Welcome back to our newsletter

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1 S Issue: December 2018 Welcome back to our newsletter We will now produce this newsletter bi-monthly and hope to make it more responsive and participatory for all our users. Features include: Young Person s Blog Service updates Upcoming events within SEND IASS Legal updates on new cases, legislation and government initiatives in the field of SEND What s on in the Local Area that may be of interest. Inside this issue: Volunteering 3 Local Offer Survey 6 Monthly Pro Bono SEN Service 6-7 Legal updates 7-11 Local Information 11 Moving On 14 NEW Partnership with Boyes Turner LLP Successful launch of the monthly Pro Bono Clinic* (see inside for details). Dates of forthcoming Clinics: Thursday 29th November 2018 Thursday 31st January 2019 Thursday 28th February 2019 Thursday 28th March 2019 The Pro Bono Clinic is a telephone advice clinic Appointments for the clinic need to be pre-arranged via SEND IASS team Every parent & Child Community House 311 Fore Street London N9 0PZ enquiries@epandc.org.uk Tel: Registered charity: Page 1

2 Exclusions Training Mary Mannion, one of our SEND IASS caseworkers, ran a very comprehensive training morning for parents on law relating to exclusions in October As a service, we are seeing an increasing numbers of children and young people with SEND being permanently excluded from schools. Officially reported exclusions have risen, but unofficial exclusions have rocketed. Research published at the Institute for the Public Policy Research think tank last year showed that more children are being covertly excluded, or managed out, of mainstream schools into pupil referral units ( PRUs). New government statistics show that children with SEND are six times more likely to be excluded compare with their peers. A recent Ofsted report states there are 2,060 children in 2018 who have an EHCP setting out their needs, but who receive no support at all. Some parents said a child is only assessed when they are excluded. Page 2 The Skills Network has partnered with Every Parent & Child and is delighted to offer you the chance to gain a nationally recognized qualification at no cost to you. Through this partnership, we can offer all EPC staff, volunteers and parents/young people an opportunity to obtain a Level 2 nationally recognized qualification. You can gain extra skills and qualifications in only weeks by completing a distance learning course. Available in a paper based or fully online via E-learning platform EQUAL, it is an efficient and easy way to learn. Learn to Earn with the Skills Network The courses are done in your own home, in your own time by distance learning over a maximum of weeks and are fully funded with each candidate receiving a nationally recognized qualification upon completion. The work is all assessment based, either on paper-based booklets or our e-learning site EQUAL, therefore you do not have to attend or take any exams. This can be used for general personal development or as a stepping stone to other qualification. Enrolment options are group inductions at a setting and the new individual online enrolment, all candidates must be: o Aged 19 or over on the 31st August 2017 o Have been a resident in the UK/EU for the last three years o Not be in full time education. All candidates must also be aware that these courses are funded by the government as such there is a 100 withdrawal fee imposed to cover the cost of induction, tutor marking and learning resources if you do not complete all learning. The courses are available on:

3 Feedback from Volunteers Volunteering with the SEND Information and Advice Service Question: What did you like most about this training? I understood all the information which means it was good for me In September 2018 we successfully ran our volunteer training programme. The training programme consisted of three modules that were taught over three consecutive Fridays. Module 1 SEND IASS Protocols and Procedures Module 2 Communication skills Module 3 Education, Health Care Plans & related matters We trained four new volunteers and we are pleased to announce that three of them are now fully integrated in to our service and all attend on a weekly basis. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Melissa, Naime and Helena on successfully completing the training programme and their successful transition into our team! They join our other two dedicated volunteers, Gregor and Roz. We would like to take this time to say how grateful we are to have such a dedicated and committed set of volunteers. All our volunteers play an integral part in the smooth running of our service; we could not provide our high level s of service without you, so thank you! Question: What aspects of the training could be improved? it was perfect! Interested in Volunteering? Please contact our Volunteer Co-coordinator Renata Carlet Renata.Carlet@EPandC.org.uk Have you seen the new EPC volunteering video? Page 3

4 EPC Young Person s Blog Age: 19 My hobbies /Interests: Listening to music, swimming & like watching dramas in different languages, mostly in Korean & Japanese. An interesting but unknown fact about me: I like writing music. What I would like to share about my SEN Experience: Name: Savanna Lawson I found learning an obstacles re: reading. I had extra help for reading & I NOW LOVE READING! My future aspirations: I would like to grow up to be a lawyer. Anything to add: I love coming to the Young Person s Steering Group as we always discuss relevant issues and topics that we cannot always discuss with everyone. The sessions of the YPSG are organised to allow us to express our thoughts and feeling in a creative way, e.g. through art work. Attending the YPSG also gives me a chance to socialise. Young People s Steering Group - September 2018 Our YPSG in September was on The Do s & Don t of Interview Skills. This was a fun, interactive session in which we watched YouTube videos around potential interview scenarios and the young people were able to quiz our CEO, Jaspal Dhani, on building confidence. Young People s Steering Group - October 2018 By popular vote, the YPSG requested that we organize a Halloween Movie Night. We organised for a room at Community House to be turned into a haunted cinema and the movie, GOOSEBUMPS, was shown. The evening was complete with pizza, chips, popcorn and endless sweets and candy! Needless to say, the evening was a big success, as described by one of our young people, the evening was awesome!! Page 4

5 Young People s Steering Group Wednesday 19th December 2018 Venue: Rowans Bowling Club Transportation provided from Community House to venue and back to Community House Pick up from Community House at 16:00hrs Bowling at venue from hrs Returning to Community House at 19.00hrs PLACES LIMITED TO 10 (On first come basis) To reserve a place please Lina Parmar Lina.parmar@epandc.org.uk or call EPC Parent s Steering Group Come and meet with Prevent officer Meghan Roberts Who will be speaking on: Community and Programme support Community Safety Unit DATE: 11th December 2018 TIME: 10am to 11.30am PLACE: Community House, 311 Fore Street, London, N9 0PZ For more information, please contact Lina Parmar on or at Lina.Parmar@EPandC.org.uk JOIN the Parent s Steering Group ( PSG ) Want to make a difference? Want to get your voice heard? The PSG meets every eight weeks for 2 hours at the EPC office. If you answered yes to the above, please Lina Parmar for information. Page 5

6 Parents Enfield Council needs your views Enfield's Local Offer Closing date 27th December 2018 Enfield's Local Offer is an online resource for parents/carers, children and young people, and all those who support children and young people special educational needs and/or a disability (SEND). It provides information, guidance and signposting to services and support, including what services you can expect to receive, the criteria, referral process and how long you can expect to wait as well as contact details for people you may need to speak to. Enfield's Local Offer has been produced in partnership with colleagues from health, social care, education, and the voluntary sector, but most importantly, it has been produced in partnership with parents/carers. We are constantly trying to improve how we provide information on our Local Offer to ensure that families, young people, professionals and service providers can find the information and services they need. In order to help us to do this, and ensure we can meet your needs, we d like your views. Please click link below. Boyes Turner LLP & SEND IASS EPC New Partnership Working We are pleased to announce our new partnership working arrangement with Boyes Turner LLP. Boyes Turner LLP is a top ranked special educational needs solicitors firm. We had a very successful launch event on 19th September At this launch, the head of the SEN Team at Boyes Turner LLP, Ms Laxmi Patel, ran a training session for 30+ parents and professionals around the topic of seeking rights of redress and appeals with a focus on Education Health Care Plans (EHCPs). Page 6

7 Boyes Turner LLP Monthly PRO BONO SEN clinic Boyes Turner LLP has agreed to run a monthly telephone Pro Bono SEN clinic. The telephone Pro Bono SEN clinic will run every last Thursday in the month. The clinic will offer 20 minute appointment slots with the SEN Team at Boyes Turner LLP. In order to secure an appointment, parents must ring the SEND IASS helpline on and state that they wish to secure an appointment for the Pro Bono SEN clinic. Upon receiving the request the helpline advisor will request your contact details and the parent or young person will be called back by a member of the SEND IASS to take a summary of the issue to be discussed and you will be advised of the allotted appointment time. A member of the Boyes Turner SEN team will call the parent /young person at the allotted time. Next clinic will be held on: Thursday 31st January 2019 Appointment Slots: 2pm, 2.20pm, 2.40pm, 3pm, 3.20pm and 3.40pm. Legal: Case Law R (KE) v Bristol City Council [2018] EWHC 2103 (Admin) The High Court allowed an application for judicial review of the Council s decision to cut the Special Education Needs budget on a number of grounds, particularly the Council s failure to consult before making its decision. This application for judicial review was brought by three claimants. The first (KE) was the mother of the second (IE), a nine year old child with significant learning difficulties, physical difficulties, and a diagnosis of autism. The third claimant, CH, was also a nine year old child, who had been diagnosed with ambivalent attachment disorder and encopresis. IE had an education and health care plan, whereas CH was at the time of the hearing attending one of the Council s pupil referral units ( PRU ). The challenge was to the Council s decision to set a schools budget which included cuts of approximately 5 million to the high needs block budget (which provided for those with special education needs, SEN )...continued Page 7

8 The claimants argued that the Council had failed to consult before deciding on the cuts, as required by the Equality Act 2010, the Children and Families Act 2014, and the common law duty of fairness. They argued further that in setting the budget which included these cuts, the Council had breached the public sector equality duty ( PSED ) under the Equality Act 2010, as well as section 11 of the Children Act 2004, section 27 of the Children and Families Act 2014, and the common law requirement to act reasonably, take into account all relevant considerations, and ask the right questions. The Council argued, by contrast, that no decision had yet been taken which would engage the duties identified by the claimants. Rather, any duties would come into play at a later stage when specific proposals for the provision of services were developed. As such, the claim was premature. The Council also argued that even if it was at fault, it was highly likely that there would not be any substantial difference in the outcome of the claim if it had consulted and / or complied with the other duties the Claimants relied on. There were a number of stages to be completed before an education budget could be set. After allocation of a grant from central Government, the Council was then required to consult with the School Forum, comprising a number of head teachers and school governors. Under the model in this local authority, the proposed education budget would then be considered by the council executive before being set by the full Council which would consider the executive s proposals. In the present case, the Council had incurred a significant deficit over the past few years. It was clear that detailed consideration of cuts to the SEN budget was taking place well before the precise details of national funding were known. In December 2017, the Council carried out a public consultation on its budget, but this contained no express reference to cuts to SEN funding. As such, no public consultation on the proposed SEN cuts was carried out. Consequently, the judge found in the Claimants favour and ordered the high needs block budget allocation to be quashed, requiring the Council to reconsider its funding of SEN provision. What this means for children, young people and families This judgement demonstrates that individuals or their families affected by funding cuts may be able to successfully challenge those cuts where the decision maker has failed to follow the correct process, including failing to consult and / or to take the right matters into account. While generally the setting of funding levels is a political decision to be taken by elected representatives, it is clear that proper investigation is required before such decisions can be taken. It may well also be necessary to consult families before any significant reduction in funding is imposed. Page 8 continued

9 Implications for local authorities and other public bodies The need for adequate inquiry by public bodies is of great importance and must be in the forefront of every local authority s mind. Decisions taken without proper gathering of the information necessary to come to a reasoned conclusion are likely to be flawed, and therefore vulnerable to challenge in the courts. In times of strain on public finances, it is vital that authorities take the time to consider what information they need to make fully reasoned decisions. In many cases, this will require public consultation, and especially an attempt to gain the perspective of those most affected by changes to funding. The emphasis placed by the court here on substance over form highlights the importance of carrying out these duties properly, and not simply attempting to do the minimum to meet statutory requirements. Legal: Case Law Birmingham City Council v KF [2018] UKUT 261 (AAC) Page 9 The Upper Tribunal decided that school transport can be special educational provision in an EHC Plan, where the transport fulfils some educational or training function. There is no rule that school transport can never be special educational provision. Case overview This case concerned a young person, Karen, who has difficulties with dyslexia, numeracy, information and auditory processing, anxiety and PTSD, and self-esteem. In June 2016, when she was 16, Karen started to attend the College, which is some distance from her home. She did not want to attend a more local college where she might come across those who had bullied her at a previous school. The journey to the College was a multi-stage journey that could take between 60 and 90 minutes each way. On most days, due to her anxiety, Karen found this too difficult and her mother would drive her some or all of the way. The difficulties resulted in a low level of attendance and promptness. January 2017, the Council issued an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) in respect of Karen under the Children and Families Act 2014 ( the 2014 Act ). Karen objected to the section of the plan that dealt with assistance with transport and appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (FTT). The Council appealed against this decision on the basis that transport to and from school could not constitute special educational provision. The Council argued that there was a clear and consistent line of case law which established this, and that the Upper Tribunal s decision in Haringey, which the FTT had relied upon, was wrongly decided. continued

10 The UT rejected the Council s argument that Haringey had been wrongly decided. Firstly, the UT explained that transport is capable of being a special educational provision if it satisfies the definition of special educational provision in section 21 of the 2014 Act, namely if it educates or trains. It is for an appellant to make the case that the transport fulfils some educational or training function, or for the First-tier Tribunal to consider this for itself. The answer will depend on the facts of the particular case. Secondly, the Upper Tribunal acknowledged that previous cases have decided that transport cannot be special educational provision. However, the 2014 Act is a new statutory regime, and it does not exclude the possibility that transport can be special educational provision. The FTT in this case had made an error of law because it had not considered whether the provision of transport that it ordered would educate or train so as to bring it within what is authorised by the 2014 Act. It had therefore misunderstood and/or misapplied the UT s decision in Haringey. Despite identifying this error of law in the FTT s decision, the UT decided not to set it aside. The UT did not wish to interfere with the decision on matters other than transport and, as the local authority was now providing Karen with transport under other legislation, the transport issue had become academic. What this means for children, young people and families Families should note that entitlement to school and college transport for children and young people will normally arise through a separate statutory scheme under the Education Act 1996, for which there are separate appeal processes arranged by each local authority. It will only be where there is a specific educational need which is being met by school transport that the FTT will have jurisdiction to order it to be included with section F of an EHC Plan. Although the Upper Tribunal did not make any findings about the provision required in this case, it is now at least arguable that difficulties in accessing public transport which result in a low level of attendance and promptness could give rise to a requirement for transport as special educational provision. Where the provision of transport would fulfil some educational or training function in relation to their special educational needs, evidence will need to be provided to explain how the provision of transport would fulfil that function. continued Page 10

11 Implications for local authorities and other public bodies This decision confirms that, when preparing EHC Plans, local authorities will need to consider whether the child or young person has transport-related special educational needs and whether the provision of transport is required to fulfil those needs. Previous decisions which suggested that transport cannot amount to special educational provision can no longer be relied upon in relation to plans prepared under the 2014 Act. Local Information The Enfield Community Handbook Advice and Guidance about Children and Young People This handbook offers advice and guidance on a range of issues and services that can be accessed by families. To download your free copy, please visit: Page 11 Our Voice Christmas Party Our Voice Christmas party Sunday 9th December 2018 This party is for children and young people with special needs /disabilities living in Enfield, and their families. Please join us for a Christmas party for all our wonderful children! We are planning lots of fun activities including a bouncy castle, entertainer, PS4 and a fantastic animal show. Light refreshments will be provided. The event is free, but we suggest a donation of 1 per person. On: 9th December 2.30 to 4.30 pm At: Russet House School, Autumn Close, Enfield, EN1 4JA Please bring your family along. Parents are responsible for their own children at all times. Numbers are limited so please book your places in advance to avoid disappointment. Book by phone on or on info@ourvoiceenfield.org.uk

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13 A 6 week programme aimed at mothers, fathers and carers, to promote a positive parent-child relationship. Do you? o Have a child aged between 3-18 years? o Want to improve communication between you and your child? o Want to empower yourself and your children to make positive decisions in the community and for the future? o Want to explore techniques in establishing boundaries and consequences for your children? The workshops are delivered once a week for 6 weeks from: Dates: Thursday 24th, 31stJanuary, 7th, 14th, 28th February and 7th March 2019 Time: am 1.00 pm Venue: The Ark, 500 Montagu Road Edmonton, N9 0UR Please contact : Shamima Rahman on or shamimaecyps@gmail.com Website: Page 13

14 It can be a worrying time when young people move from childhood to adulthood. The way they access support and services will change and it is important to be prepared for these changes. They will also be thinking about getting a job, moving into their own home and enjoying activities as a young adult. We aim to provide young people and their families with as much information as possible to ensure they make the right choices about their future. We hold the following yearly events to give you more information: Health services and keeping healthy 17th January Waverley School, 105 The Ride, Enfield, EN3 7DL Getting a home 13 February :30 12:00 D Durants School, 4 Pitfield Way, Enfield, EN3 5BY Annual Moving On event 14 March :30 13:00 Dugdale Centre,39 London Road, Enfield, EN2 6DS Getting a job Wednesday 8th May :00 12:00 Dugdale Centre 39 London Road, Enfield, EN2 6DS Mental capacity - what happens when young people become 16 Friday 7th June :30 12:00 New Options 25 Connop Road, Enfield, EN3 5FB Page 14

15 The SEND IASS team wish to extend our thanks to Alice Martin, EPC Service Development Manager, for her fantastic table top sale held on Tuesday 27th November 2018 at Community House. The event was a huge success and all proceeds go towards the EPC Young Peoples Steering Group Christmas Party. THANK YOU FOR MAKING IT HAPPEN ALICE! Page 15

16 Every Parent & Child ( formerly Enfield Parents and Children) is a registered charity working for the benefit of children, young people and families in the London Borough of Enfield and surrounding areas. Our services include information on educational provision for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and young people s mental health, wellbeing and confidence building skills. SEND Information and Advice Service team Manager: Caseworkers: Lina Parmar Marie-Gisèle Awoya Atundu Florence Mampasi Mary Mannion Office Administrator/Volunteer Trainer: Prafula Katkoria Volunteers: Roz Jones, Gregor Lusty, Helena Payne, Melissa Ewart and Naime Pekkan. Contact Community House 311 Fore Street London N9 0PZ Phone: WEB: (SEND IASS HELP LINE) Charity number: Page 16

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