News Children and Families Bill for England becomes law‌ The Children and Families Bill has now received royal assent. This marks a landmark in how children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) in England will be supported in the future. The Children and Families Act 2014 will introduce a number of changes including a move from special educational needs statements to education, health and care plans. Now the big test will be how the new system will be translated on the ground, in schools, colleges and across local agencies and whether it will make a difference to families with disabled children and young people. Paul Soames, Interim CEO at Contact a Family said: "Today marks a landmark for how disabled children and young people with SEN are support in the future. However, many families are yet to be persuaded that the battles for support will end. Added to this, more cuts in local authority services and welfare changes mean families face extremely difficult times ahead. With this in mind, Contact a Family is here to help families understand their rights and what to expect from the system of support now and in the future. We will campaign and support local parent carer forums to ensure that families with disabled children, young people and those with SEN actually get what has been promised to them" The law will not change today. This will start to happen from September 2014.The current special educational needs (SEN) law continues, including the SEN code of practice. This means all local authorities must keep their legal duties to identify and assess children's special educational needs and, where necessary, arrange educational provision through a statement of special educational needs. See our education pages for more. Families wanting to know how the new proposals may affect their children now, or in the future should telephone the Contact a Family freephone helpline for advice on 0808 808 3555.
Complete our survey and help us reveal the true picture of finances for families with disabled children‌ Contact a Family is calling on mums, dads and other family members who care for children and young people with additional needs or disabilities to take part in some important research about family finances and the impact of welfare reforms. Counting the Costs 2014 is a repeat of our flagship survey and report that we've carried out every two years since 2008. In 2012, we found that one in seven families with disabled children were missing meals and one in six can't afford to heat their homes. Since then, many of the government's planned welfare cuts have been implemented, as the biggest shake up of the UK's benefits system in 30 years continues. This means that your responses to our Counting the Costs 2014 will give us a unique snapshot of families' current financial situation and whether it is getting better or worse as a result of these changes. By filling out the survey you will be helping us to raise awareness and lobby for change particularly as welfare reforms continue to hit families with disabled children hard. This year's Counting the Costs is also particularly important as we try to influence party manifesto's ahead of the next general election in 2015. We need as many of you as possible to complete the survey and help us build that true picture by completing the survey which should not take more than 20 minutes. The deadline to complete the survey is the end of May 2014. It can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CTC2014 but if you would like a hard copy of the survey or help completing the survey please contact us on 020 7608 8742. 7