National Network of Parent Carer Forums C.I.CWe have moved to a virtual office, where anything sent via the post will be forwarded to our Companies House Registered alternative inspection address.
Our new virtual address is:
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The Department for Education has announced that eight new areas of the country will receive funding to deliver the short breaks programme, giving children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) a chance to take part in unforgettable activities and develop vitals skills, while giving their families a chance to rest and recoup.
The government funded programme provides councils with up to £1 million each for a year to work with families to develop innovative experiences that would otherwise be inaccessible to children because of their disability, as well as covering the costs of providing the activities.
The plans come following the recent publication of the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, which outlines the government’s plan to transform the experiences and outcomes of children with special needs and disabilities, ensuring every child, no matter where they live, has access to a high-quality, fulfilling education.
For a list of the local authorities who will receive the funding, visit GOV.UK.For more information about the Short Breaks Innovation Fund, visit the Education Hub
Today, the government has published its long awaited response to the SEND Green Paper, the SENDAP Improvement Plan.
The plan outlines the steps that the government will be taking over the next few years to address the problems in the SEND system that have resulted in poor experiences for many children, young people (CYP) and families. The plan follows the SEND Green Paper and the subsequent consultation conducted by the Department for Education (DfE) in 2022. Our NNPCF co-chairs Tina Emery and Mrunal Sisodia were part of the steering group that advised on and reviewed the Green Paper and drafts of this plan.
On its publication, NNPCF Co-chairs, Tina Emery and Mrunal Sisodia said,
”There is much to welcome in the SENDAP Implementation Plan, in particular, we are pleased to see that national standards will form the basis of ordinarily available provision, have such a prominent role. The NNPCF argued for the need for national standards during the SEND review and 90% of respondents to our survey agreed that they were needed. If implemented well, national standards will form the basis of early intervention and clearly identify who is responsible for providing and paying for services.
Similarly, we are pleased to see local inclusion partnerships and plans being taken forward. Linked to the new Ofsted / CQC local area inspection framework that includes an annual review of inclusion plans, these will drive the joined up working and commissioning that has so often been missing.
Some of the proposals that the NNPCF disagreed with, notably the tailored list of settings, mandatory mediation and bandings and tariffs remain in the plan. However, we are pleased that these areas are being reviewed and piloted before implementation decisions are made.
Unfortunately, in some areas, the plan does not go as far as we would want. In the absence of legislation, the accountability regime, the mix of responsibilities, powers and regulation between schools, multi-academy trusts, local authorities and the DfE Regions Group – remains unclear.
We urge the ongoing Academies Regulation and Commissioning Review to address these gaps. In addition, we remain concerned about the pace of change. It will be 2030 before this plan is fully implemented and this is literally a childhood since the original SEND reforms in the Children and Families Act 2014.
We, the NNPCF, will continue work with government and NHSE to ensure that urgency to address the problems in the SEND system remains a priority.”
There are many things in the Implementation Plan that the NNPCF welcome:
National standards to form the basis of ordinarily available provision. Properly implemented, national standards will drive early intervention and form the foundation of what families can expect from services, what services can expect from each other as well as who is responsible for delivering and paying. In our survey 90% of respondents were in favour of national standards. We have received assurances from ministers that national standards will not be a list prescribed or allowed services for a list of diagnoses. Also, national standards will not form a cap on what can be provided to meet needs, individual needs must still be met.
SEND and AP partnerships and local inclusion plans will require local areas to have a clear and shared understanding of the needs of the local population and work together to address them. We are pleased that these will be reviewed annually as a part of the Ofsted / CQC local area inspection regime. In our survey, respondents were clear that education, health and care services needed to work together more actively and comply with national standards
The sections on the development of the SEND workforce, both inside and outside of schools are very welcome. In our survey, 97% of respondents said that teaching staff needed better training on SEND.
We called for better data on SEND to drive inclusion and incentivise local areas to identify needs and provide early help. The inclusion dashboards proposed will do this if properly designed.
The proposed Adjustments Passport to support disabled young people into work is something that the NNPCF has been asking for over the last five years
We are pleased that some of the lessons of 2014 have been learnt. There will be a properly constituted change programme to systemically implement the plan with meaningful review and accountability through regional expert partnerships and a new National SENDAP Implementation Board.
However, there are some areas included in the plan that we continue to have reservations about. We have noted that these areas are going to be piloted and tested through the regional expert partnerships:
Unfortunately, there are many areas that remain very worrying for the NNPCF, where more clarity is required:
The accountability regime remains ambiguous. The division of powers, responsibilities, regulation and enforcement between schools, multi-academy trusts, local authorities and the DfE Regions Group remain unclear. We hear too often about schools that do not make reasonable adjustments or promote inclusion. Parents and local authorities are powerless to hold them to account. The ongoing Academies Regulation and Commissioning Review must close these gaps to ensure that schools, local authorities and Integrated Care Systems meet needs.
When the SENDAP Green Paper and Schools White Paper were launched in March 2022 , the intention was to support both with legislation. Now, this will not happen. Without legislation, we are concerned that some of the measures critical to success can no longer be made mandatory (e.g. national standards and greater accountability for schools).
Finally, the pace of change must not lose urgency. There are many areas of the plan that require further development and definition. We welcome the intention to coproduce key elements and we look to supporting partners to achieve this in the most expedient way. We must collectively ensure that this work is given the priority our SEND families deserve.
The SEND system is in crisis now and we need urgent progress and action.
For more background on the SENDAP implementation plan and the NNPCF input in the Green Paper and consultation please see:
Find out what parent carers have told us about the SEND Green Paper and coproduce the NNPCF consultation – YouTube
NHS England has published the new Dynamic Support Register (DSR) and Care (education) and Treatment Review C(E)TR policy
February 2023
At the end of January, NHSE published its new DSR and CETR policy.
You can find a link to it here: PR1486-Dynamic-support-register-and-Care-Education-and-Treatment-Review-policy-and-guide.pdf (england.nhs.uk)
There is also an easy read version here: Easy-read-version-of-the-Dynamic-support-register-and-Care-Education-and-Treatment-Review-policy-and-guide-Jan.pdf (england.nhs.uk)
The policy will be rolled out in April 2023.
Some definitions:
A Dynamic Support Register (DSR) is the tool used in a local area to identify individual children, young people and adults with a learning disability, autism or both who are at risk or may become at risk of admission to a mental health inpatient setting without specific and timely Dynamic Support
Note: the term “At Risk of Admission Register” was originally used, this term continues to be used in some areas. Similarly, the Dynamic Support Register is also known in some local areas as a Dynamic Support Database (DSD)
A C(E)TR is a meeting bringing together those responsible for commissioning and providing services (including nurses, social workers, local authority representatives, such as from housing and education, and health and social care commissioners) together with independent clinical opinion and those with lived experience of learning disabilities and/or autism, which includes people with a learning disability and/or autistic people and their family carers.
The aim of a C(E)TR is to check that a person who is either at risk of being admitted or who has already been admitted to a hospital setting is receiving appropriate care that meets their individual needs and that, where possible, challenges are overcome to support discharge to or continued care in the community.
The policy outlines the new process for the implementation of DSRs and C(E)TRs. The NNPCF did not have direct input into the development of the policy but we were involved in broader conversations about the issues with DSRs and CETRs in the current system, the experiences of children and young people and their families and some of the changes that we wanted to see in the new policy.
We are working with NHSE to ensure that parent carer forums are engaged in the implementation of the new policies:
NHS England has a new policy to help people with learning difficulties and autism get the right support for their mental health at home instead of in hospital which will be implemented from 1st May 2023.
Dynamic support registers DSRs – Local areas must create a list of people with learning difficulties and or autism who are at risk of needing mental health hospital care, to try an ensure they receive appropriate care and reduce the need for an admission for hospital. This list is called the dynamic support register (DSRs). The DSR should be organised in such a way that adults, children, and young people can be identified when their health and care needs are increasing or complex, and may require a multi-agency response, monitoring and prioritisation for extra support.
Note: the term “At Risk of Admission Register” was originally used, this term continues to be used in some areas. Similarly, the Dynamic Support Register is also known in some local areas as a Dynamic Support Database (DSD)
Forums may wish to read the core standards for dynamic support registers, which also includes minimum requirements on standards and datasets. There is also a section on carer contingency planning for unpaid carers which may be of interest to forum members.
Care (Education) and Treatment reviews C(E)TRs – A C(E)TR is a person-cantered review to ensure the care (education) and treatment and support needs of the individual person and their family are met, and that barriers to progress and/or discharge are challenged and overcome. All autistic children and young people and those with a learning disability are required to have a community C(E)TR if they have been admitted to or are considered to be at risk of admission to a mental health hospital.
There is an increased focus on advocacy for the child or young person, physical health, quality of life, as well as looking at participation in meaningful activity.
Forums can find out more about DSRs and C(E)TRs in the Dynamic Support Register and Care (Education) and Treatment Review Policy and Guidance document. Easy read and plain English versions are also available.
The NNPCF are working with NHSE to ensure that parent carer forums are engaged in the implementation of the new policies including a webinar for PCFs to explain the changes on 8th March. Details of how to sign up will be released shortly.
The government has recently published guidance for schools where mental health issues affect pupil’s attendance as well as giving some examples of effective practice.
The Public Accounts Committee have published its response to its inquiry into Integrated Care Systems.
The NNPCF is awaiting the release of the SEND improvement plan which is the Department of Education’s response to the SEND and AP green paper consultation paper, which we believe is due to come out before March.
The DofE will be coming to our conference on 28 February to lead an interactive co-production session on the next steps of the AP and SEND improvement plan. We would really like to encourage forums to come to our conference to be part of these vital discussions.
Details of the NNPCF conference can be found on our website.
The government recently published its response to the Independent Review into Children’s Social Care. The response can be read in the Stable Homes, Built on Love: Implementation, Strategy and Consultation paper.
There is little detail or content in this paper about the SEND social care system – the Department for Education has indicated that the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement plan which they intend to publish shortly will aim to align the two systems. However, some of the key themes that the NNPCF raised are explicitly picked up in the strategy, namely:
But some of the more specific things that we asked for in the independent review are not picked up:
In March, the NPPCF will be engaging with forums to help formulate our response to the strategy; in particular our response to question of the consultation “What more can be done by government, local authorities and service providers to make sure that disabled children and young people can access the right type of help and support? “
Details of how to be involved with this will be included in our March consultation briefing. The NNPCF response as well as further details for forums are available to read on our website.
The Office of National Statistics has published data on Unpaid Care in the UK. Their data includes anyone aged 5+ who indicated they provided unpaid care in the 2021 census. They found regional variability in number of hours of unpaid care given: the local authority with the highest proportion of unpaid carers was found to be St. Helens; whereas the North East was found to be the region with the largest proportion of unpaid carers.
More updates are due on the health, disability, and unpaid care series over the next year.
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NHIR) has published the final report from the early evaluation of Children and Young People’s Mental Health Trailblazer programme. The trailblazer programme, led by the Department of Health and Social Care, Department of Education and NHS England, was launched in 2018. The programme saw the creation of mental health support teams and training education mental health practitioners working directly in schools.
The report can be downloaded here and NIHR have published an infographic with a summary of the key findings.
The Child of the North All Party Parliamentary Group has issued a report highlighting areas where children and families in the north may have a different lived experience of parenting a children or young person with a disability.
The Coastal Communities Alliance have published their report highlighting challenges for disabled people in employment in these regions as well as higher levels of disability and long-term sickness.
| February Policy Briefing |
| NHS England has a new policy to help people with learning difficulties and autism get the right support for their mental health at home instead of in hospital which will be implemented from… |
| Go to this Sway |
On the 2 February, the government published its response to the Independent Review into Children’s Social Care chaired by Josh MacCallister.
You can find a link to the government response, Stable Homes, Built on Love here: Children’s social care stable homes built on love consulation (publishing.service.gov.uk)
You can read our submission here: https://nnpcf.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Social-Care-consulation-response.pdf
Alongside the strategy, the government are launching three consultations:
The NNPCF will be compiling responses to the relevant consultations over the coming months. Details of how to help shape the NNPCF response will be included in the March consultation briefing available on our website, social media and distributed to forums through their regional representative.
The strategy responds to the three independent reviews that were published last year – the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel report into the tragic deaths of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson and the Competition and Markets Authority Children’s Social Care market study.
The strategy aims to create a vision of how to help families to overcome challenges at the earliest stage, keep children safe from significant harm, and make sure children in care have stable loving homes, long-term loving relationships and opportunities for a good life.
The strategy is laid out across six pillars:
There is little detail or content in this paper about the SEND social care system – the Department for Education has indicated that the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement plan which they intend to publish shortly will aim to align the two systems. However, some of the key themes that the NNPCF raised are explicitly picked up in the strategy, namely:
But, some of the more specific things that we asked for in the independent review are not picked up:
Nevertheless, question 8 in the consultation does explicitly ask:
What more can be done by government, local authorities and service providers to make sure that disabled children and young people can access the right type of help and support?
The NNPCF had considerable engagement and input into the review, most notably when Josh MacCallister launched his case for change with parent carer forums Josh MacAlister makes “The Case for Change” at joint NNPCF / Contact webinar – National Network of Parent Carer Forums C.I.C
You can find an article on earlier NNPCF input here: NNPCF input into children’s social care review – National Network of Parent Carer Forums C.I.C
Independent review of children’s social care – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
National review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Children’s social care market study final report – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
At our AGM on 31 January, we asked forums to help co-produce our priorities and strategic work for the upcoming year. We really value the input of parent carer forums in shaping the future for the NNPCF.
If you missed the AGM you can fill in our poll to help us shape our work over the next year here.
Poll closes 14 February
Steven Barclay (Secretary of State for Health and Social Care) has announced the development of a Major Conditions strategy which will combine mental health policy with a broader strategy including other major conditions. It appears that this will replace the proposed 10 year Mental Health Plan and Health Disparities Paper.
The NNPCF is considering its response to this announcement and would like to hear from forums on this issue.
Forum leads are invited to fill in our forms survey here.
The NNPCF is also looking for case studies from individual members on mental health in children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities which can be completed here.
The Health and Social Care committee is launching a major new inquiry into prevention in health and social care. At this stage of the inquiry, the committee are looking to hear from organisations who are interested in preventative healthcare.
The NNPCF will be submitting a response highlighting the need for therapies and early intervention, as well the importance of early intervention for mental health.
The committee is looking to find out
The NNPCF already has several case studies on mental health but we would love some more to help inform our response. Individual parent carers can fill in the case study here.
Additionally, local forums can contact the NNPCF by emailing Claire Fisher at consultation@nnpcf.org.uk.
Both local forums and individual members can submit their own response to this call for evidence at Prevention in health and social care
Closing date 8 Feb 2023
The education committee has launched an inquiry into the persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils. Children with SEND are included in this definition of disadvantaged.
The NNPCF will be submitting a response representing the needs of children and young people with SEND including issues such as school transport, tribunal waiting times and schools not meeting needs.
The committee is looking to find out:
The NNPCF already has several case studies on attendance but we would love some more to help inform our response. Individual parent carers can fill in the case study here.
We also have case studies on children’s needs not being met (for those without an EHCP), where school transport is affecting attendance at school or another educational setting, and would like to hear from those who have taken local authorities to tribunal over placement issues and how that has affected attendance.
Local forums can contact the NNPCF by emailing Claire Fisher at consultation@nnpcf.org.uk. Both Local Forums or individual members can submit their own response to this call for evidence at Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils.
Closing date 9 February 2023
In May 2021 the Public Accounts Committee reported concerns about the catch up offer and the scale of hidden harm from the school closures during the pandemic including for children with special educational needs and disabilities. They stated “Children with special educational needs and disabilities found remote learning especially difficult, and some lost access to specialist support and equipment, increasing risks to their health and welfare.”
The Public Accounts committee will be questioning senior officials at the Department of Education and are running a call for evidence on how the department is supporting education recovery in schools following the COVID-19 pandemic, including:
Individual members and local forums can directly respond to this call for evidence at Education Recovery in Schools.
Closing date 27 February 2023
Following on from the work done by the National Audit Office on Energy Bill Support, the Public Accounts Committee will question senior officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Treasury on the energy price scheme. The Call for Evidence covers many areas, including:
Individual members and local forums can respond to this call for evidence at Energy Bills Support.
Closing date 6pm 19 February 2023
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is inviting individuals to share their experiences of the pandemic with them here. Module 3 on healthcare is currently open, and the NNPCF will be submitting evidence when invited to do so.
The Department of Education (DofE) is seeking views on the content of future qualifications to support progression to T levels and are inviting feedback. The deadline for submitting responses if Thursday 6 April 2023.
As part of the review of post-16 qualifications at level 2 and below, the DofE intends to consider for funding level 2 qualifications designed to support progression to T levels; approved qualifications would be available for first teaching from 2026. These qualifications could be taken by young people as part of a broader T Level Transition Programme (TLTP), or by adults outside of a TLTP.
The DofE intends that the content of these qualifications will be based on the national technical outcomes (NTOs) developed for the T Level Transition Programme. The DofE are seeking views on how the NTOs should be used in developing these qualifications. Full details about the proposals and how to provide feedback can be found here.
Further information on the T Level Transition Programme and the national technical outcomes for the first eleven T Level routes, you can access this here.
| We are looking at different ways of presenting information, below you can follow the link to our consultation sway. |
| February Consultation Briefing |
On Tuesday 10 January 2023, The NNPCF Steering Group (SG) met with the Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, Clare Coutinho, via Teams.
This was the first time the minister had met the SG and we wanted to inform her what we had been hearing from our forum membership.
It was an excellent opportunity to give an overview of the work that the SG has been involved in, what the challenges are to the SEND system, but also the good production work that has been happening.
We know that in order to make the change to the SEND system, it has to be done in coproduction.
We gave the minister a brief overview of the NNPCF, our membership and the number of forums that we have, their locations and how they are split into regions.
We then spoke to her about the top issues forums have been raising via our regional meetings.
The subjects included:
Access to community-based health services – including access to speech and language therapy (SALT), Autism and ADHD pathways and paediatricians.
Cost of living – how this affects parent carers differently. Not being able to work more hours due to caring responsibilities, the need to use electricity for live saving equipment, the need to keep the heating on constantly as some of our children cannot move independently or regulate their temperatures.
SEN Support and EHCPs – this included the lack of reasonable adjustments in school that can lead to the rise of low attendance, and the need for EHCPs. EHCPs taking longer than the statutory 20 weeks and having to wait months for annual reviews to be completed.
We then talked about the coproduction examples we have in our annual report
In Cornwall they were the first year of the key work project that is now in it’s 3rd year. They have just completed their evaluation. There have been no negative responses to the evaluation. Parent carers, young people and practitioners agree, that the keyworker project is not only needed, its life changing. We have cases of families who are risk of being admitted into tier 4 beds and families who are at risk of going into crisis- this project has saved them. We have children and young people who could have gone into tier 4 beds who are now at university.
In Telford & Wrekin – PODS Parent Carer Forum identified a gap in provision for families whose child was awaiting an assessment on neurodevelopment pathways. They worked together with Educational Psychologist (EP) team and ran support sessions (in person and online) for families to support them with ‘Challenges at Home’. These were based on feedback from families via Annual Surveys. The sessions covered support around anxiety, routines, behaviour and wider concerns within the family. Further evidence was identified, and they have also ran 1:1 sessions. Funding was agreed for two years for the project and this was made available from health
In West Sussex they have established a relationship with Chichester University where they train teachers and SENCo’s. They regularly join sessions and talk through what good practice looks like and what parents carers have encountered. Bringing real life stories to the classroom has had a huge impact on the trainees. They have now been asked to do the same with trainee social workers too.
The session concluded with a discussion on the next steps for the green paper. There is concern, not just in the system, but with parent carers too about what happens next. There is much anticipation for the green paper response and there is concern.
The minister fully engaged with the conversations and reassured the SG that SEND was a priority for her, as was the green paper response.
We are in communication with her office, and hope that she will join us in person at our conference, in Bristol on 28 February.
The agenda for our face to face conference in Bristol on 28 February has now been confirmed.
The conference opens at 10.30am, with the event starting at 11am
There will be light refreshments available on arrival.
11.00-11.20 Welcome and introductions
11.20-12.00 Keynote from Ofsted – SEND and inspections – the new local area inspection framework and Ofsted’s annual report
12.00-12.40 Keynote from CoChairs – What next for SEND? Shaping a strategy during a crisis.
12.40-14.00 Lunch- a choice of hot dishes will be available
14.00-14.30 Address from Claire Coutinho, Minister for Children, Families, and Wellbeing
14.30-15.45 Session led by the DfE:
Delivery of the SEND and AP improvement plan
An interactive co-production session led by the Department for Education, looking for thoughts on the next steps of the SEND and AP implementation improvement plan being developed in response to the SEND AP Green Paper
15.45-16.00 Break-refreshments will be available
16.00-16.45 The Q&A Panel will include:
Alison Ismail, Director for SEND and Alternative Provision at the Department for Education
Tina Pagett, HMI, further education and skills from Ofsted
Phil Brayshaw, Acting Head of Children and Young People, National Learning Disability and Autism Programme NHS England
Amanda Allard, Deputy Director for Health, Council for Disabled Children.
You can submit a question for the panel by completing this Menti Poll: https://www.menti.com/al59jhm9tjip
When the conference finishes, light refreshments will be available in the market place area.
Attendees can then return to their accommodation to freshen up and have some food in preparation for the evening social event, which starts at 7.30pm.
During the evening, there will be a bar, where you can buy soft and alcoholic drinks as well as a disco and some complementary canapés
If you are unable to attend the conference, a live stream will be available to watch. You can sign up for the live streaming here.https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83666170897
Shortly after the conference , the live sessions will be available to watch on YouTube- details will be shared after the event.
Find out more and book your place by completing the booking form available on Contact’s website
The NNPCF has recently submitted its response to the Hewitt review on Integrated Care Systems (ICSs).
The review asked questions around policy, targets, data and performance monitoring. The NNPCF is keen to ensure children and young people with special educational needs are visible in the health system, and our response to the Hewitt reviews reflected key areas raised by our membership.
The NPPCF is concerned to hear from many forums that there has been less engagement with health across the country since the introduction of Integrated Care Boards. Whilst we were able to share some examples of good practice of co-production with the Hewitt Review, many forums report being informed of local health plans rather than active engagement and co-production. The NNPCF highlighted the benefits of co-production for health systems and how performance improvement can be supported by bringing the lived experience of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to decision makers.
At present very few Parent Carer Forums are reporting to the NNCPF that their local IBC is set up in a way to reduce inequalities for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The NNPCF reported to the Hewitt review that it is seeing little data to suggest that children are a priority for ICBS despite specific provisions being required. The NNPCF suggested national priorities focused on CYP as well as ensuring ICBs have the required provisions in place for CYP could help increase the visibility of CYP in the health system.
The NNPCF also fed back to the review feedback it has had from forums on other aspects relevant to the scope of the review. The NNPCF will continue to work with the Hewitt review and health services to ensure the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and the lived experience of their families is represented to those making decisions.
You can read our full submission below: