The Government has published draft legislation on its reform of provision for children and young people with SEN which will be included in the Children and Families Bill, expected in 2013. This follows the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) SEN Green Paper, Support and Aspiration, of March 2011 and its Next Steps document published in May 2012.
As expected, the proposals include a duty for local authorities and health services to work together on joint commissioning of provision for children and young people with SEN, and a requirement for local authorities to publish details of provision available in their area. Parents are to be given the option of a personal budget to buy-in provision for their child. The right to support for those with SEN between the ages of 16 and 25 years is to be extended and further education colleges and all academies are to have the same duties as maintained schools to provide educational support for children and young people with SEN.
The proposed reforms are currently being tested in 20 pathfinder areas, covering 31 local authorities and their health partners. In a ministerial statement, the Government says that it “looks forward to receiving views and feedback on the draft clauses, whilst it continues to learn from its pathfinder programme, before introducing legislation at a later date.”
The DfE is also sending out an invitation to children and young people with SEN and disabilities to join the Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG), which it says will consult with ministers and test policy proposals as the draft legislation is finalised in the Bill.
Those interested in joining the YPAG should visit:
http://www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/youngpeoplesadvisorygroup
The Draft legislation on Reform of provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs can be found at:
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm84/8438/8438.pdf
It would be a great idea if John Bercow request for all children entering Early Years education to have a full Speech and language assessment done by trained SALTs. This is an excellent way to detect early identification of children with hidden disabilities.