Feb 23, 2016 - service, and the voluntary and community sector. ... events and examples of best practice concerning ...
Winter 2016 ISSUE seven
www.somerset.gov.uk
Special Educational Needs and Disability Reforms
Welcome to the first SEND newsletter for 2016!
What were your New Year’s Resolutions? Here, we agreed to continue to support you with news, training and events and articles on supporting children, young people with SEND and their families. This year we will be rolling out online SEND training for the workforce and parent carers, launching a self-evaluation tool and reviewing Special Educational Needs (SEN) support in education across Somerset plus much more. We hope you enjoy reading this. Please share with colleagues, parents and others who you think may be interested. Let us know what you think about the newsletter, what do you like and what can we improve.
SEND Training and Support Team
In autumn 2014 changes in the way we support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities were made. These changes have an official name – the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) reforms. They were introduced as part of a law called the Children and Families Act 2014.
Who is this
Newsletter
for?
It is for all parent carers of children and young people up to the age of 25 who have a special educational need or disability in Somerset. It also offers important and useful information for people working with schools, social care, the health service, and the voluntary and community sector. Please forward to anyone you feel may be interested in reading this newsletter, or if you would like to be added to our mailing list then please email
[email protected] The newsletter is published electronically every school half term. We are keen to share news, training events and examples of best practice concerning the SEND reforms in Somerset. If you have an article you would like to share in a future newsletter, please email
[email protected] WWW.SOMERSET.GOV.UK Somerset Parent Carer Forum
Supporting the Special Educational Needs and Disability Reforms in Somerset
News Better Together Competition Winner Congratulations to our “Better Together” competition winner Lauren Mayne from Lufton College in Yeovil. Lauren wins a £50 gift card. Lauren painted a colourful image of her family to represent what “Better Together” means to her. Lauren’s image will be used on leaflets, newsletters and website. Thank you to all of the competition entries.
Updated Continuing Care Guidance for children and young people with complex health needs Some children and young people (under the age of 18), have very complex health needs. Their needs may be so complex, that they cannot be met by the services which are routinely available from GP practices, hospitals or in the community. A package of additional health support may be needed. This additional package of care is known as continuing care. Following public consultation, the Department of Health has published the updated National Framework for Children and Young People’s Continuing Care. It sets out how Clinical Commissioning Groups (groups of GPs that work together to plan and design local health services in England) can meet the needs of children and young people under 18 who require more support than is available from universal or specialist services. For more information click here www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-andyoung-peoples-continuing-care-national-framework
Multi-million pound funding for SEND The Department for Education announces a multi-million pound package that will ensure thousands of children with SEND have the same opportunities as any other child. Children’s Minister Edward Timpson said the £80 million would help transform the life chances of children across the country and ensure every child, regardless of the challenges they face, can ‘dream big’ and fulfill their potential. To read more and find out where the money is being spent click here www.gov.uk/government/news/80-million-to-boostsupport-for-special-educational-needs.
News Preparing for Adulthood – Working Better Together As part of the SEND changes, officers from social care and health, together with partner agencies (such as education, housing and service providers), and including a parent carer and the two Young People’s Champions, are working together to look at “Preparation for Adulthood”. The group will focus on the 4 areas of preparation for adulthood: • Employment • Independent Living • Community Inclusion • Health The group is developing a multi-agency vision document setting out principles of working to ensure that children with SEND achieve well in their early years, at school and in college, and lead happy and fulfilled lives. Further work will include the development of a strategy and guidance document as well as operational considerations around service redesign. The vision document will be shared with you shortly, but in the meantime if you wish to get involved in this important piece of work please contact the Preparation for Adulthood lead Eelke Zoestbergen on
[email protected]
Coming soon - FREE Online Training In March the SEND Training and Support Team will launch FREE online training for parent carers and anyone working with or caring for children and young people with a special educational need or disability in Somerset. The training includes; • Introduction to the SEND Reforms • Working with children and young people with SEND • Working with parent carers and families of children and young people with SEND • And Overview to the Mental Capacity Act (SEND) year of Mental Capacity Act - 2005 Watch this space - the next SEND newsletter will feature more information on how you can access the training, why it is important and why you should be encouraging all new and existing staff to do it!
Training & Events FREE Event for Parent Carers Are you a parent carer or do you know of a parent carer living in West Somerset? Then please tell them that Somerset Parent Carer Forum is holding a free information and networking event for parent carers in Minehead on Tuesday 2 March, 10am till 2pm at The Beach House Hotel. If you have ever wondered what differentiated learning is? What is meant by the graduated response? Do you know what MAISEY is or who it’s for? What work and training opportunities are available for young people who have learning difficulties who are leaving school and college? These are a few of the many questions parent carers are faced with every day. Somerset Parent Carer Forum have gathered all these questions and more and poured them into an event during school time where hopefully all your questions will be answered.
The event will give parent carers an opportunity to come together, meet others, visit stalls providing services for children and young people with SEND and hear from different speakers on; •
The Local Offer within Somerset Choices Children & Families, a website providing information on support and services for children and young people with SEND and their families
• what support Somerset provides to children with SEND in their early years
• how Schools are supporting pupils with SEND and what has changed
• health, and how you can participate and shape health services in your local area • the Mental Capacity Act and the new Code of Practice To book your place or find out more information visit www.somersetpcf.org.uk
Somerset SEND Information sessions and events The SEND Training and Support Team are pleased to announce a series of free events over the spring. Whether you want to find out more about the SEND Reforms, the area inspection or find out about, Personal Budgets or Raising Aspirations, there is an event for you and members of your team. An overview of the upcoming events is below. All flyers for the events can be downloaded by following the links. We would encourage you to share far and wide and take advantage of these FREE information and support sessions.
Date Location
Who is it aimed at?
Flyer
SEND Information Update - Drop in sessions Find out about the changes to SEND support in Somerset including SEND specific resources and guidance for Area Inspection. 23/02/16 11-12.15pm or 1-2.15pm 29/02/16 11-12.15pm or 1-2.15pm
Taunton Practitioners Bridgwater
No need to book, just turn up
Date Location
Who is it aimed at?
Flyer
Information session on your Local Offer Free information session on the up and coming changes to The Local Offer within Somerset Choices Children & Families’, shared best practice on the Annual Review and contacts available for help and support. 24/02/16 9.3011.30am or 2-4pm 08/03/16 9.3011.30am or 2 -4pm 09/03/16 9.3011.30am or 2-4pm 16/03/16 9.3011.30am or 2-4pm
Bridgwater
Frome
Taunton
Aimed at Education Practitioners across Early Years, Schools and Further Education particularly Managers, Additional Learning Support Managers Special Educational Needs Coordinator, and Business Managers
To book your place at one of these events email your name and education setting to
[email protected]
Yeovil
Raising Aspirations Workshops Raising aspirations for children and young people with SEND. Co-produced and delivered by young people and parent carers. This course will help you to support young people to; • Become what they want to be • Become more independent • Take ownership of their lives 03/03/16 10.3012.30pm or 2-4pm 10/03/16 10.3012.30pm or 2-4pm 17/03/16 10.3012.30pm or 2-4pm 24/03/16 10.3012.30pm or 2-4pm
Shepton Mallet
Yeovil Practitioners
To book your place please email
[email protected]
Taunton
Bridgwater
If you cannot get to one of the sessions or would like to invite us to one of your meetings, please feel free to contact
[email protected] with your request for support and we will see what we can do. We look forward to seeing you in the coming months and sharing all the resources that are available to you to help you deliver better outcomes for children and young people with SEND in Somerset.
Training for Teaching Assistants; Emotional Literacy Support Assistant Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) is a comprehensive programme of training and supervision to develop the skills of teaching assistants.
ELSAs have a specific role within a school to plan and deliver interventions to build pupils’ emotional literacy skills. The project was developed to build the capacity of schools to support the emotional needs of their pupils from within their own resources. It recognises that children learn better when their emotional needs are also addressed. Further ELSA training will be available in April 2016. Please contact Kayleigh Partt (
[email protected]) or Fiona Mann (
[email protected]) for more information. We are also planning the first ELSA conference in Somerset which will take place on 10th November 2016. Further details will be available soon.
What is dyslexia and how can I support my child at home? A Conference on Dyslexia for Parents Saturday 5 March 2016 Somerset Learning Support Services is holding a Conference at Dillington House, Ilminster. This half day conference will give parents and carers the opportunity to consider the difficulties their child experiences and explore ideas and strategies to support them at home. The conference costs £20. For any queries concerning this conference please contact Louise Morgan email
[email protected] telephone 01823 334475.
Raising Aspirations and Achievement for Learners with Dyslexia, SEN and Underachievers Thursday 12 May 2016 Somerset Dyslexia Association is holding its Spring Conference at Oake Manor Golf Club in Taunton. It will look at; • raising aspirations for learners with dyslexia, SEN and underachievers, • increasing access to learning by engaging parents and carers • raising achievement For more information and to book your place at this event visit www.somersetdyslexia.co.uk/
Feature articles Interns in SEARCH for paid employment Nine young people with Learning Disabilities are on the path to paid employment as part of a pioneering initiative run by Somerset County Council, Musgrove Park Hospital and Somerset College. The initiative is known as Project SEARCH, a one-year programme which aims to give young people with Learning Disabilities the skills to obtain competitive paid employment. The nine interns who started at Musgrove in September have now completed all their essential training and are out in placements developing their skills and work experience in various departments at the hospital. Throughout the year the interns are working with different teams in the hospital, supported by mentors who have volunteered to offer extra support and training. The first placements for the interns have been in: Sterile Services, Beacon Day Unit, Head and Neck Theatres, Catering Portering Team, Mop Laundry, The Academy, Library, Grounds and Notes Portering and IT Service Desk. Cllr William Wallace, Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for Adults with Learning Disabilities, said: Project SEARCH gives people with Learning Disabilities the skills, experience, knowledge and confidence to move into the world of employment. A Learning
Disability should not be a barrier to employment. We’ve seen these interns make real progress in their first couple of months and we’re confident they’ll continue to develop throughout their internship and beyond to reach their full potential.” A spokesperson for Musgrove Park Hospital said: We are very pleased to be able to support this programme. All the staff involved have been inspired by the determination and commitment of the interns to succeed” Jo Burford, Vice-Principal, Somerset College, said: I was delighted to visit the students and mentors in their working environments at Musgrove Park Hospital and witness the level of confidence and motivation each individual student has gained. The level of improvement is remarkable and evidenced in the students’ sense of achievement and pride. It is quite apparent how the level of exposure to a regular working environment has been harnessed by these students and with the exceptional support from their tutors, mentors, the Hospital and the College, the students are thriving and achieving!
Project Search has provided these individuals with meaningful work opportunities which has enhanced their self-esteem and employability skills to a significantly high standard. The students and all participants involved in the Project should be immensely proud of their achievements!” Musgrove Park Hospital is the second employer in Somerset to work with Project SEARCH interns, supported by Somerset College (the training provider) and Somerset County Council (who provide job coaches via Aspire). The Project SEARCH programme was first developed in the USA and now helps people with learning disabilities from all over the world to gain paid employment (at minimum wage or above). In 2015 there were 400+ Project SEARCH sites globally, and 39 in the UK which achieved employment for 60 to 100 per cent of the interns who took part in the programme.
An Inspector Calls Last year the government decided that arrangements for SEND in each area should be inspected. This has encouraged us in Somerset to take a good long look at ourselves so that we can evaluate and improve the work we all do to improve outcomes for children, young people and young adults, along with their families. Inspections will be carried out by Ofsted, the Care and Quality Commission (CQC) and by an inspector from another local authority. We must expect to be inspected once every five years, with inspections starting nationally in the summer term this year. This is an area inspection, so the inspection team will be talking with Children’s Social Care, Health, children and young people and their parent carers as well as the local authority. Over the last couple of months I have been meeting lots of people to understand the good work that is already happening, and where we need to make things better. I have also been looking at the outcomes of young people in the county, and how they compare with similar counties.
This work will continue for the next few months when I will draft an improvement plan for the approval of the SEND Strategy Board. It will then be for us all to work together to ensure brighter futures for children and young people in Somerset with SEND. My aim now is to get, and share, a really good understanding of the great work that is already happening in the county and to identify the areas where more needs to be done. If you have anything you would like to share about the way SEND works in Somerset please let me know. I can be contacted at
[email protected] or on 01823 359 768 Written by John Riches, Acting Service Manager
The UnstoppablesSomerset’s forum for young people with SEND The Unstoppables is a group for young people aged 13 to 25 with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The group meets on the first Saturday of each month to have their say on matters that affect them whilst having fun and meeting other young people. They meet in either Taunton or Yeovil and lunch is provided. If you know of any young people who would be interested please get in touch or encourage them to attend one of our groups. Those attending need to be able to manage under group supervision or need to bring a parent carer or guardian for extra support. The Engagement and Participation Team are keen to hear and listen to children and young people across Somerset, so if you know a group interested in having their say, the team can come along to one of their sessions.
If you have any questions or would like to find out more please contact:- Jemma on 07469 413359 or email
[email protected].
The Unstoppables
Meetings
Sat
5 Mar
Sat
2 Apr
Sat
7 May
Sat
4 Jun
VENUE Reckleford Children’s Centre Eastland Rd, Yeovil, BA21 4ET TIME: 11-2pm
VENUE Burtons Orchard 9 Wilton Street, Taunton,TA1 3JR TIME: 11-2pm VENUE Reckleford Children’s Centre Eastland Rd, Yeovil, BA21 4ET TIME: 11-2pm
VENUE Burtons Orchard 9 Wilton Street, Taunton,TA1 3JR TIME: 11-2pm
Sat
2 july
Sat
6 Aug
VENUE Reckleford Children’s Centre Eastland Rd, Yeovil, BA21 4ET TIME: 11-2pm
VENUE Burtons Orchard 9 Wilton Street, Taunton,TA1 3JR TIME: 11-2pm
Have a question for the SEND Training and Support Team, or need this newsletter in a different format? Phone: 01823 359732 email:
[email protected] Website: http://bit.ly/SomersetSEND
