parent leaflet - Hampshire County Council

What will the trial involve?If you decide to take part in the trial, you will beinvolved in the following:• Hampshire Parent Partnership will help youprepare your ‘our story’• your views will be taken into account when adecision is made about whether to carry out anassessment of your child’s needs• if the assessment is agreed, your ‘our story’ willbe sent to all professionals who are being askedto contribute to the assessment• there will be someone who co-ordinates yourchild’s assessment and who will keep youup-to-date• professionals will bring together all theinformation about your child or young personand their needs, and they will arrange to meetyou if more information is needed• your child will be supported to give their viewsabout their needs and the outcomes theyhope for• all information collected as part of theassessment will be shared with you• you will be asked to contribute any additionaloutcomes for your child which have beenhighlighted as part of the assessment process• we will keep in contact with you about theoutcome of the assessment.Further informationFor more information about the HampshireSpecial Educational Needs and DisabilityPathfinder, or if you would like this informationin another language or format, such as Brailleor large print:Telephone: 01962 847658Email: childrens.services.enquiries@hants.gov.ukWebsite: www.hants.gov.uk/SE7sendpathfinderHampshire Parent PartnershipThe Parent Partnership Service providesimpartial advice, information and support toparents/carers of children and young peoplewith special educational needs. They aim tobuild partnerships between parents/carers, thelocal authority and schools.For more information:Telephone: 01962 845870Email: enquiries.pps@hants.gov.ukWebsite: www.hants.gov.uk/parentpartnershipPrinted: 1/09/2013 © Hampshire County CouncilEducation, Health and CareAssessments and PlansInformation for parents/carers about triallinga new approach to assessing and planningfor their children and young people withspecial educational needswww.hants.gov.uk/SE7sendpathfinder

As part of Government changes,we are trialling a new approachto assessment and planning forchildren with special educationalneeds and we would like yourhelp in testing this new way ofdoing things.Why is the special educationalneeds system changing?From September 2014, the current statutoryassessment procedures for children and youngpeople with special educational needs will bereplaced by an assessment and single planningprocess. This will be known as an Education,Health and Care Assessment and Plan. It willdescribe the outcomes we all want for yourchild or young person and the support that isneeded to achieve these outcomes.This is part of the Government’s reform of thespecial educational needs system to providebetter outcomes for children and young peoplewith additional needs and disabilities, and toimprove the experience of parents/carers whensecuring support for their children.Hampshire County Council is part of theSE7, a group of seven local authorities in theSouth East who have been appointed by theGovernment as ‘Special Educational Needsand Disability Pathfinders’ to test, try out andinform the changes before they come into place.How will I be asked to take part?When we receive a request for a statutoryassessment and your child is aged between4 and 11, you will be invited to take part in thetrial. If you decide to take part, the trial will runalongside the current special educational needsstatutory assessment process. Should the decisionbe made for a statutory assessement to becarried out, you will receive both an Education,Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and a statementof special educational needs (or a Note in Lieuwhen a statement/EHCP is not needed).Being involved in the trial will help us to test thenew arrangements so that we are able to carrythem out effectively from September 2014 whenthey become law.We will explain everything to you during the trial,and it will not affect your statutory rights. We willfollow the current legal framework so that youand your child are protected and your rights ofappeal are not affected.What are the benefits of the newapproach?The main benefits of the new Education, Healthand Care Assessment and Plan are:• families will only need to tell their story once- the information you provide will be sentto everyone involved in creating the singleassessment so that you do not have to saythe same things to lots of different people.This is known as ‘our story’• the assessment and planning process willfocus on the progress and outcomes neededfor your child to achieve• families will fully participate in the assessmentand planning process.