9th March 2015

• An information day organised by the Sheffield Parent Carer Forum attracted over 100 people to St Mary’s Community Centre. The event, which took place on 6 March, focused on reforms to the special educational needs (SEN) system, which came into effect in September 2014.

  A busy programme of workshops gave parents the opportunity to explore different aspects of the reforms – including the concept of outcomes, Education Health and Care Plans (replace statements of SEN), the transition to adulthood, the new category “SEN Support” (replaces School Action and School Action Plus), and decision-making for young people who lack mental capacity.

  And if those workshops still left questions unanswered, parents were able to seek clarification straight “from the horse’s mouth” by taking part in a question & answer session with a panel of professionals from health, education and social care.

  The programme was completemented by an information marketplace featuring 18 local and national support organisations, and a free legal advice surgery run by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors.

  Materials from the event are available for download by clicking on the links below:

  Workshop on Outcomes: summary

  Workshop on Education Health and Care (EHC) plans: presentation | IPSEA’s EHCP checklist

  Workshop on SEN Support: presentation

  Workshop on Transitions: presentation

  Workshop on decision-making for young people who lack mental capacity: presentation | factsheet about Mental Capacity Act