Virtual SEND Conference 4 – Supporting the EHCP Process

This Virtual Conference happened on the 27th November 2020.

Download the full programme here

Keynote Speakers

SEND Code of Practice 2015: 0 – 25, EHCP policy & process – aims and objectives of EHCPs

Lorraine Petersen OBE – Education Consultant, LPEC 

Efficacy of the EHCP annual review; how do we check if a plan is delivering the goods?

Sarah-Jane Critchley – Author, Speaker, Consultant and Coach, Founder of the Different Joy Partnership

Sarah-Jane explains how to tap into pupil voice and partnership with parents to create an EHCP that enables a pupil to learn and the school to deliver life-changing support. She provides a parent and pupil perspective, for mainstream, specialist provision and those out of school.

Stream 1

Good practice principles when applying for top-up funding; how to apply for high needs funding and measuring the impact of spend

Jane Friswell – SEND Consultant and Parent Advocate, Jane Friswell SEND Consultancy

Special and mainstream schools are feeling the pressure on places for increasingly complex SEND provision. How do we ensure that any additional top-up funding for SEND is invested well and does add value to a continuum of provision for SEND across a local area? Jane shares the principles schools need to apply (allowing for local variations of systems and practices) when accessing additional funding for SEND.

Now you’ve got the EHCP, what can schools do next to ensure it makes a difference in practice?

Kate Browning – School Improvement for SEND Specialist Consultant

Kate looks at the important practical next steps needed to implement an EHCP effectively. This includes effective communication and information sharing, mapping and monitoring provision, outlining roles and responsibilities and preparing for the first annual review. This session focuses on promoting a collaborative person-centred approach which upholds high expectations

EHCP Annual Review: ensuring stakeholders have the opportunity for a meaningful review; meeting need not just ticking boxes

Pat Bullen – Education Consultant, PMB Education Ltd

Building on Jane Friswell’s earlier session on EHCP annual reviews, Pat highlights effective practices in local areas to ensure stakeholders have the opportunity for a meaningful review. She considers the preparation of the young person and their family for the review, planning implications for reviews within school/college timetables and how technology can be used to good effect to support reviews.

Stream 2

Legal requirements of EHCPs and the spirit of the law

Mark Blois – Partner and Head of the Education Team, Browne Jacobson

Mark provides an overview of the key legislative provisions underpinning EHCP processes, including requirements for the contents of the EHCP and legal tests for carrying out an EHC needs assessment and issuing an EHCP. This session also looks at the principles underlying this area of work, enshrined in the SEND code of practice, and the corresponding legal duties placed on EHCP contributor organisations.

Using personal budgets effectively

Pat Bullen – Education Consultant, PMB Education Ltd

Pat discusses how to use Personal Budgets (PBs) effectively. She explains the law regarding PBs, how to request one, what PBs can be used for, what an effective PB might look like and how parents and carers have used them. She also looks at PBs for post 19 students and how these might differ from those of younger students.

Decisions, capacity and EHCPs

Caroline Coady – Assistant Director for Social Care, Council for Disabled Children

This session enables practitioners to learn practical person-centred approaches for involving disabled young people and those with SEN in decision-making. Caroline explores the experience of young people and families. She demonstrates practical aspects of rights-based decision-making and reviews related key legislation, such as the 5 key principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Stream 3

Good quality social care advice and information

Caroline Coady – Assistant Director for Social Care, Council for Disabled Children

Caroline covers the fundamentals of the role of social care in EHCPs, with a focus on good quality social care advice and information. She explains the social care roles and responsibilities in relation to EHCPs and explores approaches to advice and information linked to outcomes and aspirations. She also aligns the social care input to EHCPs with that of other activities and services.

Can a Local Authority solve the SEN puzzle?

Anna Chiva – Associate Director SEND, Achieving for Children (Richmond and Kingston Council)

Anna outlines how her organisation has improved the processes related to EHCPs and associated relationships, using evaluative frameworks and challenging practice. She highlights how IT can support innovative practice at low cost and explains the importance of working in collaboration with all partners to take forward solutions within governance structures, both critical to accountability and ownership.

Providing good quality health advice for EHCPs

Philippa Watts – Senior Programmes Officer (Health), Council for Disabled Children

Philippa’s aim is to increase understanding of the purpose and value of health advice in EHCPs, how it fits in the wider process and how it contributes to the achievement of holistic outcomes centred on children and young people. Her session explores what good advice looks like and how an enabling process can be supported.