Learning the hard way
Providing information for parents Choice is only useful if those being invited to choose have the information they need to do so. Yet information about SEN provision is so difficult to access and understand that it is only the most determined parents, supported by strong lobby groups, who are likely to be able to secure the best services for their children.43 To its credit, in 2001 the government set out requirements for councils to publish information on their websites describing local SEN policies.44 But local authorities are manifestly failing to adhere to their legal duties in this regard. A survey of all 150 English and Welsh local authorities carried out in 2003 found that only ten published all the information required by law.45 A follow up survey conducted for this report of a third of all authorities found only limited improvement in the intervening four years (see Appendix). Authorities fell down most when it came to describing school provision. For instance, only 27 per cent gave information about the funding of help available to children in the School Action and School Action Plus categories. Perhaps most concerning was the finding that only 39 per cent of authorities explained how they monitored the allocation and effectiveness of SEN spending – another legal requirement.
Local maps of provision Local authorities and schools should inform parents about the funding and delivery of SEN services on a consistent and easily intelligible basis. Every council in conjunction with its schools should draw up a document or ‘map’ describing the help each child can expect to receive, depending on their impairment and learning level. Each map would vary according to the level of resources and the availability of specialist help available in each authority. The information should be available on each council and school website and in school prospectuses. Those local authorities that already adopt such an approach report a marked improvement in practice and in parental confidence levels. According to a senior officer in Wiltshire County Council, the detailing of the precise provision parents can expect, 31