Series 3: Best Practice in Joint Commissioning Implementing the SEND Reforms Produced in collaboration with: Contact a Family Council for Disabled Children.

Series 3: Best Practice in Joint Commissioning

Implementing the SEND Reforms

Produced in collaboration with:Contact a FamilyCouncil for Disabled ChildrenEarly SupportInformation, Support and Advice Services Network

Mott MacDonaldNational Network for Parent Care ForumPreparing for AdulthoodThe Communications TrustThe Dyslexia-SpLD TrustAutism Education Trust

• To understand what should be included in Joint Commissioning arrangements.

• To understand who should be involved in the joint commissioning arrangements.

• To understand how partners can effectively work together to improve outcomes.

Aims and Objectives

“We want children and young people with special needs and disabilities to achieve well in their early years, at school and in college; find employment; lead happy and fulfilled lives; and have choice and control over their support. The special needs reforms will implement a new approach which seeks to join up help across education, health and care, from birth to 25. Help will be offered at the earliest possible point, with children and young people with SEND and their parents or carers fully involved in decisions about their support and what they want to achieve. This will help lead to better outcomes and more efficient ways of working.”

The vision behind the SEND reforms

• Joint commissioning arrangements set out strategically how local partners (across education, health and care) agree to work together to commission and deliver services for children and young people aged 0-25 years with SEN and disabilities, both with and without EHC plans, where this will promote wellbeing and improve the quality of provision.

• Co designed with parent carer and children and young people with SEND

• Focus on outcomes for children and young people and how to achieve them.

• Builds on existing drivers for integration.

• Informed by clear assessment of local needs.

Joint commissioning

Partners in joint commissioning

• Local authorities and partner commissioning bodies across education, health and care.

• Education and social care services.

• Health commissioning bodies are Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and NHS England.

• Involvement of adult service colleagues from health and care services.

• Participation of parent carers in joint commissioning

• Engagement of children and young people with SEND in commissioning decisions.

Joint commissioning cycle

Partnership with children

and young people with

SEN and disability and their parents

This stage should also be informed by the local offer

• Section 25 of Children & Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to ensure integration between educational provision and training provision, health and social care provision where this would promote wellbeing and improve quality of provision to CYP with SEND.

• Local authorities must work to integrate educational and training provision with health and social care provision where this will promote wellbeing or improve the quality of special educational provision.

• The duty to integrate services builds on previous legislation e.g. the NHS Act 2006 and the Health & Social Care Act 2012

Duties on local authorities

• Local authorities must review their educational, training and social care provision and consult their partners in doing so, including children, young people and their parent carers. This will inform the development and review of the local offer.

• Local authorities must engage other partners it thinks appropriate to support CYP with SEND e.g. CAMHS, voluntary organisations.

Duties on local authorities cont’d

• Duty on health services to bring children with potential SEN to the local authorities attention.

• Duty to cooperate generally with the local authority.

• Duty to cooperate in specific circumstances.

Duties on health services

Duty to put in place joint commissioning

Local authorities and their partner commissioning bodies (CCGs and NHS England) must put in place joint commissioning arrangements which set out:

• What EHC provision is needed by local children and young people, what will be commissioned and by whom;

• Processes for improved identification and information sharing by health of children identified as having SEN and disability;

• A process for agreeing health and care content in EHC plans;

• Designated Medical/Clinical Officer should be employed to provide information and advice relating to health aspects of SEN and disability

• Health & Wellbeing Board.

• Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA).

• Other available data sets – Local Employment Strategy, Local Housing Strategy, NEET population

• The local offer provides children, young people and their families information on the services available to them in their area. It also provides services with useful information when reviewing provision included in the local offer to ensure that it is meeting local need.

Assessment of local need

1. EHC provision reasonably required by local children and young people with SEND.

2. Advice and information about education, health and care provision.

3. Early identification of potential SEND.

4. Complaints and dispute resolution.

5. Disagreement Resolution Service.

6. Securing outcomes and personalised services.

7. Reflected in Local Offer.

Joint commissioning arrangements

In small groups, consider:

•How do you ensure integrated service provision in practice?

•What are the challenges or barriers to joint commissioning?

•What benefits will joint commissioning being to children, young people and families and partner agencies?

•How can you ensure good participation with children, young people and families? •What does the Local Offer bring to th Commissioner?

Exercise

Essex County Council and its health partners are moving away form block contracts for health an social care towards a mixed economy approach which uses alternative services and smaller providers alongside larger providers. Initial focus on short breaks but looking to expand, giving families choice with personal budget.Benefits include: •Better quality services for families •More cost effective and better value for money•Providers must meet a set of quality thresholds, which encourages them to improve service quality•Providers are supported to reassess and improve their services to better meet families needs

Essex has produced a short film and can be seen at:www.youtube.com/watch?v=moXxCh1zRQ0

Case Study

Mott Macdonald – SEND Information Packs and Resources•Includes case studies and resources

Resources and Further Reading

Please help us to keep improving these workshops by completing the evaluation form at

Participant evaluation:https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/sendreformworkshops

Facilitator evaluation: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RGVNV9M

Evaluation

Pathfinder ChampionsNorth WestWigan, Manchester. Salford & LancashireNorth EastDarlington and Early SupportYorkshire and HumberNorth Yorkshire, Calderdale and York CityWest MidlandsConsortium of 13 LAsEast MidlandsLeicester and Nottinghamshire

Support available to local areas

East of EnglandHertfordshire and BedfordLondon 1Bromley, Bexley and EnfieldLondon 2SE7 (supported by Mott MacDonald)

South EastSE7 (supported by Mott MacDonald)

South West 1Cornwall (supported by Mott MacDonald)

South West 2Southampton and Portsmouth (supported by Mott MacDonald)

http://www.sendpathfinder.co.uk/pathfinderchampions/

Support available to local areas

Delivery Partners

Autism Education TrustContact a FamilyCouncil for Disabled ChildrenEarly SupportInformation, Support and Advice Services NetworkNational Network for Parent Carer ForumsPreparing for AdulthoodThe Communications TrustThe Dyslexia-SpLD TrustMott MacDonald

The Implementing the SEND reforms workshop series has been collaboratively produced by:

Series 1: Transitioning from the old to the new system

Series 2: Understanding EHC plans

Series 3: Best practice in joint commissioning

Series 4: Engaging parent carers – Wednesday 25th March 2015

Series 5: Engaging children and young people – Tuesday 2nd December 2014

Series 6: Preparation for adulthood – Tuesday 10th February 2015

Series 7: Understanding SEN Support – Tuesday 18th November 2014

Series 8: Early Years providers – Wednesday 21st January 2015

Series 9: Personal budgets – Wednesday 4th March 2015

Implementing the SEND reforms workshop series