23 November 2017 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

High Needs Funding Review and Other Key Priorities

We are just completing the latest round of Headteacher Briefings where I have discussed the outcomes of the High Needs Funding Review and other priorities. Thank you to those who attended and for colleagues who were unable to come to one of the meetings, you can download the Headteacher Briefing presentation here (PPTX, 1.6 MB). The main topic for the meetings was the review of High Needs Funding and our proposed changes from April 2018, which I will summarise below.

As you can see our key priorities going forward are to:

• Continue the integration of Children’s Services, especially by joining up the work of Early Help and Children’s Social Care
• Reduce demand on social care by achieving more through Early Help
• Address the recommendations in the ‘good’ Ofsted Inspection report of Children’s Early Help and Social Care Services
• Implement a new High Needs funding model and the National Funding Formula changes to school funding
• Deliver the Education Services Company from April 2018 as a new model for delivery of services to schools and early years settings
• Continue to deliver the needed school places and broker sponsors for new schools
• Improve access to CAMHS to provide timely support to children with mental health issues
• Continue to develop proposals for LA supported local multi-academy trusts
• Close the attainment gaps for disadvantaged pupils and further reduce NEETs

Educational outcomes in Kent continue to improve year on year, with most of the performance measures for pupil attainment and progress in 2017 at every key stage above the national averages. 92% of schools are good or outstanding and 93% of pupils now attend a good or better school. There is high confidence that this upward trajectory of improvement should continue. The very encouraging thing about the outcomes achieved in 2017, is that actual attainment for pupils supported by the Pupil Premium improved for the third year running for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage and at Key Stages 1 and 2, although the gaps remain too wide. Outcomes at Key Stage 4 will be available in January. The biggest challenges going forward for the education system in Kent are to continue to improve outcomes for vulnerable learners, including securing better pathways and outcomes for them to age 19 so that they do not become NEET.

Consultation on National Funding Formula Changes

At the recent Briefings we discussed the NFF changes and the options available in Kent over the next two financial years to distribute the available increase in funding through the local formula. As you know we are currently consulting on these options and I would remind you please to respond by the closing date of 26 November. The Schools Funding Forum meets on 1 December to consider the responses to the consultation and make their recommendations.

Further Integration of Children’s Services and the Integrated Front Door

Over the coming months we will be piloting new ways of working across Early Help and Specialist Children’s Services, for example by developing more integrated teams in Districts, more integrated approaches to supporting adolescents at high risk of harm and by provided more integrated teams of Social Workers and Early Help workers around the schools with the highest levels of need for these services.

From January there will an integrated ‘Front Door’ or single point of access for all notifications to Early Help and referrals to Social Care, using a single referral form. A new decision making approach will assess the levels of need of children and young people and allocate the work to Early Help Units or to Social Care teams, with clearer feedback to schools about the cases and their onward pathways for support.

The newly appointed Assistant Director to lead the Front Door is Penny.Ademuyiwa@kent.gov.uk.

For more information about changes to Early Help and Specialist Children’s Services please contact the Director for Early Help and Preventative Services Stuart.Collins@kent.gov.uk or the Director for SCS Sarah.Hammond@kent.gov.uk.

New Provider for Children and Young People’s Mental Health

Another key development in Kent is a new model of providing services for children and young people’s mental health by North East London Foundation Trust. There is a clear commitment to ensure easier access to the services and more clarity about pathways for different kinds of needs, including mental health workers embedded in our Early Help units and available to work with schools.

The new Single Access Point for these services has been in operation since September and the phone number is 03000 123 4496.

High Needs Funding Review and Proposals for Change

The review of High Needs funding identified a range of best practice and also wide variations in the uses of the funding and levels of applications for similar schools.

The best practice identified in many schools is where there is a whole school approach, all teachers take responsibility for SEN and where pupils are mostly supported in the classroom with maximum access to quality first teaching or in small group settings, through differentiation and additional adult support. In some schools there was over reliance on providing one to one support with a Teaching Assistant, and an over reliance on High Needs funding to make the necessary provision.

A number of changes are proposed going forward, to start a new funding model in April 2018 and a more streamlined application process from January, as set out in the attached High Needs Funding Proposals document (DOCX, 53.7 KB).

For more information please contact the Head of SEN Julie.Ely@kent.gov.uk or Louise.Langley@kent.gov.uk, SEN Monitoring and Quality Assurance Manager.

The Education Services Company - The Education People

At the Heads Briefings we also discussed the development of the new company for delivering education services in Kent and the proposed launch in April 2018.

The company exists to support Kent schools and to deliver a number of statutory services at no charge to schools, while at the same time building a service offer that can be traded on a more commercial basis in Kent and beyond. KCC is committed to continuing to deliver services that support schools and is investing financially in this company to ensure its success in the early years of its delivery. It is an integral part of KCC’s offer and will continue to work in a joined up way with other services in the Children, Young People and Education Directorate.

We have deliberately developed our plans for the company in close cooperation with the Kent Association of Headteachers and KAH has representatives on the company Board to strongly influence its direction. The key deliverable for the company is to continue to support the improvement of education in Kent, in terms especially of more good and outstanding schools and Early Years settings, and better pupil outcomes at all Key Stages.

As I step away from my role as Corporate Director, I have agreed to be the Chair of the Board of the new company to support its success, working with the leadership team and board members.

The new Corporate Director for Children, Young People and Education, Matt Dunkley, takes up post on 27 November and there will be a handover through December.

I would like to thank all Headteacher colleagues for the commitment to collaboration and partnership in Kent, for the positive relationships between schools and the local authority and for all the good work in bringing about the significant improvements in education quality and pupil outcomes that have been achieved in Kent in recent years.

Patrick Leeson
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education