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Agenda Item *

For publication

Bedford Borough Council – off Agenda approval

October 2013

Report by the Portfolio Holder for Education and the Executive Director for Children’s Services, Schools and Families

Subject: ACCEPTANCE OF GRANT TO IMPLEMENT THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES BILL

1. Executive Summary

This report relates to implementation of the Children and Families Bill (2013) which is expected to become the Children and Families Act in September 2014. The Bill changes the statutory framework in relation to Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). The Council will have a duty to develop and implement the new legislation for more than 700 young people with Statements of SEN in a significantly changed way. The new approach is called the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) often referred to as the ‘single plan.’

The Local Authority will have a duty to publish a local offer, embed joint commissioning, offer personalised budgets, develop a key worker role and develop a new statementing process. In addition, the new legislation brings together two statutory frameworks for pre and post 16 and the Borough will therefore have to extend its responsibilities to assessing and monitoring Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) for young people in education and training up to 25 years (Appendix A)

The implementation of the single plan will inform key judgements made by Ofsted. It is critical that the council utilises this funding stream to deliver the change required.

2. Recommendations

2.1 The Mayor is requested to consider the report and, if satisfied, approve acceptance of the Grant which will provide capacity to prepare and deliver our new legal obligations.

3. Reasons for Recommendations

3.1 To receive funding for implementation of the new legislation to develop support for students with SEN…

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4. Key Implications

4.1 Legal Issues

There are significant legal implications associated with The Children and Families Bill (2013) and the rights of pupils and parents to take the Local Authority to the SEN and Disability Tribunal. This grant has been made available to allow local authorities to undertake activities permitted by existing legislation to develop their special educational needs (SEN) systems and services in line with the Government’s SEN policy.

Policy Issues

4.2 The Council’s policy on receiving funds requires an Executive Decision. The grant is critical to the Authorities’ responsibilities to implement the new Bill for our most vulnerable students in the Borough. The reforms will deliver a more simple, joined up system for the provision of education, health and social care for children and young people up to the age of 25 years. Children and young people will be able to receive the support they need to achieve in education and make a successful transition to adulthood including paid employment and independent living. (See Appendix A)

Resource Implications

4.3 The grant is unringfenced and paid under s31 of the Local Government Act 2003 (Appendix B). It is required that the full £75 000 be approved for the implementation for the new legislation. It is an expectation of the grant that these monies be spent on the implementation of the new legislation. The new legislation provides the framework for meaningful reform, but Local Authorities, working with local partners, parents, children and young people, have an overall responsibility in making sure these reforms are a success.

Risk Implications

4.4 If the new legislation is not adhered to there is a reputational risk to the Council through parental complaints, SEN and Disability Tribunals and a cost incurred as a result of parents seeking expensive out of authority placements.

4.5 There are no environmental impacts.

Equalities Impact

4.8 The activity has significant relevance to Borough Council’s duty to promote equality of opportunity, promote good relations, promote positive attitudes and eliminate unlawful discrimination. An equality impact assessment is needed. *(2)

5. Detail

5.1 The Children and Families Bill (2013) is expected to become the Children and Families Act in September 2014.

5.2 The Bill changes the statutory framework in relation to Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN).

5.3 The Council will have a duty to develop and implement the new legislation for more than 700 young people with Statements of SEN in a significantly changed way. The new approach is called the Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) often referred to as the ‘single plan.’

5.4 The Council will have a duty to publish a local offer by September 2014, embed joint commissioning with Health, offer personalised budgets, develop a key worker role and develop a new statementing process.

5.5 The new legislation brings together two statutory frameworks for pre and post 16 and the Council will therefore have to extend its responsibilities to assessing and monitoring Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) for young people in education and training up to 25 years.

5.6 The implementation of the single plan will inform key judgements made by Ofsted. It is critical that the council utilises this funding stream to deliver the change required.

5.7 The council is required to co-ordinate the Local Offer across Education, Health and Social Care. In order to deliver this it is intended to use the grant to secure two six month secondments for qualified, experienced practitioners to co-ordinate and publish the local offer and to develop the key worker role to support the person centred planning approach which is central to the new legislation.

5.8 The council is required to develop a database to implement the Education Health and Care Plans ensuring that the LA can work in a joined up way by develop an integrated single assessment process. In order to deliver this the funding will be used to secure a database.

5.9 The approach to the single plan will be co-ordinate with the Joint Commissioning Group (check name of group)

6. Summary Of Consultations And Outcome

6.1 The following Council units or Officers and/or other organisations have been consulted in preparing this report:

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Cllr Sue Oliver, Lead Member for Children’s Services Cllr Henry Vann, Portfolio Holder for Education

Bedford Borough Management Group

6.2 No adverse comments have been received.

7. Ward Councillor Views

7.1 Not applicable

Report Contact Officer: Jane Winterbone, Assistant Director – Chief Education Officer ([email protected])

File Reference: Children and Families Bill (2013)

Previous Relevant Minutes: None

Background Papers: None

Appendices: Appendix A – Letter from Edward Timpson MP Appendix B – Email from the Education Funding Agency (EFA) Appendix C - SEN Reforms Grant Determination (2013 – 2014)

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Appendix C

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS REFORMS GRANT DETERMINATION (2013-14): No 31/2223

The Secretary of State for Education, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, makes the following determination:

Citation

1) This determination may be cited as the Special Educational Needs Reforms Grant Determination (2013-14) [No 31/2223].

Purpose of the grant

2) The purpose of the grant is to provide support to local authorities in England towards expenditure lawfully incurred or to be incurred by them.

Determination

3) The Secretary of State for Education determines as the authorities to which grant is to be paid and the amount of grant to be paid, the authorities and the amounts set out in Annex A.

Payment arrangements 4) The grants will be paid to local authorities as set out in Annex A on, or by, 18 October 2013.

Treasury consent

5) Before making this determination in relation to local authorities in England, the Secretary of State for Education obtained the consent of the Treasury.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Education

Stephen Kingdom Deputy Director, Special Education Needs and Disabilities Division, the Department for Education October 2013

ANNEX A

Special Educational Needs Reforms Grant 2013-14

Local Authority Allocation Total £9,020,000 Barking and Dagenham £75,000 Barnet £75,000 Barnsley £75,000 Bath and North East Somerset £75,000 Bedford £75,000 Birmingham £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 Bolton £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 Bradford £75,000 Brent £75,000 , City of £75,000 £75,000 Bury £75,000 Cambridgeshire £75,000 Camden £75,000 Central £75,000 £75,000 Cheshire West and Chester £75,000 City of London £20,000 Coventry £75,000 Croydon £75,000 Cumbria £75,000 £75,000 Derbyshire £75,000 Doncaster £75,000 Dorset £75,000 Dudley £75,000 Durham £75,000 Ealing £75,000 £75,000 Enfield £75,000 Essex £75,000 Gloucestershire £75,000 Hackney £75,000 Halton £75,000

Local Authority Allocation Hammersmith and Fulham £75,000 Haringey £75,000 Harrow £75,000 Havering £75,000 £75,000 Hillingdon £75,000 Hounslow £75,000 £75,000 Islington £75,000 Kensington and Chelsea £75,000 , City of £75,000 Kingston upon Thames £75,000 Kirklees £75,000 Knowsley £75,000 Lambeth £75,000 Lancashire £75,000 Leeds £75,000 Leicestershire £75,000 Lincolnshire £75,000 Liverpool £75,000 £75,000 Merton £75,000 Middlesbrough £75,000 Milton Keynes £75,000 Newcastle upon Tyne £75,000 Newham £75,000 Norfolk £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 North Tyneside £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 Oxfordshire £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 Reading £75,000 Redbridge £75,000 £75,000 Richmond upon Thames £75,000 Rotherham £75,000

Local Authority Allocation £75,000 Salford £75,000 Sandwell £75,000 Sefton £75,000 Sheffield £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 Somerset £75,000 £75,000 South Tyneside £75,000 Southend-on-Sea £75,000 Southwark £75,000 St. Helens £75,000 Staffordshire £75,000 Stockport £75,000 Stockton-on-Tees £75,000 Stoke-on-Trent £75,000 Suffolk £75,000 Sunderland £75,000 Sutton £75,000 Swindon £75,000 Tameside £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 £75,000 Tower Hamlets £75,000 Wakefield £75,000 Walsall £75,000 Waltham Forest £75,000 Wandsworth £75,000 £75,000 Warwickshire £75,000 £75,000 Westminster £75,000 Windsor and Maidenhead £75,000 Wirral £75,000 Wokingham £75,000 Wolverhampton £75,000 Worcestershire £75,000 £75,000