|
As Chief Executive of Devon County Council, I want to take this opportunity to update you on our continuing drive to improve services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and their families.
We had our quarterly Accelerated Progress Plan Monitoring Meeting earlier this month with officials from the Department for Education and NHS England. It was clear from that discussion that we are taking many steps to improve the SEND system in Devon, however we recognise that impact is yet to be felt by children and young people with SEND, and their families.
We will be picking up the pace over the summer to ensure we make a bigger difference and by the autumn term things will begin to look and feel different.
Last week the team started working on a new SEND Strategy for Devon. So far, they've gathered all the feedback received from parents and carers, young people and professionals over the past couple of years, alongside data and our SEND Transformation work to determine our public facing commitments.
Parents and carers suggested that we take a more ‘live’ approach to our strategy and not just create a document that sits on the website. I couldn’t agree more! We will be looking at how we can ensure our new strategy is dynamic and is embedded and reviewed through regular feedback and evaluation loops. The young people we've been talking to also said the same…“just get on and do stuff!” We're hearing them loud and clear and will be focused on more action!
Respectfully,
Donna
 Co-production
As part of our SEND Transformation Programme, we recently held an all-day co-production session with key strategic partners from across the local area.
The aim of the session was to pull together a plan to drive forward our work on co-production as a partnership but particularly with young people and parent carers.
We still have quite a bit of work to do to ensure that we are hearing the voice of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and responding to it to improve our services and the support they receive.
One of the first steps in the plan will be to understand how each team/service is capturing the voice of individual children and young people and how that’s informing the support they receive.
We will keep you posted via this newsletter and our Facebook page as the plan progresses and how you can get involved if you want to.
 Free school meal holiday vouchers for low-income families
If your family currently receives benefit-related free school meals during term time, we've sent you £105 worth of supermarket vouchers to help buy food over the upcoming May half term and summer holidays.
It’s the equivalent of £15 per child per week of the school holidays, and is being distributed in one lump sum now to allow families some flexibility on how they spend the vouchers and try to help with the additional pressure the long summer holiday puts on household budgets.
The expiry date for voucher code has also been extended from the usual three months to six months. They can be redeemed in major supermarkets across Devon and arrangements are in place for families who cannot get to a supermarket.
If you were expecting to receive the vouchers, but didn’t, get in touch with our team as soon as possible by emailing freeschoolmeals@devon.gov.uk or calling 0345 155 1019.
People’s circumstances change all the time, so if you didn’t previously qualify for free school meals but your income has recently reduced or stopped, please apply via our website. It’s the quickest and easiest way for your eligibility to be assessed and you will get an instant decision.
 Marland School congratulated for ‘outstanding’ Ofsted
Our Cabinet Member for services that support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, (SEND), Councillor Lois Samuel, has congratulated Marland School for achieving an ‘outstanding’ grade following a recent Ofsted inspection.
Marland School, in Torrington, is part of a foundation trust of other special schools and provides residential care for up to 40 boys aged eight to 16 years old.
Ofsted visited in February to look at their social care provision and their inspectors were impressed with what they saw. They said the experiences and progress of the children, leadership in the school and how well children and young people were helped and protected were all ‘outstanding’.
Read the full story on the news page of our website to find out more.
New website to support health and wellbeing
Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) has launched a new website, helping to support children and young people’s health and wellbeing.
The new site aims to be a comprehensive resource hub, providing easy access to a range of tools and guidance that support children and young people in the county. It also simplifies the referral process for a wide range of services such as speech and language and mental health support. There is a new referral form that helps referrers (including parents) provide all the information required to determine the level of support needed.
For any questions about the new referral form, please visit CFHD’s website or contact the Single Point of Access team on 0330 0245 321.
 Getting the most out of meetings
As parents and carers of a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), you'll meet regularly with staff at your school, and may also occasionally have meetings with health and social care professionals and SEND specialists.
Some people take meetings in their stride and feel confident and comfortable sharing their views and taking part in decision-making. For others, meetings can sometimes feel intimidating, overwhelming and stressful.
However you feel about them, it’s a good idea to prepare yourself for every meeting, even if it’s just making a list of what you want to talk about before you go in, and do what you can to make them as positive and useful an experience as possible.
Devon Information, Advice and Support (DiAS) has a really useful guide on their website which includes advice about asking for a meeting, preparing for it, managing difficult conversations, your role at the meeting and your child's part in it, and what to expect after the meeting. There's also a meeting form you can download to use to get your thoughts down on paper and to make notes in the meeting of actions decided, along with who will be doing it and when.
Could you help other parents and carers improve their health and wellbeing
Parents and carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) face increased risks of mental and physical health problems as they often prioritise their caregiving responsibilities and neglect their own needs. This could be because they feel too tired or stressed or guilty about taking time for themselves.
The Healthy Parent Carers Programme encourages parent carers to prioritise improving their health and wellbeing, so they can support their families better. It promotes greater empowerment, confidence and resilience by encouraging people to make small changes in their thinking and actions that have a significant impact on their health and wellbeing.
It was inspired by and developed together with parent carers and health researchers at the University of Exeter, and the in-person and online sessions are delivered by trained facilitators who are parent carers themselves, so they have first-hand knowledge of the challenges and joys parent and carers encounter.
They are currently training facilitators to run the programme in their local area. Training is all online, and the programme can be delivered either online or face to face. If you would like to find out more about the programme and how to run it in your area, you can join them at their free hour long 'Online Information Event' at 10:30am on Tuesday June 11 2024.
 Anxiety and emotionally-based school avoidance (ESBA)
If a child is anxious about school, or their mental health means they are unable to go to school, it can be really hard to know what to do.
YoungMinds, a mental health charity for children, young people and their parents, has worked with their Parents Helpline experts to develop a guide on supporting a child, as well as tips on working with their school and other services. It includes advice to help you explore what’s going on with your child, make changes at school that can help, and find the support you need if your child can’t go to school. Visit the YoungMinds website to find out more.
The Government's Department for Education (DfE) has also published guidance on how schools should support children and young people where mental health issues are affecting school attendance. It gives examples of how some schools have supported children to build up their confidence and helped them to attend regularly. Visit the Government's website to find out more.
 Spotlight on: Speech, language and communication needs
Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) is the term used to describe difficulties with speech, voice, understanding and using language and social communication.
Every child is different and may have difficulty with one, some or all of the different aspects of speech, language or communication at different times of their lives. Some difficulties are short-term but others will be more permanent and remain throughout childhood and adult life. Sometimes a language disorder is associated with an underlying or co-concurring condition such as cleft lip or palate, hearing loss or autism. However, there are times when there may be no clearly identifiable cause. This is known as developmental language disorder (DLD).
Early identification is crucial in order to provide appropriate and timely support. If you think your child might have speech, language and communication needs, you should first talk to a professional involved with your child, such as a health visitor, GP or school/ nursery staff member. The Devon SEND Local Offer website has more information about the support available.
 News 'Let's Talk' series
A new series of the highly successful ‘Let’s Talk’ webinars has launched, and this time it is specifically for parents and carers of neurodivergent young people and those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
The free, open access online programme provides a space for parents and carers to discuss the challenges facing young people today and understand the tools and techniques that they can use to support them.
The session have been developed with parents and carers of neurodivergent young people and those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, and will cover topics including mental health and emotional wellbeing, anger and challenging behaviour, healthy relationships and online safety.
The tickets are free, and you can sign up now using the links below:
 Outdoor Careers Taster Day at Stover Country Park
Stover Country Park, near Newton Abbot, will be hosting an Outdoor Careers Taster Day on Thursday 6 June from 10am until 3:30pm.
It's an opportunity for young people aged 16 to 25 years old to meet three different companies and participate in themed sessions, rotating around the following careers: Construction with Skinner Construction Ltd and South West Norse, De-Silting / Dredging with Murlac Ltd, and Building Surveying with Savills (UK) Ltd.
Help with travel costs is available, and lunch is provided. Young people with special educational needs and disabilities are welcome to attend, please contact Emily on 07816 369083 or e-mail restoringstoverpark@devon.gov.uk to book a place and discuss any special requirements.
 Update from our Participation Team's 'SEND Network for Change'
Our SEND Network for Change aims to create opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to get involve and have their voice heard! There's lots of different groups and projects going on, which are run by our SEND Participation Team. Here's some highlights from this month:
Our 'Champions for Change' group is working on a collaborative project with the Youth and Inclusion Team around aspirations for employment. They believe that all young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who want to, should be able to move into paid employment when they finish education. Young people from Southbrook, Bidwell Brook and Ellen Tinkham schools spent a day this month filming a video to encourage other special schools to get involved in the project. They look forward to showing you all the video when it is completed.
Our Devon Youth Council Network has set mental health as their priority focus for 2024. This comes as a result of the Make Your Mark vote that took place throughout February and March where mental health was selected as the issue that mattered most to young people in Devon. To help direct their work on mental health, the Youth Council Network is looking for young people to join a small steering group. This group will take responsibility for coordinating their work and sharing out opportunities with the wider network. The first part of this is taking part in some peer led research which will look at mental health in schools.
If you are interested in this work, or know a young person who would like to be involved in the Youth Council, please contact Lizz Williams by emailing participationchildrensservices-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
 Join in!
Our SEND network for Change is always looking for young people who want to get their voices heard on the issues that matter to them.
We are currently particularly interested in hearing from young people with experience of being neurodivergent in Devon, and from young people with experience of difficulties attending school.
If you are a young person with SEND in Devon, whatever you want to say, we want to hear it! You can contact the team by emailing amy.bickford@devon.gov.uk or visit our website to find out more.
 Want to share your experiences of being on a neurodiversity assessment waitlist in Devon?
Are you a young person aged 12 to 25 years old, or support someone who is? You could help guide the development of support for people on neurodevelopmental condition assessment waitlists in Devon and provision for neurodivergent people.
The University of Exeter and Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are looking for a diverse group of people to take part in a 90-minute in-person panel discussion with up to 10 other people who are on the waitlist for assessment for a neurodevelopmental condition. It will involve talking about what kind of support you would like while on a waitlist for an assessment, and sharing your thoughts on proposed plans for waitlists in Devon. There will also be chance to catch up with people and have a chat about your experiences.
The event will take place at The University of Exeter's St Luke's Campus in Exeter from 5:30 until 7pm on Thursday 13 June 2024. Please complete this form to express your interest in taking part.
|
