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Welcome to January's Devon SEND newsletter, brought to you by the Devon Local Area SEND Partnership which includes Devon County Council, NHS Devon, Parent Carer Forum Devon, Children and Family Health Devon and the Devon Children's Safeguarding Partnership.
It's a packed edition this month, including:
- more cash for children’s services
- working together for better inclusion of neurodiversity in Devon’s schools
- online support sessions for young people moving in to adulthood
- update from the SEND Network for Change
- Judicial Review of Devon's Safety Valve Agreement
- Autism and Us term dates
- DiAS parent and carer's guide to SEN support in schools
- helping your child to give their views
...and much more!
Don't forget, you can also follow Devon SEND Local Offer on Facebook and read more on the Devon SEND Local Offer website.
There will be more money to provide care for Devon’s vulnerable children in Devon County Council's target budget for 2025/26. The Council's Cabinet agreed a 5.5 percent rise in the revenue budget for children’s services. The full council will debate the budget next month.
Every person’s brain is unique. We all think, learn and act differently. We all have different strengths and face different challenges. The term 'neurodiversity' is used to explain the concept that our brains all work differently.
Forty primary schools across Devon (including Plymouth and Torbay) have been selected to work more closely with local education authorities, NHS Devon and Parent Carer Forums to improve the way that young neurodiverse pupils are included in school.
Families of children and young people with neuro diverse needs (diagnosed and undiagnosed) are benefiting from a new service to help them access the right support at the right time.
 Online support sessions for young people moving in to adulthood
To help young people with additional needs and disabilities and their parents understand what’s ahead of them, Devon County Council is launching a series of online support sessions as an opportunity for people to learn about the support available to young people as they approach adulthood and turn 18 years old, as well as advice and resources for parents, carers and professionals who support them.
 Update from the SEND Network for Change
Devon County Council's SEND Network for Change aims to create opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to get involved and have their voice heard! This month they're encouraging young people ages 11 to 25 years old to tell Devon Youth Council what they think are the top local issues in Devon.
Starting in February, parents and carers will receive an email inviting them to attend the meeting for all new appointments for Education, Health, and Care Needs Assessments (EHCNAs). The email will tell you what you can expect from the meeting and how you might like to prepare. It will also have contact details in case you have any questions.
Stover Country Park Local Nature Reserve is looking for a freelance Learning Consultant to help the team refresh their learning programmes and resources for local primary schools. Specifically, the learning programme and resources are for Early Years Foundation Stage, Key Stage One, Key Stage Two and primary school pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) is proud to announce that schools across all districts in Devon are now able to access support from their Mental Health Support Team in Schools (MHST). This milestone achievement means that nearly 70 per cent of children attending schools within Devon and Torbay can now access early intervention that supports children and young people with their mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Legal challenges have been raised in relation to Devon County Council and Bristol City Council’s Safety Valve agreements with government. The High Court has been considering the challenges this week at a 2.5 day hearing in Bristol. The court will be reserving the decision to a later date.
Devon County Council's popular Autism and Us programme returns this month, 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.
Over the coming months Action For Children is running a number of free online webinars for parents and carers of children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). These webinars provides a safe, friendly and informal space for parents and carers to come together and listen to two Action for Children Family Hub Navigators, ask questions and share thoughts and ideas.
Devon Information Advice and Support (DiAS) has produced a new booklet for parents and carers about Special Educational Needs (SEN) support in schools. It’s full of practical tips and advice and based on what happens every day in schools.
Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) is delivering language enrichment groups (LEGs) to children in Reception classes through to Year Six with the aim of providing young learners with the tools they need to develop critical communication skills.
Helping your child to tell you how they feel is vital for making sure they get support that works for them. If the needs identified, the targets set or the support given don’t help them to achieve their goals, then they’re less likely to work. There are lots of ways to help your child to talk about what life is like for them and what they would like to achieve and change.
Many children and young people worry about school, but for some, that worry can become so great that they find it hard to go to lessons, or even avoid going to school altogether. This is known as Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). Devon County Council has been working with children, parents and carers, teachers and other education and health professionals to develop an understanding around EBSA and provide resources, so that the right support for children can be accessed when they need it.
Devon County Council is no longer using Egress to send emails to families about Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). It's because parents and carers have said that using the Egress system makes life difficult. It means that now parents and carers will be able to open emails related to an EHCP in the same way as for any other email that is received. You'll be able to open them, view and forward the contents without logging in to Egress or any other similar service.
We want to make sure that this newsletter is as helpful and engaging as possible, so over the coming months we will be sending two different versions at random to subscribers to gather your thoughts on how the content is presented.
One will have short articles with buttons to read the full article on the SEND Local Offer news webpage, the other will be longer and include more of the full story within the newsletter.
Please let us know which you prefer by taking part in a quick poll using the button below. There's only one question!
 And finally...
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