Issue - meetings

• Jackie Parkin, Co-ordinator, Children’s Disability Team, Children and Young People’s Services, to report. 

Attached: -

1.      Cover report of Cabinet decision, 3rd October, 2012;

2.      Report to the Improving Lives Select Commission outlining the proposal. 

Consideration was given to the report presented by the Operational Commissioner, Commissioning, Policy and Performance, Resources Directorate, and the Children’s Disabilities Co-ordinator, Children and Young People’s Services that informed the Improving Lives Select Commission of the decision of the Cabinet on 3rd October, 2012 (Minute No. C67 refers).  Cabinet’s decision was to support a proposed change management programme and project management approach to respond to the requirements on the DfE’s Green Paper ‘Support and Aspirations: a New Approach to Special Educational Needs’. 

The Children and Families Bill was expected in early 2013 which would set out the biggest Special Educational Needs reforms for thirty years.  It would bring about a requirement for a strategic partnership response that would include Education, Health and Care Plans, Personal Budgets, joint and integrated commissioning, market facilitation and parental participation.  It was thought likely that the provisions would be implemented from September, 2014. 

Consultation was underway in relation to five clauses of the draft legislation and piloting of the reforms in pathfinder pilots was taking place across thirty-one local authorities.  These included: -

·         A single education, health and care plan from birth to 25 years old,  focusing on whether outcomes for disabled children and their parents had been improved

·         Personal budgets for parents of disabled children and those with Special Educational Needs so they could choose which services best suited the needs of their children;

·         Strong partnership between all local services and agencies working together to help disabled children and those with Special Educational Needs;

·         Improved commissioning, particularly through links to health reforms;

·         The role of voluntary and community sector organisations and parents in a new system;

·         The cost of reform.

Pilots were underway in relation to: -

·         Developing a health, education, care plan from birth to 25 years;

·         Personal budgets.

These were significant requirements and a change management programme and project management approach was proposed to meet them.  This included that a Project Group be set up as the overarching body to take forward this work.  Issues that required a strategic approach included the Education, Health and Care Plan, Personal Budgets, joint and integrated Commissioning, market facilitation and market management.  Sub-groups would sit underneath the Project Group.

Discussion ensued, and the following issues were raised by Members of the Improving Lives Select Commission: -

·         Requirements to be met from existing resources;

·         Listening to the voice of families and providing what they wanted;

·         Supporting parents and carers to utilise the Personal Budget allocations;

·         Ensuring that children and young people’s needs were met;

·         Role of ‘Key Worker’ as the long-term, ongoing liaison between services and families;

·         Workforce development requirements;

·         Impact on existing services. 

Resolved: -  (1)  That the change management programme and strategic project management approach adopted to respond to the reforms outlined in the Children and Families Bill be noted. 

(2)  That further reports be provided to this Commission in due course.

(3)  That Councillor Lindsay Pitchley be nominated to be the Improving Lives Select Commission’s Representative on the Strategic Planning Group. 

-        Strategic Director of Children and Young People Services to report.

Further to Minute No. 33 of the meeting of the Cabinet Member for Children, Young people and Families Services,, held on 19^th September, 2012, Councillor Lakin, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families Services, introduced a report by the Strategic Director of Children and Young People’s Services, which detailed how a Children and Families Bill was to be introduced early in 2013. This Bill followed the biggest Special Educational Needs (SEN) reforms for thirty years as set out in the DfE SEN Green Paper, ‘Support and Aspirations; a New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disability’.

The proposal was to have a change management programme and project management approach to deliver the requirements of the Act with a project group being set up as an overarching body to take forward the work.  Membership would be drawn from key stakeholders including parents and carers. The group would report into the Children, Young People and Families Partnership and the Health and Wellbeing Board.

The key areas for change were set out in detail as part of the report and it was noted that there were a number of pathfinder pilots to take forward the proposed changes and test the core elements of reform.

The key risks to the Council relating to this response centred around the requirements of the Green Paper and subsequent Children and Families Bill not being delivered unless a robust change management programme and project management approach was adopted, that unless the key issues of capacity, financial implications, workforce training and cultural shift, market stimulation and joint commissioning were included in a change management approach there was a risk that Rotherham’s disabled children and families would not receive the highest quality of service along with improved outcomes and that the introduction of personal budgets for disabled children and their families may mean that  service users choose not to use in-house provision and long term commissioned services resulting in reduced sustainability.

Cabinet Members noted the report and suggested that reporting lines into the Children, Young People and Families Partnership and the Health and Wellbeing Board to avoid any duplication.

Resolved:-  (1)  That the proposal for a change management programme and project management approach to respond to the requirements of the DfE SEN Green Paper, ‘Support and Aspirations; a New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disability’ be approved.

(2)  That further reports be submitted on the progress and outcomes of the change management project.