This month's Education article contains a brief update on:
Policies and Guidance:
Guidance: The DfE have reorganised their guidance into the following lists:
Policies: The DfE have also reissued the list of statutory school policies, which can be found here.Note that this includes the new required policy 'Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions' (see further commentary below).
SEN Reminder
As authorities will be aware, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years ("the Code"), came into force on 1st September 2014, when the majority of Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 also came into force.
Under the new legislation, Education, Health and Care ("EHC") plans replace SEN statements and Learning Difficulty Assessments. Local authorities, if asked to assess whether a child or young person has special educational needs, will now need to determine whether they require an EHC (see further in Section 37 of the 2014 Act).
The legal test of whether a child or young person requires an EHC plan remains the same as that for a statement, i.e. ‘if he has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational provision to be made for him'. It is expected that all children and young people who have an SEN statement will be transferred to an EHC plan.
October 2014 Guidance on helping care leavers aged 16 and 17 prepare for adulthood
October 2014: DfE publishes statutory guidance for local authorities on helping care leavers aged 16 and 17 prepare for adulthood: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-act-1989-transition-to-adulthood-for-care-leavers
Reminder - Pupils with medical conditions
Schools should now have in place a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions that sets out the procedures to be followed when the school is notified that a pupil has a medical condition, and which covers the role of Individual Healthcare Plans.
The policy should be in line with the DfE Guidance (which replaces Managing medicines in schools): https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data file /306952/Statutory_guidance_on_supporting_pupils_at_school_ with_medical_conditions.pdf