Welcome to this edition of the SEND News Bulletin. This week includes information on
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SEND Revisit in Central Bedfordshire 4th, 5th, 6th July – Have your say
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Improving our approach to school attendance for children with complex needs
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CAMHS Discovery College Summer Prospectus
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Dyslexia Training for members of the SNAP Parent Carer Forum
- "Yes We Can" Program
- Biggleswade Additional Needs Youth Club
- Summer Activities at BDCPS
- What's On
- Children's Centres SEND Support Coffee Mornings
Dear Parent or Carer
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have today announced a SEND Revisit inspection of Central Bedfordshire Local Area from Monday 4th to Wednesday 6th July, 2022. There will be two inspectors, one from Ofsted and the other from the CQC. The inspection includes all education, health and care services for children and young people in Central Bedfordshire with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Our last Local Area SEND Inspection took place in November 2019 and resulted in a Written Statement of Action (WSOA) for six areas of significant weakness. The focus of the Revisit is only on these areas which have been detailed in our WSOA.
As a reminder, the six areas of significant weakness are:
- Existing EHC plans are not of sufficient quality to ensure that the needs of children and young people are identified and met
- Leaders do not have sufficient oversight of the quality of new EHC Plans
- Area leaders in education, health and care do not have a shared understanding of the outcomes they want for children and young people with SEND
- The area’s SEND Strategy is not clear
- Co-production is not well informed by the views of children, young people and their families
- The local offer is not effective
Since the inspection, we have undertaken significant work with parent carers, partners and other stakeholders to make improvements for children and young people with special educational needs.
Ofsted and the CQC are keen to gain the views of our parent carers, as this will help shape their understanding of our progress as a Local Area. Inspectors will also be undertaking some visits to providers and speak to practitioners and officers during their visit.
There will be further information from the inspection team about how parent carers can get involved.
If the local authority has made sufficient progress in addressing all of the areas of significant weakness, the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England will stop making their formal quarterly support and challenge visits. If the local area is making insufficient progress in addressing any of the areas of significant weakness, it is for the DfE and NHS England to determine next steps.
The local authority and the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will receive the final version of the revisit letter within 28 days of the end of the revisit.
More information and Guidance on the Revisit
As mentioned above, we have all undertaken significant work to make improvements for our children and young people with special educational needs. I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your commitment and hard work to get us to where we are today with our SEND offer, and we look forward to this being reflected as part of the Revisit.
Kind regards
Sarah-Jane Smedmor
Director of Children's Services
Ofsted and the CQC are keen to gain the views of our parent carers. Please see the letter from the Lead inspector, Paul Wilson which gives information on how you can give your views, including an online survey which is open from Monday 27th June to Friday 1st July.
Improving our approach to school attendance for children with complex needs
We know there are issues in relation to school attendance for children with complex needs. We have been working on this for some time and we want to update you on progress. We recognise we have more to do where a child may be struggling to attend school due to either diagnosed or undiagnosed medical or special educational needs.
We committed to bringing in external expertise in education and SEND to work alongside us and our parents to review and update our approach. We’ve established a working group which includes SNAP Parent Carer Forum. The group have to date met twice which is proving to be very productive. We hope to complete the work by the end of the summer term. This will ensure we develop the best service and deliver the best outcomes for children, working in partnership with families and those who support them, including schools.
In the meantime, the Council’s education and social care teams are working together with schools and health professionals to consider a more holistic view of a child and family circumstances where cases are complex, enabling us to take a more personalised approach and putting the child at the centre of the decision-making process.
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CAMHS Discovery College Summer Prospectus
The new CAMHS Discovery College Summer Prospectus gives details of a range of free virtual and face -to-face workshops and courses for young people in Bedfordshire and Luton.
These courses are open to any young person aged between 13-18 regardless of whether they are open to CAMHS services and have been designed and developed in collaboration with the CAMHS young people participation group.
Dyslexia Training for members of the SNAP Parent Carer Forum
"Yes We Can" Program
Biggleswade Additional Needs Youth Club
Summer Activities at BDCPS
Have you booked yet?
Not just 1, 2 or 3 BUT 4 WHOLE WEEKS of playscheme fun starting 25th July with the incredible sensory theatre adventure with Full House Theatre Co!
Please book via the online booking system - if you haven't signed up yet, you can register here:
What's on
More events and workshops that are being held this month are on our What's On Calendar
Children's Centres SEND Support Coffee Mornings
Leighton Buzzard Mencap Opportunity Group
Thursdays 10 – 11:30 (Termtime only)
Casual chat & play session for parents, carers & their children who have additional needs. Support for parents, carers & their children who have additional needs.
Ring 01525 384368 to book on.
SEND Stay and Play
Every Friday from 10:00 – 11:00 am
Dunstable Children’s Centre
If you would like to book a space please call 0300 300 8106/0300 300 8104
SEND Support coffee afternoon every second Monday of the month,
1:30 – 2:30 pm
Shefford and Stotfold Children’s Centre
If you would like to book a space please call 0300 300 8112
SEND Support coffee afternoon every 4th Thursday of the month,
1:30 – 2:30 am
Flitwick Children’s Centre
If you would like to book a space please call 0300 300 8111
SEND Coffee morning, Stay and Play every first and third Friday of the month,
10:30 – 11:30 am
Houghton Regis Children’s Centre
If you would like to book a space please call 0300 300 8115
Support group for parents or carers with children who have SEND
Biggleswade Youth Centre - every other Wednesday, 1:30 – 2:30 pm
Fortnightly catch ups and support online and face-to-face. A chance to speak to professionals from the CDC, Early Years Support Team, Speech and Language plus more.
To book a free place contact Karen on 0300 300 6009 or email karen.burton@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Please visit the Local Offer for more information on activities, services, advice and support across Central Bedfordshire for children and young people with SEND or follow us on Facebook
We hope you have found the information in the bulletin helpful. We would love to hear your feedback and what you would like to see in future editions. Please let us know by emailing send.feedback@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
Do you provide a service or run events for children and young people with SEND and their families?
We would like to offer providers the opportunity to advertise local SEND services and events in our fortnightly SEND news bulletin, on our local offer Facebook page and to be included in the local offer What's On page.
If you would like to be featured then please email details about your service and/or event to local.offer@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk
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