SEN Pathfinders Extended to September 2014

A new website is being set up with answers to frequently asked questions about home education and special needs in England http://www.ehe-sen.org.uk/

Minister Edward Timpson told the Education Committee on November 6th 2012 that the SEN Pathfinders would be extended till September 2014. On December 19th 2012 the Education Committee published its Report on pre-legislative scrutiny of the Draft SEN Bill which can be read here http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmselect/cmeduc/631/631.pdf via this page http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/education-committee/publications/

Read more here about the changes for SEN in 2012-13 here http://edyourself.org/articles/SEN.php and here http://edyourself.org/articles/seninchildrenfamiliesbill.php

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Introduction to SEN Green Paper Pathfinder Pilots

Minister Answers SEN Pilot Question re Home Educated Children April 2012
Responses to Freedom of Information requests in April 2012 revealed that children and families have not yet been selected for the Pilots. Read all the responses as single pdf (7 pages) here Collated Responses From SEN Green Paper Pathfinder Areas As PDF John Harris and Jessica Shepherd article on Rushed SEN Changes, Guardian June 4th 2012

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20 pathfinders, covering 31 local authorities and their Primary Care Trust (PCT) partners, will test out the main proposals in the SEN and Disabilities Green Paper. I wrote to the listed local authorities at the end of March 2012 to ask what arrangements - if any - they have made to include home educated children in the pilot.

Read more here http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a00198359/20-pathfinders-to-test-out-proposals-in-the-special-educational-needs-and-disabilities-green-paper

Click here for more information on changes to the SEN system

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Individual FOI Responses

Brighton and Hove     East Sussex     Hampshire      Kent      Medway     Surrey      West Sussex     Cornwall     Isles of Scilly     Devon     Wiltshire      Bromley      Bexley      Greenwich      Lewisham     Hertfordshire      Northamptonshire      Leicester City Council      Nottinghamshire      Solihull      Trafford      Oldham      Rochdale      Wigan     Manchester      Gateshead      Hartlepool      Darlington      Calderdale      North Yorkshire

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Freedom of Information Request March 2012

I received an email from a home educating parent in one of the areas involved with the Pathways pilot saying she had been in touch with her LA and they had no intention of considering home educated children with SEN for the pilot as "the selected participants are from various transition points in the school system."

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Details

The pathfinders will all test some core elements of reform, including:

• a single education, health and care plan from birth to 25 years old, focusing on whether outcomes for disabled children and their parents have been improved
• personal budgets for parents of disabled children and those with SEN so they can choose which services best suit the needs of their children
• strong partnership between all local services and agencies working together to help disabled children and those with SEN
• improved commissioning, particularly through links to health reforms
• the role of voluntary and community sector organisations and parents in a new system
• the cost of reform.

Pathfinders will also test some optional elements, including:

• whether a national funding framework would help parents understand what level of funding is available to support their child’s needs
• better support to help parents through the process
• support to vulnerable children through the new process
• and the impact of reforms on children aged 16 to 25, or children in the early years.

The pathfinders will receive up to £150,000 per local authority per year. The pathfinder programme has been commissioned by the DfE and the Department for Health and will be fully evaluated.