The government has refused to reveal how it calculated its need for 7,500 specialist SEND staff for its flagship \u00a31.8 billion \u201cexperts at hand\u201d service.<\/p>\n
The EAH offer is a key pillar of the SEND reforms, aimed at giving mainstream schools easier access to experts such as educational phycologists and occupational therapists.<\/p>\n
Schools minister Georgia Gould told<\/a> LBC radio in February the government expected that around 7,500 staff would be needed for the service.<\/p>\n This figure does not feature in the SEND white paper, but the Department for Education (DfE) previously told Schools Week<\/em><\/a> it was only a modelling assumption.<\/p>\n The figure was based on average salaries of the roles in scope, such as support staff, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists (EPs), the DfE added.<\/p>\n But a freedom of information request by Schools Week<\/em> seeking details of how the DfE worked this out as well as other projections was rejected.<\/p>\n The department claimed disclosure would be \u201clikely to prejudice the policy-making process by exposing internal deliberation before decisions are made\u201d.<\/p>\n It decided that the public interest favoured withholding the information currently in order to preserve a \u201csafe space\u201d for ministers and officials to develop policy.<\/p>\n There was also a risk of \u201cmisinterpretation of incomplete modelling, and the potential for premature disclosure to distort workforce planning or create unrealistic expectations among stakeholders\u201d.<\/p>\n The refusal comes amid chronic shortages of these experts. One influential think-tank<\/a> recently warned that the staffing crisis could put the scheme \u201cat risk\u201d.<\/p>\n Pepe Di\u2019Iasio, general secretary at the ASCL school leaders\u2019 union, said having 7,500 specialists \u201csounds very encouraging given that this is so critical to the success of the reforms\u201d.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t inspire confidence in this figure if the DfE then refuses to say how it is calculated.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would encourage the department to be fully transparent about the basis for any figures which are quoted in the media, rather than citing exemptions in the freedom of information act.\u201d<\/p>\n In its response, the DfE said the requested information \u201cconsists of internal policy development material\u201d which is \u201cprovisional and forms part of ongoing policy formulation\u201d.<\/p>\n It considered the public interest in disclosure, including transparency in decision making, understanding the evidence base for policy development and supporting informed public debate, but decided against releasing the information.<\/p>\n Derek Munn, director of policy and public affairs at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, said that, with \u201cdemand rising for their support, there are significant questions about whether there is sufficient capacity within the speech and language therapy profession to deliver the government\u2019s SEND reforms\u201d.<\/p>\n The college\u2019s annual survey found 10 per cent of therapist posts in NHS children\u2019s services were vacant last spring.<\/p>\n The Education Policy Institute found pupils<\/a> in some areas were 20 times less likely to get support from an EP and official government data undercounted the workforce by about a third.<\/p>\n Schools Week<\/em> also recently revealed<\/a> how almost nine in 10 applicants for 204 spaces on the state-funded EP doctorate courses are turned away.<\/p>\n On Friday, the government finally published<\/a> guidance on how councils should develop the first year of the EAH service.<\/p>\n It confirmed that support from experts to pupils in schools should be \u201ctime limited\u201d. That could involve \u201clight-touch assessment\u201d, observation and individualised support.<\/p>\n The money can only be spent on speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and educational psychologists. It can be spent on specialist teachers who currently work in services specifically focused on support for youngsters with defined SEND.<\/p>\n The cash can also cover assistant experts and trainees.<\/p>\n Campaigner Matt Keer warned on the Special Needs Jungle website<\/a> of a \u201cbidding war\u201d for professionals currently working in the private sector which could \u201cdrive up costs\u201d.<\/p>\n Councils have until next Friday to finalise their offer, as part of their local SEND reform plan. Ministers will sign off these plans in exchange for a 90 per cent bailout of historic high needs deficits.<\/p>\n But councils had been waiting for this guidance and are still awaiting advice on setting up inclusion bases \u2013 another key plank of the government\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n Wiltshire council said its draft plan was now not \u201cfully compliant\u201d and would need revising, as the EAH guidance \u201cnarrows the definition\u201d of the core offer, including around workforce and interventions.<\/p>\n But the council claimed reform plans will only be assessed against the requirements in commissioning documents send by the DfE in March.<\/p>\n \u201cLocal areas are not expected to revise their plan to incorporate the published guidance or grant conditions before submission to the department,\u201d the council added.<\/p>\n \u201cPlans will not be penalised for the purpose of the assessment, should EAH related proposals extend beyond the scope of the published grant conditions or guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n The DfE advised Wiltshire that all areas should \u201cseek to refine their workforce plans to ensure they align\u201d with the new guidance after the 19 June deadline passes.<\/p>\n The council said the plan would be updated to \u201creflect the restricted list of eligible professional groups and the implications of national workforce shortages\u201d.<\/p>\n\u2018Doesn\u2019t inspire confidence\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Council rewriting plan after late guidance<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Private draft plans<\/strong><\/h2>\n