NatSIP have produced a pdf document titled Better Assessments, Better Plans, Better Outcomes , a template for EHC Plans and  template for information gathering....all are of course primarily aimed at children and young people with a sensory impairment but may be adapted for more general use....  CLICK HERE or scroll down this page to links at bottom

New context for NatSIP

 A contract for the provision of specialist information, advice, support and training to improve the outcomes for children and young people with sensory impairments, in the context of the wider SEN reforms has been agreed between NatSIP and the Department for Education.

The contract is effective from 1st April 2013 to 31st March 2015 and offers a significant opportunity for the partner organisations within NatSIP to continue to work collaboratively across agencies to make a difference in the lives of children and young people (CYP) with sensory impairment (SI).

Details of NatSIP workstreams, including the new ones to support the contract will be found, as they develop,  on the NatSIP website  www.natsip.org.uk

Education, Health and Care Plans

One of the 7 workstreams (Objective 2) will be will be supporting the implementation of the SEND reforms for children and young people 0-25 with SI. This will include work on EHC Plans, The Local Offer, Personal Budgets and Joint Commissioning.  The workstream will be overseen by Brian Lamb.

NatSIP partners believe that the starting assumption is that and EHC Plan should be as good as, if not better than, a statement.

Better means; an increased focus on outcomes, children having their needs rigorously assessed and identified, parents having confidence in the process and assessment, parents having communication with professionals early in the process.

The second assumption is that no matter how technically brilliant the template for an EHCP may be, the individual child's EHCP will only be as good as the information with which it is populated.

NatSIP has consulted on and trialled a Better Assessment format and from that information is currently piloting a possible format for an EHC Plan which reflects the content/format of the summary of information gathered sheet and the minimum content of an EHC Plan as is known so far through the legislative process of the Children's and Families Bill.

The next NatSIP working day will be held on 4th June 2013 in London where further information and details of the contract work will be made available.  The theme is around Early Years and Post 16 provision and also implications of the National Curriculum reforms for SI learners.

There is a NatSIP working day arranged for Tuesday 1st October (at Friends House, Euston Road, London) which will have a theme about Joint Commissioning and working together across agencies to improve outcomes for SI CYP. This may be of special interest to health colleagues.

Lindsey Rousseau

(facilitator for NatSIP)