Scoping Seminar on Education Health and Care Plans
18 January 2018
Nuffield Foundation

The Trustees sponsored a multi-disciplinary meeting on 18 January 2018 to investigate the impact of the reforms in the Children and Families Act 2014, with particular reference to the introduction of Education, Health and Care Plans and the detailed evidencing of educational need to provide effective educational and parenting support for children and young people with hidden disabilities.

Three presentations were given at the seminar:

• Education, Health and Care Plans
  Dr Karl Wall
  Senior Research Fellow, UCL Centre for Inclusive Education Department of Psychology and Human Development
  Download the presentation slides here
• Research on the new SEND policy and its implementation
  Dr Susana Castro
  Senior Lecturer in Education Studies
  Dr Olympia Palikara
  Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology
  University of Roehampton
  Download the presentation slides here
• The Lenehan Report
  Matthew Dodd
  Principal Education Policy Officer, Council for Disabled Children
  Download notes made during the the presentation here
  

The notes from the Seminar Plenary session are available to download here.

The list of Seminar Attendees is available to download here.

Related information

The Lenehan Report

Participants at the seminar were mindful of the independent report published by the Department of Health and Social Care on 26 January 2018: “These are our children: a review” by Dame Christine Lenehan into care of children with learning disabilities.

Dame Christine Lenehan was asked by the Department of Health to take a strategic overview and recommend what practical action can be taken to co-ordinate care, support and treatment for children and young people with complex needs (and behaviour that challenges) involving mental health problems and learning disabilities and/or autism.

Dame Christine has spoken to many different organisations and individuals, including young people and their families. Her report makes 11 recommendations for government departments and partners at a national level on how to improve the system.

The report can be downloaded here.

Council for Disabled Children

The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) are the umbrella body for the disabled children’s sector bringing together professionals, practitioners and policy-makers.

The CDC’s vision is a society in which disabled children and young people’s rights are respected, their aspirations supported and life chances are assured. We want disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs to have full and happy childhoods, to fulfil their potential, and be active within the community. And we want parents of disabled children to be parents first – living ordinary lives.

Visit the Council for Disabled Children website for further information.

The ‘Held Back’ Campaign

The ‘Held Back’ campaign follows on from a Parliamentary Inquiry that The National Autistic Society (NAS) supported (in their role as secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism) into how the education system works for children and young people on the autism spectrum. More than 3,000 parents, carers, teachers and young people shared their experiences. The report found that:

• too many children are not getting the support they need to succeed at school and are held back from achieving their potential.
• 70 per cent of parents say that support was not put in place quickly enough for their child.
• 40 per cent of parents say that their child’s school place does not fully meet their needs.
• And fewer than half of children on the autism spectrum say they are happy at school.

The NAS are calling on the Government to develop a national autism and education strategy, to make sure that every area has the services and support that children on the autism spectrum need.

More details about the inquiry, campaign and report can be found on www.autism.org.uk via this link.

Further involvement

We would be interested to hear from stakeholders involved in disciplines that may inform our investigation. Please contact the Secretary of the Foundation, Richard White via email: richard@michaelsieff-foundation.org.uk in the first instance.