22 September 2015 weekly update

Health Needs Education Service Prospectus

During the past year we have reviewed and re-organised the Health Needs PRUs and, following wide consultation, have developed a new Health Needs Education Service (PDF, 1.0 MB).  This reflects recent DfE Statutory Guidance on the responsibilities of schools to address the physical medical needs of pupils. The new service aims to meet the needs of Kent schools in all areas of the County, and provides a new delivery model and service structure. Its purpose is to provide:

• an education support service to schools for young people with physical medical conditions; and
• an education outreach service for young people with mental health needs, located in six resourced bases and a specialist residential unit.

The new county wide service will:

• provide fair and equitable access to all schools
• streamline the referral process to reduce the waiting time where young people are missing education
• provide support and training for schools in how to support young people with medical and mental health issues, and
• ensure continuity of education for young people, whether they are supported in the home school or by providing off site provision, one to one tuition or virtual learning experiences.

The education is provided by 3 specialist services:

Oakfields Education Service, Woodland House, Cranbrook Road, Staplehurst, TN12 0ER

Rated Outstanding by Ofsted in November 2014, the school is jointly funded by Health and Education to provide for young people aged between 12 and 18, who have emotional or psychiatric difficulties and require  education and therapeutic input to meet their mental health needs. The provision is short term and aims toward re-integration into mainstream education as soon as possible. The provision caters for up to 24 residential and 6 day placements, and referral is through SLAM only. Please see Woodland House website regarding the Inpatient Unit: www.slam.nhs.uk/our-services/hospital-care/woodland-house

Medical Needs Education Service, Woodview, 40 Teddington Drive, Leybourne, West Malling, ME19 5FF

The service supports schools to meet the needs of young people who are unable to access education because of a physical medical need. Bespoke support is provided through: access to an E Learning platform, support and tuition in one of the specialist units, or hospital or home tuition. Programmes are designed in conjunction with the hospital consultant to best meet the needs of the young person. Reintegration is at a time when the health of the young person allows.

Mental Health Needs Education Service, delivered from six localities:

Each hub has specialist staff including a mental health nurse. Advice and guidance is provided to schools on working with young people with mental health issues.  Young people referred, usually with CAHMs support or diagnosis, are supported with their education in one of the specialist units either full or part time. These are short term placements, typically no more than 8- 10 weeks and they are offered as part of a supported re-integration programme. Access to the E-learning platform and tuition in the school setting is also possible.

Key contacts within the service

Kent Threshold Criteria for Children and Young People

The Kent Safeguarding Children Board has revised the threshold criteria which guide schools, and other professional bodies and service users, when referring a child to Specialist Children's Services and to Early Help and Preventative Services.

The eligibility criteria and threshold matrix identify the level of key vulnerability factors such as domestic abuse, mental health problems and substance misuse etc in the family circumstances which warrant a referral for children and young people who may be at significant risk or harm or abuse. The level of vulnerability will be different in each case and the framework assumes that it will usually be a combination of criteria that will determine the level of concern.

The threshold document describes:

• the criteria for access to Specialist Children's Services in Kent and how that fits within the wider context of multi-agency services and a range of needs;
• the legal definition of 'Children in Need' and eligibility for Specialist Children's Services;
• the process by which Specialist Children's Services assess eligibility for 'Children in Need.'
• the process for accessing Early Help which offers support for children and young people who do not meet social care thresholds, to help families solve problems or to reduce the impact of problems that have already emerged.

The document sets out four tiers of need, with a detailed matrix of needs and risks in the appendices, to help describe the circumstances in which Early Helpshould be considered and whether an intervention from Specialist Children's Services may be required.

Interim Teacher Assessment Frameworks for the End of Key Stages 1 and 2

The Standards and Testing Agency has published statutory interim frameworks to guide teacher assessment judgements at the end of Key Stage 1 (PDF, 281.7 KB) and  Key Stage 2 (PDF, 274.0 KB). They are for one year only, for the 2015-16 school year, and are not intended to be used to track progress throughout the key stages.

The interim frameworks do not include full coverage of the content of the National Curriculum and focus on key aspects for assessment. Pupils achieving the standards within the interim frameworks will be able to demonstrate a broader range of skills than those being assessed. The frameworks are not intended to guide individual programmes of study, classroom practice or methodology. Teachers must base their teacher assessment judgements on a broad range of evidence from across the curriculum for each pupil. The standards within the interim frameworks contain a number of 'pupil can' statements. To demonstrate that pupils have met the standard, teachers will need to have evidence that a pupil demonstrates consistent attainment of all the statements within the standard.

Patrick Leeson
Corporate Director Education and Young People's Services