Statutory Reform - Cliff Warwick, Inclusion Development Officer at the Welsh Assembly Government

Cliff Warwick, who is leading on plans for Statutory Reform gave a presentation entitled Statements or Something Better? Summary of Progress to Date & The Next Steps.

3 options to look at replacing Statements were put forward by a Task Group:

• Option 1: Minor changes to the existing process were proposed which included an attempt to move away from the medical model. Each local authority would have a Named Lead professional a multi agency Panel of Specialists and schools would be expected to make whole school improvements to support pupils with special needs. Parents disliked this model as it did not extend to School Action Plus.
• Option 2: This proposed reshaping the approach to Statements. A key feature would be reducing the percentage of children receiving a Statement from the current 2 – 3% of the school population to 0.5% and focusing on children with the most severe and complex needs. This would be a broader and more holistic multi agency model and sign up from social services and health would be statutory. Parents liked the idea of wrap around care planning but were unhappy about the lack of legal protection for School Action Plus.
• Option 3: This has been referred to as a Passport Approach and would be a school based model which would allow for individual planning and would be administered at school level. An IT based system would be developed and parents would have access to this. Parents liked the idea of schools working together but were unhappy about the lack of expertise around SEN.

In all of the above options, support for young people with complex needs will extend to 25 years of age. There was recognition from parents that the current system is not working properly. This view was also shared by parents but they did like the legal protection of the Statement and recourse to a Tribunal. A report on the pre consultation is available and proposals on how the system can be improved have been developed. These are currently being piloted across Wales. The definition of Additional Learning Needs is also being looked at.

Transition Key Workers – Sally Rees Development Coordinator Wales, Care Coordination Network UK (CCNUK)

CCNUK are supporting five transition key worker projects in Wales (ie Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Gwynedd, Anglesey and Monmouthshire) that are funded by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG). Download further information.

Consultation Response

Forum members completed a response to the Welsh Assembly Government consultation document "Advancing Equality in the Public Sector in Wales" as part of the Listening Exercise from which will be developed proposals for the specific equality duties in Wales. A copy of the response is available on the members side of this website.

Information Exchange

Members also shared information about what is happening in their organisations.