Earlier Intervention Critical To Address Needs of 1.5 Million Young People with SEN, According to Treloar School and College for Physically Disabled.
Treloar's, the groundbreaking School and College for students with disabilities, has called for earlier intervention and improved ongoing assessment processes to meet the complex needs of children and young people with special educational needs (SEN).
In a new white paper, Treloar’s outlines the main issues facing local authorities (LAs), including new responsibilities to commission education and training services for young people with disabilities and/or learning difficulties aged 0-25, and provision of short breaks for parents and students.
The white paper is released at the same time as the launch of Treloar’s FlexiOptions, an innovative portfolio of services, giving funding authorities flexible and cost-effective ways of providing personalised support, including short term placements and mobile multi-disciplinary assessments. The white paper is available at http://www.treloar.org.uk/FlexiOptions/.
Tony Reid, Chief Executive, Treloar Trust said:
“The changing nature of young people’s disabilities is creating major challenges for local authorities and other commissioning agencies such as Primary Care Trusts. We have seen a marked increase in the numbers of learners with very complex physical disabilities and learning, health and care needs. Some of these young people have been described as ‘technologically-dependent’ or have Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties (PMLD) With almost 10,000 pupils defined as having PMLD in 2009, some mainstream schools and colleges find it difficult to integrate these learners into the curriculum in a meaningful way.
“The response of LAs to such pressures is very patchy indeed, and the combination of families’ rights and expectations and the severe financial constraints which will undoubtedly follow the General Election will greatly exacerbate the situation. Some LAs struggled to meet demand even before the introduction of new responsibilities, with DCSF estimating in 2009 that there were nearly 1.5 million pupils with SEN without statements.
“Over the last decade the proliferation of Government legislation and initiatives for children with special needs and their families has further complicated the picture. The Children, Schools and Families Bill passing through Parliament will provide parents with greater powers of appeal while the Government has recently announced plans to compel local authorities to provide short breaks for parents of disabled children. It estimated that local authority costs nationally would range between £235,000 and £475,000 per annum though the total cost could be significantly more and difficult to justify in a period of recession. “
DCSF is supporting the launch of Treloar’s FlexiOptions:
“The DCSF welcomes Treloar’s FlexiOptions, the groundbreaking initiative that is a blueprint for how independent service providers can work with and support local authorities in a cost-effective partnership during the learner journey of their students with physical disabilities.”
Treloar’s FlexiOptions includes:
- Treloar’s Direct, a mobile unit with state-of-the-art speech, language and mobility technologies to accurately assess the educational needs of students.
- The Flexibility Project which involves disabled SEN students from mainstream colleges staying at Treloar’s for a number of weeks to learn key day-to-day skills they will need on leaving education, including cooking, cleaning and shopping.
- Care for Everyone, a programme planned to provide much needed time-off for carers and parents with support from experienced professionals.
- Employment programmes and a range of residential multidisciplinary assessments, including overnight stays or short stays of up to four weeks.
Graham Jowett, Education Project Director at Treloar’s, added:
“Providing young people with special educational needs with earlier intervention is critical both to deliver truly personalised learning and to ensure services are cost-effective. Local authorities must support the ‘Learner Journey’ of students with disabilities, a process which requires an investment in their developmental needs as well as a focus on outcomes such as transition to adulthood, employability and independent living.
“With greater emphasis on parents’ rights and participation , LAs will be under pressure to ensure the right support is given to young people and their families to enable them to reach their potential. At Treloar’s we have over 100 years experience of providing education, therapy, care, independence skills and support to young people with severe and complex disabilities. With the launch of FlexiOptions, we can share our experience and expertise in a more flexible and cost-effective way, helping LAs meet the needs of individual students.”
FlexiOptions is being underpinned by Vision Treloar’s, a major investment programme occurring at Treloar’s. Vision Treloar’s will transform facilities to meet the increasing needs of local authorities.
