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Welcome to our newsletter! Following a Summer Break our newsletter has returned to provide updates from the Cumberland SEND Partnership.
In this edition we have news, including introducing Emma Hamer, the new Assistant Director Education, SEND & Inclusion, as well as Sally Senejko, the Senior SEND Manager. Both Emma and Sally are attending a 'Come and meet your Senior Leads' session on Monday, organised by SENDAC, which all parents/ carers are welcome to attend! We also have news on our Targeted Short Breaks service, with the registration window now open for the Targeted Short Breaks 2025/26 year, as well as a thank you for all who took part in our recent Local Offer consultation.
In 'Events and Things to Do' we have included information about our new Unique Voices participation group, which all young people with SEND are welcome to join to offer their views and meet other young, like-minded people. We also have information about more Autism Pathway Navigator support sessions, SENDAC's Annual Survey, SEND sessions run by Family Action, and Gestalt Language Processing sessions offered by the North Cumbria Integrated Care.
'SEND Resources' includes a reminder of Cumberland SENDIASS new website, a Local Offer spotlight, and a video from North East Lincolnshire Council about Annual Health Checks. We end on a celebration of the brilliant feedback SENDIASS have received in a recent survey, and a huge thank you for the incredible work they do!
If you have any articles you would like to be included in future newsletters, please email our Communications Officer, Steph, for the chance to be included!
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Introducing Emma Hamer and Sally Senejko
As part of the newsletter going forward, we would like to take the time to introduce key staff and their roles, so you can find out more about the people who make up the Cumberland SEND Partnership.
This month, SENDAC, the statutory parent-carer forum for Cumbria, have arranged sessions with Emma Hamer, Assistant Director Education, SEND & Inclusion, and Sally Senejko, Senior Manager for SEND and Inclusion. SENDAC have provided the below information about Emma and Sally to give more of an insight into what they do.
Emma Hamer is the Assistant Director Education, SEND & Inclusion for Cumberland Council. Emma has been in this role for 7 months.
Emma oversees various education services, including SEND, school improvement, early years settings, pupil place planning and more.
Emma also oversees the strategic development, management and delivery of services that support children and families; this includes support services for vulnerable children with SEND or other additional learning, social, medical or mental health needs. By ensuring the standards of these services are high and meet the needs of children and young people in Cumberland, Emma contributes to ensuring children and young in Cumberland can achieve the best possible educational and life outcomes.
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Sally Senejko is the Senior Manager for SEND and Inclusion. She has been in the role since 2016.
Sally is responsible for ensuring students with SEND get the support they need. She oversees the SEND team, including EHCP Coordinators, Educational Psychologists, and specialist advisory teachers.
Sally is responsible for the quality of EHCPs and the EHC assessment process, as well as supporting inclusion in both mainstream and special schools.
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SENDAC Sessions to meet Sally and Emma
SENDAC have arranged 'Come and meet your Senior Leads' sessions with Emma and Sally.
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The first of these sessions was on 8 October, the next session is on 14 October, between 10.30am - 12 noon.
The session is online on Microsoft Teams, and is available for all parents/ carers of children with SEND (no diagnosis required.)
You can sign up for the session with SENDAC by following the link below.
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Targeted Short Breaks window now open
The Targeted Short Breaks registration window is now open until 8 November.
This is our main registration window for Targeted Short Breaks, and all families must re-register if they wish to continue accessing Targeted Short Break activities for their child/ young person.
The Targeted Short Breaks year will run from 1 February 2025 - 31 January 2026. Within this time every eligible child/ young person is entitled to access 76 hours of activities.
To be eligible for our Targeted Short Break Activities, your child or young person must:
- Be a resident in the Cumberland area (formerly Carlisle, Allerdale and Copeland areas).
- Have a disability (as defined by the Equalities Act 2010)
- Have a current Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
- Be in academic year groups 1 to 13 (or equivalent).
More information about our Targeted Short Breaks providers will be released this month - look out for updates!
You can find out more about our Targeted Short Breaks service and how to apply by following the link below:
A note about our Targeted Short Breaks service
In May we released a position statement surrounding our Targeted Short Breaks Service. You can read our statement here.
Our Targeted Short Breaks service is still being reviewed by our team.
This will be a process that will involve collaboration with parents and carers, and we hope to have a new Targeted Short Breaks statement for parents/ carers to provide feedback on in the New Year. We appreciate your patience while we review this service; any further feedback for our Targeted Short Breaks service can be provided through the form below.
Please note all feedback provided by the form below and given previously about the Targeted Short Breaks service is being used to inform our review.
Local Offer Consultation
Thank you so much to everyone who completed the recent Local Offer consultation.
The consultation was launched to find out how we can make improvements to Cumberland's current SEND Information Hub (Local Offer) website. You can view Cumberland's SEND Information Hub (Local Offer) here.
A consultation report has now been completed and is with the team to review. Going forward we will provide more updates on the progress made with the Local offer, to ensure that our it reflects the results of this consultation, and the views of parents and carers in Cumberland.
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Cumberland Youth Voice launched
Cumberland Council has launched a new social media channel aimed at reaching younger people this week to help promote the voices of young residents.
The channel aims to help young people be heard and so they can understand their rights and the choices available to them.
‘Cumberland Youth Voice’, currently on Instagram and Facebook, is aimed at sharing the work of young people in a variety of active participation groups, and helps to demonstrate the work they do in influencing the decisions of the council and wider community.
You can follow Cumberland Youth Voice on Facebook and Instagram below.
Follow Youth Voice on Instagram
Follow Youth Voice on Facebook
One of the active participation groups includes 'Unique voices', a group for young people with SEND in Cumberland. The group have met for a few weeks now, but are looking for new members to join their friendly and welcoming group.
They will meet on the following dates, between 5 - 6.45pm, at Cumbria House, Botchergate, Carlisle, CA1 1RD:
📆 Wednesday 23 October
📆 Wednesday 13 November
📆 Wednesday 17 November
📆 Wednesday 11 December
📆 Wednesday 18 December
Refreshments are provided for young people, and parent/ carers can wait in the building for their young person on request.
For more information, or to discuss support needs, please contact Chris Barry, Community Development Officer, at Chris.Barry@cumberland.gov.uk.
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Autism Pathway Navigator Support Sessions
The Autism Pathway Navigators are providing more support sessions throughout Autumn and Winter.
These sessions are for parents/ carers who are exploring an autism assessment for their child and would appreciate some support and advice.
The sessions are attended by:
- Autism Pathway Navigators
- A Speech and Language Therapist
- An Occupational Therapist
- A Health Visitor
Sessions are for parents/ carers who may be considering an autism assessment for their child, or whose child is at any stage of the assessment process. Children and their sibling are welcome.
Locations, dates and times of these sessions are listed below:
🏢 Whitehaven Family Hub, CA28 7LZ 📆 Friday 18 October, 1 - 3pm
🏢 Carlisle Library, CA3 8NX 📆 Thursday 7 November, 1 - 3pm
🏢 Workington Library, CA14 2ND 📆 Thursday 12 December, 1 - 3pm
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SENDAC Annual Survey
The SENDAC Annual Survey will be open until Wednesday 16 October.
SENDAC's Annual Survey gathers feedback on a number of SEND-related services in the Cumbria area. You must be a parent/carer to a child or young person with SEND and/or additional needs in Cumbria to complete the survey (no diagnosis required.)
SENDAC are the statutory parent-carer forum for Cumbria. They form part of the Cumberland SEND Partnership, along with Cumberland Council and local NHS services, and play a key role in shaping and informing services in the area. The results of this survey will play a key role in informing services on areas for improvement.
The survey is anonymous, and there is a free raffle entry for everyone that completes it, including prizes of a £75 amazon voucher, and a £50 amazon voucher.
You can complete the survey below:
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Have you heard of the term Gestalt language Processing?
Does your child
- use chunks of language from TV/ songs/other people rather than individual words?
- use echolalia (repeating what they have heard) to communicate?
- produce long strings of unintelligible speech (may sound like babble or jargon)?
- seem to have difficulty following directions?
They may be Gestalt Language Processors. These are children who begin developing language from copied phrases (echolalia), before progressing to create their own sentences.
North Cumbria Integrated Care are providing advice and support sessions for parents and carers of children who may be gestalt language processers.
These sessions will be 90 minutes and delivered on Microsoft Teams by the Children's Speech and Language Therapy team. The sessions will cover how language typically develops in gestalt language processing, what they know helps this type of language development, and provide strategies for supporting gestalt language processers.
The sessions will run a the following dates and times:
📆 Thursday, 17 October, 3 - 4.30pm
📆 Monday, 4 November, 4 - 5.30pm
📆 Friday, 8 November, 11 - 12.30pm
📆 Tuesday, 26 November, 1 - 2.30pm
📆 Thursday, 5 December, 3 - 4.30pm
SEND Sessions provided by Family Action
A reminder that Family Action, commissioned by Cumberland Council, offer a number of SEND sessions in the Cumberland area:
Time together sessions: free multi-sensory and soft play sessions for children aged 0 - 5 with SEND. Session provides an opportunity for parents/ carers to meet with their children to seek support and advice, as well as get tips and advice from experienced professionals.
🏢 Longtown Children's Centre, Mary Street, Longtown, CA6 5UF
📆 Every Thursday during term time, 2 - 3pm
📧 For more information, email Catriona.Johnston@family-action.org.uk
SEND Support Group: free session for children aged 0 - 6 to access fun, sensory activities, and parents and carers to seek support and advice from other parents and carers.
🏢 South Whitehaven Family Centre,
📆 Every Wednesday, 3.30 - 4.30pm
📧 For more information, email Katherine.Mann@family-action.org.uk
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New SENDIASS website
A reminder that Cumberland SEND Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) have a new website.
SENDIASS offer free impartial information, advice and support to families with children and young people with SEND.
Their aim is to empower parents/carers and young people to feel confident with:
- Self-advocacy - expressing their views and wishes on their child’s/their own needs.
- Their rights under SEND Law and Legislation.
SENDIASS can support in a number of areas, including explaining jargon, understanding policies and procedures, advise on options available to children and parents/ carers, provide templates and guides for letters, emails and paperwork, and much more. They can also accompany you to various meetings if appropriate.
You can find out more information about SENDIASS and the support they offer on their new website, linked below.
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Local Offer Spotlight
In this edition and as we are into the throws of a new academic year, we would like to highlight our 'Preparing for Adulthood' pages on the Local Offer.
This section of the Local Offer contains information on what transition is, how to plan for transition, and about transition reviews, which should begin for all young people with an EHCP in year 9. It also has a 'Preparing to Adulthood Route Planner', which maps what should happen at each stage as your child/ young person gets older.
It also has a link to Inspira, who can offer careers information and advice to young people with an EHCP from year 9 onwards. Inspira can meet with young people and their carers ahead of their transition review to discuss options, and can offer support with college or university applications, CVs and job applications.
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Annual Health Check video
The Humber and North Yorkshire Care Partnership have produced a video for young people with learning disabilities about the importance of attending your annual health check (AHC).
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A huge thank you and congratulations to Cumberland SENDIASS on fantastic feedback!
A huge congratulations to Cumberland SENDIASS, who in a recent feedback survey achieved amazing results.
SENDIASS recently sent out a survey to parents/ carers who used their services. Of those who filled in the survey:
- 100% said they felt their views were listened to
- 91% said they would be very likely to recommend SENDIASS
- 91% said the information, advice and support they received was very helpful
"The support and information received has been invaluable. Very knowledgeable."
"I cannot fault the level of support I have received.... I was carefully advised through each step through out the whole process. I was able to come to the advisor with any questions or worries that I had, and they reassured me with advice and support... This made a very big difference in this matter as if this service was not available then I would of been clueless on how to put everything together."
A huge thank you to SENDIASS for the incredible work they do!
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