Hertfordshires approach to Top -up Funding High Needs Funding (HNF) - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

SEND Funding in Mainstream Schools and Settings Hertfordshire’s approach to Top -up Funding – High Needs Funding (HNF) in Mainstream Schools and Settings www.hertfordshire.gov.uk www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Content ▪ The changes ▪ The banding descriptors ▪ Using the band descriptors ▪ From banding to allocation ▪ Funding mechanism and algorithm ▪ Early Years funding ▪ Local High Needs Funding www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

The changes ▪ Changes implemented from September 2020 ▪ Move away from current Exceptional Needs Funding (ENF) ▪ Implementation group ➢ assessment of all children and young people ➢ identification of resources needed ➢ development of systems ➢ testing an assessment tool www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

The banding descriptors ▪ Early Years ▪ Primary ▪ Secondary www.hertfordshire.gov.uk www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Banding selector Select Band 0 1 2 3 4 5 Cognition & Learning C&L Universal Communication and Interaction 0 1 2 3 4 5 Speech and Language & Communication Needs SLCN Universal 0 1 2 3 4 5 Communication (social) and Autism C&A Universal 0 1 2 3 4 5 Social, Emotional & Mental Health SEMH Universal Sensory/Physical 0 1 2 3 4 5 Physical & Neurological Impairment PNI Universal 0 1 2 3 4 5 Hearing Impairment HI Universal 0 1 2 3 4 5 Vision Impairment VI Universal 0 1 2 3 4 5 Multi-sensory impairment MSI Universal

Banding ▪ Band 0 – Universal ▪ Band 1 – Universal Plus ▪ Band 2 – Targeted ▪ Band 3 – Targeted Plus ▪ Band 4 – Specialist ▪ Band 5 – Specialist Plus Hertfordshire County Council Targeted Services Offer to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

www.hertfordshire.gov.uk www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Using the band descriptors A banding must be agreed for each descriptor – this will be a best fit. Some of the descriptors will have less relevance - the main presenting needs will have the most weighting. As this is a needs based tool section B of the draft EHCP is the most relevant but it should be used in conjunction with section F. All needs in Section B of the draft EHCP should be used to form a picture as there will sometimes be overlap e.g. between Communication and Autism and SLCN/ SEMH. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

How will the EHCP be banded and the school/setting receive funding? • Banding will take place when a CYP is undergoing assessment for an EHCP and it has been agreed to issue an EHCP • In order to ensure a robust and transparent system all stakeholders will be involved • At week 16 of the assessment process the primary advice giving service, although not the advice givers themselves, the SEND service and the school and parent together will be asked to band using the draft EHCP. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

How will the EHCP be banded and the school/setting receive funding? • Each of these different sets of people will be asked to use the banding tool to determine the band for each descriptor and also the overall band. • They will also be asked to complete a banding summary sheet which should be returned to the SEND officer co-ordinating the assessment. • An overall band will then be agreed using all three sets of banding www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

How will the EHCP be banded and the school/setting receive funding? • If all three agree this will be the agreed band. • If two out of the three agree then the majority judgement will be the one used. • If none of the three agree, or if there is a discrepancy of two bands, then a fourth, independent person will be required to complete the banding tool and moderate the decision. • The decision will then be ratified by a multi-agency panel. • The school/setting will then be notified by the Central SEND team. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Funding mechanism and algorithm Hertfordshire has committed to investing an additional £4m of funding into HNF in the 2020/2021 academic year and a further £3m in 2021/2022. This funding will be allocated to schools and settings as follows: ▪ All existing EHCPs without ENF ▪ All existing ENF applications ▪ All CYP who currently have ENF but no EHCP ▪ All CYP who have an EHCP and ENF www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

▪ A local version (LHNF) ▪ Multiple cases ▪ New EHCPs ▪ All decision making will be in place for one year ▪ CYP who move into Hertfordshire with an EHCP www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Early Years Funding ▪ Funding for Early Years follows the same process as set out above but allocates funding slightly differently. ▪ For children in PVI settings, nursery classes and nursery schools, there is no DfE requirement to provide the first £6,000 of funding from the settings own resources as there is in mainstream schools therefore the setting will receive £6,000 plus the top-up value. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Early Years ▪ PVI settings’ allocations are based on a child’s hours of attendance. ▪ Where the child attends for more or less hours than the 15 hours free place entitlement then the top-up and £6,000 are adjusted accordingly. ▪ A table that sets out how this works will be made available. Full- time provision in a mainstream school is considered to be 25 hours therefore a child attending for the full 15 hours free place entitlement will receive 3/5 of the band value and the £6k. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

What is Local High Needs Funding? ▪ The Local High Needs Funding system is to support children and young people (CYP) with emerging high needs or for CYP who have needs that fall outside the EHCP process. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

The Focus of LHNF will be ▪ A CYP entering the education system (including PVIs) who has significant needs from the outset as identified by at least one professional and who would not be able to access the setting without a high level of support. The banding tool would indicate at least a band 3 description of need. (Band 2 is not included in this scheme as it is a small resource that can be met from a school/setting’s own resources in the short term). ▪ A CYP within the education system (including PVIs) for whom there has been a life-changing event that has significantly impacted their access to education/learning. • www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

▪ A CYP for whom a significant amount of short term resource (one term) would enable them to make progress in their current mainstream setting and mitigate challenging educational circumstances. This could be preventing a CYP with SEMH needs from refusing to attend school/setting or at being at significant risk of permanent exclusion. ▪ A CYP in the education system who does not have an EHCNA or EHCP and is now exhibiting needs on the banding tool at Band 3 or above. ▪ CYP from another Local Authority moving to Hertfordshire without an EHCP who exhibits a level of need at Band 3 or above. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

The process ▪ From January 2021 panels will be held monthly. This term there will be a test panel in November ▪ These panels will be composed of a representative from each phase of education, local external professionals such as outreach teachers and also ISL professionals ▪ They will be chaired by the DSPL SEND lead / manager ▪ Applications will need to be made on the LHNF application form. which is available on the grid. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

The Form The form has the following sections: ▪ Details of external professional involvement ▪ Profile of the child/ yp’s send and main presenting need ▪ Description of the learning context ▪ Interventions and strategies to support the child and progress ▪ What are the challenges for the child ▪ Area of need, support in place, next steps, desired outcomes of additional support ▪ Details of support requested ▪ Banding www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

The process 2 ▪ The panel will consider applications which have been sent directly to the DSPL manager. These will be sent to a discrete DSPL e-mail address solely for the funding system. ▪ It is expected that SENCos will attend the panels on a rota basis. If a SENCO has submitted papers to the panel they may not sit on that panel. ▪ Decisions will be based on the electronic banding tool ▪ Panels may decide that further professional input/support may be more appropriate than a funding allocation. This may include behaviour services, special school outreach, ISL teams etc ▪ There would be an expectation that any advice will have been followed before any further application is made. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Once Funding is Agreed ▪ Funding will be awarded for an agreed length of time which would be in accordance with the intervention proposed and the time needed to assess impact. ▪ Contact will be made by the panel chair to the school during this period asking for a review of the progress of the child in line with the proposed intervention. ▪ Should further funding be requested a full review of progress and how the funding has been used will need to be submitted. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Questions and Answers www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Thank you for attending today’s training A recording of this session can be viewed by using the same link www.hertfordshire.gov.uk