Supporting students with complex medical needs & PD

Posts: 2

Shona Hopkins

Topic starter

Jun 29, 2022 7:07 pm

(@shona-hopkinsrochdale-gov-uk)

New Member

Joined: 8 years ago

[#1004]

Please could people share how their LA funds support for children and young people with complex medical needs and/or physical disability in mainstream schools? And what job description/person spec/job titles are used for these posts?

For example, stipulated by Health that a young person who is fully vented with a tracheostomy must have 2:1 support at all times from two adults fully trained in tracheostomy care (not just trachy aware), funding for one adult via health, funding for the other via education, however the young person does not have learning needs, only barriers to learning from their physical disability. Should the support be fully health funded? Also some of the necessary cares, e.g. suctioning beyond a certain depth, have been deemed to be only suitable for Health professionals to undertake, how is this managed?

Due to the need for two fully trained staff, difficulties with cover if either of the two staff are absent resulting in the young person not being able to come to school on occasion. The necessary training is also difficult to arrange for term time only staff, resulting in additional payments or goodwill for working out of hours/in holidays, impossible to give time back in lieu as this too results in the young person being unable to attend school. Then 'simple' things like being able to give staff their entitlement to breaks during the school day, how can this best be managed when must have 2:1 support at all times?

We've got some processes in place and the students are attending but it all feels rather fragile and in need of improvement. Education and Health working together to try to find ways forward but would be really grateful for ideas/suggestions/experiences from other areas.

Thanks 🙂

2 Replies

Posts: 35

Kate Hebson

Jul 08, 2022 4:47 pm

(@khebsonvalence-kent-sch-uk)

Trusted Member

Joined: 8 years ago

Hi Shona

Trachey care is really challenging for schools. I have pupils that have had the Teaching Assistants trained by health and funded by Local Authority (High Needs Funding pot) and others where a nurse/carer is with them full time (funded by health-IF they are open to Continuing Care Team). I'm not entirely sure what the criteria is for CCT but I think it is related to where a pupil has overnight 24 hour care. Where Education are trained, we've trained enough people up so that education/attendance shouldn't be affected but you do need staff to feel comfortable with this and part of their job description. Schools advertising via care agencies has sometimes helped with recruitment.

Kate

Reply

Posts: 105

Jo Lambert

Jul 11, 2022 9:32 pm

(@jo-lambertessex-gov-uk)

Estimable Member

Joined: 8 years ago

Hi - In Essex there is a Joint Agency Allocation Panel which meets on a monthly basis to discuss CYP with very complex needs: The role of the Joint Agency Allocation Panel (JAAP) is to challenge and endorse proposed packages of provision for children and young people with special education needs and disabilities. It is a multi-agency panel which gives consideration to cases where there is more than one agency funding packages of continuing care, education and/or care needs including section 117 of the Mental Health Act and single agency continuing care. The JAAP meets on a monthly basis (virtual panels may be held in December).

I don't sit on this panel myself so am not sure exactly how it works but there are representatives from Health, Education and Social Care. Some CYP seem to be given a package of support whereby the Health Care needs are met by staff employed directly by the parent (so they sit in the classroom but have nothing to do with Education - purely meeting the child's medical needs) and LSA support is provided by the school. It is only rare that certain medical procedures are deemed beyond the ability of a specifically trained LSA, however.

Less complex medical needs are funded via our Medical IPRA route (Individual Pupil Resource Allocation) which provides schools and settings with funding where there are no significant learning needs and therefore EHCP is not appropriate. Where a school or setting feels they do not have sufficient funds to meet a child's medical needs, they have to make a case to our SEND Operations team for additional funding, outlining how and when they would use it. We are in the process of revising all our EHCP banding descriptors to try to make it a fairer system across the county.

I am not sure this answers your question though...with regard to break times, we often suggest staggered break times so they are not all on a break at the same time. I believe that here, most training is undertaken during school hours and, where possible on INSET days to minimise having to pay staff extra but I have heard of schools having to do this at times.

Reply