Welcome
Devon County Council has created a new web page during COVID 19 with information on EHC Plans, the changes to the law, reviews and provisions in schools and education settings. In addition social care for children with disabilities, provides information on Disabled Children Service and embedded into this page you will find a range of frequently asked questions.
There has been a change to the delivery of EHCP's, this started May 1st and will last until May 31st. This should not mean any immediate changes to how schools and the SEN team are already working with children and families; it does describe we may be delivering our duties differently using reasonable endeavours.
We have been working on providing schools and Colleges with advice and guidance about what EHCP discussions should cover during this time; explaining what and why education is being done differently during this time. These should have already taken place, and as more children are returning to school they may be happening again.
This started May 1st and is to last until May 31st.
The Mental Health Foundation works to prevent mental health problems. Their mission is to ‘drive change towards a mentally healthy society for all, and support communities, families and individuals to live mentally healthier lives, with a particular focus on those at greatest risk’. Here is the link to the Mental Health webpage for more information.
To support this mission the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapist have published and promoted the following documents to help professionals working with children and adults understand the impact Speech, Language and Communication Needs can have on social emotional development and mental well-being.
There is a document on talking about mental health and adult mental health.
In addition, the documents also aim to provide a greater understanding of the important role speech and language therapists have in developing a robust whole system offer of support.
Through the Ambassador Volunteer Project DiAS have been signposting and sharing information over the last few weeks and would really like any feedback from you, whether you are a parent carer, an Ambassador Volunteer or a professional working with parent/ carers with children of SEND. What they need is feedback from anyone who has accessed the DiAS information they have shared. DiAS aim to keep producing helpful resources and signposting tools but they do need feedback to help inform the development work. Help them improve their service by letting them know if they are producing the information you want, in the way that you want, during COVID 19. DiAS really look forward to hearing from you, please click on this link to take you to a very short questionnaire form.
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In April Devon assessments for EHCPs reached 63% within 20 weeks, which is now above the national average of 61%. This continues the upward trajectory seen over the last 15 months improvement journey.
There has been a change to how assessments time will be monitored, and COVID 19 will be noted when affecting delays to Education Health Care Plan's (EHCP's). This change started May 1st and will last until September 25th.
EHCPs are still in place, and we will use reasonable endeavours to deliver the education and the support in the plan. However, this will mean alternative methods of delivery. The spirit of co-production will remain a focus while we work together to manage the difficult situations.
Preparing for Adulthood
The Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) Team wanted to give you an update on the new ways the team are communicating with families in a time when face-to-face contact has been reduced.
The PfA team understands that meeting a new worker can be daunting, more so now you cannot always meet them face-to-face, so, the team are now sending families an introductory letter. This includes a picture of your allocated PfA worker with some fun facts about them that hopefully lets you get to know them a bit more.
This letter also provides families with an overview of the conversation the PfA worker will have with you and some of the questions they may ask you. We hope this gives families some time to discuss and think about the conversation as we know that the dynamic of these conversation is different over the phone or other method of communication, compared to face-to-face.
The team are trying to be innovative with their ways of communicating, methods such as phone calls or Teams calls are being used, but there are limitations. We will do our best to try different methods of communications, so do let us know what your preferences are and we will try our best to facilitate them.
Barnardos have responded to the COVID 19 situation, and are offering their Cygnet programme online through licensed trainers.
The programme is for parents/carers of children with autism aged between 7 and 18.
So here at Babcock LDP as licensed trainers we will be offering access to this programme during this summer term, as hosting our usual parent autism awareness programme is not physically possible at this time.
Please find more information on who the course is suitable for what the sessions include and how long the sessions are, how you can accept and access the programme.
To apply direct please email Learning Support.
 Advice for parents of children making the move up to primary school in September. This BBC Bitesize article from a headteacher is about making the transition to primary school, including some tips for parents about the things you can do to prepare your child. |
