  Bi-weekly newsletter in association with our Local Offer
Recently added services on our Local Offer
ADHD Richmond
We’re a voluntary, independent, non-funded, parent/carer support group for the neuro-developmental condition Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder & all its comorbidities. We’re based in Richmond upon Thames, London, UK and support all families with ADHD concerns. Find out more
Apple Tree support
Promoting independence and choice we pride ourselves on offering care and support to disabled children and young people from a dedicated and highly motivated PA and Care Team. Working towards outcome based plans we can offer care and support in your own home or in the community. Find out more
Boingboing
Boingboing is a not-for profit organisation. We run regular Resilience Forums, develop Resilience Frameworks, books and other materials, and offer training, workshops and talks on resilient approaches to life’s challenges. We aim to be inclusive and we provide many free resources on our website. Boingboing believes in co-production and the majority of the work that we do is co-produced by members of the local community including young people. Find out more
Boo Hiccup
Boo Hiccup entertains with exciting magic shows for schools, children's homes, kids clubs, housing associations and educational establishments of all kinds. His show is jam-packed full of laughs, fun and impressive magic and there is loads of audience participation throughout. He has specially tailored shows for children with special educational needs or disabilities. He can also make a fine array of balloon models and perform walkabout magic "on the move" at roaming events. Find out more.
Care Homes in West Sussex
Caredirectory.co.uk have set up to provide a guide to care homes, nursing homes and domiciliary care agencies throughout Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales (UK). Care Directory allows you to search by County, category and postcode to find the care home or nursing home that your nearest area and also allows you to add your care home / nursing home in our directory. Find out more
Informal Family Care - Support for Kinship Carers
We are a service for Kinship Carers taking care or children from 0-18 years old. The service if for Grandparents, aunts, uncles and older siblings who are caring for a child or young person full time. This includes monthly Drop In’s at five locations around the county, including Chichester, Bognor, Worthing, Southwick and Crawley. We also have groups that run for 6 weeks on kinship issues and an introduction to Attachment. Find out more
National Autistic Society - Horsham Club
The National Autistic Society Horsham Club is open to all children and young people with autism and Asperger syndrome between the ages of 5-18. Thursday 5.30pm – 7.30pm, cost £5 per session Children and young people who attend our club enjoy a wide variety of fun activities in a safe, structured and autism friendly environment. We help them grow and develop their communication and social skills, become more independent, develop their confidence and boost self-esteem. Find out more
Migloo mobile hoisted changing suite to buy or hire for events, parties, festivals, camping etc.
MigLoo is the world’s first fully portable changing suite, allowing people who need hoisted toileting, the freedom of taking their facilities with them — wherever they go — all in a complete stand-alone unit that takes only minutes to set up or take down. MigLoo is more than a changing suite. It's a tool for leaving the confines of a wheelchair to experience freedom, touch sand, lie on grass, sit in a beanbag and be part of the fun. MigLooFreedom and MiglooFestival to rent or buy. Find out more
Rascals & Sparkles - Performing Arts Class
It is a performing arts class for children with additional needs. We uses music, drama and dance to boost confidence and social skills. Dancing, making music and playing drama games can help help develop communication and interaction with others, as well as being great fun of course. The age range is a rough guide line, I have some children who are 8. Siblings and children without additional needs are also welcome and will have just as much fun. Find out more.
Rape Crisis Surrey & Sussex
We provide free, independent and specialist support to women and girls (aged 13+) who have experienced any form of sexual abuse at any time in their lives. We listen to, believe and are non judgemental. We provide a range of services to empower and support women and girls to understand and recover from their experience. We are a member of Rape Crisis England and Wales and an accredited British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy centre. Find out more.
Running Wild Forest School
Running Wild Forest School is based in Selsey and provide Forest School sessions, events and skills days in West Sussex. Find out more
The Clay Shed
A pottery studio with a difference! I am a Specialist Paediatric Occupational Therapist working with children and young adults with Autism and learning difficulties. I love working with clay and use it as a medium to provide therapeutic sensory input to aid relaxation, attention, fine motor skill development and sensory processing skills. I love what I do and you will always be welcomed with a smile (and possibly a song). I offer private pottery sessions, family and group sessions. Find out more.
Graduated Approach
Schools and education settings should adopt a Graduated Approach to assessing, planning, ‘doing’ and reviewing the support offer put in place for learners with special educational needs and disabilities. Differentiated and personalised teaching approaches, often referred to as Quality First Teaching (QFT) or universal approaches, should underpin all teaching and are of benefit to all children / young people as well as those also with special educational needs. Some children / young people will require support that is additional to or different from universal Quality First Teaching, as these approaches are not sufficient to meet some specific special educational needs. These learners will require more focused intervention and support and these are referred to as targeted interventions. A few children / young people will also require specialist interventions in addition to targeted interventions and Quality First Teaching. See the document here.
New mental health and emotional wellbeing training
The new mental health and emotional wellbeing training brochure for people working with children and young people has been launched. It includes many popular courses:
*Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
*Attachment, Trauma and Early Brain Development
*Youth Mental Health First Aid Lite *The Adolescent Brain
*Self Harm
New courses this term:
*Level 2 Maternal Infant Mental Health Training (MIMH)
*Young People and Suicide
*Eating Disorders and Young People
*Talking with Young People about Mental Health Issues
*Autism, Anxiety and Adolescence
Coastal West Sussex Mind are the lead agency for this children and young people's training initiative. They are delivered in partnership with specialist agencies and expert trainers, including Grassroots, YMCA Downslink Group, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Life Centre, Joint Diversity and Change, Grow, Live.
The training is funded by WSCC and Health and there is a small registration booking fee required between £10.00 - £30.00. The training programme is being constantly updated so keep checking the website.
Please click here to book your place on a course through Eventbrite.
SEND Local Area Inspection
As you may be aware the Ofsted and
Care Quality Commission
inspections of how local areas are implementing the SEND reforms. View information
on the SEND Reforms here.
Inspectors
will be in our area for one week during term time. There will be five days’
notice of their visit. Two days will be spent in meetings, two days visiting
early years settings, schools, special schools, alternative provision and post
16 colleges, and one day set aside for feedback. Inspectors will look at
children and young peoples’ files to contribute to their evaluations.
Inspectors will want to meet with children, parents, teachers, leaders and
governors. We haven’t yet received the call or been inspected and don't know when this will happen.
Some of the common
themes however reported from local areas which have already been inspected in regards
to the Local Offer are:
- Unclear to the purpose and role of the
Local Offer;
- Awareness of the Local Offer between parent / carers, young people, colleagues within social care, education and health;
- Individuals working with families not signposting others
to the Local Offer (frontline health professionals, schools, and others) some because
of a lack of training on the SEND Reforms and Local Offer; and
- Comments
on accessibility / how easy it was to use the Local Offer.
I thought I would take this as an
opportunity to share how we could work together towards addressing some of
these for the West Sussex Local Offer.
West Sussex is a large county and we
have been working hard to raise awareness of the Local Offer. We are still
reaching new people who haven’t heard of the Local Offer yet.
What is the purpose and vision for our Local Offer?
FIRST PORT OF CALL – everyone will
be able to find services, events and information using the Local Offer and to receive
support from within their local community as well as through region and national
services.
THINK LOCAL OFFER – If you use a
service that is not yet listed on the Local Offer, let them know why they should
join us. After using a service on the Local Offer leave a comment to help
inform others about using that service.
IDENTIFY GAPS – Where services and
information aren’t available we will ensure decision-makers are made aware of
this knowledge so that it an influence future commissioning decisions.
IMPROVE THE QULATIY OF SERVICE – By
directly involving children, young people, families, providers and
professionals we hope to make the provision of services more responsive to the local
needs and aspirations.
CONTINUE TO GROW AND IMPROVE TO
REFLECT THE CHANGING NEEDS OF THE SEND COMMUNITY
For further information how you could support the Local Offer please check our leaflet here.
Training & Awareness
In regards to training we have held ‘SEND
Reforms One Year On events’, webinars, drop in workshops, we have been into schools,
worked with colleagues within social care and health… however we know we can
still do more!
If you weren’t aware then:
- Please
check the online training about the SEND Reforms here;
- We
are holding workshops with colleagues from Short Breaks, Personal Budgets,
Local Offer, SEND Information, Advice and Support Service. Find out more here;
- If you would like me to come out and
give training / talk to your team then please email localoffer@westsussex.gov.uk and we will aim to arrange something.
If you would be able to signpost /
share the Local Offer on your websites then please use this blurb:
Facebook:
Video link: https://www.facebook.com/westsussex.localoffer/videos/1765103970471745/"
Text: Are you aware of the Local Offer site to find local services, events and information? It is a growing online events calendar, services and information guide for children and young people with additional needs or special educational needs and / or disabilities (SEND) from birth to 25, their families and professionals. www.local-offer.org. If you have any feedback please do email localoffer@westsussex.gov.uk - thank you!"
Website
“Our Local
Offer is a growing online
events calendar, services and information guide for children and young people
with additional needs or special educational needs and / or disabilities (SEND)
from birth to 25, their families and professionals. www.local-offer.org. View the Local Offer Leaflet here.”
Paper copies
If you need further paper copies of the leaflet to distribute please email localoffer@westsussex.gov.uk
If you would like to suggest any other ideas then please get in touch! Thank you!
Working Together
We appreciate the value in receiving information
from another parent. Therefore, there are
now over 20 Local Offer Parent Ambassadors
through the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum.
They are informed in using the Local Offer to
be able to signpost others parents to services.
There are a also a number of Local Offer champions
which sit on the ‘Local Offer Steering Group’ to
share their different expertise. They are vital
in ensuring the success of our Local Offer.
Find out more within the Local Offer Annual Report here including further information to how we have been working towards our shared vision. If you would like hard copies of the report then please email localoffer@westsussex.gov.uk.
How accessible is the Local Offer?
Some other feedback from other local areas inspections is that that the site wasn't easy to use.
How easy did you find our site? www.local-offer.org
Was it helpful?
What do you like about our site; and
What
could be further improved?
Please email any comments or use the feedback button on the site. Thank you!
SEND Newsletter – March 2017
The
latest SEND Newsletter has been produced for your information.
This has been presented in a different way, and I hope this makes it
clearer for you to read. Please let me know if there is anything you would like
to see for the next newsletters and if you have any questions, feel free to
email sarah.dimmock@westsussex.gov.uk.
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