Disabled Children\u2019s Partnership<\/a>, said the organisation had some \u201creal concerns\u201d about how far the white paper \u201cgoes on health\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSpeaking at a health and social care committee hearing this week, she said: \u201cThere aren\u2019t any new rights to health provision in the package of reforms. There hasn\u2019t been an overhaul of health accountability in the proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a bit of a mark that health hasn\u2019t been as much around the table as we would\u2019ve liked during the development of the proposals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The white paper is co-signed by the health secretary Wes Streeting, but Bird said there was \u201ca lot to unpick, but it doesn\u2019t feel yet like we\u2019ve got the health bit of this system quite nailed\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New \u2018experts at hand\u2019 service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Plans include a new \u00a31.8 billion \u201cexperts at hand\u201d service, aimed at boosting availability of external support for schools such as educational psychologists and speech and language therapists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bird welcomed this but said there wasn\u2019t yet clarity on how families could flag concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you complain to health? Do you complain to the school? It\u2019s really not clear what that is for families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government has told councils and health bosses to begin planning their \u201cexperts at hand\u201d offer. Guidance is due in the spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Documents seen by Schools Week request areas provide a \u201cdefined route\u201d for mainstream schools to access specialist support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government wants to \u201cshift to increased group-based models and whole-setting advice and support\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means health and education staff can \u201cdeliver evidence-based support and intervention with greater impact and value, ensuring, where possible, needs do not escalate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis not only makes better use of a limited workforce but also reduces dependence on costly, individualised provision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There should also be \u201ceffective joint commissioning\u201d between councils and integrated care boards, \u201cincluding strategic planning and co-production\u201d, the documents added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But areas have flexibility in how they commission or employ the expert workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Options they are encouraged to explore include deployment through \u201cspecial schools and colleges, alternative provision schools, neighbourhood health services, best start family hubs and multi-disciplinary family help teams\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whatever the approach, they must ensure support \u201cis not disproportionately accessed by the most proactive schools\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warnings over \u2018patchwork\u2019 of provision<\/h3>\n\n\n\n Big questions remain around recruiting sufficient staff for the \u201cexperts at hand\u201d service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sally Payne, from the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT), told MPs currently there\u2019s a \u201creal patchwork of different\u201d delivery models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u201cWe\u2019ve got OT who work in NHS core services, we\u2019ve got provision being provided by local authority funded-OT, by independent practitioners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got that real challenge around that inconsistency. That model\u2019s pretty unsustainable in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local health chiefs told MPs there should be a \u201cnational framework\u201d on SEND, which includes metrics showing how well health services are performing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Elliot Howard-Jones, chief executive at Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, called for more \u201ccrunchy\u201d data to hold authorities to account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the white paper \u201ctalks more about the targeted, targeted plus and education, health and care plans, which is shifting the boundaries of the existing system rather than designing a new system\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hoping that by shifting those boundaries we will move away from (education, health and care plans), but I think the reason why people get EHCPs is because they are frustrated with the system not working beneath that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPart of the framework has to be how they access that earlier and how that\u2019s mandated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson told the Commons earlier this month: \u201cHealth authorities must play their full role alongside local authorities in delivering better support.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The white paper thrusts schools into the driving seat of government\u2019s reforms, prompting questions on whether health services will also face further scrutiny<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311127,"featured_media":243573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[62],"post-theme":[2354],"class_list":["post-243548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-send","post-theme-inclusion"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t
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