Tag: NNPCF

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Education Government Health and Wellbeing

Press Release: NNPCF Responds to Government’s Expansion of Mental Health Support in Schools

The National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) acknowledges and welcomes the government’s recent announcement to extend mental health support to nearly one million additional pupils across England. (GOV.UK)

We welcome this investment and the recognition of the critical role mental health plays in the overall well-being and educational outcomes of our children. Early intervention and accessible support within educational settings are vital components ensuring that mental health challenges are addressed promptly.

However, we must emphasize that while this expansion is a positive development, it does not fully address the unique challenges faced by some children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). Many families continue to encounter significant barriers in accessing appropriate mental health services tailored to the specific needs of their children. Issues such as long waiting times, lack of specialized support, and insufficient integration between educational and health services persist, often leaving SEND pupils without the necessary resources to thrive.

It is imperative that the rollout of mental health support teams includes provisions specifically designed to meet the diverse needs of SEND students. This includes training for mental health professionals in SEND-specific issues, ensuring that interventions are adaptable and inclusive, and fostering collaboration between schools, health services, and families.

Furthermore, while the goal to provide universal access to mental health support by 2029/30 is ambitious, the urgency of the current mental health crisis among young people necessitates accelerated action.

The NNPCF remains committed to working collaboratively with the government, educational institutions, and health services to ensure that the voices of families are heard and that the mental health needs of all children and young people, especially those with SEND, are adequately met.

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Education Government NNPCF

Press Release: NNPCF Responds to Media Reports on EHCP Reductions and SEND Reforms

The National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) is aware of recent media coverage concerning potential reductions in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs).

As the national voice of parent carer forums in England, the NNPCF has been actively engaged in a range of roundtable discussions and informal conversations with partners across Education, Health, and Social Care regarding the ongoing SEND challenges.

We fully acknowledge the current challenges within the SEND system. Too often, families are forced to fight for an EHCP in order to access support and targeted provision that should be available without the need for a statutory plan. This has a profound and lasting impact on families — from the ability of parents to work due to low attendance or part-time timetables, to high exclusion rates, increased medical appointments, and the compounded pressures of the rising cost of living.

We also recognise the concerns families have around proposed welfare benefit reforms, which could further impact their financial and emotional well-being.

The NNPCF supports the government’s ambition for a more inclusive mainstream education system — one where children and young people with SEND receive the support they need without having to navigate a complex and adversarial process. However, we firmly believe that any system MUST include strong mechanisms for accountability and redress to ensure it delivers for all children and young people with SEND.

While reforms aim to build a better system for future generations, it is essential that the new system also addresses the needs of those currently navigating it — many of whom have already been let down or traumatised by the existing framework. Rebuilding trust must be a priority.

Any changes MUST be supported by a robust implementation plan, underpinned by sufficient funding and a skilled, well-trained workforce.

The NNPCF continues to advocate strongly for meaningful and wide-ranging engagement with families. Families must be central to shaping and implementing reforms — their voices must be heard, and their lived experiences must guide the development of a system that works for all.

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Uncategorized

New Co-Chair Announcement

The NNPCF are delighted to announce that Jo Harrison, Steering Group member for the East of England, has been elected as the NNPCF incoming Co-Chair, as Tina Emery prepares to step down.

Tina has been the South West representative for two full terms and has been Co-Chair for five years. Tina will be stepping down at the end of her term, in September 2024, and in the meantime will start the process of the Co-Chair handover. We are currently in the process of recruiting a new South West representative and look forward to welcoming the new Steering Group member soon.

Jo has been an active member of the NNPCF as National and Regional representative for many years and has been an active member of the Steering Group since her appointment.

On her appointment Jo Harrison said:

“Parent Carer Forums are amazing and dedicated parent carers who make such a difference to the families that they support on top of their own caring responsibilities, so I feel very privileged to represent the families of our membership, along with Sarah, whom I hope I will compliment, as the Co-Chair of the NNPCF.

It’s been a pleasure working with Tina since I started working with the NNPCF in 2019, I know she will be missed and that I have big shoes to fill.

The NNPCF has an amazing Operational Support Team and Steering Group who have a wealth of knowledge, are dedicated and work with such passion to improve outcomes for families and I feel privileged to be part of such an amazing team!”

On stepping down Tina Emery stated:

“I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this role and it has been an opportunity of a lifetime. I have seen a transition with NNPCF in my tenure and I am so proud of what we have achieved as a team, and I am excited to see what happens next!

To all the Parent Carer Forums, you have been amazing and made my job a lot easier, thank you for all your hard work that you do on top of your caring responsibilities.

Congratulations to Jo, who will be amazing!”

Co-Chair Sarah Clarke added;

“One of the strengths of the NNPCF, is that it continues to grow, evolve and develop with every Co-Chair and new Steering Group member. In the last year, as a Steering Group and Operational Team, we have spent some time focusing on internal processes, how we can make the greatest impact and ensure that the value of coproduction at every level becomes embedded everywhere.

I have enjoyed my time working closely with Tina and have learnt so much. Tina will be with us for a few months yet, but when the time comes, we will be wishing her the very best on her new adventures.

As we continue to grow as an organisation, I am very much looking forward to continuing to build upon our work together with Jo and as a whole team, along with our wonderful Parent Carer Forums and all our stakeholders.”

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Consultation NNPCF The Advanced British Standard

The Advanced British Standard

There has been a proposal to change A levels and T levels.

Recently, our cochair’s, accompanied by one of our London reps, went to see what it was all about at two Department for Education engagement events.

The Advanced British Standard is a new framework, expected to be introduced in about 10 years’ time, to bring together technical and academic routes into a single framework, replacing current A levels and T Levels.

The new framework intends to:

  • increase the number of taught hours for all students (minimum 1,475 hours over two years)
  • require students to study Maths and English to the age of 18.
  • offer greater breadth, increasing the average number of subjects students take post 16 (usually a minimum of 5), with students able to choose a combination of bigger and smaller subjects, called ‘majors’ and ‘minors.’

£600 million will be invested over the next two years to support schools and colleges in laying the groundwork for delivering the Advanced British Standard.

The engagement sessions were held with a wide range of stakeholder groups; from industry, further education settings, to those who run apprenticeships and more. There were lots of discussions in the rooms, and a keen interest to ensure that any new system is fit for purpose and will meet the needs of young people in 2034. Unfortunately, there was very little focus on SEND in the presentations, which we challenged, along with how inclusive and accessible these changes were going to be for all SEND pupils. We also raised concerns around training for new teachers/staff, delivery, including space for all students to be in college 4 days a week, with some work around infrastructure being promised pre-release of this programme.

You can find out more on the government website:

The Advanced British Standard: Everything you need to know – The Education Hub (blog.gov.uk)

Please share this information with your parent carers and encourage everyone to take part in the following consultation:

A world-class education system: The Advanced British Standard consultation – Department for Education – Citizen Space

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Uncategorized

Disability Action Plan

On Tuesday, 6 February 2024, the NNPCF attended the launch of the Disability Action Plan, presented by Mims Davies,the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work.

The event was attended by a diverse group of stakeholders, including supporting ministers and representatives from various segments of our community. It provided a platform for meaningful dialogue and collaboration, underscoring the collective commitment to advancing the rights and well-being of individuals with disabilities. 

The recent launch of the Disability Action Plan represents a step forward in implementing the objectives outlined in the 2021 strategy.  This plan obtained views in 2020, with a national consultation to gather insights and perspectives on a disability plan and strategy. Building upon the feedback received during this consultation, a comprehensive strategy was officially launched in October 2021.  

The aim of the plan is to tackle the barriers which prevent disabled people from fully benefiting from and engaging in our society.  Following a consultation that resulted in four broad categories: 

  • Improving disability inclusion in existing government policies 
  • New actions focused on the specific needs of disabled people. 
  • Improving cross-government collaboration 
  • Strengthening the evidence base 

Over the next 18 months and beyond the plan sets out 32 actions across 14 areas: 

  1. Support disabled people who want to be elected to public office. 
  1. Include disabled people’s needs in emergency and resilience planning. 
  1. Include disabled people’s need in climate-related policies. 
  1. Improve information and outcomes for families in which someone is disabled. 
  1. Make playgrounds more accessible.  
  1. Help businesses understand the needs of and deliver improvements for disabled people. 
  1. Explore if the UK could host the Special Olympics World Summer Games 
  1. Support people who have guide and assistance dogs 
  1. Help the government measure how effective its policies and services are for disabled people. 
  1. Research issues facing disabled people in the future. 
  1. Make government publications and communications more accessible.  
  1. Improving understanding of the cost of living for disabled people 
  1. Promote better understanding of the UNCRPD across government.  
  1. Monitor and report progress of the Disabled Action Plan 

The NNPCF had the opportunity to speak directly with Minster Davies and were able to highlight the importance of inclusion for across all ages and look forward to working more closely with the department on some of the key areas. 

For more information on the Disability Action Plan see: Disability Action Plan – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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Annual report NNPCF work

NNPCF Annual Report 2022/2023

Every year we seem to start our annual report with ‘What a year!’ and this year is no exception.
We have started this year with a team like no other. We are now getting into the groove of what it’s like being a community interest company and we are grateful to our members, our steering group, and our management team, for getting us to the point we are now.

NNPCF-Annual-Report-2023Download
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Alternative provision Ofsted

Alternative provision in local areas in England

Alternative provision in local areas in England_ a thematic review – GOV.UK.pdf

Alternative-provision-in-local-areas-in-England_-a-thematic-review-GOV.UK_Download
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Health Policy Influencing Group (HPIG) Health Policy Influencing Group (HPIG) NNPCF work

Health Policy Influencing Group (HPIG) update

NNPCF logo

Jo Harrison, represents the  NNPCF as a member of the Health Policy Influencing Group (HPIG), which is hosted by the National Children’s Bureau. HPIG is a is a strong, independent voice, which advocates for improvements to the health of babies, children and young people. As a group of influential organisations, charities and Royal Colleges, HPIGs’s aim is to look to ensure that the particular and unique health needs of babies, children and young people, with and without SEND are a focus for the health system.

This report provides a snapshot of how the newly formed Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are enacting their duties for strategic planning as outlined in the Health and Care Act 2022.

The report specifically looks at the requirements for Integrated Care Partnerships (ICPs) to produce an integrated care strategy and for Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to produce a five-year joint forward plan (JFP). Members of the HPIG reviewed approximately 74% of plans to determine the extent to which they have reflected the needs (SEND and NON-SEND) of babies, children and young people within them.

Whilst invited to include our logo within the report, we were unable to for a number of reasons, which we confirmed to HPIG, in order to further strengthen our working relationship.

The reasons we provided were:

  1. Co-Production terminology. Our membership hold strong views and values on co-production and the definition provided, whilst outlines the HPIG view of co-production is not as clear as our membership would define. We are also mindful that due to the analysis of the data, the references to co-production throughout the report, as you do reference in your report, are based solely on the ICB representation, we are mindful that some PCFs may disagree with the ICB assertions. As you are aware there can at times be discrepancies to labelling work as co-produced, based on the understanding of the parties.”
  1. Speech Communication language needs (SCLN) – the number of plans represents only 31% of plans compared to the 74% of plans reviewed overall. We feel this could mean that the recommendations could be argued that they are not representative. Whilst we fully accept that this is likely to be a capacity issue and welcome the feedback and efforts of those reviewing of those plans, we feel the evidence, whilst likely to be representative, is not a strong enough evidence base for the recommendations.”
  1. The Executive lead roles have been highlighted and referenced throughout the report, which is welcomed as are the subsequent recommendations. That said the guidance published in May 23, goes beyond that of CYP, SEND and Safeguarding as referenced within the report. As an organisation that supports the pan disability voice of parents and carers, our preference would have been to see explicit references to the further two defined EXC Leads of Learning disability and autism (all-age) and Down syndrome (all-age) who can, dependant on ICB, be a named person different to that of those EXC Leads referenced.

We are please to report that our challenge to the report was met with the spirit it was intended and offered assurances that reflecting the views of CYP with SEND remains very important to National Children’s Bureau.

You can read the full report on the NCB website

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NNPCF work SEND Implementation Plan Uncategorized

SEND Mediation Standards consultation

We have been asked to share the following information from the SEND Dispute Resolution Steering Group.

The College of Mediators (COM) and the Civil Mediation Council (CMC) hold a joint register of accredited SEND mediators.

This comes about as a result of standards specific to SEND mediation practice that were drawn up by a panel of providers in 2018. In a changing mediation environment and in the context of governmental change to SEND provision, these standards are now currently being reviewed with a view to ensuring that SEND mediation continues to be delivered to a consistently high standard.

When the standards were originally drawn up the expectation was that they would be applicable to experienced mediators working in other fields, who might extend their practice to SEND disputes.

These new standards will have a wider ranging application, extending to those who are newly trained as mediators and who may, for example, be moving into mediation from a background in SEND and /or education.

The standards will apply to those who wish to apply to join the register. Those SEND mediators who are already on the register will not need to re-apply, but will need to demonstrate the annual CPD and practice requirements going forward.

As part of this review therefore, the standards have been revised and are now being circulated among mediators and other professionals working in the SEND context.

You can read the revised standards below:

Professional_Standards_for_SEND-Mediators_draft_January_2024_for_consultation.pdf (civilmediation.org)

We welcome your views on the standards document generally and in particular we would value your responses to the questions outlined in the following consultation: Consultation re SEND Mediation Standards (smartsurvey.co.uk)

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Health and Wellbeing

ADHD Medication Safety Alert

On 27th September 2023, the Department of Health and Social Care issued a Patient Safety Alert regarding the shortage of specific ADHD medications.

It has been reported in the press that the disruptions are expected to continue, and so we have written to the Ministers outlining our concerns, and what steps the government is taking to address the shortage of medication, and the increased levels of support that is needed for children and young people in education.

You are welcome to share this letter with your families and to support conversations within your local area.

NNPCF-Letter-to-Ministers-January-2024-24Download

For more information on this safety alert click on the link: http://tinyurl.com/k9u37jxj