SEND News and Reforms
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
The DfE has today published the April 2019 SEND newsletter
It can be found here: document April 19 SEND Newsletter
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
The government's Education Technology (EdTech) strategy, Realising the potential of technology in education has just been published by the Department for Education. The new strategy highlights the opportunities of technology (including the power of assistive technologies to support increased function, motivation, independence and access to learning) and is the Department's first step in supporting the education sector to overcome the barriers to embedding technology in an effective and efficient manner.
It sets a number of 'EdTech challenges' to industry, the education sector and academia to prove what is possible and inform the future use of EdTech across our education system. They are designed to support a partnership between the EdTech industry and education sector to ensure product development and testing is focused on the needs of the education system.
To support the challenges, the DfE will establish:
- A series of innovation competitions
- A small testbed of schools and colleges to support the development, piloting and evaluation of technology
- Leading demonstrator schools and colleges, which will build on existing good practice in the sector to exemplify how these technologies can be used to best effect.
One of these challenges is to "identify the best technology that is proven to help level the playing field for learners with special educational needs and disabilities."
To help steer the work of this challenge and to help drive the agenda forward DfE will be convening a group of leading assistive technology developers and education experts.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
The Government’s consultation on the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below in England was launched earlier this month.
Details of the consultation can be found on gov.uk here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3-and-below-in-england. There are also two accompanying ad hoc statistical releases which can be found online here:
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/students-and-qualifications-at-level-3-and-below-in-england
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/non-gcse-qualifications-in-england-key-stage-4-entries-and-absence-and-exclusions-outcomes
This intention of this review, alongside the development of T Levels, is to build a world class technical education system. The review is an opportunity to develop a qualifications system where every student, including those with SEND, benefits from high quality qualifications that help them realise their talents and achieve their career ambitions.
As you will see, questions cover a wide range of topics which are particularly relevant from a SEND point of view, and on which the comments of you and your colleagues will be very welcome.The consultation includes questions about qualifications generally, and also at level 3, level 2 and level 1 and below.
The consultation is open for 12 weeks and will close on 10 June 2019.
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
The Regional Stakeholder Network
The Regional Stakeholder Network will bring the views of disabled people, local disability organisations, and organisations that represent disabled people closer to government. Through its 9 groups across England it will create face to face forums and provide a channel for people to share their views about policies and services that affect them.
The government are looking for Chairs to lead and drive the efforts of their group forward, and Members to share their views and experiences to help government make improvements. Further details and how to apply are on the website: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/seeking-chairs-and-members-for-the-new-disability-regional-stakeholder-network
The 9 regional groups across England are:
- North West
- North East
- Yorkshire and the Humber
- West Midlands
- East Midlands
- South West
- South East
- East of England
- Greater London
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
Public Health England’s evidence and guidance to help healthcare professionals provide early intervention for children and reduce long term health and social costs which includes examples to help healthcare professionals provide guidance on the importance of early development and care – https://www.gov.uk/government/
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
Today, the Secretary of State for Education announced additional high needs funding for Local Authorities, alongside the 2019-20 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) allocations to local authorities. The government is providing a further £125 million in 2018-19 and £125 million of high needs funding for 2019-20, recognising the current pressures on high needs budgets.
Accompanying this, he announced a further £100 million top-up to the Special Provision Capital Fund for local authorities in 2019-20, to take the total investment to £365 million across 2018-21, helping Local Authorities invest in improved facilities and additional school and college places, for children and young people with SEND.
Additionally, the Secretary of State has announced a package of non-funding measures. This announcement includes:
- · lifting the cap on the number of special and alternative provision free school bids that will be approved as part of the current wave;
- · funding the training of three more cohorts of Educational Psychologist trainees, starting in September 2020, and increasing the number of trainees from 160 to at least 206, to reflect increased demand;
- · the establishment and detail of the SEND System Leadership Board, as recommended in the Lenehan review, which will work to improve joint working and commissioning in local areas; and establishing regular joint Ministerial roundtables with the Department for Health and Social Care to give providers, users and voluntary sector organisations further opportunities to input their views and insight across the SEND system;
- · reviewing current SEND content in Initial Teacher Training provision (ITT) and building on our existing SEND specialist qualifications to develop a continuum of learning from ITT, through teachers’ early careers and into specialist and leadership roles in support of the upcoming Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy;
- · holding, in early 2019, an evidence-gathering exercise on the financial incentives in the current arrangements, in particular on the operation and use of mainstream schools’ notional SEN budget, which pays for the costs of special educational provision up to £6,000; and
- · commissioning SEN Futures, a long-term research package assessing the value for money of SEN provision in England and analysing the impact of current provision on children and young people’s outcomes. Procurement for the first pieces of work in this programme has begun today: more details on this can be found here.
The Secretary of State’s letter to local authorities, detailing these announcements, can be found here.
Minister Zahawi’s letter to Dame Christine Lenehan, providing further detail on the SEND System Leadership Board, can be found here
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
- Written by: Lindsey Rousseau
Today, the Government announced an extension of the review of its autism strategy to cover children and young people, as well as adults. The review will inform the new joint adults and children autism strategy to be published in autumn 2019.
The review is looking at:
- · joining up health, care and education services to address autistic children’s needs holistically
- · developing diagnostic services to diagnose autism earlier, in line with clinical guidance
- · improving the transition between children and adult services so that no young people miss out, and ending inappropriate reliance on inpatient hospital care
- · improving understanding of autism and all its profiles, including recently identified forms such as pathological demand avoidance (PDA)
You can find further details here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-review-to-improve-the-lives-of-autistic-children.
Today, the Government is also responding to the report by the report by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism and the National Autistic Society - Autism and Education in England 2017.
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