SEND in the Spotlight

We are aware that there have been a large number of consultations about Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) recently and that it can be difficult for parent carers to respond to them all.

The purpose of this survey is gather the current views and experiences of families in Richmond and to use this feedback to write consultation responses on behalf of Richmond parent carers. Current consultations are Education Committee's Solving the SEND Crisis Inquiry and the Law Commission's Review of Disabled Children's Social Care Legislation. We will also use this feedback to answer questions when OFSTED complete their annual engagement meeting on the 21st January and to report to the Richmond SEND Partnership Board.

There are 28 questions in total and most of them are multiple choice. Questions 1-9 are about our local services and questions 10-28 are about the wider SEND system.

If you have more than one child or young person with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) you can complete this survey again.

Question Title

* 1. How old is your child or young person?

Question Title

* 2. How would you describe your child or young person's Special Educational Need and/or Disability?

Question Title

* 3. Which Borough does your child or young person live in?

Question Title

* 4. What type of school, college or other type of education do they access? (e.g. mainstream secondary, elective home education.)

Question Title

* 5. Does your child or young person have an EHCP?

Question Title

* 6. Does your child or young person get the support they need in the following areas:

  Always Mostly Sometimes No I'm not sure N/A
Assessment of needs
Education or training
Healthcare
Social Care
Preparation for next steps
Social and Community Activities

Question Title

* 7. Please select which word best describes your experience of the services below. There is a blank row for you tell us about any services that aren't listed

  Positive Negative Mixed I'm not sure N/A
Autism or ADHD Assessment
Mental Health Services
Speech and Language Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Physiotherapy
GP Services
Short Breaks (respite care and activity clubs)
Activity Fund
Parent Carer Needs Assessments
Direct payments
EHCP Annual Reviews
Reasonable adjustments in school/college
Transport
Transition to secondary school
Transition to Post 16 Education
Transition to adult social care
Transition to adult health services

Question Title

* 8. In 2021 the Local Authority in Richmond entered into a 'Safety Valve' agreement with the Department for Education (DfE). The agreement broadly stated that the DfE would repay Richmond's £20 million+ SEND deficit if Local Area kept within it's SEND budget until 2025. The Education Committee Inquiry will ask if the Safety Valve programme has improved outcomes for children and young people with SEND. Do you think services are better or worse as a result of the safety value agreement in Richmond?

Question Title

* 9. Please use this space to tell us anything that you would like to feedback about your experience of local services for families with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities.

Question Title

* 10. The following questions are about the whole SEND system. We'd like your views on what needs to change at a national level to make the SEND system work for children, young people and families.

Do you think that major changes to SEND legislation are needed to improve outcomes for children and young people? (E.g. Children and Families Act 2014, SEND Code of Practice 2015)

Question Title

* 11. Do you think raising the threshold to access an EHCP needs assessment would help local areas make better use of their resources?

Question Title

* 12. Do you think raising the threshold to access an EHCP needs assessment would result in better outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

Question Title

* 13. Do you think removing the legal right to a preferred school placement would help local areas make better use of their resources?

Question Title

* 14. Do you think removing the legal right to a preferred school placement would improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND?

Question Title

* 15. Please use this space to make any further comments on the current legal framework for children and young people with SEND. You could tell us about what you would like to improve, change or keep or any other thoughts.

Question Title

* 16. What needs to change in our mainstream school system to ensure that children with SEND can get the support they need as soon as they need it?

Question Title

* 17. How can we better hold Local Authorities, Schools and other services to account? Please indicate how effective you think each of these will be (1 is not effective at all, 5 is very effective)

  1 2 3 4 5 I'm not sure
Funding directly linked to performance/outcomes
SEND Tribunal
SEND League Tables
Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
OFSTED School inspections
Legal/financial penalties
Local Area SEND Inspections

Question Title

* 18. In March 2023 the previous Government published the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan. The new government would like to know if it's making a difference for families. Do you think the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan has made a positive difference to families with SEND?

Question Title

* 19. We'd like to know about your day to day experience of caring for a child or young person with SEND. The following questions ask about the wellbeing of you and your family and your access to respite support (sometimes called 'Disabled Children's Social Care')

Are you currently accessing disabled children's social care? This is usually when someone cares for your child at home or in the community so that they do something that they enjoy and you get a break from caring.

Question Title

* 20. Are you funding care yourselves?

Question Title

* 21. Please indicate the extent that your caring responsibilities negatively impact your ability to take care of yourself. 1 = no impact, 5 = significant impact

  1 2 3 4 5 I'm not sure
Leisure activities at home (watching TV, reading a book)
supporting your other children
eating meals
Your mental health
Your ability to access healthcare for yourself
maintaining a healthy life-style
Basic personal care (going to the toilet, brushing teeth etc.)
bathing and showering
maintaining a relationship with a partner
Having friends
Sleep
Leisure activities outside of the home

Question Title

* 22. The Law Commission are reviewing the legal framework around disabled children's social care and are proposing a brand new piece of legislation. The following questions will help us to respond to the consultation document on behalf of parent carers.

New laws start with statutory principals which state the overarching aims of the legislation. What do you think these should be for disabled children's social care?
1 = I don't think this should be included,
5 = this should definitely be included

  1 2 3 4 5 I'm not sure
The wellbeing of the child with SEND
The wellbeing of all children in the household
Preparing a child with SEND for adult life
The safety of the child with SEND
The right of all children to experience the joy, fun and wonder of childhood
The wellbeing of everyone in the household
The safety of all children in the household
The safety of everyone in the household

Question Title

* 23. The Law Commission consultation suggests that social care assessments should be combined with other assessments where possible. If a full social care assessment was part of the EHCP needs assessment process, how would this affect your likelihood of requesting an EHCP for your child?

Question Title

* 24. The Law Commission consultation suggests that social care assessments for disabled children should be completed by someone who is 'appropriately qualified.' What knowledge and skills do you think should be included in a definition of 'appropriately qualified?' Please select all that you would like to see included.

Question Title

* 25. The Law Commission consultation suggests that new laws should contain a 'non-exhaustive list' of social care provision that each local area must offer to families with disabled children. This means that the local area would have to offer everything on the list but wouldn't be limited to just the services on the list. These could include things like care in the home, overnight respite, activity clubs, residential holidays etc. What do you think should be on the list of services that every local area must provide?

Question Title

* 26. New legislation would aim to improve the experience of moving from disabled children's social care to adult social care. One the suggestions that there be an age defined in law when social care transition planning must begin. What age do you think transition planning should start?

Question Title

* 27. 'Co-production' is where families work in equal partnership with service providers and statutory bodies to improve services for children and young people with SEND. The Law Commission consultation does not currently include any recommendations regarding co-production with children, young people and parent carers. Should there be a legal duty for local areas to co-produce disabled children's social care with families?

Question Title

* 28. Thank you so much for completing this survey. Please use this space to tell us anything else about your views or experiences of SEND.

T