Scottish Government

Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004
Consultation on draft Code of Practice, draft Policy Papers and draft Associated Regulations
Response Booklet

Responding to this consultation paper

This document is also available in pdf format (128k)

We are inviting written responses to this consultation exercise by Friday 25 February 2005.

We would be grateful if you would indicate clearly in your response which questions or parts of the consultation paper you are responding to (using the consultation questionnaire if appropriate) as this will aid our analysis of the responses received. Please complete the respondee information form contained within the booklet.

Please send your response to:
aslact@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

or

Michael Courtney
Scottish Executive Education Department
Additional Support Needs Division
Area 3B (North)
Victoria Quay
EDINBURGH
EH6 6QQ

If you have any queries or any comments on the consultation process, please contact Michael Courtney at the address/email above or telephone 0131 244 4914.

A series of Information on the implementation of the Act can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Education/School-Education/19094/18690

What is the purpose of this consultation?

The consultation will inform the development of the Code of Practice before it is published in 2005. The consultation is an opportunity for you, or your organisation, to express a view and to suggest improvements on the content and layout of the draft Code. The consultation on the associated draft Regulations and policy papers provides an opportunity to comment and to suggest improvements or alternatives to provisions within them.

What does this consultation pack contain?

This consultation, and all other Scottish Executive (SE) consultation exercises, can be viewed online at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out where your nearest public internet access point is. The Scottish Executive now also has an email alert system for SE consultations. You can register to receive a weekly email containing details of all new SE consultations at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/seconsult.aspx.

What is not in this consultation pack?

Access to consultation responses

We will make all responses available to the public in the SE Library by June 2005 unless confidentiality is requested. All responses not marked confidential will be checked for any potentially defamatory material before being logged in the library.

CODE OF PRACTICE Additional Support Needs-02

Content

The draft Code of Practice aims to offer advice and guidance to those statutory organisations which will have duties under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. The draft runs to 94 pages and is split into sections as follows:

Section 1 sets the framework for additional support for learning in the wider legislative and policy context.

Section 2 describes what additional support needs are, sets out the new duties on education authorities and appropriate agencies, and outlines the rights of parents and young people.

Section 3 sets out what the Act has to say about identifying and assessing additional support needs, and making and reviewing provision throughout a child's life. It puts this in the context of integrated assessment and intervention found across children's services.

Section 4 sets out the Act's provisions for supporting families and young people in their dealings with authorities, including mediation and dispute resolution.

Section 5 describes the Act's provisions for dealing with placing requests in respect of children and young people who have additional support needs, and advises on other issues not already covered.

Sections of the draft Code will be developed further in the light of responses to consultation on the associated draft Regulations and Policy Papers in this pack, for example the section on dispute resolution. The final version of the Code will include a glossary with definitions of terms used in the Act and elsewhere, as well as a resources section referring to other sources of information, including the Act and associated Regulations.

Following consultation, a revised version of the draft Code and Regulations will be presented to the Scottish Parliament for scrutiny.

Questions/discussion points

The following pages invite comments on some questions about the content of the draft Code, draft regulations and policy papers. These are designed to help you focus on some of the key issues, but are not meant to be an exhaustive list. We would welcome comment on these and any other issues you would like to raise.

Questions

General

1. What do you think about the overall structure and format of the draft Code?

2. What is your view of the choice of scenarios in Annex A?

Section 1

This section of the draft Code sets the framework for additional support for learning in the wider legislative and policy context.

1. How helpful do you find this section and the references to other legislation and policies? Are there any changes you would suggest?

Section 2

This section describes what additional support needs are, sets out the new duties on education authorities and appropriate agencies, and outlines the rights of parents and young people. A separate policy paper sets outs proposals for specifying other appropriate agencies.

1. Is it sufficiently clear what additional support needs are? If not, how can it be made clear?

2. How helpful do you find the description of factors which may give rise to additional support needs?

3. The other appropriate agencies policy paper, (Additional Support Needs - 03) sets out a number of questions. See page 9 for these.

Section 3

This section of the draft Code covers issues relating to the identification, assessment, provision and monitoring and review of additional support needs. It also looks at the criteria for Co-ordinated Support Plans. See also further questions on CSP regulations at page 11.

1. What do you think about the structure of this section?

2. How clear Is the advice on criteria for a CSP?

3. What is your view on the charts on additional support needs and decision tree for preparing a CSP?

4. Draft CSP regulations (Additional Support Needs - 04) sets out some further questions - see page 11.

Section 4

This section of the draft Code sets out what the Act has to say about supporting families and young people, mediation, etc. See also the separate policy paper (Additional Support Needs- 06) sets out proposals for dispute resolution; and the draft regulations on changes in school education (Additional Support Needs - 05).

1. What do you think about what the Code says about taking the views of children and young people?

2. What do you think about what the Code says about supporting parents?

3. What are your views on the section on mediation?

4. Dispute resolution

The dispute resolution paper Additional Support Needs - 06 contains some further questions which focus on dispute resolution. See page 14.

5. Draft Regulations on changes in school education

Consultation paper, Additional Support Needs - 05 sets out some further questions - see page 13.

Section 5

This section of the draft Code refers to issues not covered elsewhere, for example, placing requests, publishing information, etc. See also the separate policy paper, (Additional Support Needs -07)

1. What are your views on the guidance on placing requests?
2. What other issues, if any, do you think should be included in this section?
3. Policy paper, Additional Support Needs - 07 sets out some questions on what information an education authority should publish. See page 15.

Other Appropriate Agencies Additional Support Needs- 03

The Act specifies NHS Boards and social work services as other appropriate agencies. The Policy paper Additional Support Needs 03 sets out proposals for additional agencies to be added to the appropriate agency list (s 23 (2)). The paper also sets out proposals for timescales for agencies to respond to requests for help from an education authority. The paper asks:

1. What are your views on the voluntary sector being specified as an appropriate agency?
2. Are there any other organisations which should be considered? If so, why?
3. Are there any other agencies which might be in a position to provide information to education authorities to help them with establishing whether a child or young person has additional support needs, or additional support needs requiring a Co-ordinated Support Plan?
4. Are there any other agencies which should be identified who may be able to provide information on the occurrence of certain events?
5. Are there any other agencies which could help in the exercise of functions under the Act?
6. Is the time limit suggested for other agencies to comply with requests for help realistic? If not, what would be more realistic?
7. What are your views on the time limit exceptions?
8. Are there any other situations where it could be impracticable to comply within 6 weeks?

Co-ordinated Support Plan Regulations Additional Support Needs- 04

The Regulations set out the proposed form and content of the CSP, the time limits to be complied with in preparing and reviewing the CSP, the keeping, the transfer, disclosure and discontinuance of the CSP. The paper asks:

1. Do you think the 12 week time limit is realistic and achievable for preparing a CSP, and b) reviewing the CSP? If not, what would be more realistic?

2. Are there any other grounds of impracticability which should be included?

3. Should the Regulations specify a further time limit if the 12 week one cannot be complied with? If so, what timescale should be set?

4. Is the 4 week timescale for the transfer of the CSP to another authority reasonable? If not, why and what would be reasonable?

5. Are there any other people or organisations which should be added to the list of people to whom the CSP can be disclosed without permission?

6. Are the proposals for discontinuance, preservation and destruction of the CSP reasonable? If not, can you suggest an alternative?

7. How user friendly is the CSP template?

8. Do you think that the CSP will be easily understood used readily by everyone involved? If not what suggestions for improvements are there?

9. How do you see the CSP, particularly the information contained in the Learning Plan, fitting with existing planning mechanisms?

10. Is there any other information you think should be included in the CSP?

Changes in School Education Regulations Additional Support Needs-05

The draft Changes in School Education Regulations make provision to require certain action to be taken by education authorities when a child or young person, with additional support needs and for whose education they are responsible, is or is likely to have a specified change in their school education.

1. What are your views on the definition of a change in school education and circumstances that may arise?
2. Are there any others which need to be included?
3. What are your views on the timescales both for seeking and providing information?
4. Can the timescales be applied to all changes in school education allowed for in the Regulations? Particularly in relation to children about to enter pre-school (those aged 3 and 4)?

Dispute resolution Additional Support Needs-06

Policy paper Additional Support Needs-06 sets out proposals for a dispute resolution model aimed at resolving disputes, regarding any of the functions of the authority under the Act, which arise, between the authority and any parents or young people in the local authority area. The paper asks:

1. What are your views on the proposed dispute resolution model?
2. What are your views on who should be external independent adjudicators and how should the process operate?

3. What are your views on a maximum timeframe of 8 weeks? If you do not think this is appropriate, what other timescale would you suggest?

Publication of information Additional Support Needs-07

Policy paper Additional Support Needs-07 invites comments on guidance around issues on which authorities must publish information in respect of additional support needs.

It asks:

1. Are there matters, other than those in the policy paper, on which you think authorities should publish information? Your views on this would be welcome.
2. Is a 3 month timescale from commencement of the Act realistic for publishing information? What are your views on the annual review timescale? Would a specific date be better?
3. Are there any other alternative forms that could usefully be added to the list?

RESPONDEE INFORMATION FORM

Please complete the details below and attach it with your response. This will help ensure we handle your response appropriately:

Name:
Postal Address:
Consultation title: Consultation on Additional Support for Learning Act draft Code and associated materials
1.	Are you responding as: (please tick one box)
	(a)	an individual		(go to 2a/b)
	(b)	on behalf of a group or organisation		(go to 2c)
2a.	INDIVIDUALS:
	Do you agree to your response being made available to the public (in SE library and/or on the SE website)?
	Yes (go to 2b below)
	No, not at all
2b.	Where confidentiality is not requested, we will make your response available to the public on the following basis ( please tick one of the following boxes)
	Yes, make my response, name and address all available
	Yes, make my response available, but not my name or address
	Yes, make my response and name available, but not my address
2c	ON BEHALF OF GROUPS OR ORGANISATIONS:
	Your name and address as respondees will be made available to the public (in the SE library and/or on SE website). Are you content for your response to be made available also?
	Yes
	No
SHARING RESPONSES/FUTURE ENGAGEMENT
3.	We will share your response internally with other SE policy teams who may be addressing the issues you discuss. They may wish to contact you again in the future, but we require your permission to do so. Are you content for the Scottish Executive to contact you again in the future in relation to this consultation response?
	Yes
	No