A reminder that we are hosting a SEND Reform Information Session for parents/ carers in Cumberland tonight at 7pm, and on Wednesday 27th May at 3pm. 

These sessions will be hosted by the Cumberland SEND & AP Transformation and Improvement Lead, Natalie Bevan. You can read an introduction from Natalie in our previous newsletter, here. 

The session will cover:

• What is changing nationally​
• What we are doing locally​
• What this means for you and your child

• Thursday 21 May, 7 - 8pm
• Wednesday 27th May, 3 - 4pm

We will record one of these sessions for parent/ carers who cannot attend - please note all attendees will have cameras and mics off while we record the session. We will also have the chat off for this session - please note this is for confidentiality purposes only. We would like to hear from all parents/ carers about the SEND Reforms, including your ideas, questions, and concerns. 

You can complete our SEND Reform Survey here.

This includes a section where you can ask questions - we will be putting together an FAQ on these and will include them in our next newsletter.

These will also be included on our SEND Reform Local Offer page. 

We are also asking how parents/ carers would like to be involved in the development of our SEND Reform plans going forward. There is a question on this in the Reform survey, but we also have a Communications Strategy and Working Together Charter survey (please see below). 

Please note we have put one session during half-term; this is due to the time limit we have to return our plan for reform, but also to provide parents/ carers who may work during term time an opportunity to attend the session if they wish. 

As part of our ongoing transformation work, we have been developing a Communications strategy and a Working Together charter for the Cumberland SEND Partnership.

Communications Strategy - this strategy outlines how the partnership (including all colleagues in Cumberland Council teams) will communicate with children and young people, parents and carers, as well as agencies across the partnership such as health, schools and settings, and other organisations. When we say 'communication' that covers a wide range of interactions - it includes wider communications like this newsletter and our Facebook page, as well as individual communications to families, such as letters and phone calls. We want to ensure that all communication across the Partnership is compassionate and has the child/ young person at the center of everything we do. 

Working Together charter - this charter outlines how we will work together with our families to ensure their voice is heard and that we develop our services, processes and make decisions with our families in Cumberland. 

We have co-produced the following four values of our Working Together charter with SENDAC, the statutory parent/ carer forum.

• Everyone feeling valued, included, and respected
• Everyone feeling welcomed and cared for
• Clear communication and a culture of openness and honesty
• Working in partnership

We want to hear your thoughts on how we communicate with you and what our working together values mean to you. We kindly ask parents to please complete our Communications and Working Together survey

Your input will directly inform our Communications Strategy and Working Together charter, documents which will inform how the Cumberland SEND & AP Partnership communicates and works with our partners, including our children and young people and parents/ carers. We will share a draft of these documents with parents/ carers and families in upcoming newsletters following this survey closing. 

This survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

This survey will close on Friday 19th June at 5pm.

You said:

It would be useful to have an overview of who teams are, what they do, and how to get in touch.

We did:

We have produced a one-page spread of who several of the teams are, what they do, and how to get in touch! We are now making progress on updating our Local Offer to ensure information is clear and accessible on there about who are teams are, but please see this sheet in the meantime. Most teams in the council can be accessed by discussing any concerns with your school or setting's SENCO, who can submit a Request for Involvement form if they feel your child or young person needs additional support in school. 

Please note there are additional teams not covered in this poster who can provide information and support to families:

Family Hubs

Please see our item below for more information on Family Hubs, or click on link above to access their website. 

The Neurodiversity and Emotional Wellbeing Team

The Neurodiversity and Emotional Wellbeing Team are available for anyone to refer a child or young person aged 0-25. They also have a website full of information and resources on neurodiversity and emotional wellbeing. 

Youth Justice Service

Providing support for children and young people aged 10 - 18 who are at risk of offending or have committed a crime.

Youth Homelessness Service

Providing support for children and young people who are at risk of, or experiencing homelessness.

Youth SAFE 

Providing support for young people with issues related to substance abuse.

Early Help Support

Statutory guidance document ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026’ defines Early Help as support for children of all ages that improves a family’s resilience and outcomes or reduces the chance of a problem getting worse. It is not an individual service, but a system of support delivered by local authorities and their partners working together and taking collective responsibility to provide the right provision in their area.