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In this edition:
- An update from Liz Farr, Service Director - Education, Skills and Learning
- Latest news from Parent Carer Voice (PCV)
- SENDIASS information
- SEN Team updated contact details
- Change NHS programme
- ADHD and Autism parent/carer workshops
- Teen Autism Confident - Autism West Midlands
- SEND Local Offer Facebook page
- Timeline for EHCNA process
- Family Fund digital workshops
- Herefordshire Cricket Super 1s
To receive this newsletter straight to your inbox, please subscribe using the link.
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome to the latest edition of our SEND Newsletter.
When I last wrote to you, I noted that the local area was under inspection from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). It was three-week process with lots of very positive evidence shared with inspectors. Thank you if you completed the survey and shared your views with the inspection team. Also, we are grateful to parents and carers and their children who were directly involved in any of the inspection activities.
Local Area SEND Partnership Inspection Outcome
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published their findings of the inspection on Friday 7 February 2025.
Herefordshire’s SEND Partnership is jointly led by Herefordshire Council and NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board (ICB) and commissions services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in the county.
The partnership is pleased to share that the report acknowledges several areas of good practice, and we have been given the middle rating* of three possible outcomes. This outcome means our SEND services will be inspected again in three years. Each outcome is set out in a prescribed description and can be found in the framework for inspection.
Our outcome: *The local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements.
The report notes many areas of good practice across the partnership. Co-production with children and young people with SEND and their families was recognised as strong with the inspectorate saying, ‘The development of Herefordshire Helpers has raised the profile of children and young people at the highest levels.’ Parent Carer Voice Herefordshire told inspectors that ‘they feel heard and that their views are acted on by the partnership.’
Inspectors found that, ‘There has been investment in appointing additional staff and improved training and that across the partnership ‘professionals know children and young people well’ and that ‘children and young people with SEND known to early help services access swift support from education, health and social care teams where appropriate.’
Also recognised was the positive impact of new ways of working, including drop-in clinics for speech and language therapy and physiotherapy and access to early years ‘while you wait’ groups.
The report highlights good practice within Herefordshire mainstream schools where, ‘Staff typically spot emerging needs of children and young people quickly and identify whether there is a need for further assessment and provision.’ Inspectors also found, ‘Specialist settings are innovative in finding appropriate solutions for meeting the most complex learning and health needs.’
Further findings include, ‘Most disabled children and young people known to social care have plans that fully identify their needs. Plans are reviewed through regular multi-agency meetings, ensuring that most children and young people’s plans progress and their needs are met and that there is a ‘comprehensive offer for short breaks.’
The findings report also highlights that there are no extended waits for core child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) team, meaning that children and young people are seen quickly and that the health visiting service supports the early identification of needs effectively.
The report makes four recommendations for improvement. This feedback and the priorities will inform the work of the partnership to improve the experiences and outcomes for all children and young people with additional needs and disabilities in Herefordshire.
The Local Area Partnership has issued a joint statement in response to the publication of the report.
“As a partnership, we welcome the findings of the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection report.
“We are pleased that the report recognises so many strengths within the partnership workforce at both a strategic and operational level. The partnership remains highly committed to serving children and families well, despite the nationally acknowledged pressures on SEND services.
“We acknowledge that our current partnership’s arrangements have led to some inconsistent experiences for some children, young people and their families. We will continue to ensure that through our Local Offer families are aware of our services and how to access them.”
You can read a full copy of the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) Local Area Partnership SEND inspection report here.
Warm wishes,
Liz Farr
Service Director, Education, Skills and Learning
In relation to the recent Local Area SEND Inspection report, Parent Carer Voice (PCV) Herefordshire released the following statement:
"We appreciate the findings from the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection. We recognise the inspector's recommendations and will work strategically with the Local Authority and Health to improve awareness of the SEND Directory, also known as the Local Offer, along with the respite options available through the council’s Short Breaks Scheme. Additionally, we will continue to gather feedback from parents regarding the recommendations concerning waiting times for Health Services. Our dedication to providing outstanding peer support to SEND families in Herefordshire is unwavering, and we encourage everyone to visit our website, pcvh.co.uk, for further details about our services".
PCV Herefordshire are also delighted to be recognised within the report for their work on co-production with the SEND Partnership and families. Co-production is essential to ensure that services are designed in partnership with those with 'lived experience' to make a positive difference to people's lives. PCV continue to be committed to co-production and working closely with all partners for the benefit of children and young people with SEND and their families. You can find out more about co-production in the Herefordshire SEND Partnership here.
PCV Annual Survey
The results of the Parent Carer Voice survey have now been analysed and written into a report. Thank you to all of the parents and carers that were able to complete the survey - your voice is really important and it does make a difference. You can read the full report on PCV's website.
Share your experiences
PCV are currently seeking feedback on your experiences of applying for and acquiring an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan for your child / young person in Herefordshire. If you would like to share your experiences, please complete the survey here.
Who are SENDIASS?
HW SENDIASS is the Special Educational Needs/Disabilities (SEND) Information, Advice and Support Service covering Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
HW SENDIASS have a dedicated team of trained advisors offering legally based information, advice and support on all matters relating to children and young people (0-25) who have or may have SEND. The service is FREE, impartial, and confidential.
Contact them for free SEND advice using the details below.
SENDIASS Young Person Advisor Service
Herefordshire and Worcestershire Special Educational Needs/Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) have Young Person Advisors (YPA) that support children and young people, that have or may have SEND, to make informed decisions.
Sammy, Herefordshire SENDIASS Young Person Advisor, joins the Youth Employment Hub in Hereford on the last two Tuesdays of every month. She is available to meet with young people with SEND to offer careers advice and impartial information, advice and support on all matters relating to Special Educational Needs/ Disabilities (SEND).
Young People can book an appointment with Sammy by completing the Youth Employment Hub referral form on their webpage or by contacting SENDIASS directly using the details below.
Contact SENDIASS
Call: 01432 260955 Monday-Friday 8.30am-4pm (24hr answerphone service)
Email sendiass@herefordshire.gov.uk
For regular Special Educational Needs/Disabilities (SEND) updates, sign up to the SENDIASS mailing list by clicking the sign-up link on their SENDIASS Contact page or follow them on social media: Facebook-HWSENDIASS
SENDIASS also have lots of useful information on their website www.hwsendiass.co.uk
The SEN Team has different contact details depending on the nature of your enquiry. So that your queries can be dealt with quickly, you can now speak to anyone in the respective teams and they will be able to help you, rather than waiting for a specific member of staff, who may be out at meetings or on annual leave etc. Feedback received so far on this way of working has been very positive and has enabled parents, carers and professionals to have their queries responded to much more swiftly.
SEN Assessment Team
For all enquiries prior to an EHC plan including top-up funding. Requests for assessments and finalising the first EHCP is done by this team, as well as children or young people with an EHCP who move into Herefordshire from elsewhere.
Call: 01432 383679
Email: senassess@herefordshire.gov.uk
SEN Review Team
For all enquiries for a child or young person who already has an EHC plan, including queries about annual reviews.
Call: 01432 383331
Email: senreview@herefordshire.gov.uk
EHCP Assistant Team
EHCP Assistants monitor and track processes to make sure information is received and logged. They also send out requests for information and can answer general enquiries about the EHCP process.
Call: 01432 383196
Email: senteamenquiries@herefordshire.gov.uk
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The Government has launched a major consultation to help reshape the NHS in England. They ask everyone to share their thoughts and experiences of the NHS by completing an online form. They will use this information to build a 10-year plan for the NHS.
This is a huge opportunity for everyone to ensure that the Government prioritises addressing health inequality for people with a learning disability.
What you can do next...
- Mencap have created an Easy Read Version of the online form that you can use.
- Please also tell people you think may be interested and support them to complete the online form.
The deadline for completing the form is Friday 14th February 2025.
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Is your child / young person on the ADHD* Pathway? Would you like to know more about how you can support them whilst you are waiting for an assessment?
Does your child already have a diagnosis of ADHD*? Would you like more information about how you can understand and support your child's ADHD?
To support families in Herefordshire, the Herefordshire and Worcestershire ADHD Support Programme includes webinars for parent carers of both children who are awaiting an assessment and those who already have a diagnosis of ADHD. Sessions are running throughout January, February, March and April.
Click to visit the Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB page and scroll down to 'ADHD Foundation Pre Diagnosis Support and Post Diagnosis Support webinars' where you will find links to book your place. Scan the QR codes in the pdf or hover over them to click through to the booking page.
*ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
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Join a free online 6 week course about autism for autistic teens aged 13-19. No diagnosis necessary. The course will explore topics ranging from understanding autism to self-esteem and self-image. Each session will focus on a different topic.
An opportunity for diagnosed and non-diagnosed autistic teens to learn more about autism in small, supportive group sessions and a one-to-one meeting with an autism advisor.
Mondays at 9:30am-11am
24th February, 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st March
Book Teen Autism Confident through Eventbrite.
Have you requested an Education, Health and Care (EHC) needs assessment recently? Are you wondering how long you need to wait for each stage of the process to be completed?
We have outlined each step of the EHC needs assessment process on our Local Offer website to help families understand where they are in the process and how long it might be until they reach the next stage.
Click here to visit our EHC needs assessment timeline page or go to http://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/ehcptimeline
Our Herefordshire SEND Local Offer Facebook page is the place to be to find out about local events, community activities, social opportunities and support available across Herefordshire for children and young people with SEND and their families.
In the last few months we have highlighted over 50 different providers in Herefordshire who offer inclusive activities for children and young people with SEND, support services for parent carers and information about other organisations that can help you and your family.
Please follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with everything that's happening locally and share our posts with other parent carers who might be interested in hearing what's going on.
Family Fund run a range of workshops which are delivered by specialists and Family Fund staff. Workshops are a safe space to learn new skills with other families raising disabled children.
Many of the workshops are free and held online, making them accessible to children and young people with SEND and their families. With half term approaching, there are child-friendly workshops including how to create a digital badge and a coding workshop for beginners.
You can sign up for workshops including:
- Supporting your young person into adulthood
- Checking your benefits online
- Make a social story
- Staying safe online
- Wonderful website creators
- and more!
Visit the Family Fund Workshops page for more information and to sign up for a session.
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Has your young person tried Herefordshire Cricket Super 1s yet? Super 1s offers young people with disabilities, aged 12-25, the opportunity to regularly play cricket for FREE.
Sessions run every Thursday, 5pm - 6pm at thePoint4 (HR1 1DT)
Contact Pete Gale: petegale@herefordshirecricketltd.co.uk or visit the website to find out more.
If you would like to contribute to the next edition of the SEND Newsletter, please get in touch by Friday 4th April 2025. We value your feedback and would love to hear what you think of the newsletter. To submit future content or share your views on this newsletter, please contact us by email: localoffer@herefordshire.gov.uk
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