BSL/Sign Systems Audit Update
Working together to meet the challenges of improving
outcomes for children with sensory impairment using BSL
and other sign systems.
A Community of Interest Approach.
NatSIP Working Day
Wednesday 6th June 2014
Audit Team
Brian Kokoruwe
Louise Cole
Rosie Rutherford
BSL/Sign Systems Audit Scope
Overview Audit of existing information and practice which
supports children and young people with sensory impairment in
the development and use of BSL and other Sign Systems.
The audit sits as a secondary objective within Objective 6 of the DfE contract:
Development of specialist skills – SI Workforce Development:
Objective 6a: Development of specialist skills for BSL and sign
support to deliver an:
Objectives
1.
To develop and deliver a BSL/Sign Systems activities and practice Audit
that captures the range of current practice supporting children and
young people to develop and use BSL/Sign Systems in England.
2.
To use the information gathered to provide a snap shot of the existing
range of provision of BSL/Sign System practice.
3.
To collect examples of how BSL/Sign Systems are used within a range
of education settings to support language and communication for
children and young people with sensory impairment.
Objectives Cont.
4.
To inform the future development of guidance and benchmarks to
develop, monitor and evidence the effectiveness of BSL/Sign
systems approaches within different settings to support the
improvement of outcomes for children and young people with
sensory impairment.
5.
To inform requirements for future data collection on children and
young people using BSL and other sign systems.
Methods
Desk Top Review: Survey Responses
Interface: Workstream leads
Survey
Key: I-Sign & Language Plans
Case Study
Meeting/Focus
Groups
Ecological Model
• Information/Support
• Environment
• Belief
• Health
• Age
• Behaviour
• Psychology/Wellbeing
• Environment
• Attainment
• Participation
• Human Rights
Conventions
• Equalities Law
• Societal Norms
Child/Young Person
with sensory
impairment
Parents/Carers/
Legislation/Policy/
Community/Peers
Culture
Education Setting
Siblings
Health & Social Care
Services/
• SEN Framework
• Education Setting
• Age Group
• Funding
• Joint working
• Standards/Guidance
• Practice/skills/competenc
ies
• Benchmarks/Outcomes
Rights based framework
•
UN Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities
• right to language
• educational attainment
• inclusion & participation
http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/human-rights/ourhuman-rights-work/human-rights-review/the-review/the-ukshuman-rights-framework/
The use of sign language in education is
supported by article 24, paragraph 3 of
the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which
states that countries should
“[ensure] that the education of persons, and
in particular children, who are blind, Deaf or
DeafBlind, is delivered in the most appropriate
languages and modes and means of
communication for the individual, and in
environments which maximize academic and
social development”.
Equality Act 2010.
Protected characteristics for which discrimination is unlawful:
Age, disability, gender reassignment. Marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity,
face, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation.
The legislation covers employment, education, the provision of goods, facilities and services, the
management of premises and the exercise of public functions
Education
Students are protected in the way they are admitted and treated in higher education. Teaching
methods, delivery, and related issues, such as assessment, all need to comply with the main
provisions of the Act, including those relating to direct and indirect discrimination and
harassment.
The public sector equality duty requires organisations
to show due regard to the need to:
1. eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited
by or under the Act
2. advance equality of opportunity between people who share a relevant protected
characteristic and people who do not share it
3. foster good relations between people who share a relevant protected characteristic and
people who do not share it
The law (section 20 EqA) recognise that adjustments (changes) may need to be made in certain
areas to help disabled people overcome barriers that are not faced by people who are not
disabled.
‘the duty to make reasonable adjustments’.
Key Findings
• There is a lack of common shared information
and knowledge by the stakeholders and
specifically:
– A lack of awareness or reference to human rights
legislation.
– A lack of information to parents and children and
young people themselves about their rights and
entitlements.
Key Findings
• The majority highlighted the Equality Act
2010 as an important consideration when
2.
developing
relevant policies.
• There is a lack of consistency in the provision
and options of provision currently available or
considered from local authorities.
Key Findings
• One of the current challenges is a lack of
.
accurate
data held by local authorities, and
the effective sharing of existing data held by
health and social care services.
SEN REFORMS 2014
Key principles in the Children and Families Act 2014
Participation: the Act promotes the participation of parents
and young people in decision-making about SEN
Outcomes: the Act focuses on outcomes and improving
progress for children and young people with SEN
New (draft) SEN Code of Practice Principles
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Participating in decision making
Supporting children, young people and parents to participate in decisions about
their support
Involving children, young people and parents in planning, commissioning and
reviewing services
Parent Carer Forums
Identifying children and young people’s needs
Greater choice and control for parents and young people over their support
Collaboration between education, health and social care services to provide
support
High quality provision to meet the needs of children and young people with SEN
A focus on inclusive practice and removing barriers to learning
Supporting successful preparation for adulthood
SEN REFORMS 2014
Changes in assessment and planning
• School Action and School Action Plus will be replaced by SEN
support
• Statements will be phased out from September 2014 and will
be replaced by Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessments
and plans.
• EHC Plans will extend from birth to 25, where necessary,
replacing the Learning Difficulties Assessment for young people
leaving school.
• Academies will be covered by the same statutory requirements
as maintained schools.
New (draft) SEN Code of Practice
6.55 Schools should work closely with the local authority and other
providers to agree the range of local services and clear arrangements for
making appropriate requests. This might include schools commissioning
specialist services directly. Such specialist services include, but are not
limited to:
• educational psychologists
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)
• specialist teachers or support services, including specialist teachers with a
mandatory qualification for children with hearing and vision impairment ,
including multi-sensory impairment, and for those with a physical disability.
(Those teaching classes of children with sensory impairment must hold an
appropriate qualification approved by the Secretary of State. Teachers
working in an advisory role to support such pupils should also hold the
appropriate qualification.)
• therapists (including speech and language therapists, occupational
therapists and physiotherapists)
New (draft) SEN Code of Practice
Sensory and/or physical needs 6.31
Some children and young people require special educational
provision because they have a disability which prevents or hinders
them from making use of the educational facilities generally provided.
These difficulties can be age related and may fluctuate over time.
Many children and young people with vision impairment (VI), hearing
impairment (HI) or a multi-sensory impairment (MSI) will require
specialist support and/or equipment to access their learning. Children
and young people with an MSI have a combination of vision and
hearing difficulties, which makes it even more difficult for them to
access the curriculum or study programme than for those with a
single sensory impairment. Information on how to provide services for
deafblind is available through the Deafblind guidance.
Local Offer
• The Local Offer will set out what all local
agencies are expected to provide including
what schools are expected to provide from
their delegated budget, their ‘notional SEN
budget’.
Local Offer
They could include ‘additional and different’ arrangements for:
• teaching and learning;
• the way in which learning and wellbeing is assessed;
• the ways in which access to the curriculum is facilitated;
• drawing on specialist expertise, within and beyond the school;
• pastoral support;
• intervention programmes over and above high quality classroom teaching for all
pupils;
• equipment that schools provide;
• staffing arrangements to promote access;
• more intensive engagement with parents and carers;
• monitoring and evaluating the impact of the ‘additional and different’
arrangements on progress and outcomes for pupils with SEN.
Engagement and Dialogue
Views, ideas and shared learning….
Engagement and Dialogue
Feedback from you on the key findings?
Views on the Community of Interest?
Identifying Priorities? (Wellbeing and Early Years?)
Gathering further evidence – who and how?
What Else?
Phase 2
Activity building upon audit:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Produce bilingual audit guidance and BSL
Executive Summary of report
Develop a Community of Interest to inform
guidance
Identify regional centres of excellence and
ambassadors
Benchmarking – establishing effective practice
Integrate work e.g. language plans and I-Sign
What outcomes would a Community of Interest
seek to deliver?
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improved professional competence
improved opportunities for supported career development
improved standards of informed provision for CYP
improved attainment, health and well-being of CYP and their families
effective use of finance available for local authorities/ academies
improved standards in educational provision as verified with or by Ofsted
providing and developing an efficient and effective sign systems support
network in the locality
act as first point of call for advice
source of comprehensive information and resources
a CYP 's rights to equality of opportunity in education delivered by LA
Community of Interest
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A shared vision
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Is interdependent
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Has shared outcomes
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Is committed to delivering something that cannot be
delivered solely
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Has resources (people and funds) that are shared
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Has shared interests – committed to knowing and learning about a
particular subject
Opportunities for Improvement
Quality and Consistency of Approach
How is the effectiveness of the communication policy currently measured
and how will this change as a result of the new SEN Code of Practice?
How does the new SEN Code of Practice and the importance of integrating
services highlight an opportunity to create a common assessment framework
that is holistic, covering health and wellbeing of the whole family and social
context that the child or young person lives in?
Opportunities for Improvement
Workforce Development
How can this information be used to support local authorities to
review their workforce development strategies and link this to
the topic of quality control of the provision currently offered?
What difference would it make if the strategic managers have a
strong insight into the support needed to enable CYP with a
sensory impairment?
Opportunities for Improvement
Data Collection – Evidencing Outcomes
What data is important to collect consistently over a child’s
timeline of development in order to inform the evidence base
that supports effective practice?
How can this be agreed and implemented across all local
authorities consistently?
Creating opportunities for knowledge
a) The legal framework that supports all deaf and sensory
impaired children.
b) Understanding the social model of disability.
c) The principles of linguistic access and literacy development
in children and young people
d) Appropriate Skills development for everyone that is
supporting the child or young person.
e) Effective Data collection and analysis.
Creating/sustaining the network
Developing
communication
Facilitating debate &
consultation
Gathering evidence
Call for Case Studies
Robust
Comparative
Representative
Inclusive
Establishing benchmarks
Thank You!