Parents, carers and young people aged 16-24 are invited to share views on the resolving disagreements process in relation to SEND.
As part of a wider programme of work focused on improving outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the County Council is reviewing the process for resolving disagreements following a decision about an education, health and care needs assessment or an education, health and care (EHC) plan.
To help improve the process, parents and carers, and young people aged 16-24 with SEND who have been in contact with Warwickshire County Council during the past two years to challenge a decision are being encouraged to share their experiences.
Working together with Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice and Warwickshire’s SEND Information and Advice Service (SENDIAS), the Council has launched an in-depth survey to gather feedback to understand parent, carer and young people’s perspectives when disagreeing with a decision.
This may have been following a decision:
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not to carry out an EHC needs assessment or re-assessment
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not to draft an EHC plan following an assessment
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to issue a final or amended plan but where the family is unhappy with the contents of the plan, the placement named or both
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not to amend an EHC plan
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to cease an EHC plan
Feedback is invited from families who have gone through any of the following routes:
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Contact with a Special Educational Needs and Disability Assessment and Review Service (SENDAR) Plan Co-ordinator;
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Independent advice received, for example through the Special Educational Needs and Disability Independent Advisory Service (SENDIAS);
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Mediation;
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Appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (SEND)
Warwickshire County Council’s portfolio holder for education, Councillor Kam Kaur, said:
“In Warwickshire, we are committed to improving our services for children and young people with SEND, with a strong focus on early intervention to give them the best start in life. We understand there may be occasions when families won’t agree with the decisions that we make about education health and care (EHC) plans or EHC needs assessments and recognise the importance of being able to have open and honest discussions with families to resolve any issues.
“This survey is an opportunity for parents, carers and young people to share their experiences and to help us understand how we can work together to have these challenging conversations and support them through what can be a very difficult and stressful time.
“We would like to hear all feedback and I encourage anyone who has recently been through the process to complete the survey. We will also be asking schools and other professionals working with families for their views as part of this review.”
To share your feedback, you can complete the survey online here. Information provided by those responding will be strictly confidential and handled according to the County Council’s privacy policy.
If you would prefer a paper copy of the survey or for it to be made available in other languages, or if you have any queries, please contact sendchange@warwickshire.gov.uk.
You can find more information about the complaints and appeals process for SEND in Warwickshire here.