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Thank you for taking a moment to read our February 2025 newsletter.
In this email:
- things to do this half term
- our new Statutory SEND Service
- early help services
- health care costs for young people turning 18
- mental health support for children and young people
- Healthy Family Team Advice Line celebrates five years
- ensuring the quality of education, health and care plans
Things to do this half term
Looking for activities, events or inspiration for the February half term school holiday?
The SEND Local Offer has listings for SEND activities in and around Nottinghamshire. From arts and crafts to days out and support groups, there is plenty on offer for all ages.
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Our new Statutory SEND Service
Over the past 12 months we have been focused on making sure our services are set up in the best way for children and families by listening to you and your children and young people through our surveys, listening events, complaints, tribunal outcomes, co-production work and our Parent Carer Forum.
Based on your feedback, we have re-structured our Integrated Children’s Disability Service to become the Statutory SEND Service. This new service will provide statutory SEND services for children and young people aged 0 to 25 who are undergoing an assessment for or have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
The new service will be more efficient and give you and your children a better experience, better support and improved outcomes with local teams to support you, increased investment in our workforce and joined-up support with schools, colleges, education providers and partners in health and social care, so you get the help you need, when you need it.
We are excited about the changes the re-design will bring for you and your children and look forward to building strong and positive relationships with you.
Helping families to get support sooner
For families, getting help sooner can have the biggest impact on feeling supported and seeing positive outcome for their child. Our early help services work with children, young people, and their families, making sure they get the right support early on before problems develop or get worse.
Our family hub networks provide a range of help and support from pregnancy and throughout childhood into early adulthood, including with preparing for a baby, child development, parenting support, health and wellbeing, relationships and communication, finances and employment.
Some families may benefit from more tailored support, which is where the Early Help Unit comes in. If you are a parent or carer with a concern about your child or their development, you can contact the Early Help Unit or visit your local family hub, who can help you self-refer.
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Health care costs for young people with medical conditions
When young people turn 18, those not in full time education or receiving certain benefits will have to pay for some health care including eye checks, dental and prescription medicines.
Find out more about NHS costs and check whether you may be eligible for help with health costs,
For information about dental costs, talk to your dental practice or see how much NHS dental treatment may cost.
Mental health support for children and young people
This week is Children’s Mental Health Week, so we want to remind you that the NottAlone website has dedicated mental health information just for young people, their parents/carers and professionals who work with them. Browse by different topics and find connections to free, local mental health support in person, online or over the phone.
To mark the week, NottAlone has launched series three of The NottAlone Podcast on Wednesday 11 February. The podcast brings together personal stories and professional insights on a range of mental health topics, including neurodiversity and mental health. Search “NottAlone” wherever you listen to podcasts to subscribe and listen for free.
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Reassurance when families need it most: advice line marks five-year milestone.
Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is celebrating the fifth birthday of its Healthy Family Team Advice Line, marking five years of providing compassionate, practical support to families, parents and carers across the county.
Since its launch in February 2021, the advice line has become a trusted lifeline for parents navigating the worries and challenges of raising children and young people. Experienced professionals offer advice on a wide range of topics, including children's emotional wellbeing, behaviour, routines, school concerns, relationships and wider family pressures.
Over the past six months, the advice line has taken an impressive 12,837 calls, demonstrating the vital role the service plays in supporting families.
Call 0300 123 5436 if you need support,or find out more about healthy family teams.
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Ensuring the quality of education, health and care plans
A quality assurance framework has been developed which sets out a shared approach to improving the quality, consistency and statutory compliance of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) across the health and care system. The framework has been developed collaboratively with parents, carers, young people and those working in the health, care and voluntary sector.
It sets out to all organisations working with children and young people with SEND their responsibilities in making sure their contributions to EHCPs are timely, high quality, evidence based and outcome focused. It also emphasises the need for monitoring, improving and reporting on the quality of their SEND related activity.
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