Special Educational Needs and Learners with a Learning Difficulty Masterclass

This one-day master class, delivered by Donald Rae, Policy Adviser to the Local Government Group, will consider the Government’s plans to reform the ways we support children and young people with a special educational need or disability. The Government received over 2,000 responses to its green paper on special needs and disability and will be publishing its response later in 2011.

The master class will examine

•  the role of local authorities, health bodies and the voluntary sector in assessing and planning provision, including advising young people

• the impact of the proposed reforms on schools and FE colleges, including those in the independent sector

• how changes to funding for young people with special educational needs or a learning difficulty or disability will affect schools, colleges and local authorities

• what we can learn from pilot projects, such as those which have developed independent budgets and supported employment

 Throughout the session, we will focus on how young people with special educational needs or a learning difficulty or disability – and their parents – can be provided with greater choice, a key theme of the green paper. We will also look at how the school and college based systems can be better integrated, including how schools and colleges are working together on these issues.

Who is the master class for?

This master class will be particularly useful for

•  Policy advisers and practitioners in government or national agencies

• Staff in local authorities with a role in special educational needs and / or 14-19 education

• Those from schools and colleges with a lead role in special educational needs or learners with a learning difficulty or disability

• Staff in voluntary organisations involved in supporting parents or young people with a disability

• Senior managers from independent special schools or specialist colleges.

 The maximum number of participants will be 15.