Making the C count in EHC Plans Bromley

Making the ‘C’ count in EHC Plans Bromley Parent Voice conference Friday 7 th October 2016 Debi Christie 16 -25 Commissioning Manager London Borough of Bromley

What does the ‘C’ stand for in the EHC Plan? • Government’s word is Social Care, but what do we really mean? • We’ve all lived in ‘service land’ for 30 years • ‘Service land’ means that we think of social care services • How might we think about what ‘C’ represents to make it more meaningful…. . ? Ø Ø Ø Connections Inclusion Enjoyment Safe and Healthy Well-being • We all have Social Needs but do we all have Social Care Needs?

Social Needs and Support Networks • Children and young people all have needs to keep well, be interested in life and feel connected • This could mean support to: Ø Ø Ø Develop and maintain well-being Be connected and part of a community Feel socially included • Families may be able to draw upon support, which could include: Ø Ø Ø Ø Immediate family Wider family Friends and relationships School/college and work Community groups Specific interest clubs Voluntary sector activities and support Universal healthcare providers • Important to remember that support networks for families look very different – one size doesn’t fit all

It may be useful to think about a relationship circle • Helps to think about the support that is already surrounding a child, young person and family • It can help to think about who people are and how they can help a child or young person have a full life • It is a way of identifying who is important to a child or young person and could highlight the people that should be involved in planning • It can also help to discover which relationships are important to maintain and develop

Aspirations EHC Plan – Section A • A hope or ambition of achieving something • Aspirations for Life: ü Paid employment; ü Independent living; ü Community participation; ü Good health • Long term aspirations are not outcomes in themselves… a local authority cannot be held accountable for the aspirations of a child or young person (Co. P page 163) • Local Authorities must ensure that the EHC plan review at Year 9 includes a focus on preparing for adulthood. Planning must centre around the individual and explore the child or young person’s aspirations and abilities, what they want to be able to do when they leave post-16 education or training, and the support they need to achieve their ambition (Co. P page 125)

Needs EHC Plan – Sections B, C & D • Requiring something because it is essential or very important, rather than just desirable • A child or young person has special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty or disability, which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her (Co. P page 15) • EHC plans must specify the special educational provision to meet each of the child’s special educational needs (Co. P page 164) • EHC plans must also specify any health or social care needs a child has • Provision cannot be stated in this section and must be separated accordingly

Outcomes EHC Plan – Section E • The benefit or difference made to an individual as a result of an intervention. It should be personal and not expressed from a service perspective (Co. P page 163) • The ‘so what’ question • What is important to them, and for them (Co. P page 163) • SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound (Co. P page 163) • Set out what needs to be achieved by the end of a phase or stage of education. Short term targets set outside the EHC plan (Co. P page 164) • From Year 9 onwards, the nature of outcomes will reflect the need to ensure young people are focused on preparing for adulthood across the four life pathways (Co. P page 163)

Provision EHC Plan – Sections F, G & H • Provision that is additional to or different from that made generally for other children of the same age (Co. P page 16) • Detailed, specific and normally quantified, in terms of type, hours and frequency of support and level of expertise, including where this support is secured through a personal budget (Co. P page 166) • The LA must set out in its Local Offer an authority wide description of the special educational, training, health and social care provision it expects to be available in its area (Co. P page 68)

Key things to consider when developing outcomes (1) The Golden Thread • Aspirations, needs, outcomes and provision • Think about outcomes as steps on the journey towards the aspiration Making use of existing resources • Make use of all available resources • Relationship circle (sometimes called circle of support) Person Centred • Specific to the child or young person • Expressed from a personal perspective, not a service perspective

Key things to consider when developing outcomes (2) Holistic • Multi agency approach where required • Provision section should set out what each agency or supporting role is doing to achieve the outcome Outcomes and provision • Outcomes and provision must be kept separate Outcomes must support aspirations • Learning from other young people and families about what has worked for them • Build on what is working well and address what is not working well

Using an Outcomes Pyramid to help ‘join the dots’

Testing the use of Outcome Pyramids in Bromley (1) • Small pilot using the outcome pyramids – pre-school, school and age and preparing for adulthood • Using the aspirations and needs from real EHC Plans to write outcomes and provision needed to achieve outcomes, with a focus on including non-statutory support to think more holistically • Feedback from parents Ø Very scary to think about aspirations, particularly at an early age Ø Some felt they were unable to think about long term goals Ø Some liked the idea of thinking to the future and one said that it ‘gave them hope’ Ø Pyramids were a useful tool to try and ‘get your thoughts in line’ Ø Good to think about non-statutory support - social care provision in the statutory sense can have negative connotations Ø The focus is really on ‘getting the placement’ Ø Made it feel more ‘joined up’ Ø Would be a good tool to help practitioners who are working with children, young people and families to have a more holistic conversation when developing EHC Plans

Testing the use of Outcome Pyramids in Bromley (2) • Feedback from practitioners Ø Helped structure thinking about a child or young person’s needs, linked to longer term outcomes and aspirations Ø Helped to think more holistically because it made you think about what other support (non-statutory) could be included Ø Felt like a logical way of thinking about the plan instead of completely separate sections Ø In completing this, it helped support much more confident and meaningful conversations with families and schools Ø Welcome the use of the pyramids to support practitioners think about the process differently • Next steps Ø Develop guidance for young people, families and practitioners about how the tool could be used Ø Training module to upskill practitioners across education, health and care Ø Support for schools and colleges Ø Informing the thinking around key working

Thank you