Welcome to our June edition

We have now received our letter following the Local Area SEND inspection carried out by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We want to involve families as much as possible in our next steps, please see below a copy of the letter and further information about what we will be doing next.

We know you will all be wanting to plan your summer holiday activities and we are busy gathering together information about what activities are available, we will share details in the next newsletter. We have set up a page on the Local Offer website called Local Offer - Summer 2022 so keep an eye on here and we will update as soon as we hear about what's on this summer. 

SEND Ofsted and CQC Inspection 

Bradford has now received its Ofsted and CQC letter which has been published and shared with families. To see the letter please click here.

We now have 70 days to share an improvement plan with Ofsted and the CQC, detailing how we plan to improve the areas highlighted as statements of action.

We will be asking for your help with this process, further information will be shared with parent/carer groups in the next week. Thank you to all the parents, carers and young people who have been involved to date. 

Council for Disabled Children working with CCHDT

The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) is supporting Bradford Council’s Social Care Complex Health and Disability Team (CCHDT) to review service provision and improve service delivery.

The CDC have been supporting a number of SEND projects within the Council, and David Stephens, Service Manager of the CCHDT team has welcomed their input.

The CDC will be hosting sessions on the following topics with Bradford’s CCHDT team, if you are interested in attending, email: David.Stephens@bradford.gov.uk

Friday 15 July, 10am – 12noon 
Needs-led eligibility and thresholds 

Legal landscape.
Needs-led frameworks.
Thresholds and pathways to support.

Monday 18 July, 10am – 12noon
Early Help and the Local Offer

Short Break (SB) provision.
Links to family hubs.
Links to holiday activities and food.

Monday 18 July, 2pm – 4pm
The role of social care in EHC needs assessments, plans and annual reviews 

Record keeping and information in EHCPs.
Monitoring EHCP outcomes in children’s social care (including short breaks).
Short Break providers contributing to social care advice and information.
Short Break providers contributing to EHCPs/reviews.

Green paper and how you can contribute your views 

The SEND Review sets out government’s proposals in a green paper, for the changes they want to make to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision system. 

There are a number of versions available, including an easy read version and one for children and young people, which can be found here.

If you are interested in contributing towards our areas response to the SEND Review Green Paper please click here.

Local Offer refresh 2022 -2023

Exciting developments are already underway for 2022 - 2023 to continue to improve the delivery of the Local Offer making it more accessible and in a wider variety of formats designed to support our parent/carers, children and young people and professionals. To find out more about how you can contribute and ‘Have Your Say’ click here.

Year 5, Year 10 Transition Planning

The term ‘transition’ can be used to describe any changes for children and young people.

If your child/young person is in Year 5 or Year 10 you will be thinking about which settings they will transition to in the coming year.

The Integrated Assessment Team have pulled together a summary on Transition Planning to help you throughout this process.

Thinking Big - summer celebration

Tuesday 16 August 12noon - 2pm at Victoria Hall in Saltaire (face to face event)

Connecting with other parent/carers can be so valuable, and one of our local Bradford support groups is hosting a summer celebration event to do just that. 

The invite is open to existing and new members to join the event which includes food, family entertainment & activities, time to talk and meet new people, alongside some music, a raffle and more.

Booking is essential - If you have any questions, or would like to join the Thinking Big summer celebration, email: friendsandfamily@thinkingbiguk.org or visit thinkingbiguk.org

SORM Studio – students nominated for awards

The School of Rock and Media have six students nominated for awards in the Bradford Careers and Technical Education Partnership Awards. The Awards will be held on 4 July at Bradford College and the students are nominated under the Bradford Essential Skills Outstanding Student Category. Congratulations to SORM for their continued hard work promoting independence, confidence and career pathways and to all the students nominated.

EHCP online application process – resources 

If you are starting to apply for an Education, Health and Care plan and need help completing the online application, SENDIASS have produced a helpful guide on how to use the online portal and what questions parents need to answer. Please click on the links below to access the resources on the Local Offer website.

If you are a professional working with parent/carers please can you promote this resource to any parent/carers who are starting the EHCP process.

Applications through the Online Portal - information.

Preparation information. 

Mental health in schools project

The mental health support team are specialist mental health professionals who have been developed to work within schools to provide an additional source of support for young people, their families and school staff.

The team hold a monthly parent support group online covering a variety of topics. To get involved email: mhst@bdct.nhs.uk or join their  informative Facebook page, search for 'Bradford, Keighley and Craven parent support group.'

Here is further information about the team:

Mental Health Support Team - Parenting Support

Mental Health Support Team for Young People

New strategic manager for the specialist teaching services

Alice Ngondi has recently been appointed to the role of strategic manager for the specialist teaching services having previously worked in the school improvement team as a the special education adviser. Alice brings extensive experience and expertise in special education and leadership and is keen to bring that to her new role.

Plans are underway in the new academic year to improve collaboration across teams in the authority to extend support in schools and in particular for children with special educational needs. The team will work closely in schools to provide hands on support and guidance for teachers and SENDcos to embed fundamentals of inclusion and improve skills to provide a range of interventions which aims to improve children’s learning and  outcomes.