Independent Support – Funding for PPS February 2014 What is ‘Independent Support’? Independent Support is a Government funded programme until March 2016 to provide additional support to young people and parents during the implementation of the SEND reforms. The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) will commission a range of organisations to provide Independent Support locally across England. Independent Supporters will be used specifically to support young people and parents through the introduction of the new assessment process and the development of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. Support will be provided to: New entrants to the system Children with a statement converting to an EHC plan Young people with an LDA converting to an EHC plan For further details of the Independent Support programme please see the CDC website. How will Independent Support Engage with PPS? The Government recognises the key role of Parent Partnership Services in providing impartial Information Advice and Support (IAS), and the need for Local Authorities to build on them in order to meet their new IAS duties. Independent Support is, and will be seen to be, additional to PPS. There will be clear expectations that in each area Independent Supporters will work with and complement pre-existing local services. What Funding is Available? Funding will be provided over 2 years to: Eligible Voluntary, community sector and private organisations to recruit, manage and deploy Independent Support locally. Eligible Parent Partnership Services to develop their capacity to provide IAS and to recruit, manage and deploy Independent Support. 1 - Parent Partnership Funding The Independent Support programme has 3 phases of funding, all of which will be open to eligible PPS (whether they are in-house or outsourced): Evidence and Build Phase (March – June 2014) – Up to 12 eligible PPS will receive contracts from CDC to gather evidence and report on effective models to deliver independent support. PPS will also be asked to pilot training during this phase. (£25,000 inclusive of VAT, where applicable) CDC launched this tender phase on 3rd March 2014. Phase 1 (July 2014 to March 2015) – Funding will be available to all eligible PPS who meet the criteria of the tender specification. (£25,000 inclusive of VAT, where applicable) CDC will be launching this tender phase early June 2014. Phase 2 (April 2015 – March 2016) - Based on outcomes and evidence from Phase 1 – eligible PPSs will have contracts extended to be able to continue their offer until 31 March 2016. (£25,000 inclusive of VAT, where applicable). Evidence and Build (funding available for up to 12 services) For this phase of the programme the CDC are looking for Parent Partnership Services that will be able to: a) Explore a range of ways of developing and implementing Independent Support from the context of a PPS. b) Gather evidence (including structure, cost, effectiveness etc) and report on the different ways of developing and implementing Independent Support from the context of a PPS. c) Pilot training programmes provided through the Independent Support Programme. There will be a degree of flexibility in how PPS can support the provision of Independent Support, therefore the CDC are particularly keen to look at proposals that are innovative, sustainable and which support the additional responsibilities of IAS, particularly with regard to young people. In order to successfully apply for funding PPS will be required to meet specific criteria set out in the Independent Support Programme tender documents, these include: a) Having staff who have completed, or who will complete in the first 2 months of employment, legal training and are able to demonstrate a clear understanding of the SEN and Disability reforms. b) Having the capacity to undertake development work within the agreed time frame. c) Having the possible ability and capacity to explore, develop and report on a range of models for delivering Independent Support. d) Can demonstrate their ability to work in partnership with other local partners and services, including parent led organisations. e) Having an effective policy on impartiality both published an in operation; and able to demonstrate their ability to provide a comprehensive range of impartial information. f) The ability to receive and manage funding directly – to fulfil this PPS should, if based within a LA, have a specific PPS budget code, with all PPS funds being ring fenced. The deadline for submissions for the ‘Evidence and Build’ phase is 17th March. It is expected that contracts will be awarded no later than 27th March. For a full list of eligibility criteria for this phase of the funding please see the Independent Support Programme tender documents. If you have any further queries regarding eligibility please email Independent Support. Phases 1 & 2 – Delivering an Independent Support Service to support the IS programme (funding available for any eligible PPS) For this phase of the programme the CDC are looking for Parent Partnership services that will be able to: a) Recruit, manage, deploy and supervise an agreed number of Independent Supporters to provide the children and parents with timely and appropriate support through the EHC assessment and planning process. b) Develop the capacity of the PPS to help develop and implement new IAS responsibilities under the SEND reform, including those relevant to providing Independent Supporters. In order to successfully apply for funding in this phase, Parent Partnership Services will be required to meet criteria similar to the Evidence and Build phase. NPPN are not part of, and do not have responsibility for, the Independent Support Programme. We will not be involved in any decisions on the allocation of funding. We will offer advice and support to the CDC on the PPS elements of the programme.