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Welcome to the latest edition of Medway’s SEND news. We have lots of updates to share including an introduction from Local Offer Officer Nina Minhard, an update from Kent and Medway CCG and information about the government’s newly published green paper.
Members of the Medway Parent and Carer’s forum have given feedback that the directory is frustrating to use, as it is difficult to navigate and find services that are relevant and up to date.
We are in the process of completing an audit of the directory, to examine every listing and make sure they are accurate.
The first step in this piece of work is to contact every organisation in Medway and request that they check their listing, we can then make the relevant changes.
If you haven’t heard of the Local Offer directory, it is a list of the organisations in and around Medway that provide specific services that may be useful to children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers. For example, summer holiday clubs (from sports clubs to farming schools) autism friendly hairdressers or SEND support charities.
We feature one or two organisations listed in the directory in each of our newsletters.
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My name is Nina, and I am the Local Offer officer for Medway Council, and the person responsible for the newsletters. I will keep you updated on all the progress we are making with the Local Offer, as well as SEND services in Medway.
A little bit about me. I have a background in SEND education, working at a special school in Gravesend, before deciding to move into a marketing career. However, I missed working in the SEND world so much, that when the opportunity to work for Medway’s Local Offer came up, I was very excited.
My role combines both my interest in marketing and brand awareness and my passion for improving SEND awareness and SEND services in the local area. I have never worked for a Local Authority before, so it is an exciting challenge for me. I have been at Medway for a year already which has gone by so fast, but I still have lot to learn and look forward to. I am looking forward to raising awareness of the Local Offer and increasing the engagement with our young people. If you know a young person who would like to get involved and help make a change in Medway, get them to sign up to our Young Person’s Newsletter via the link: Or to find out other ways to get involved, they can email me at localoffer@medway.gov.uk .
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Young Person's Disability Group
Do you know someone aged 13-25 with an Education Health and Care Plan, who is looking to make a difference within their community? If so, they might like to join our young person’s disability group. We have two groups that meet once a term, one for age 13-18 and the other for age 18-25.
The group is an opportunity to meet other young people, have their say and find out more about education, health, and local authority services in Medway. The Young Person’s Disability Group can be used as work experience. We value the ideas and input from the young people, and they will receive £20 for each meeting they attend.
If you are a young person looking to join the group or would like to recommend a young person for the group, please contact Deborah Omijie on 01634 337385 or by email at: deborah.omijie@medway.gov.uk .
The NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is the NHS organisation that plans and buys healthcare services to meet the needs of the population.
There are 1.8 million people living in Kent and Medway. The annual budget for 2020/21 was £2.738 billion to provide the best possible care for the whole area.
The CCG will be at full capacity this summer following a successful recruitment process. There is a Designated Clinical Officer (DCO), Deputy DCO, Health Lead for SEND, four Health Co-ordinators, and team admin roles. The CCG will be introducing their new team members to you in the future.
To find out more about what the CCG do visit: https://www.kentandmedwayccg.nhs.uk/
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust have launched a new adult neurodevelopmental health service.
From Friday, 1 April Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) will be accepting referrals into their new Adult Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Service.
This service is taking over from the previous provider. KCHFT will provide community-based assessment, diagnosis and support, working with existing specialist health services, local authorities and independent and voluntary sector organisations. They can manage the shared care of people diagnosed with ASD and/or ADHD with their GP. KCHFT can provide:
- assessment, diagnosis and management of ASD/ADHD in adults
- short-term support or specialist treatment
- pharmacological treatment for ADHD in line with the Kent and Medway Shared Care Guidance for Adult ADHD (enhanced service)
- self-help information for non-medical interventions including psychological, lifestyle, behavioural and educational or occupational needs
- training and support to other services to increase awareness and support of neurodiversity.
- ADHD support and assessment clinics virtually (online).
KCHFT will take referrals from health (e.g., GP, secondary care mental health etc.) or social care professionals. In some circumstances they can provide assessment or support to people at home.
From 1 April referrals should be made to the service using the Adult autism and or ADHD diagnostic service referral form
There are more details on the KCHFT website: Adult Neurodevelopmental Health Service | Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (kentcht.nhs.uk)
The Government’s SEND and alternative provision green paper was published on Tuesday, 29 March. It sets out the government's vision for a single, national SEND and alternative provision (AP) system that will introduce new standards in the quality of support given to children across education, health and care.
You can access a copy of the Green Paper Right Support, Right Place, Right Time on gov.uk website
Alongside the Green paper, the government has also published:
The green paper is the result of the SEND Review, commissioned to improve an inconsistent, process-heavy and increasingly adversarial system that too often leaves parents facing difficulties and delays accessing the right support for their child.
The plans to reform the system will be open for a 13-week public consultation, giving families frustrated by the existing, complicated and bureaucratic system of support the opportunity to shape how a new system will work in the future - and give them confidence that their local school will meet their children’s needs so they can achieve their full potential.
Wednesday Squad is a club for young people aged 16-25 who have additional needs.
It runs every Wednesday at Parkwood Youth Centre from 6:30pm to 8:30pm. It provides the young people who attend a valuable opportunity to develop their social skills, make friends and acquire life skills along the way.
The sessions have regular visitors who can assist the young people in looking for outside opportunities including further training and employment.
For more information, please call Angela Cox on 07956 656815
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