Welcome
Welcome to the April edition of the SEND Partnership newsletter. We hope, those of you off this Easter, you had a lovely Easter break and are having a good half term.
Within the newsletter you will find a link to sign up to the first session of Devon County Councils direct payment focus group on Thursday 28th April 10am - 2pm at Devon Parent Carer Forum office in Heathfield, Newton Abbot, with lunch and refreshments provided.
In addition there is information on the Ability not Disability project, the Babcock SEN Outreach Service and the first SEND Outdoor Conference held at Embercombe Estate, Devon on 9th July 9am - 5pm.
Devon Children’s Services are currently working to transform and improve the short break offer for disabled children and their families. And as part of this work, we’re creating a focus group of parents/carers to help us to improve our direct payments system.
We’re working with Parent Carer Forum Devon to establish a group of 8-10 individuals who are familiar with direct payments. So, if your child receives a direct payment from Devon County Council’s Disabled Children’s Service, we’d like to hear from you.
Our first session will be Thursday 28 April from 10am-2pm. The session will be held at the Parent Carer Forum Devon office in Heathfield, Newton Abbot, with lunch and refreshments provided.
If you would like to attend, please sign up here.
Since our launch in September 2021, 10 Specialist Support Assistants (SSAs) have worked alongside staff in 39 schools across the county, supporting pupils around areas such as home-school transitions, emotional regulation, access to learning opportunities, supporting sensory needs and support to ‘unpick’ presentations and behaviours.
Particular stories of success include;
- supporting a positive transition for a learner accessing alternative provision back into their mainstream school
- working alongside staff to identify the more subtle signs of a young person masking in school
- implementing strategies which have improved their well-being and relationships - both at home and school
- support to re-integrate a young person back into the classroom, meaning that they are now learning alongside their peers and enjoying being in school making progress.
The response from schools who have accessed this project has been overwhelmingly positive and feedback indicates that through this collaborative working, staff confidence to meet SEN needs is improving and concerns around lack of engagement and mental health are reducing.
School staff have been fully engaged with the project support and widely feel that engagement with the project is supporting increased capacity within their settings to understand and meet learner needs. |
The Ability not disability project has been co-designed by Learn Devon and Devon County Council’s Adult Social Care, and Employment, Economy and Skills teams working together with people with disabilities to improve employment opportunities within the county.
The innovative programme is one of 13 projects in the county to receive a share of UK Community Renewal Funding.
Ability not disability offers a choice of two ways into work for people with disabilities who would like to find employment.
Individuals can choose to join Community Works Groups, helping to promote local businesses by working on a series of marketing flyers at no cost to the companies. They will work in teams to build relationships with local businesses, develop their communication and customer service skills, while also gaining practical digital and work skills.
The second pathway is via the Job Guarantee Scheme, which is available to businesses throughout Devon as well as to County Council departments, who have the opportunity to take on an employee whose training and salary costs will be covered by the scheme for three months at National Living Wage. The project team will ensure employees receive continued support, with guidance in developing their digital knowledge and a working pattern to suit them and their employer.
Businesses and County Council departments will be given the support they need to become Disability Confident, receiving Disability Awareness training prior to employing anyone as part of the Guarantee Scheme. Additional free digital skills employer training on accessibility software will also be available via Cosmic, a social enterprise in Devon specialising in digital training.
If you are a manager within the County Council and are interesting in taking on an employee as part of the project, please get in touch by emailing abilitynotdisability@learndevon.co.uk
Click here for information on Devon's SEND Local Offer.
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