Janet O'Keefe, Speech and Language Therapist

 

A radical shake-up of the way children with special educational needs are supported has been proposed. Education correspondent GARETH McPHERSON asks parents what the changes might mean for them.

MANAGING a budget for a child’s special teaching needs could put more pressure on families already being stretched by parenting demands, an education expert has warned.

Janet O’Keefe, a special educational needs expert from Little Downham, near Ely, welcomed the Government’s attempts to give parents more control over the support their child receives.

But the speech and language therapist is worried the amount of money put into the personal budgets will not be enough and that trying to make sense of finances will eat into parenting time.

She said: “Living with a child with special educational needs (SEN) takes an awful lot of time.

“At the moment many parents have direct payments in order to pay for respite, but have to prepare accounts, which takes a lot of time, and local authorities get very upset if you don’t provide them with quarterly accounts.

“If you pay for someone else to do your accounts that money has to come out of your child’s respite.

“So it is really difficult for parents who haven’t got the time or these skills to take on board yet another job when all they want to do is be a parent to their child.”

A statement for SEN outlines a plan for action to help children who have learning difficulties or disabilities get a better education.

Yesterday, the Government announced the biggest shake-up of the system for 30 years, which ministers say will mark the end of a complex system that often left parents facing uphill battles to get the proper educational support for their children.

Chloe Wilson, a parent at Upwood Primary School in Huntingdon, has two children with dyslexia and says she has been involved in a six-year fight to get statements for them. Her battle is still ongoing.

She said the system for trying to get a statement was “ludicrous”.

Eight-year-old Kieran, who also has suspected attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has the reading and writing level of a child in reception and his sister Jessica, 10, is two years behind as she prepares to go into the last year of primary school next year.

Chloe said: “I was told that Kieran can count up to 100 with adult support. Well that means he cannot count to 100. I think teachers are too scared, they do not want to go to the headteacher and admit failure by saying they have problems with a child.

“Maybe they are worried about being belittled or that it will not look good on their record.”

 She said she had to resort to expensive private tuition and her children’s education was suffering because they were not getting the support they needed.

The Blenheim Road mum said she welcomed anything that would give power back to the parents and make the process easier.

A couple from Cambridge, who had to go up against the council’s top lawyers and expert witnesses in a tribunal to get a statement for their autistic son, said there were elements of the proposals that could do good – such as mediation and full care plans from birth to the age of 25.

But the mother said it would not alter the fact that parents had to “fight tooth and nail” for statements that are often not worth “the paper they are written on”.

Her 3-year-old son was diagnosed with autism and seven years later is being educated at great expense at an independent school – because despite having a statement she says he would not get proper support in the state system.

She said: “Our struggle against the local authority to enable our son to achieve his potential has eclipsed all other challenges in our lives put together.”

She said the “David versus Goliath” tribunal process was “a most intimidating and overwhelming experience”.

The couple were also angry that the Government was suggesting that the number of people with statements was too high.

In Cambridgeshire, there are 861 primary, 899 secondary and 808 special needs schoolchildren with statements. About £14 million was allocated to meet the needs of the county’s statemented pupils in 2011/12.

gareth.mcpherson@cambridge-news.co.uk first published on 17th May 2012

The minister for children and families, Sarah Teather, outlined the proposed reforms which she said this would prevent parents being forced to go from “pillar to post” in a battle between different authorities and agencies.

It is estimated that 21% of children in England are identified as having SEN – 21% of the school population in January 2010. Only 2.7% have statements. More than half of the pupils, 11.4%, are in the school action category.

Janet, who is organising an SEN conference next month for families and professionals, Towards a Positive Future, said:

“Although I welcome health education and social care being legally forced to work together, and I welcome parents having more control over who provides the special education needs provision for their child, I am concerned that the amount of money that will be put into the personal budget will not in reality be enough for them to be able to access the services that they need.

“I also think that there isn’t visibility for the general public, parents or local authorities as to who is available locally to be commissioned to work with individual children.  I am also sure that the information that needs to be given to parents isn’t currently readily available, and also that living with a child with special educational needs takes an awful lot of time.

“At the moment many parents have direct payments in order to pay for respite, but have to prepare accounts which takes a lot of time and local authorities get very upset if you don’t provide them with quarterly accounts.  If you pay for someone else to do your accounts, that money has to come out of your child’s respite. So it is really difficult for parents who haven’t got the time or these skills to take on board yet another job when all they want to do is be a parent to their child.

“In theory, the plan is a really good idea, but what is needed is for key workers to be allocated to take this work on and manage this budget on behalf of parents, just like they do for head injured children who get compensation and a trust fund set up which is managed by a case manager, and that system works very well and takes the pressure off the family, whereas this system appears to be putting more pressure on families to take on another role that takes up more of their time.”

Tickets are still available for Janet’s conference on Saturday, 16 June in Newbury, where speakers include actress Jane Asher, president of the Autistic Society. Full booking details can be found here.

Many families experience an intimidating process when they appeal against local authority decisions regarding special educational needs provision for vulnerable children, says speech and language therapist Janet O’Keefe, who attends many tribunals as an expert witness.

Janet says that special educational needs and disability tribunals are organised by the Ministry of Justice as part of the court system and their hearings are often heard in magistrates’ courts, asylum and immigration buildings, or social security offices which is very stressful for parents who have not done anything wrong other than disagree with the provision proposed to support their child by the local authority responsible for meeting their special educational needs.

This issue will be one of the topics under discussion at a conference called Towards a Positive Future, which Janet is holding in Newbury, Berkshire on Saturday, 16 June, where speakers will include Jane Asher, president of the National Autistic Society.

Janet, who founded Wordswell (Speech and Language Therapy Services) near Ely, Cambridgeshire, says the event is aimed at parents of children with special education needs and the professionals who support them. Janet will be speaking about the daunting and intimidating process of appeal for parents.

Janet says: “It’s disappointing that local authorities do not seem to be currently negotiating with parents, which results in more appeal hearings and higher legal costs for those parents who use expensive specialist solicitors and barristers to represent them. On average I have attended two tribunal hearings a month as an expert witness for speech and language therapy; in January 2012, there were 12 in the diary and I attended eight.

“Since all tribunals came under the Ministry of Justice, hearings have had to be held in government buildings instead of hotels or dedicated tribunal buildings to save money.  This means that instead of a formal business meeting, special education appeal hearings are now held in magistrates’ courts, asylum and immigration buildings, or social security offices.  Often there is security on the door like an airport to scan and search all bags and people entering the building. The whole process is increasingly stressful – and all because parents dared to disagree with the provision the local authorities are offering to support their child who through no fault of their own has special educational needs.

“The legal costs have also escalated for parents who seek legal representation. Just five years ago parents were telling me that their legal bill was on average £7,000, now they are telling me it is more than £20,000.”

Tania Tirraoro, a mother of two autistic sons, Luca, 14, and Giorgio, 12, and author of Special Educational Needs – Getting Started with Statements, believes a much more conciliatory approach is required which would involve a huge culture shift away from the present process so the focus is on the special educational needs of the child, and not the local authority’s budget.

Tania belongs to Family Voice Surrey, a parent carer group to help form the new SEN structure where pathfinder trials are taking place.

She says: “The system has been adversarial for far too long, and it’s not just the framework that needs to change to improve things, but the attitudes of some LEA staff to dealing with stressed and vulnerable parents. Even as the trials are getting underway, parents using the existing system are still being subjected to unnecessary expense preparing for tribunals that the LEA backs out of at the last minute, inadequate proposed statements and fights over placements. A change here would make the biggest difference of all.

“There are many fine ideals in the green paper, but the most important thing is that the pathfinder trials must show that they are workable on a large scale and do, in fact, improve the lives of children with SEN and their families.”

Jane Asher, president of the National Autistic Society, says: “I am very much looking forward to coming to Wordswell’s conference – anything that can help to promote understanding, support and the need for the right education for those on the autistic spectrum is always close to my heart.

“After over 30 years of working with the National Autistic Society I still continue to learn more about this complex condition all the time, and I know I will enjoy meeting the parents, carers, professionals and those with autism themselves who will gather to exchange experiences and to help improve the lives of all those affected. “

Janet has edited a book which was launched at last October’s Conference called ‘Towards a Positive Future: stories, ideas and inspiration from children with special educational needs, their families and professionals’ which includes practical information and support for parents and expert witnesses.

The conference is being held at the Arlington Arts Centre in Newbury on Saturday, 16 June. Early bird tickets cost £80, and £100 after 1 May, and can be booked by calling 01954 253525, or email janetokeefe@wordswell.co.uk.  

Please see

http://www.wordswell.co.uk/pdfs/Towards_a_Positive_Future_Conference_2012_flyer.pdf

for further information.

Ends.

Notes to editors:

1. For photos or interview requests, please contact media officer Ellee Seymour on 01353 648564, 07939 811961, or email ellee.seymour@btopenworld.com
2. Full details of the green paper for special educational needs, please see the Department for Education, http://www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/sen/a0075339

 

Wordswell is a group of speech and language therapists improving the communication skills of children and adults in the Eastern Region from King’s Lynn and Peterborugh to St Neots and Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket with an administrative base in Ely, Cambridgeshire. Therapists are available to work in a clinic base, schools or clients homes. Janet O’Keefe is available for assessment  and attendance in Court or SENDIST as an expert witness nationwide. We have special interests in hearing impairment, autistic spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia and language disorder and feminisation of transgender voice.

 

We have a new logo and a new website.  Do have a look and let us know what you think.

 

Established 2011 by Janet O’Keefe and Robert Ashton

The benefits of being a member are:

• A professional entry on an excellent website easily accessible to parents, other professionals and potential referrers
• An office staff dedicated to helping you find clients and contracts to keep you busy providing therapy, teaching or other support services
• Regular CPD, support and supervision opportunities
• Back office facilities and services such as virtual secretarial services and telephone answering reception services

The benefits of contracting with a Clarity member professional or group of professionals to provide a service you need is:

• A one stop shop to find people in your geographical location who have the skills you need rather than having to go to many different websites and organisations to find your team
• All basic checks will have been done and references taken up so that the contract can be started immediately without delay
• Services such as insurance and CPD can be provided to the member

The benefits to parents and children with SEN are:

• A clear, easy to use website to find information relevant to your childs needs and professionals with the skills to provide the services your child needs including legal advice
• Funding may be available to help with the cost of funding services directly or support and training from the Foundation to help your school or local community find a creative way to provide what your child needs
• An organisation that listens to your needs and tries to find solutions to support you and your child reach their educational and life outcomes

Do come to the Towards a Positive Future Conference on 14-15 October 2011 and help shape what Clarity will be for its members and users.

The membership will attract recommendation by client review, evidence of CPD, and professional references which will enable those fund holders or clients to find easily those members or groups of members in their geographical locations to fulfill contracts and provide much needed services to children with SEN.

We will ensure that all members have jumped through the appropriate hoops of insurance, CRB and CPD training and be able to provide all appropriate back office support so that clinicians can concentrate on the provision of therapy, teaching or training being contracted.

Members will be able to buy into the level of support that they need to work as efficiently as possible. It is not a gatekeeper, professionals will still need to belong to their profession specific organisations and membership is voluntary. The details are not set in stone which is why we are inviting prospective members to be part of Clarity’s evolution. There will be an annual membership fee. In order to join people will need to prove they are who they say they are and be checked out. The membership fee will cover an excellent website, and an office staff who are dedicated to providing services to and for the members, encouraging and supporting networking, sharing skills and knowledge and promoting members to the public and fund holders/potential referrers. It will also provide a range of services which members may find helpful to them in running and developing their business.

It will be a social enterprise and any profit made on selling these services to members will go into a fund to pay for services or support projects for those individuals or groups who may not be able to get funding elsewhere. If members need a CRB we could be an organisation to apply for one, if members need insurance then we could provide it and if support or supervision is required then this could be facilitated. It needs to be flexible because each professional group will have different needs. We will encourage everyone who wants to to join. The only differentiation will be that website profiles can be enhanced by online recommendations and reviews and references along the lines of social networking sites but we would do our best to ensure that all reviews are genuine as many are posted falsely which is not helpful.

Potential referrers will continue to seek tenders from a range of providers but our network will actively seek potential contracts on behalf of members and help with the paperwork so that our members are represented in as many tenders as possible. There are many, many other ideas and support services which the network could provide to members at a cost accessible by sole traders, charities, support groups and small businesses. It will grow and evolve as the membership grows.

It will be UK wide for the network and membership. There will be an advertising and marketing strategy through local and national networking, direct contact with prospective referrers, talks, local and national media and website optimisation. Members will only stay members quite rightly if the organisation provides real measurable benefits to them as individuals, their business, their clients and the wider community. It aims to be both creative and innovative in finding ways that services can be provided and paid for in the current economic climate. All ideas to improve from the membership or other stakeholders will be listened to.

Make sure you book your place at the conference today. We look forward to working with you on this exciting future journey…