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Going back to school after the summer holidays can be difficult for any child, moving year groups and sometimes starting somewhere completely new.
For young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), the experience can be even more challenging, with unfamiliar environments and routines perhaps, or uncertainty about friendships and connections.
We've put together this special edition of our regular Devon Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) update newsletter to share some useful advice and guidance to hopefully help you make the transition back to school, or to a new school, as easy as possible for your child.
 Top tips to help prepare children for going back to school in September
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Talk to your child about what to expect. Having regular conversations in the lead up to September about school can help, focussing on what they enjoy about it. If anything is going to be different when they return, talking about it in advance can encourage them to express any worries
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Prepare them for new faces and places. Photos of your child's new teachers, classroom and wider school environment can help familiarise them with what they’ll be going back to. You may be able to find some of these on the school’s website
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Practise putting on uniform. Sometimes children find wearing school uniform physically uncomfortable particularly when it is new, give it a wash and practise putting it on over the space of a few days, this can help them get used to it before having to wear it everyday at school
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Using pictures and stories. Show your child what to expect during the school day with simple pictures and words to help familiarise them with what happens and when
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Involve your child in decisions. Something as simple as letting your child choose their lunchbox or stationary can give them a greater sense of control over returning to school and make it less scary
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Meet up with school friends. If possible, arranging play dates or days out with other children from school over the holidays may help your child feel more settled when they return to the classroom in September, as they will recognise other pupils they had fun with during the holidays
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Keep talking. It’s not unusual for children to struggle to settle back into school in September after a long summer break, but good communication between you, your child and their teacher can help resolve issues quickly
 Autism and Us Programme
Our popular Autism and Us programme returns in September, with a combination of free four-week courses and one-off workshops.
It offers support for families of children and young people who are either on the neurodiversity assessment waiting list or who have received a diagnosis of autism.
Parents and carers have opportunity to develop your understanding of autism and look at practical solutions to managing and supporting your child’s presenting needs, whilst also connecting with other parents or carers.
The free four week ‘live online’ programme is run twice a term, with weekly two hour sessions on Microsoft Teams, each focussing on a different topic starting with an overview of autism, then communications needs, understanding and supporting behaviour and sensory needs.
There's also popular themed or topic based workshops, which lead on from the course, covering things like managing stress and anxiety, vulnerability and online safety and demand avoidance.
Full details, including course dates and how to secure your place, are available on our website.
 Post-16 education and training
Leaving school can be an exciting time with lots of opportunities and big decisions to make. Don't panic if your child has no idea about what they want to do, there's lots of information and advice that can help them.
We've worked with young people in Devon, who told us about their experiences leaving school, to develop a guide to provide young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) with information that might be helpful as they prepare to leave school and for the transition to the next step in further education or training.
The key questions which the guide aims to answer are:
- What can I do to help the transition go smoothly?
- What information should I share about myself with my new setting and when?
- Can I be discriminated against, when I apply for a course or training, if I tell them I have additional needs?
- What extra help can I get to support me during the move and beyond?
- What do I do if I am not in education, employment or training?
You can find the guide on our SEND Local Offer website.
Devon Information, Advice and Support (DiAS) also has a useful webpage about further education, training and work.
 Free Webinar - Supporting children to talk and read at home
We know that speech, language and communication are vital to all areas of learning and future success in school and at work.
Action for Children are running a free webinar to give parents reassurance and understanding of the importance of speech and language development and learn strategies so that you can support your child and their learning opportunities and help them to talk and read at home.
The webinar will cover the following topics:
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Developmental milestones and what to expect at different ages and stages
- How to support your child with strategies to encourage and develop speech and language skills
- What can impact a child’s speech and language development
- Bilingualism
- Dummies
- Common concerns parents may have
Visit Action for Children's Eventbrite page to book your place on the webinar which will take place on Microsoft Teams at 7pm on Wednesday 11 September 2024.
There will also be a free follow-up online workshop on Wednesday 25 September between 10am and 11am.
 Is your child going to secondary school in September?
Starting secondary school is a significant milestone for any child. For children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), this transition can often feel difficult to manage.
The change in environment, increased academic demands, and the need to navigate a larger, more complex social setting can all contribute to feelings of anxiety or uncertainty.
As a parent, it's important to understand the support available to help your child feel confident, prepared, and excited about their new school so that they can thrive there.
Devon Information Advice and Support (DiAS) has some top tips on how to help your child make a successful transition to secondary school.
There's also a short film about moving to secondary school that has been created by the children and families mental health charity, Anna Freud. You can watch it on their YouTube channel.
 School transport
As per national guidelines, there is no automatic entitlement to school transport assistance for children who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
If you apply for a place at your designated school or the nearest school to your home address, your child will get free transport if they live further than the statutory walking distance from home to school, which is over two miles for children of primary school age and over three miles for children of secondary school age. Visit our website to check which is the designated school to serve your home address.
However, if you live within this distance, transport assistance may be granted if you can provide evidence of exceptional circumstances, for example, their disability or medical condition means they cannot walk the specified distance for their age. This can include evidence from medical professionals, social workers or educational psychologists.
Your child may also be entitled to free transport if you are on a low income provided they attend one of the three nearest schools and that school is between two and six miles from your home address.
If your child attends a special school, the normal eligibility criteria will apply - if you live further than the statutory walking distance, school transport will be provided. However, if your child’s Education Health and Care Plan indicates your choice of school is parental preference, you may not be entitled to transport assistance.
If a young person is entitled to school transport, either to a mainstream or special school, transport will not necessarily be from a home address and it will be expected that the child will make their way to/from a pick up point accompanied by an adult where necessary.
There's a guide on our website about school transport for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, which includes information about the types of transport and support available and how to apply.
 Independent Travel Training
Our Independent Travel Training scheme helps young people learn how to develop the skills required for safe, independent travel. This could include road safety, telling the time, how to use a bus pass, appropriate social behaviour and strategies for solving problems. There's a video on our YouTube channel about the scheme.
If your child currently travels to school or college on assisted transport and would like to travel on their own, then their own Independent Travel Trainer could help. Other benefits of the training for your child could include:
- increased confidence because they arrive at school or college on their own and not on assisted transport
- more opportunities to develop important social skills and learn how to cope in a variety of situations
- learning basic travel skills on a familiar route is an excellent foundation from which to learn to travel to new places and meet new friends in the future
- less dependency on friends and family and have greater freedom.
Accredited travel trainers work with students from mainstream and special schools, pupil referral units and colleges of further education. Before any training commences the travel trainers liaise closely with parents, tutors, social workers and transport officers from our Transport Co-ordination Service.
If you would like your child to take part in this scheme, please contact the Transport Co-ordination Service on 0345 1551019.
 Bite-sized information sessions
Action for Children has just released some bite-sized information sessions on a range of topics. Here are the links to the short information sessions on their YouTube channel:
Connecting with our Children - Rupture and Repair
Helping Children with Fears and Worries
How to Help an Angry Child
 Mental health support in schools
More children than ever are struggling with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. Schools have told us that they are increasingly challenged by the complexity of mental health and wellbeing needs amongst their students and the accompanying behaviours. In some instances this leads to increased absences, suspensions and exclusions.
Children and Family Health Devon has Mental Health Support Teams (MHST) working in schools and the community across Devon supporting young people aged between 5 to 18 years old with their mental health and emotional wellbeing. They work collaboratively with schools to establish a ‘whole school approach’ to mental health and wellbeing, helping schools to develop a mentally healthy school culture and ethos, and a supportive classroom environment. They also work with young people individually or groups to identify issues and help them set clear goals to overcome them.
Where schools do not already have a MHST in place, we offer a Mental Health in Schools Support Package, delivered by our Our Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Team, to build the capacity and capability of school staff who are working with complex and vulnerable children and young people. It supports the wellbeing and resilience of staff and the students they are working with through regular confidential, case-specific, consultations as well as advice and support from a highly experienced advisory teacher who is a specialist in Social, Emotional and Mental Health support.
 Information about funding for children and young people with SEND
It’s sometimes helpful to know how funding for children and young people with SEND works.
Devon Information, Advice and Support (DiAS) has a new webpage and factsheet that explains funding from nursery to post-16 education, in mainstream and special schools and for Education, Health and Care Plans.
There is also information about pupil premium and pupil premium plus, and funding for young people over 16 years old.
 Get involved and have your say
Our SEND Network for Change aims to create youth voice opportunities for young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). And there’s something for everyone! As part of the SEND Network for Change we have lots of different groups and projects going on, and we’d love for you to have your say.
Find out more about how to get involved with the SEND Network for Change.
Parents and carers can also get involved. Parent Carer Forum Devon is an independent group of parents and carers of children with SEND. They are all volunteers who want to make things better for the families, children and young people of Devon.
Find out more about how to get involved with Parent Carer Forum.
 DiAS Ambassador Volunteers
Life with a child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is full of ups and downs. Whatever your situation or experiences there are some things that all parents and carers need – access to information you can trust and support from other parents who understand what you’re going through. Many parents also want to share what they have learned and help services get better for everyone.
Devon Information, Advice and Support (DiAS) Ambassador Volunteers help parents and carers do those things. They connect parents within their own communities and more widely into a network across Devon. They’re based in communities across the county. Some are mums and dads of children with SEND and some are professionals and support staff who work with them. What they all have in common is a desire to help families and an understanding of what life is like with a child with special educational needs.
Visit the DiAS website to find out more about how an Ambassador Volunteer could help you.
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