Consultation on Hampshire’s Specialist Teacher Advisory Service

Proposed changes to the Specialist Teacher Advisory Service in Hampshire

Information Pack

2

Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................... 3

Background ............................................................................................................. 3

Hampshire County Council’s consultation policy ..................................................... 4

Why your views are important ................................................................................. 4

How to have your say ............................................................................................... 5

Open public consultation ......................................................................................... 5

Section one ............................................................................................................... 6

About the Specialist Teacher Advisory Service ....................................................... 6

Section two ............................................................................................................... 9

Proposed changes to the Specialist Teacher Advisory Service in Hampshire ........ 9

Proposal 1: Changing how services are delivered, which could lead to variation in the number of staff within different teams and their specialisms .................. 10

What is being proposed? ...................................................................................... 10

Changes to services for children and young people with a physical disability ....... 12

Changes to services for children and young people with a Speech, Language and Communication Need (SLCN) or a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum ....................... 13

Changes to services for children and young people with a Visual Impairment ...... 15

Changes to services for children and young people with a Hearing Impairment ... 18

How would these changes be implemented? ........................................................ 21

Proposal 2: Delivering more services in-house and targeting resource more effectively ................................................................................................................ 21

What is the current situation? ................................................................................ 21

What is being proposed? ...................................................................................... 21

How would this be implemented? ......................................................................... 22

What would be the impact of this policy on service users? ................................... 22

Proposal 3: Exploring opportunities for selling services ................................... 23

What is the current situation? ................................................................................ 23

What is being proposed? ...................................................................................... 23

Why is this being proposed? ................................................................................. 23

How would this be implemented? ......................................................................... 23

What would be the impact of this policy on service users? ................................... 24

Options which are not being consulted on at this time ...................................... 25

Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 26

3

Introduction The County Council is seeking residents’ and stakeholders’ views on proposals to change its Specialist Teacher Advisory Service (STAS). The consultation is open from 22 January 2019 and closes at 11:59pm on 9 March 2019.

Background The Specialist Teacher Advisory Service (STAS) is undertaking a review of its work and is keen for parents and stakeholders to help shape its future activities. The aim of this review is to refocus resource and provide a more efficient and effective service that better meets the needs of children and young people. In addition, the Service intends to identify opportunities to reduce the existing financial pressure on its budget. The County Council receives funding from central Government through the Dedicated School Grant High Needs Block to provide services to students aged 0-25 with high needs. The total amount of Government funding received for these services is not sufficient to meet demand. As a result, the Authority faced a funding shortfall of £9.4 million in 2017/18 for these Services, and a pressure of £8.6 million is forecast in 2018/19. The STAS has a total budget of £3,132,000 and is funded through the Dedicated Schools Grant. In addition to demand pressures, inflationary pay increases have placed additional burdens on the STAS budget. The proposals set out in this consultation are being considered, alongside others, to identify ways to offset these budget pressures. If savings are not found from the STAS budget, cost reductions would need to be found elsewhere in the high needs block expenditure. Following an initial period of review, which was completed on 31 August 2018, some changes to the STAS have already been implemented and savings made. This initial review looked at the management and administration of the Service and resulted in changes to streamline team management and ensure a more consistent, holistic approach to the leadership of the service. As a result, savings of £193,000 from a budget of £3,132,000 were delivered by the STAS during phase one. This consultation forms part of a second period of review during which the County Council is seeking views on proposals for reshaping the service to deliver additional annual savings of £708,000. This includes proposed savings which are part of a staff consultation process which are not being consulted on in this public consultation, so the proposals in this consultation would contribute to this total but not add up to the full amount. These savings would further contribute to reducing the budget pressure on the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) High Needs Block. The proposals set out in this consultation have been informed by initial engagement with parents, carers and wider stakeholders.

4

Hampshire County Council’s consultation policy The County Council is committed to five principles of consultation:

• To consult on key issues and proposals.

• To consult in good time.

• To be inclusive but with clear and appropriate limits.

• To consult using clear, simple information.

• To ensure that responses are taken into account when decisions are made.

Why your views are important It is important that the views of those who may be affected by these proposals are carefully considered so that the Service continues to meet service users’ needs. This includes: children and young people, their families and carers, residents and other interested stakeholders. Consultation findings will be published and presented to the County Council’s Children’s Services Departmental Management Team later in 2019, alongside employee feedback. Responses will help to inform any decision by the County Council on the proposed changes to the STAS in Hampshire.

5

How to have your say

Open public consultation You are invited to give your views on the proposed changes to the STAS in Hampshire. You can do this by using the online Response Form at: www.hants.gov.uk/consultations. If you require a paper copy of the Information Pack or the Response Form, or if you have any queries about the consultation, please contact stas.service@hants.gov.uk or call: 0300 555 1384*. You can also email your response directly to the County Council using the email address stas.service@hants.gov.uk. If you wish to send a response by post, this can be addressed to:

The STAS Consultation Admin Support Officer (Inclusion Commissioning Team) SEN Administrative Support Team SEN Service Children's Services 1st Floor Elizabeth II Court North The Castle Winchester SO23 8UG

This Information Pack and the Response Form are available in other formats such as Easy Read, large print, audio and Braille. To obtain an alternative format, or if you have any queries about this consultation, please email the County Council at: stas.service@hants.gov.uk, or call: 0300 555 1384*. The consultation is open from 22 January 2019 and closes at 11:59pm on 09 March 2019. Please note that responses received after this date will not be included in the findings report. Stakeholders and interested parties are welcome to attend drop-in sessions, where they can ask questions about the proposals in this document. Three drop-in events are planned:

• Monday 11th February 10am-midday, in the Scantabout Room, Wells Place Centre, Wells Place, Eastleigh, SO50 5LJ

• Tuesday 12th February 12.30-2.30pm, in the Hurstwood Room at the Havant Public Service Plaza, Civic Centre Road, Havant, PO9 2AX

• Wednesday 27th February 10am-midday, at the Basingstoke Discovery Centre, Potters Walk, Basingstoke, RG21 7LS

For more information on these sessions please contact stas.service@hants.gov.uk or call: 0300 555 1384*. *Calls from a landline will be charged at the local rate, although mobile phone charges may vary

6

Section one

About the Specialist Teacher Advisory Service What is the Specialist Teacher Advisory Service (STAS)? The STAS promotes educational opportunity, learning and development for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The Service works in partnership with educational settings, children and young people, families and other agencies with a focus on improving life chances and independence for children and young people. The Service contributes to ensuring the statutory duties for the Local Authority are met, in particular those relating to the SEND Code of Practice 2014, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25. The Service provides specialist advice and guidance to schools, colleges, early years’ settings and parents. This includes providing the following services:

• Contributing to Individual Education Plans

• Contributing to assessment, monitoring and reporting of needs

• Advice on target setting and record keeping

• Use of specialist equipment and aids

• Provision of one-to-one child-level support

• Attendance at annual reviews and professionals’ meetings (sometimes called ‘Team around the Child meetings’)

• Training

• Report writing

• Acting as expert witnesses at SEND tribunals, mainly SEND Speech and Language Therapists

• Signposting to other agencies

• Representing the Service at meetings

• Support and liaison with parents to make informed choices How much does the Service cost the County Council? The Service is funded by central Government, through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) High Needs Block and has an annual budget of £3,132,000. In previous years there has been an overspend of this budget due to inflationary pay increases. Who uses (or is eligible for) the Service? The STAS is described on the County Council’s website at www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/childrenandfamilies/specialneeds/specialistadvisory.

7

The Service is used by children and young people with SEND. The Service is available to:

• Children and young people

• Families and carers

• Pre-schools and nurseries

• Schools

• Colleges

• Other professionals and agencies

The Sensory Team (Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment, Multi-Sensory Impairment) support children and young people and their families, from birth to the age of 25. The Hearing Impairment Team can be involved where a child or young person has medically confirmed difficulties with their peripheral hearing, and these hearing difficulties encompass conductive hearing loss, and mild to profound sensori-neural hearing loss. Children or young people with a confirmed hearing impairment are referred to the Service by hospital audiology departments. The Visual Impairment Team can be involved where a child or young person has:

• A diagnosed visual impairment, and/or

• Reduced visual acuity and/or restricted field of vision and/or deteriorating condition.

The Physical Disability Team supports children and young people with a physical disability and or a medical condition. They can be involved where a child or young person meets one or more of the following criteria:

• The child or young person has been diagnosed by the local health authority as having a medical condition that affects their physical functioning. This would include physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy. Medical conditions would include severe epilepsy or complex diabetes.

• The child has an Educational Health and Care Plan and their physical disability affects their access to the buildings and/or curriculum.

• Provision of specialist equipment or furniture is required for the child or young person to access the curriculum.

The Communication and Interaction Team has two branches, the Communication and Language team and the SEND Speech and Language Therapist service. The Communication and Interaction team consists of Specialist Teacher Advisers and Speech and Language Therapists. The team helps schools and colleges to meet the needs of Hampshire students with an Education Health and Care Plan for a primary need in Speech, Language and Communication Needs and/or Autism. The team offers specialist advice to mainstream junior and secondary schools and post-16 mainstream educational settings. The SEND Speech and Language Therapist Service works directly with Special Schools and comprises Therapists who work with children and young people with Education Health and Care Plans for any needs associated with Speech Language and Communication.

8

The table below shows the number of children and young people engaged with the STAS as of December 2018:

STAS team Caseload (as at Dec. 2018)

Hearing Impaired 1,162

Visual Impaired 594

Physical Disability 435

Communication and Interaction (CaL) 769

Communication and Interaction (SEND SaLT) 594

9

Section two

Proposed changes to the Specialist Teacher Advisory Service in Hampshire The County Council is proposing to change the way the STAS is provided in Hampshire. This could involve:

• Changing how services are delivered, which could lead to variations in the number of staff within different teams and their specialisms;

• Delivering more services in-house and using in-house resource more effectively; and

• Exploring opportunities for selling services. These proposed changes would affect children and young people with a Hearing Impairment, Visual Impairment, Physical Disability and Speech, Language and Communication Need or a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum who use the STAS, as well as their parents/carers. The following institutions could also be impacted:

• Pre-school and Nurseries

• Primary and Secondary Schools

• Special Schools • Colleges

These proposed changes are described in more detail on the following pages.

10

Proposal 1: Changing how services are delivered, which could lead to variation in the number of staff within different teams and their specialisms

What is being proposed? The Service currently provides specialist advice and guidance to schools, colleges, early years’ settings and parents. This support could be provided to different groups of service users more flexibly and efficiently. For example, by tailoring the Service based on the level of service users’ needs, instead of delivering the Service in a prescribed way, according to the type of need. The following table summarises the proposed changes, with more detailed information provided in the section below. Proposed to stay the same Proposed changes

Children and young people with a physical disability

• The capacity of the service, with no change to the referral for accessing the service

• Working more flexibly to meet demand and reduce pressure in areas with higher caseloads, whilst reducing overall resource

• Changing the frequency of contact based on the service users’ level of need

• Changing the way service users are contacted

• Providing more advice online

Children and young people with a Speech, Language and Communication Need or a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum

• The capacity of the service, with no change to the referral for accessing the service

• Support for medium- and high-priority work, which would remain unchanged

• Changing who provides support so that children and young people may be seen by Assistants and Technicians, under the supervision of Advisors and Therapists

• Varying the way service users are contacted, with more advice available online

• Attending Annual Reviews only if requested by the SEN Service, school, parent or carer

Children and young people with a Visual Impairment

• The capacity of the service, with no change to the referral for accessing the service and every child would continue to have access to a specialist

• Providing support, and setting the frequency of visits, on the basis of the child’s needs, rather than the level of visual impairment

11

• Referrals would remain unchanged, and would continue to be submitted by medical professionals

• Advice would continue to be available by telephone

• Deploying Assistants and Technicians to support children and young people, under the supervision of Advisors

• Making more advice available online

Children and young people with a Hearing Impairment

• The capacity of the service, with no change to the referral for accessing the service

• Reports would continue to be provided post-visit, to be shared with the school

• Support for children and young people with a more significant impairment, who would continue to receive the same level of support as currently

• Varying the frequency of visits based on the child’s needs, with fewer visits offered to children and young people with a milder hearing impairment

• Providing parents and carers with telephone consultations, where appropriate, and information leaflets, as well as providing more advice online

• Inviting schools to attend training run by the County Council, instead of individual training sessions in a school setting

12

❖ Changes to services for children and young people with a physical disability

Proposed to stay the same Proposed changes

• The capacity of the service, with no change to the referral for accessing the service

• Working more flexibly to meet demand and ease pressure in areas with higher caseloads, whilst reducing overall resource

• Changing the frequency of contact based on service users’ level of need

• Changing the way service users are contacted

• Providing more advance online

Working more flexibly to meet demand, whilst reducing resource Geographically, there are about 90 children and young people with Physical Disability needs per Specialist teacher Advisor in the South of the County compared with about 70 children and young people per Advisor in the North. Consequently, Advisors in the North of the county have smaller caseloads and the capacity to support more children and young people. By working more flexibly across the whole county, rather than within specific geographical areas, the Service could meet demand in the North and South whilst reducing the number of Specialist Teacher Advisors. These changes could mean that that schools and pupils may not receive the same level of service continuity as they do now. Schools could receive the Service from different Advisors, and pupils may see more than one Physical Disability Advisor. It is expected that a reduction in staffing would not reduce the Service’s capacity to cover referrals. By working flexibly, staff should be able to provide the Service to the same number of children and young people. Changing the frequency of contact based on service users’ level of need The current visit rate could change to reflect the needs of the child. For example, instead of receiving three visits per year from a Physical Disability Specialist Teacher Advisor, a child could receive one visit from a Specialist Advisor, one from a Manual Handling Trainer, and one from an Assistive Technology Support Officer if this met their needs.

13

The pupil may not be seen every time by the same member of staff; different staff would be deployed to provide the necessary support in the most appropriate way, based on need. Varying the way service users are contacted, with more advice available online Instead of always offering face-to-face visits, contact could involve visits, phone calls or emails by Specialist Teacher Advisors. Contact could also be made through school staff attending training, or Specialist Advisors going to school meetings. Impact on staffing If these changes were implemented, it would be possible to reduce staffing from 7.9FTE to 6.9FTE (one FTE is the equivalent of one full-time worker).

❖ Changes to services for children and young people with a Speech, Language and Communication Need (SLCN) or a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum

Proposed to stay the same Proposed changes

• The capacity of the service, with no change to the referral for accessing the service

• Support for medium- and high-priority work, which would remain unchanged

• Changing who provides support so that children and young people may be seen by Assistants and Technicians, under the supervision of Advisors and Therapists

• Varying the way service users are contacted, with more advice available online

• Attending Annual Reviews only if requested by the SEN Service, school, parent or carer

There are 79 children and young people in mainstream schools and 95 in Post-16 College with a Speech Language and Communication Need, and/or a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum categorised as low priority by the Communication and Interaction team. Currently these children and young people have one visit per year from a Specialist Teacher Advisor or Speech and Language Therapist. In addition, the Service attends their Annual Review.

14

Currently each visit made by the team may account for up to a day’s work (when travel and records/reports are included). Many of these visits are not necessary - for example, where all parties agree that the child is well-supported and making good progress, this outcome could have been achieved by a telephone discussion or email. The team recognise that low priority children and young people have needs, but where these are being met well by the school or college the involvement required of the STAS is minimal and would be available if needed. There are a further 494 children who are categories as medium and high priority by the team, and 101 children where caseload categorisation is being set.

Changing who provides support so that children and young people may be seen by Assistants and Technicians, under the supervision of Advisors and Therapists Under the proposed changes, a child or young person with low priority needs could continue to be seen only if they have a need for support that is requested by the school and college. Instead of being seen exclusively by a Specialist Teacher Advisor or Speech and Language Therapist, these children and young people could be seen by a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant, under the supervision of a Specialist Advisor or Therapist. Research evidence indicates that outcomes for children and young people are the same if seen by a Therapist or an Assistant. Examples of where this could apply include: LEGO groups, some regular therapy and Picture Exchange Communication (PECS) work. This would allow the therapist to concentrate on assessments and programme development, working with the most complex children and young people. There could also be fewer joint Specialist Advisor/Therapist visits, which would be prioritised for highest need pupils. Where the Advisor and Therapist work in a school or college, they would continue to liaise to jointly assess children’s and young people’s needs. As caseloads would be shared, all pupils would still be discussed, and the skills of both the Specialist Advisor and Therapist would remain available for all children and young people. Support for medium and high priority work would remain the same, and there would be no change to the number of children who will be supported in Special Schools. Where a child or young person is struggling with language and communication for learning, and there is evidence of the need for support, this would continue to be provided, alongside the provision of universal support and advice, using Assistants where appropriate. When the needs of the child are identified as requiring specialist support, these needs would be met in same way as they are currently.

15

Varying the way service users are contacted, with more advice available online Universal support and advice would continue to be available to all - however, some advice may be delivered through channels other than a personal visit, such as via the website or advice line. Attending Annual Reviews only if requested by the SEN Service, school, parent or carer For low priority children and young people, Annual Review attendance could not be routine, as it is now. A Communication and Language member, Specialist Teacher Advisor, Therapist or Assistant, would attend if the SEN service, school, parent or carer deemed it important and requests attendance. An update report would be sent for reviews where requested. Impact on staffing If these changes were implemented, it would be possible to reduce staffing from 18.6 FTE to 17.1 FTE (one FTE is the equivalent of one full-time worker). It is anticipated that by working in a more targeted way, with the addition of Specialist Teacher Advisor Assistants, the number of children and young people receiving support would not change.

❖ Changes to services for children and young people with a Visual Impairment

Proposed to stay the same Proposed changes

• The capacity of the service, with no change to the referral for accessing the service and every child would continue to have access to a specialist

• Referrals would remain unchanged, and would continue to be submitted by medical professionals

• Advice would continue to be available by telephone

• Providing support, and setting the frequency of visits, on the basis of the child’s needs, rather than the level of visual impairment

• Deploying Assistants and Technicians to support children and young people, under the supervision of Advisors

• Making more advice available online

The Visual Impairment Team currently support 594 children and young people across Hampshire. Their levels of impairment range from mild to profound. Some children and young people have a high level of need that requires additional support provided through an Education Health and Care Plan.

16

Providing support, and setting the frequency of visits, on the basis of the child’s needs, rather than the level of visual impairment At present, support is allocated based on the level of visual impairment rather than a child’s individual needs – which are not always the same. For example, a child requiring Braille support in a school with well trained and experienced staff may not need as many visits from Specialist Teachers for the Visually Impaired. In contrast, a child with a mild visual impairment with significant additional needs, who is supported by less experienced staff in need of training, may need to be visited more frequently. Under the proposals, this could change. If continual support was not required to meet a child’s needs, they could be placed ‘on request only’ and visited less often. If their needs or circumstances changed, the frequency of visits would be reviewed at that time. The support for each child would be reviewed on a regular basis, and formally across the whole caseload, at least once a year. Support provided by the school to Visually Impaired children and young people would continue but there could be fewer one-to-one visits by the individual Specialist Teaching Assistant. One-to-one work provided by the Paediatric Rehabilitation Officer (PROVI) for high need Visually Impaired children and young people could be prioritised based on need. The referral system would not change, and the Visual Impairment team would continue to take referrals for children and young people who have a diagnosed eye condition with a visual impairment that has an impact on their learning and development. These referrals come from medical professionals, usually Ophthalmology consultants. Deploying Assistants and Technicians to support children and young people, under the supervision of Advisors and Therapists The proposal to introduce a Higher-Level Teaching Assistant would give more flexibility to the Specialist Teachers for the Visually Impaired. The Teaching Assistant would hold the Royal National Institute of the Blind Unified English Braille Certificate, be trained in the use of specialist equipment for Visual Impairment (for example BrailleNote Touch and Prodigi) and would be specifically trained by the Specialist Teacher Adviser to support sight impaired children and young people. The Specialist Advisor would continue to be responsible for the monitoring, assessment, development and delivery of specialist programmes, such as Braille learning and use of specialist equipment Each Special School has a linked Specialist Teaching Advisor for the Visually Impaired who would continue to visit the school to support staff and children and young people. This could take the form of training or consultancy and the child may not necessarily be seen on an individual basis.

17

The proposed changes would continue to respond to the individual needs of the school and the children and young people. This proposal aims to build capacity in Hampshire Special Schools. All children and young people who currently meet the criteria for involvement from the Visual Impairment service would continue to be assigned a named Specialist Teaching Advisor for the Visually Impaired, who would make contact with parents and initiate support. For school age children and young people, visits would take place in school. If the child is a pre-schooler, the first visit would take place at home. Further visits would depend on the child’s individual circumstances. If a child has a diagnosed eye condition and has been registered sight impaired (i.e. has a Certificate of Visual Impairment CVI), they would continue to be referred to the Advisory Service as part of this process. The Certificate of Visual Impairment is processed by one of the Paediatric Rehabilitation Officers and contact is initially made by telephone. Support thereafter is based on the level of need after discussion with the Assistant Team Leader responsible for allocating caseload. The Service is not proposing to change this part of the process - but the response time may be longer. Making more advice available online There would be a new STAS website where parents could find support and advice. This would be in addition to support available via the telephone and email, as well as staff training, which would continue to be offered to all schools with high need visually impaired children and young people. The Service would continue to be inclusive and pro-active, and parents would be encouraged to make contact if they have any concerns about their child’s visual access. Impact on staffing If these changes were to be made to the Service, it would be possible to reduce the team from 7.7 FTE to 6.6 FTE (one FTE is the equivalent of one full-time worker). It is anticipated that by working in a more targeted way, the same number of children and young people would be able to access support.

18

❖ Changes to services for children and young people with a Hearing Impairment

Proposed to stay the same Proposed changes

• The capacity of the service, with no change to the referral for accessing the service

• Reports would continue to be provided post-visit, to be shared with the school

• Support for children and young people with a more significant impairment, who would continue to receive the same level of support as currently

• Varying the frequency of visits based on the child’s needs, with fewer visits offered to children and young people with a milder hearing impairment

• Providing parents and carers with telephone consultations, where appropriate, and information leaflets, as well as providing more advice online

• Inviting schools to attend training run by the County Council, instead of individual training sessions in a school setting

The Hearing Impairment team currently supports 1,162 children and young people from birth to 25 years of age across Hampshire. Their levels of hearing impairment range from unilateral to profound. The Specialist Teacher Advisors for Hearing Impairment support families and promote the inclusion of children and young people in all educational placements. Some of these children and young people have an Education Health and Care Plan and additional sensory and educational needs, together with more complex needs such as those in a Special School. Currently there are 628 children and young people categorised as low level of involvement based on Hearing Impairment. These are generally:

• Unilateral - where there is normal hearing in one ear and impaired hearing in the other ear

• Mild level of conductive hearing loss, which can be a temporary, fluctuating or permanent loss impacting on the outer or middle ear. Children and young people with this hearing impairment experience sound at a reduced volume but require amplification (e.g. hearing aid, bone conduction aid)

• Mild level of sensorineural hearing loss, which is a permanent hearing loss that will not improve but may worsen. Children and young people with this hearing impairment hear distorted sounds, even when hearing equipment is used.

There are currently 273 children and young people categorised with a conductive and sensorineural Hearing Impairment at a moderate level. These children and young people currently receive between three to ten visits per year. If the child has an Education Health and Care Plan related to their hearing impairment the Specialist Teacher Assistant for Hearing Impairment would aim to attend the child’s Annual Review.

19

Currently there are 144 children and young people with a sensori-neural Hearing Impairment at a high frequency, severe or profound level of hearing impairment. This is categorised as a high level of need and these children and young people receive between three and 19 visits per year. Many have an Education Health and Care Plan for Hearing Impairment and Specialist Teacher Advisors would attend the Annual Review. High involvement is required as many of these children and young people have a cochlear implant. Specialist Teacher Advisors also aid staff with report writing, to support requests for Education Health and Care Plan assessment at preschool age. Children and young people in this category may have additional communication needs. A high level of support in these circumstances is required to support with audiological equipment training and maintenance, regular teacher support, and ongoing in-service training, for example. A further 63 children and young people on caseload that currently may have hearing within the normal range but have a history of this fluctuating. If their hearing loss were to deteriorate, the relevant audiology department would update the Specialist Teacher Advisor for Hearing Impairment service and the Advisor would respond by resuming contact and visiting the child and school as required. These service users remain on caseload for approximately one year and is discharged by the STAS at the same time as they are discharged by audiology.

Finally, there are 54 children and young people whose frequency of visit is being reconsidered, have no parental consent or are not active on the caseload. Varying the frequency of visits based on the child’s needs, with fewer visits offered to children and young people with a milder hearing impairment Children and young people that are categorised as low currently receive between one and three visits per year. A report is provided post visit, which is intended to be shared with school staff annually. Under the proposed changes, children and young people with a mild conductive hearing impairment could be seen less frequently and be offered one visit per year. Contact with service users with a moderate impairment would be between one to six visits per year, based on regular assessment of their need. Annual reports would be written, and the Specialist Teacher Assistant for Hearing Impairment would attend Annual Reviews where appropriate Children and young people with a higher level of need would experience no change to visit frequency. However, audiological equipment issues may be slower to address as Specialist Teacher Advisors for Hearing Impairment could have more children and young people on their caseload.

20

Providing parents and carers with telephone consultations, where appropriate, and information leaflets, as well as providing more advice online Service users’ parents or carers would receive telephone consultations, where appropriate, and information leaflets. More support and advice would also be made available online. Inviting schools to attend training run by the County Council, instead of individual training sessions in a school setting School would be invited to attend a newly developed training course on conductive and unilateral loss run by the Specialist Teacher Advisors for Hearing Impairment, which would replace individual training sessions in school. Impact on staffing If changes to the service were made in this way it would be possible to reduce the staffing from 12.24 FTE to 10 FTE (one FTE is the equivalent of one full-time worker). It is anticipated that by working in a more targeted way the same number of children and young people would be able to access support.

Changes to staff numbers of the STAS 47.87 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff currently work in the STAS. One FTE is the equivalent of one full-time worker. Based on a review of caseloads, the changes outlined above would allow the County Council to reduce staffing numbers by 5.84 FTE staff. This would involve the following reductions:

• Hearing Impairment Teaching Advisor (1.80 FTE)

• Visual Impairment Teaching Advisor (0.6 FTE)

• Physical Disability Specialist Teacher Advisor (1.00 FTE)

• Communication and Interaction Specialist Teacher Advisor (1.50 FTE)

• Early Years Deaf Instructor (0.44 FTE)

• Paediatric rehabilitation officers for the visually impaired (0.5 FTE)

Alongside these possibly reductions, it is proposed that two new positions could be introduced that would allow Specialist Teacher Advisors more time to focus on their caseloads. Specialist Advisors currently spend a proportion of their time doing work that could be delivered by another member of staff, who has the necessary specialism, at a lower cost to the Service. These new positions would be:

• a Braillist; and

• a Technician. These staffing changes could deliver an estimated saving of £307,000.

21

How would these changes be implemented? If agreed, it is proposed that the new service would be implemented by September 2019. The County Council anticipates that the majority of the proposed staffing reductions would be made through voluntary measures or enhanced voluntary redundancy. There are currently vacant positions amongst the ones being consulted on and, if the proposals are agreed and the positions not filled, these could potentially generate a part-year saving of £179,000 by September 2019.

Proposal 2: Delivering more services in-house and targeting resource more effectively

What is the current situation?

At present, the Special Educational Needs Service purchases private Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) services. This cost the County Council £166,000 in 2017/18 and is forecast to increase to over £200,000 in 2018/19. In addition, The Special Educational Needs service spent £129,000 in 2017/18 on Occupational Therapy (OT), which included assessments and direct therapy. Alongside this, in-house Specialist Teaching Advisors are required to spend some of their time supporting children and young people to use specialist equipment – a role which could be undertaken by other staff at lower cost to the Service.

What is being proposed?

Delivering more services in-house By increasing resource within the STAS, the SEN team could commission the majority of its requirements for private speech and language and occupational therapy from the STAS team, reducing reliance on private providers. It is anticipated that the following additional resource would be needed:

• Speech and Language Therapy assistants (1.8 FTE)

• Speech and Language Therapist(s) (0.9 FTE)

• Occupational Therapist(s) (0.9 FTE)

• Visual Impairment Higher Level Teaching Assistant(s) (0.44 FTE)

• STAS Higher Level Teaching Assistant(s) Technician (0.9 FTE) Taking into account the cost of recruiting the above additional resource, it is estimated that undertaking more work in-house would save the County Council £180,000 per annum.

Targeting resources more effectively The recruitment of additional Teaching Assistants to the STAS would enable Specialist Teaching Advisors to focus on their caseloads, rather than spending time supporting the use of specialist equipment. This would be a more efficient

22

and effective use of resource, with specialist capacity targeted where it can make the greatest impact. For example:

• Recruiting a Visual Impaired Higher Level Teaching Assistant and Technician to support specialist equipment used in schools would help Specialist Teacher Advisors to concentrate on their caseload

• By providing support with Braille for high-need children and young people, the Higher Level Teaching Assistant would free up Teacher Advisers’ capacity, whilst offering expert advice to schools at lower cost

• With new staff providing braille and technical advice and support, the Specialist Teacher Advisor would be released to concentrate on caseload. The STA would still be responsible for monitoring and assessment arrangements, as well as specialist programmes, e.g. Braille learning, use of specialist equipment

How would this be implemented? Subject to feedback through this consultation, if these proposals are agreed, recruitment would take place with an aim for posts to be filled in September 2019. In the case of Speech and Language Therapy provision, initially the Service would maintain some private therapy in order to deliver support while the revised operating model is being established.

What would be the impact of this policy on service users? If this proposal was implemented, service users would receive a more flexible, responsive and consistent service, as services that are currently managed separately would be joined up and managed together. The Service would continue to manage the same caseload – there would be no anticipated reduction in the number of children supported by the Service. Initially the Service would maintain some private therapy in order to deliver support while the service model is being established.

23

Proposal 3: Exploring opportunities for selling services

What is the current situation? The STAS team deliver bespoke training in schools as part of the County Council’s support offer, alongside centralised training. There is currently no consistent charging policy or advertising of these courses, which would be needed to expand this offer to schools.

What is being proposed? To investigate the possibilities for:

• Developing a clear Service Level Agreement with schools which would set out the Services core offer

• Introducing paid-for services for schools and colleges to opt into which are in addition to core support provided through the Service Level Agreement. This could include, for example, advice on appropriate provision for children and young people who do not have an Education Health and Care Plan designated as Speech Language and Communication Need, or who have Special Educational Needs support;

• Marketing training courses developed and delivered by the Service, which organisations could purchase, such as ‘Supporting a physically disabled child in a mainstream classroom’;

• Providing a paid advisory service for schools and colleges before an Education Health and Care Plan is considered for those children and, young people and;

• Offering additional Speech and Language Therapy services to schools and colleges.

Why is this being proposed? In 2017 the County Council ran its Balancing the Budget consultation, which consulted the public on its financial strategy from 2018 to 2020. When asked whether the County Council should “raise existing charges or introduce new charges to help to cover the costs of running some local services”, 68% of respondents agreed with this proposal. Introducing charges would allow the STAS to minimise reductions to its services. During early engagement sessions with schools, the purchasing of additional support for those children and young people with a Speech Language and Communication Need was highlighted as an area in which schools would be interested.

How would this be implemented? The Service would look to introduce a consistent sold service element to the STAS from September 2019. Any charges for services would be clearly advertised to potential and existing customers.

24

Charges for speech and language therapy would be based on requirements but it is anticipated they could be between £80 and £150 per visit depending on what is needed. Day charges for training could be between £500 and £650.

What would be the impact of this policy on service users? Providing the option for schools and colleges to pay for additional support beyond the service’s core offer, and in advance of an Education Health and Care Plan, would support the school to make more informed decisions earlier, strengthening early intervention. Additional support could also be targeted at those children and young people with a Speech and Language and Communication Need who require it. Charges would not be made for core work where STAS staff are making contact about children or young people on their caseload who have an Education Health and Care Plan. Sold services would be additional to the core offer and so if a school chose not to subscribe then they would still be able to access the services under proposal one.

25

Options which are not being consulted on at this time The Service looked at reducing staff in all areas. However, this would lead to the Speech and Language Therapy Service not having the capacity to meet the needs of service users and would have prevented the Service supporting any commissioned work with the SEN team. As a result, this option is not being consulted on at the present time. The Service considered only working with children and young people who had an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP). This would have reduced the Service considerably and impacted detrimentally on the children and young people with SEND who do not have an EHCP, and therefore is not being considered at this time.

26

Conclusion Thank you for reading through this Information Pack. You are invited to give your views on the proposed changes to the Specialist Teacher Advisory Service in Hampshire. You can do this by using the online Response Form at: www.hants.gov.uk/consultations. If you require a paper copy of the Information Pack or the Response Form, or if you have any queries about the consultation, please contact stas.service@hants.gov.uk or call: 0300 555 1384*. You can also email your response directly to Hampshire County Council using the email address stas.service@hants.gov.uk ,or you can post your response using the address found on page 5. This Information Pack and the Response Form are available in other formats such as Easy Read, large print, audio and Braille. To obtain an alternative format, or if you have any queries about this consultation, please email Hampshire County Council at: stas.service@hants.gov.uk, or call: 0300 555 1384*. The consultation is open from 22 January 2019 and closes at 11:59pm on 9 March 2019. Please note that responses received after this date will not be included in the findings report. *Calls from a landline will be charged at the local rate, although mobile phone charges may vary.