communicate. If you want to comment, you can do so by emailing us at: [email protected]

Children, Families and Education

2008

Remind me, what is a Lead School? A lead school:  is a mainstream school with a specialism e.g. Autism, that provides a service to children, young people and schools across a defined area  provides specialist advice, guidance, support and training to other schools in the area to help them meet the requirements of the DDA and develop the skills to support the children and young people who attend  has a reserved number of places for children and young people with Statements, either with full-time access or access for a short period of time as necessary  may also provide access to children and young people with the need type but without Statements for a short period of time.

Will all children living in Phase One areas have access to a lead school? Other than two schools, all the current units and designations in the Phase One areas will become lead schools. New lead schools are being set up to cover local gaps in provision, including the two units that are closing. Phase One lead schools (that did not have a Unit) are developing the skills and expertise they need. A list of lead schools in the Phase one areas can be found on Kent’s extranet, Kenttrustweb, and on the external Kent web site. Links can be found at the end of this newsletter.

How is unit provision different from lead school provision? Schools with units admit children to an agreed number of places in the unit. A few schools with units provide an outreach service to other schools but most do not. Lead schools will admit children with the need type in which they specialise, and also provide support, training, advice and guidance to other schools in their area. The other schools will be supported to meet the needs of children who are on their rolls. So, lead schools will develop a specialist service available to all schools and children in the locality that need it.

If a child is currently in a unit when it becomes a lead school, will their place in the unit be guaranteed? Any child in a unit when it becomes a lead school will continue there until such time as a review of the Statement determines a change of placement is required or the child transfers from primary to secondary school or the family moves. Any change would be based on the child’s needs and not as a direct result of the school becoming a lead school.

Does this mean that all lead schools in Phase One are now up and running from September 2008? No. We expect that it will take a few years for lead schools to take on their new responsibilities fully. Each new lead School will need to put a Development or Transition Plan in place. This means that any lead schools that were not previously units will not be expected to admit children immediately. When they start to admit children, probably in September 2009, but possibly in April 2009, they will do so gradually.

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2008

Who decides what type of placement a child needs? Arrangements will be the same as now. The Local Authority determines the school to be named in the Statement, taking account of the preferences of parents and carers and expert advice. For other children, any specialist support needed will be determined by the school and, where necessary, by the Local Children’s Services Partnerships (LCSPs), which used to be known as Clusters. Schools and the Local Authority will continue to work with parents and carers and take their views into account.

How will lead schools fit in with the other services in the locality, including services provided by the special schools? The lead school will be one strand of an integrated service provided within the LCSP. The lead school will work with other services, including mainstream schools and special schools, to provide a range of provision to meet the needs of all children. This will include children with less severe needs and children with very severe and complex needs. The development of co-ordinated and integrated services will aim to ensure that services are not duplicated, and that there are no gaps where children can ‘fall through the net’.

How will lead schools be funded? All lead schools in Phase One have been given some start-up funding to enable them to get on with the job of developing the new service. In future new funding arrangements will need to be put in place. A funding proposal has been recommended, which will take account of the actual needs in each locality, and this will go out for consultation. We expect that the new funding arrangements will be in place for Phase One lead schools in April 2009.

Does every child have access to the lead school provision? Provision in the lead school is available to children and young people who meet certain criteria. Provision may be a place in the lead school itself or support to other schools in the lead school’s catchment area. Schools already have funding to meet additional and special educational needs in their delegated budgets. The lead school service is for those children and young people whose needs are severe and complex and for whom schools do not receive funding currently. Over time, all mainstream schools are increasing their expertise and capacity to meet the needs of most children and young people with additional and special educational needs.

What if a parent wants their child to attend a school that is outside their lead school catchment area? The current arrangements will not change. Parents will still be able to express a preference for the school of their choice. For children with Statements, there is no change to the law. However, the Authority is allowed to take account of costs, including transport costs. The Authority can refuse to name a school in a Statement if it costs more. Alternatively, parental preference can be named, but the Authority is not obliged to pay for transport. If the child or young person meets the criteria for access to the lead school service and a placement outside the catchment area where the child lives is named in the Statement, arrangements will be made to ensure that the placement is funded.

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2008

When does Phase Two start? Phase One will be the subject of evaluation and will inform the implementation of Phase Two. For this reason, Phase One needs a reasonable amount of time to run so Phase Two is not likely to commence before 2010. We will provide more advice when the date is clearer to facilitate preparation and planning.

How do I find out other information about the review and implementation? Information on the review and the lead school implementation can be found on kenttrustweb in Additional Educational Needs News. Or, you can go straight to Kent County Council’s main web page. Please follow this link to Special Educational Needs for further information.

How can I comment on the implementation or any other aspect of the review? You can do this by emailing: 8QLWV'HVLJQ5HYLHZ#NHQWJRYXN Please note: this is a generic email address that is checked daily for messages. Or by contacting: Nuala Ryder - 01622 694190 Lead School Implementation Project Manager Marlene Morrissey - 01622 694190 County AEN Manager (Resources)

Supporting schools & local partnerships are: Suzanne Wilkins Specialist Teaching Service Manager with lead responsibility for Physical and Sensory Impairment Andrea White Specialist Teaching Service Manager with lead responsibility for Communication & Interaction and Cognition & Learning

Parents may wish to contact: Partnership with Parents Shepway Centre Oxford Road Maidstone ME15 8AW Office: 01622 350640 Helpline: 01622 755515 Email: [email protected]

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