Mainstream Core Standards for parents

KENT BACKGROUND

The Kent Local Area Review of provision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in 2019 highlighted several areas in which partners needed to work together to improve outcomes for children and young people who have SEND. The review identified that an area of significant weakness was the limited role parents and carers have in reviewing and designing services for children and young people with SEND .

In response to the reviews findings, Kent County Council and partners agreed a Written Statement of Action (SEND Written Statement of Action (kent.gov.uk)). This included outcomes to create a new relationship with parents/carers which is open, transparent, and characterised by increased levels of trust, a commitment to genuine consultation, partnership, and co-production. Within the Written Statement of Action, Kent County Council also committed to redesigning the Mainstream Core Standards document .

The redrafting work for the Mainstream Core Standards was completed in Autumn 2020, this included both the Mainstream Core Standards for schools and the Mainstream Core Standards for parents. However, the redrafting in isolation has not entirely addressed the issues raised during the Kent Local Area Review as it found that “Most parents are unaware of the local offer and do not know where to gain independent advice and guidance” .

Therefore, we still have a duty to the parents of children in Kent to address the lack of awareness of the information within the Mainstream Core Standards and furthermore, work in partnership with these parents/carers in an open and transparent way to review and design services for children and young people with SEND.

OPPORTUNITY

This is a potential opportunity to co-produce, deliver and develop training and additional resources focused on the Mainstream Core Standards for parents.

The Mainstream Core Standards for parents explains the purpose of the Mainstream Core Standards and provides a summary of the guidance given to schools by the Local Area (Education, Local Authority and Health) about how they can make sure that they are using their ‘best endeavours’ to support children and young people with SEN . Further information regarding this document can be found at: Mainstream Core Standards guide for parents (kelsi.org.uk).

There will be two key strands to the offer, both strands delivered with the co-production of parents/carers of children/young people with SEND in mainstream schools or a representative parental organisation:

1. Development and delivery of training based on the Mainstream Core Standards for parents

We would need a provider to design and deliver a suite of training content aimed at parents on the Mainstream Core Standards. This training will be targeted for parents or carers of children with SEND in mainstream primary and secondary settings in Kent. The training model offered to parents can be face-to-face, virtual or a hybrid approach.

To reflect the previous referenced weaknesses in the Written Statement of Action, the training programme must be designed in co-production with parents/carers of pupils with SEND in mainstream primary and secondary schools or a representative parental organisation. Consequently, any provider would need to demonstrate an ability of developing work in co-production or have strong working relationships with parents/carers.

The same provider would then need to be able to deliver the training content to the parents and carers. The aim of this work is to ensure the wider spread of information and a greater understanding of what ‘reasonable’ expectations are in schools (as highlighted in the MCS), particularly in relation to children or young people, with SEND.

2. Writing and implementing a Parent Engagement Award for schools

As part of the facilitation of inclusion and co-production in Kent we are combining the Mainstream Core Standards for parents training with a Parent Engagement Award. This Award will be a set of standards relating to how schools are engaging and maintaining strong, positive relationships with parents and carers, specifically in relation to the Inclusion agenda.

We require a provider who can develop this Parent Engagement Award in co-production with parents or carers of children with SEND or a representative parental organisation. The same provider will then be expected to promote, evidence, and monitor schools progress to achieving the award. The award can be either off-the-shelf or bespoke for Kent schools. The key features are that it is reflective of demonstratable inclusive practices within schools, positive relationships with parents/carers of children with SEND and any further desired outcomes discussed through the work in collaboration with parents/carers.

It is important to note that we are looking for a single provider to deliver both strands of work. By a single provider we mean, an organisation or consortium of organisations. Therefore, any provider that may wish to bid for this contract would have to be able to demonstrate capacity and capability to deliver both strands as specified.