Nasen to study draft legislation on SEN reform

Nasen plans to spend time looking in detail at the draft legislation launched on 3 September reflecting the radical changes that were initially proposed in the SEND Green Paper published in March 2011.

Initially the association has welcomed the news that Sarah Teather the Minister of State for Children and Families, has asked the education select committee to carry out the pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft clauses. Nasen hopes the select committee will consult widely and during the next few weeks nasen said it will be seeking the views of its members to hopefully feed into that consultation process.

Lorraine Petersen, nasen’s chief executive said: “We need to ensure that all the work that is currently taking place, especially within the Pathfinders and the voluntary and community sector, is not wasted and will support the final legislation as it passes through parliament. We have a real opportunity to make sure that this legislation secures a better future for all children and young people.”

The initial points to highlight are:

· Legal definition of special educational needs remains the same

· Local authorities and clinical commissioning groups must make arrangements for jointly commissioning services for children with SEN in their area

·  Local authorities must produce their ‘local offer’ of available education, health and care services

·  Education, Health and Care Plans (0 – 25) replace statements of SEN

·  Section 139A assessment (Learning Difficulty Assessments) cease to apply and is replaced by a re-assessment /annual review of the EHC Plan

·  All of the provisions of the Bill will apply to all schools including Academies and Free Schools

·  Schools must still have an SEN Co-ordinator

·  Right to a mainstream education remains the same

·  Local authorities must prepare personal budget in relation to an EHC plan where a request has been made by the parent or young person

·  Compulsory requirement for a parent or young person to participate in mediation before they can appeal to the Tribunal

·  There will be a revised Code of Practice