Change Programme Partnership!

The Change Programme is an exciting opportunity to test and improve some of the policy changes that were proposed in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan that was published in March 2023. With this, we have a chance to not only experience some of the proposed improvements but we can also help influence the way that these reforms will be implemented once it is time to roll them out to the rest of the country.

You might be wondering – how will this development affect me and my child?

While some of the reforms being tested are at a “system level” and may not necessarily or immediately be felt at an individual or family level, here are some changes that you might notice over the next 18 months:

• A different EHCP template : The proposed new template is designed to raise the quality of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP), by making the section on a child or young person’s strengths and ambitions more robust; by embedding the “golden thread” between need, provision and outcomes more clearly; and by embedding prompts to help LAs produce lawful, specified and quantified plans.
• The use of “Advisory Tailored Lists” in the draft EHCP : This means that your draft EHC Plan will include a list of schools or other settings that are likely to be suitable to meet your child’s Special Educational Needs. The list is purely advisory. Your rights to express a preference for a setting remain in place and are unaffected.
• More information and encouragement to access mediation when you don’t agree with a decision related to your child’s EHCP : The government wants local areas to consistently provide families with access to high quality support to resolve disputes earlier and provide a more positive route for families pursuing their complaint. This does not change the legal rights of parents to challenge decisions made by local authorities.

Please do remember that the law hasn’t changed. Children, young people, or parent and carers do not have to surrender any statutory rights to take part in testing the reforms.

You may want to learn more about the Change Programme, which is why we created a document that gives an introduction to the programme here in Herefordshire. You can read and/or download the document below.