By Louise Keevil
Here we are at the end of the second week of term and welcoming our new students.
We never underestimate the anxiety that families are
experiencing as their children take this massive step from adolescence to
adulthood.
We have known these families now for at least 12 months, we
feel their determination, their exhaustion and their jitters as they navigate
the complex system for procuring their post 16 SEND placement of choice. The uncertainty of ‘am I leaving home or not’
challenges the emotional wellbeing of the whole family. We celebrate with the family when the Education
and Health Care (EHC) plan is finalised and then the jitters really set in -
this is it, leaving home, following dreams to live a more independent adult
life.
From the moment we become the college of choice our
admissions staff walk a very fine line as they provide the best possible
advice, guidance and support for families yet they must balance this delicately
with the right words to make sure they don’t give false hope. We know that local authorities are not in a
position to simply agree to funding college placements – nothing is certain
until that EHC plan is finalised!
A Rock and a Hard Place
Local authority staff work tirelessly all across the country
to secure provision that they believe meets the needs of young people in their
area. They try so hard to be able to
meet need close to home, however, there are times when looking further afield
is the right and best option. This of
course is not straight forward as what the local authority believe meets needs
often differs from the choice and expectation of young people and their
families. What do we do in this
situation? Of course we think Tom will
have the best possible opportunities to fulfil his potential if he comes to our
college, of course we know that the local authority will want Tom to stay in the
local area, of course we must have professional and transparent relationships
with local authorities and of course we will stand by the side of families as
they make the tiring and emotional journey - our staff find themselves stuck between rock
and a hard place.
Richard, a key member of our Admissions team thinks the 'times
they are a changing': "I have been doing this job for many years and I have never
felt more like a negotiator of fees and provision. I didn’t see this change to my job role
coming but I know it is vital so that I can ensure young people remain at the
core".
Creating Futures
All of that said, here we are – we first met Tom in 2012 and
today, September 2016, he has started the next phase of his adult life. He will be learning the skills to live a more
independent life, one that is full of choices and decisions. Well done all – lets continue to stick
together to make sure Tom’s and all other students’ opportunities and
aspirations are realised.
For more information on Educational Health Care Plans visit:
Louise Keevil is Director of Charity & Corporate Services at Derwen College.
Follow Louise on Twitter: www.twitter.com/louisekeevil
