We welcome the government’s attention to reform of the SEND system, including the review of Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). We strongly advise that if these Plans are to cease, there must be an alternative process in place that does not erode the rights of children, and ensures every child gets the support they need at the earliest possible opportunity.
We fully understand the concerns of families, who at the current time are unsure of what the reform of this process will look like. However as the government is clearly considering possible alternatives, we urge families of children with SEND to continue to contribute to the conversation, alongside sector professionals and organisations, to create a system that works effectively and in which services can be held to account.
From an early years perspective, reform is urgently needed to remove current barriers. There are significant issues in accessing professional support during early years and diagnosing children when they are still developing rapidly can be unhelpful. The process requires families to complete deficit-focused application procedures at the very start of their educational journey, which can be traumatic and exacerbate worries and concerns about their current and future developmental potential. We also have an early years workforce which is struggling to meet heavy demands of an inadequate funding system and processes which place an unnecessarily heavy administrative burden on them. The current systems and processes in early years are not fit for purpose and place increased pressures later in the education system.
We believe that an effective system of support for children with SEND in the early years should be based on needs and not on diagnosis. Changes to the funding process in the early years is required, to remove the current barriers and backlogs in the system which are leaving many children unable to access their next stage of education or without the support in place to thrive. A fully funded, needs-led and easily accessible process is paramount. A wider range of SENIF funding streams should be available to early years providers that enable them to support all children. These should use streamlined application procedures which focus on needs of children and place trust in early years educators to identify those needs in partnership with families.
This approach would allow early years educators to use a graduated approach when identifying and meeting needs, removing the expectation from schools for children to have an EHCP before they can be accepted into the next stage of education. With rising numbers of early years children deferring entry to school because their EHCP is not in place, this change is critical in ensuring that children move on at the same time as their peers and are neither socially nor educationally disadvantaged.
We believe that this will build strong inclusive practice from the beginning of every child’s educational journey, and reduce the over reliance on EHCPs in the early years. It places the emphasis on the individual needs of each child, reduces pressure on families and early years professionals and allows a wide range of children to play and learn together. The EHCP process, or any new process that is created must continue to hold educational settings to account once they have started school, but in the early years the needs led approach gives children the best start without the need to label or diagnose children earlier than is necessary.
Catherine McLeod MBE
CEO Dingley’s Promise