SEND improvement plan aligns with social care reform
The government has recognised the importance of aligning the reforms in the recently published SEND and AP Improvement Plan with those set out in the Children’s Social Care Implementation Strategy.
As part of its SEND reform plans, the government will ‘strongly encourage’ councils to recruit for locally-based Designated Social Care Officers (DCSOs). As proposed in last year’s consultative green paper on SEND and AP, it aims to do this by proposing an amendment to the SEND code of practice, the statutory guidance for working with children and young people with special educational needs aged up to 25.
The job description for DSCOs will include a responsibility to improve links between social care services and SEND provision. This means supporting operational input, for example contributions from social workers to Education, Health and Care assessments and reviews, as well as strategic planning, for example the commissioning of care services such as short-term respite care for disabled children and those with SEN.
Support for social workers
The SEND improvement plan also proposes that those working in frontline social care jobs should receive more training to ensure they have the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of different cohorts of children. This will be supported by increased investment in Family Hubs, which provide multi-disciplinary support, bringing services together to improve access, strengthen the links between families, professionals, services and providers, and put relationships at the heart of family support.
The government is also in the process of developing stronger national guidance for social work leaders and practitioners through the Children’s Social Care National Framework, setting out principles for practice and the outcomes that children, young people and families should achieve. This includes developing frontline practice guides, including guides for social workers who work with disabled children to make sure they know how to communicate effectively with them and provide appropriate help and support to their families and carers.
The plans are supported by proposals to strengthen the local authority inspection regime operated by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission. See our previous blog.
“The SEND and AP Improvement Plan has set out the DfE’s understanding of the complexity and level of challenge that exists in the system whilst also acknowledging the difficult experiences of some children and families as a result,” said Dame Christine Lenehan, Director of the Council for Disabled Children (CDC). “We look forward to continuing to engage children, young people and their families as well as practitioners across the SEND sector in ongoing opportunities to input into the plans moving forwards.”
