NEWS


Service cuts threaten plan to overhaul SEN provision


By Pete Henshaw


The government’s strategy to overhaul SEN support in England could be threatened by deep cuts to specialist provision across the country. Charities and teachers have


welcomed the aims of the strategy, which was outlined in the Queen’s Speech last week, but fear it will be undermined because of cuts to local services. The government is planning to


announce draft legislation in early 2013 that will introduce what it calls a “single, simpler assessment process” for children with SEN or disabilities. It will see the end of SEN


statements and learning difficulty assessments, which will be replaced from 2014 with individual Education Health and Care Plans. The idea is that services will


work together with the family to agree a plan of support for a child from birth to age 25. The plan will be reviewed regularly and will specify who is responsible for provision. Other reforms will see local


authorities required to publish a “local offer”, detailing the support available to disabled and SEN children and their families – both in-school support as well as additional more specialist provision. A system of mediation will also be introduced for disputes between


parents and local authorities over provision, while a plan to give children the right to appeal if they are unhappy with the support they receive is to be trialled. The proposals were published


in a government SEN Green Paper and put out for for consultation last year. A formal response and reform timetable was due to be announced by ministers as SecEd went to press. However, the National Deaf


Children’s Society has warned that cuts to local SEN services could undermine the plans. Jo Campion, deputy director


of policy and campaigns at the charity, praised the good intentions behind the reforms, but added: “We are concerned that ministers


are building their strategy on quicksand. We know that councils across England are slashing the specialist educational services that are crucial to achieving these ambitions. “More choice for families is a


commendable aim, but it comes in stark contrast to the reality of councils across the country who are making cuts without consulting parents of deaf children. The government must send a clear message to local authorities that support for deaf young people is vital and must be protected from cuts.” The National Union of Teachers


expressed similar fears. General secretary Christine Blower said: “Current government education


cuts and the accelerating academies programme, which has a higher exclusion rate for SEN pupils, are fatally undermining available provision. Giving parents the promise of more choice for their SEN child is illusory. Cuts to local authority budgets vastly reduce the specialist services which parents and teachers need to access support and ensure progress.” Meanwhile, the deaf-blind


charity Sense, warned that the plans for a single Education, Health and Care Plan “must be underpinned by clear statutory obligations on all education, health and social care agencies and settings including academies and free schools”. Other provisions in the Green Paper which are expected to be


included in plans include giving a personal budget for families of children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan so they can control which services they use. Also, the government wants


to give parents more choice over whether their children attend a mainstream or special school. A statement from nasen,


an association for special needs education, said: “It is evident that the government is looking to move many of its proposals forward for implementation in 2014. This will require a new SEN and disabilities Code of Practice that will hopefully support schools and colleges in ensuring that they offer the best possible support for young people with SEN and disability.”


School Games welcome 1,600 athletes


Four Olympic venues played host to 1,600 young athletes as the finals of the School Games took place last week. The competitors, both able-


bodied and disabled, went head- to-head in a total of 12 sports including swimming, sprinting, fencing, wheelchair basketball, badminton, judo, volleyball and tennis. The Games took place from


May 6 to 9 and saw young athletes from across the UK competing at venues across London, includ- ing four London 2012 arenas –


4


the Olympic Stadium, Velodrome, Aquatics Centre and ExCel Centre. The Games were the last event


to be held on the Olympic Park before the London 2012 opening ceremony on July 27. They were supported by


Sainsbury’s and by Lottery funding from Sport England and it is esti- mated that there were up to 35,000 spectators across the four days. The finals were the climax of


a year of School Games competi- tions, which have seen thousands of UK schools take part in local class vs class and school vs school


competitions, as well as in county- wide events. Among the winners was


England South West’s Ronnie Wells, 16, who stormed to the boys’ 100-metre sprint title with a new personal best of 10.84 seconds. In the girls’ race, England South East’s Daryll Neita collected gold, keeping her nerve in a race that saw two false starts. London 2012 Paralympic hopeful, Jade Jones, representing North East England, won both the 100 and 200-metre wheelchair races. In the track cycling at the


Olympic Velodrome, East Midlands duo Hannah Blount and Grace Garner broke their own national under-16 record in the heats to win the team sprint, while para-cycling pair Ryan Whatmough and Joe Widdowson took a clean sweep – winning six gold medals in total. At the London Aquatics Centre,


Wales’s Siwan Thomas-Howells clinched two gold medals in both her races. The 15-year-old Swansea swimmer won both the 100 and 200-metre freestyle competitions. At the ExCel centre, England fencer George Hendrie, 17, took the


boys’ foil gold thanks to a 15-8 vic- tory over Wales’s Ethan Ridsdale. In the table tennis, England


South East’s boys and South West’s girls took golds while England South East overcame South West in the rugby sevens final and England Under-18s beat Wales in the hockey showdown. More than £128 million of


Lottery and government funding is supporting the School Games over the next three years. Details of all events


and medal winners are at www.2012schoolgames.com


On your marks: (clockwise from top left) Swimming star Siwan Thomas-Howells wins the 200-metre free- style; Ronnie Wells takes gold in the 100 metres; the Olympic Velodrome hosts the cycling; gold-winning fencer George Hendrie (right) in action against James Brosnan; a pole vault competitor celebrates; Lord Sebastian Coe, chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, speaks at a special welcome dinner


SecEd • May 17 2012


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