In this special, we look at Kent County Council’s SEND provision as the number of parents going for educational care plans increases.
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00:00 Hundreds of angry cries calling on Kent County Council for reform.
00:08 These are all parents and carers with children of special educational needs.
00:19 And here are some of their children.
00:21 There are more than 20,000 children with SEND in Kent and Medway.
00:29 The support these young people need goes above and beyond the support a mainstream school
00:35 is funded for.
00:37 So their parents are required to request access to high needs funding from local authorities.
00:48 But many say the service being given by Kent County Council is not up to scratch.
00:53 And this Kentonite special will be exploring these concerns.
01:02 They all want the same thing.
01:03 They want children with disabilities, educational rights.
01:06 They need a whole new reform.
01:08 It isn't good enough.
01:09 It isn't working right now.
01:10 The system is completely broken.
01:13 And yeah, it's time for change.
01:14 And the time is now.
01:16 We all have autistic children that have been failed by KCC.
01:19 Yeah, so at the moment, there aren't enough SEN school places for our children.
01:25 Our children are being forced into mainstream.
01:26 It's not good enough for those children at mainstream and for our children.
01:29 We don't want our children failed anymore.
01:32 And the same as these two.
01:33 My oldest is in secondary school in mainstream and he's just had to struggle the whole way
01:38 through and now he's having to drop GCSE.
01:41 They all have individual stories, often relating to education, health and care plans.
01:47 Zoe from Ashford is one of those.
01:49 Her daughter Ellie has severe autism, speech and language difficulties alongside selective
01:55 mutism.
01:57 Like all parents, she just wants the best for her daughter.
02:01 And it's seen Ellie going to multiple specialist schools and Zoe claims none of them have worked.
02:07 Her daughter has now been out of school for nearly four years.
02:13 I mean, my child being at home, not being provided with tutoring, not being provided
02:20 myself with respite.
02:21 You know, she's got an EHCP that has not been followed for all those years.
02:26 For a child to be given a place at a special educational needs school, this needs to be
02:31 spelled out on their education, health and care plan, known as an EHCP.
02:38 This is a legal document setting out the young person's need and support they specifically
02:43 require such as home to school transport, one-on-one support and other interventions.
02:49 It should also label the school setting.
02:52 For Zoe, she feels let down by the local authority as Ellie's education, health and care plan
02:58 is missing key details.
02:59 Literally on the first page there's an error.
03:04 My child is not year seven.
03:05 She's actually year nine.
03:09 If you go on to the next one, this is section A. That should be parent carer's views.
03:15 It's blank.
03:16 Were you ever asked to put your views in there?
03:18 Did you ever send your views?
03:20 Legislation states that you need to take the input of a parent or child with section A.
03:25 We sent Zoe's views to Kent County Council.
03:28 They told us in a statement.
03:30 KCC tries to avoid whenever possible commenting on specific individual cases.
03:36 Where we have found to have made mistakes, we apologise and make every effort to ensure
03:41 that the error is not repeated.
03:44 On occasions, parents request specific assessments such as speech and language therapy and educational
03:50 psychology reports to be carried out.
03:53 We try to accede such requests when possible, but they can cause delays in the appropriate
03:58 education provision being determined and implemented.
04:02 Rio has just received the EHCP for her son.
04:07 She's happy with it, but she says it took a long time.
04:11 She's joined the Send Reform movement, hoping to help others.
04:15 It's just a horrible battle and it's something that you shouldn't need to go through just
04:18 to get your child a basic level of care in school so they can kind of thrive and continue.
04:23 And are you happy with your EHCP now?
04:25 I am, yes.
04:26 Now it's fine.
04:27 He has got help in school and it is good for him, but others aren't as lucky as I am.
04:31 I know I've had a battle, but I do know that my EHCP is right for my son.
04:35 Councils are legally required to issue EHCPs within 20 weeks of an application.
04:42 And through a Freedom of Information request, we found out the average number of weeks to
04:46 issue an EHCP this year is 32.
04:50 The main cause of it is simply the volumes of work.
04:53 We've had a huge increase in the numbers of requests for education, health and care plans.
05:00 And I recognise that we're not providing the service that people have a right to expect
05:04 of us at the moment.
05:06 And that's why we're working on a full-scale improvement plan, root and branch changes within
05:11 the system to ensure that we can get back to that target level.
05:16 In 2019, Ofsted found nine weaknesses in KCC's SEND provision, and a follow-up last September
05:23 found significant improvements had not been made.
05:27 The County Council are going for a staffing restructure in a bid to fill vacant posts
05:33 and reduce the backlog of EHCPs.
05:36 It's not a completely empty structure.
05:39 It's a restructure of previous services.
05:41 But our really big drive, and we know this from other parts of the organisation, the
05:48 very best way to have quality and consistency in any service is a permanent, well-supported,
05:56 well-trained workforce.
05:58 We know that.
05:59 In the last council meeting, it was said this should be complete by this September.
06:04 But the Labour group here are still worried, despite increased staffing.
06:09 The EHCP assessments should be carried out in 20 weeks.
06:15 This month, last month, the month before, in Canterbury, zero per cent were carried
06:19 out.
06:20 Gravesham, Dartford, zero per cent.
06:23 It's completely unacceptable.
06:24 We've been asking the questions for the last couple of years, how is this going to be addressed?
06:30 We're guaranteed that staffing increases are going to be addressing this, but as of yet,
06:35 this hasn't materialised.
06:37 Parts of the parents calling for an EHCP want their child to go to a specialist school.
06:43 But this might soon be changing.
06:45 We know we have less children as a percentage with EHCPs educated in our mainstream schools
06:54 here in Kent than others do, Statenaber, England average.
07:00 The council says mainstream schools are often the right place for children.
07:05 But those with complex needs would continue to be in specialist provision.
07:10 Following an improvement notice from Ofsted, KCC have agreed an accelerated progress plan
07:16 with the Department for Education.
07:19 Within this is APP18.
07:23 It gives the target of 80 per cent of children with an EHCP in mainstream schools by this
07:29 December.
07:31 But in June this year, it was 50 per cent.
07:37 And it's not just Kent.
07:39 It seems councillors across the country are being encouraged to make this move.
07:44 The school budget is constantly under review and as you know Gillian Keegan has put a huge
07:49 amount of effort into making sure that we have the right provision for kids in our area.
07:53 Here in Kent we have some of the best schools in the country and that's because we run a
07:57 mixed system as you know.
07:58 We run a grammar system as well as a comprehensive system but we also run a fantastic series
08:03 of SEND schools.
08:04 If you go to Nexus in Tunbridge you see some of the best provision that this country has
08:08 to offer for kids who need it.
08:10 So what we need to be doing is making sure that mixed provision works because the correct
08:13 answer isn't always separate education.
08:16 Sometimes it's together, sometimes it's with extra help and that's exactly what we're trying
08:19 to deliver.
08:20 What do you think you're going to do today?
08:25 Lisa is on the morning school drop off.
08:28 Are you excited about school today Poppy?
08:31 She has two children with special educational needs and EHCPs.
08:36 Poppy goes to a specialist school but her son goes to a mainstream school.
08:43 My son is at a mainstream but he attends an SRP within the mainstream.
08:48 Now an SRP is a specialist resource provision.
08:51 It's basically a lovely sensory room.
08:55 It's a place where he can steam, let off steam, he can learn in a quiet environment away from
09:00 a busy classroom that he can't cope with.
09:05 So it's worked out perfect for him and if every mainstream was like this then I wouldn't
09:11 be part of SEND Reform.
09:13 Many schools do have SEN units where children can learn in an environment outside of regular
09:19 classes and these are organised by a SENCO within a school.
09:25 But are they ready for a potential influx?
09:29 Having taught in a mainstream school and having the training to educate children with additional
09:36 needs and special educational needs without the support of teaching assistants, without
09:40 the support set up within the school, that is just not going to happen.
09:47 Some children can and absolutely but some children need that additional support that
09:54 specialist schools or even specialist units require.
09:58 For mainstream schools to cope with children with special educational needs it's thought
10:02 more teaching assistants would be needed.
10:05 According to the Government Careers website the starting salary for a teaching assistant
10:10 is £14,000 a year.
10:14 I'm here in Maidstone to find out what people here think about that salary.
10:17 Is it fair or should teaching assistants be paid more?
10:21 £14,000?
10:22 I think it should be a bit higher.
10:26 Would you become a teaching assistant on £14,000 a year?
10:29 Probably not, no.
10:32 In this day and age that's not a lot of money.
10:35 And it is shocking considering that you have to spend two years trying to be a teaching
10:41 assistant.
10:42 No I don't think so.
10:43 Do you think a teacher, anything up to £30,000?
10:47 I think it's disgusting to be paid that much for what they do.
10:51 I think they need a lot more money.
10:54 Kent County Council say they're increasing the robustness of SEN units within mainstream
10:59 schools.
11:00 A lot of parents have been telling us that schools don't have the teacher assistants
11:04 enough of them or a strong enough SEN unit to deal with that and that's why they're resulting
11:10 and going for an EHCP.
11:11 That's precisely why we're doing some really detailed work with schools on the whole of
11:15 the inclusion agenda.
11:17 Just a couple of months ago I actually changed Kent County Council's guidelines on inclusive
11:24 education from just being guidelines to being a formal council policy and that gives us
11:30 much greater leverage to work with the schools to ensure that there is full inclusion within
11:35 the schools.
11:36 But for some parents they haven't even got an EHCP.
11:42 After the break we'll hear from the parents who have been refused one for their child.
11:46 It's preventing Edie from getting the support that we feel she needs because at the moment
11:51 there's very little support in place for her.
11:53 It's also opened us up to the fact that we have to look at mainstream schools.
11:57 KCC, hear us now!
12:01 KCC, hear us now!
12:05 Welcome back to this Kentonite special.
12:08 We've been looking at some of the issues parents and carers of children with special educational
12:13 needs face.
12:14 For a child to be given a place at a special educational needs school this needs to be
12:19 spelled out on their education health and care plan known as an EHCP.
12:26 This is a legal document setting out the young person's need and support they specifically
12:31 require such as home to school transport, one-on-one support and other interventions.
12:37 It should also label the school setting.
12:41 These are the numbers of those who applied for an EHCP.
12:46 In 2021 it peaked at around 4,000 but that number is down in recent years.
12:53 For whatever reason, I don't know how it's crept up upon KCC, we have a higher proportion
12:58 of our children with an EHCP plan than anywhere else in the country, by about 10 or 20% more.
13:06 Now I don't understand, I don't think the caucus of our population is any different
13:10 and statistically you know we've got so many, there's got to be something else going on.
13:15 I think there, and other councils I know in Northampton do something different, they actually
13:20 try and make sure that that special needs provision is part of a mainstream school.
13:27 So why are the proportions of EHCPs issued in Kent higher than the average?
13:33 I think we might have taken our eye off the ball both in Kent and across the country and
13:39 you know rather more as you rightly say, 20% more EHCPs issued in Kent and the thing about
13:45 this is that a child with special educational needs does not need an education health and
13:52 care plan, those are reserved for the most complex cases.
13:56 We've obtained data which shows how many EHCP applications are refused every year at KCC.
14:04 This is the data for this year, it's up until August and it's well on track to being one
14:10 of the highest.
14:11 And these are two of the parents who had their EHCP refused.
14:18 They say their daughter Edie has complex needs and when she starts school next year they
14:24 just want her to have the best start in education.
14:27 So we started the process in October 2022, when she was one year old we kind of noticed
14:34 that she wasn't meeting milestones particularly with speech and around social communication.
14:38 So when she was about one and a half we referred her to the GP, she essentially has a very
14:45 very severe speech delay and she's on the ASD pathway but unfortunately yes she has been
14:50 rejected to issue an EHCP.
14:52 It's preventing Edie from getting the support that we feel she needs because at the moment
14:57 there's very little support in place for her.
15:00 And they say the challenge of going for an EHCP is taking its toll but they're not going
15:05 to give up.
15:06 You sit there for months and months and months hoping and waiting and you get a rejection
15:09 with no, perfectly no reason and then it comes round and you're chased for a reason, it's
15:14 like oh I'll see you at tribunal or see you at mediation and for a parent who both work
15:19 and are both teachers, working full time and we're not just entry level teachers, we've
15:24 both got responsibilities, we tend to spend lots of time out of work with appointments
15:29 and in the end we lose income for that.
15:33 So yeah it's a struggle.
15:34 Now the council told us in a statement.
15:37 KCC prefers not to comment on individual cases.
15:41 Where we are found to have made mistakes, we apologise and make every effort to ensure
15:46 that the error is not repeated.
15:48 Education and healthcare plans are issued for those children with significant or complex
15:53 needs which cannot be met by the usual support available to them in their school or setting.
16:00 Most children with special educational needs receive appropriate support without the need
16:04 for an EHCP.
16:06 If following a statutory needs assessment it is deemed that an EHCP is not required,
16:12 parents are informed accordingly and the decision is explained.
16:16 They then have the right to follow a more formal process in the form of mediation and
16:21 an appeal to the first tier SEND tribunal.
16:26 The Guardian newspaper are reporting that the government is looking to reduce EHCPs
16:31 by 20% and in response the Department for Education told them it's completely wrong
16:37 to suggest they are withdrawing the support.
16:40 So what we do know is that SEND provision takes up a large proportion of council budgets.
16:46 According to Kent County Council that will be around £400 million this year.
16:53 And because of the high spend, KCC have an agreement with the government that they'll
16:57 help out financially but on a condition to reduce the deficit in the long term.
17:04 By doing it on a yearly basis it makes our job easier.
17:08 If we had to do it all in one go I think it would have been a very, very different story.
17:12 But there are ways and means and we are working with parents, we are working with the various
17:16 charities, we're doing everything we can to make sure that we continue to support the
17:21 young people but try and find some savings that won't be detrimental to their support
17:26 as we go through the process.
17:28 And these are the average costs per school setting.
17:32 Specialist independent schools are by far the biggest spender, with mainstream schools
17:37 being the lowest.
17:39 The majority of children go to a specialist rather than mainstream schools.
17:43 And one of the other costs is home to school transport.
17:47 KCC says this accounts for nearly £80 million a year.
17:51 8,000 children are taken to and from school every day, often in private travel for those
17:58 with complex needs.
18:00 Sonia's daughter is one of those.
18:02 It's simple because she cannot cope.
18:04 I try to get her in a bus but the thing is she gets very frustrated with the noise, if
18:13 someone talks with her, the expectations that she cannot handle these kind of things, these
18:20 little things, but makes her day very, very worse.
18:26 But for some children their transport is miles from their house and that obviously comes
18:31 at a higher cost.
18:32 Right, my youngest does, my eldest was on home to school transport but it was a crazy
18:40 route that was taking an hour and a quarter to do a half an hour journey.
18:45 Say it in revolt!
18:46 When do we want it?
18:47 Now!
18:48 What do we want?
18:49 Say it in revolt!
18:50 When do we want it?
18:51 Now!
18:52 What do we want?
18:53 Say it in revolt!
18:54 Many of these parents here told me they feel like they've been left with no other option
18:58 but to go down a legal route.
19:01 That decision making primarily being based on finance and fiscal considerations.
19:10 It's very difficult then for parents to achieve a result when the local authority or certainly
19:15 the local authorities I deal with are concerned just with budgetary demands as opposed to
19:20 what the child requires in terms of provision to meet their needs.
19:25 In recent years Send Reform England has formed.
19:29 They say they want to support parents and carers.
19:31 We want to make sure that parents understand the criteria, understand what they're entitled
19:39 to and a lot of the local authorities nationally rely on parents not knowing this information.
19:51 But they say despite legal action little has changed and that's why hundreds have felt
19:56 they have to go to the county hall, the home of Kent County Council to protest.
20:02 The most unfairest thing is if the children are not supported and helped now to become
20:08 more independent they will find it more and more difficult as they grow older.
20:13 They will struggle as adults.
20:16 Amongst the protesters today was Claire Oliver from Whitstable.
20:21 Her teenage daughter Imogen was diagnosed with ASC amongst other special needs.
20:26 She should be in year 11 but she's been out of school for five years.
20:30 Having to go down what's called the EOTAS route which basically means education other
20:36 than in school because they don't have a suitable provision.
20:40 So that consists of 33 hours of a combination between 20 hours of academic learning, 10
20:48 hours of enrichment activities and then further hours of different types of therapy depending
20:54 on you know for Imogen for example she needs a speech and language therapist and at the
20:59 moment she's not getting one hour of it.
21:02 Imogen didn't want to come on camera and her mum is a teacher but she says there's only
21:08 so far that a mother can teach their daughter.
21:12 She is really I mean the impact that this is having on her is catastrophic.
21:18 We know we're veering down the catastrophic route at the moment.
21:21 Now the council told us in a statement KCC prefers not to comment in individual cases.
21:28 However when a tribunal instructs KCC to provide specific support to a child KCC complies with
21:34 the tribunal's decision.
21:35 KCC provides individualised tuition when instructed by the tribunal.
21:40 If the parent decides after three months that the tuition is not appropriate KCC will try
21:45 to identify an alternative provider.
21:48 In some cases the solution is for the parent to request a personal budget which KCC may
21:53 provide to cover a child's change in care and support costs.
21:57 Parents are able to make their own decision on how that budget is spent.
22:01 KCC hear us now.
22:05 It's not the first time there has been a send reform protest.
22:08 One was held in London earlier this year and others are planned in coming weeks.
22:14 The cries here today are directly to Kent County Council.
22:18 In 2019 Ofsted found a lack of communication at KCC and last November they found improvements
22:26 had not been made.
22:29 Parents say they are often still in the dark.
22:31 This is Henry.
22:33 The communication between our caseworker and us was just abysmal.
22:36 There was no communication.
22:37 We never had emails returned.
22:40 At one time it took them nine days to respond to an email or a phone call.
22:46 And that was our biggest thing.
22:47 Just tell us where we are in this process so that we can keep up with it.
22:52 But we just never knew where we were.
22:55 The council now have their accelerated progress plan and they say they're working to improve
23:00 communication.
23:01 I absolutely understand where they're coming from.
23:04 If parents don't hear from us then of course they want to know what's going on.
23:09 Of course they'll get back in touch with us.
23:10 Of course they'll add to the workload in that sense.
23:13 I want to try and stem that right at the start.
23:16 We're starting an initiative of actually phoning out, calling parents during this month and
23:21 I think that'll start to make a difference.
23:23 That'll start to show parents that they haven't been forgotten, their children haven't been
23:28 lost in the system somewhere.
23:36 Parents here today were on full volume and they hope they made a noise within the council.
23:43 Parents and carers say they'll continue their fight as they want the best for their children.
23:48 [Music]