Welcome to Shropshire’s Covid-19 SEND newsletter, co-produced by Shropshire Council, Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group and PACC.  The newsletter aims to provide easy access to key information for SEND families during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as an opportunity for parent carers to hear from each other about their experiences.

This edition is particularly looking at support for young people aged 18-25 years during the pandemic and moving from school to college and other key transition points. The newsletter includes information from several local services to support children, young people and their parent carers.

Our thanks go to the parent carers who have shared their stories and wonderful photographs of their young people. 

Please do continue to provide feedback on this newsletter, we want this to work for you and we are keen to hear what you think of it. You can email us at local.offer@shropshire.gov.uk

For all young people on the cusp of transitioning to their life as an adult, the start of a new academic year will bring with it mixed emotions of excitement and trepidation. For those with a special educational need (SEN) it is likely that the change from a familiar school environment to college or training provider will bring additional pressures and heightened anxiety as they prepare for their life as an adult. Many will not only be adjusting to a change in educational placement but will also be considering  what additional support they may require so that they can successfully develop their skills to enable them to live as independently as possible, access their local community and maintain good health so that they are ready and prepared to leave college and possibly home to set out on their journey as an adult.

This year the ongoing impact of Covid 19 has made this transition from school to college or from college to employment, training or higher education even more uncertain than usual. Restrictions as a result of Covid are likely to be with us for some time to come and will require schools, colleges and other services to adapt their approach and amend their offer to enable easier access as we face the reality of ongoing social distancing, shielding and self-isolation. Read more about how schools, colleges and health services have adapted to the changes.

We recognise that moving from primary to secondary school is a significant event for all Year 6 pupils, but for many of our children with special educational needs (SEN) the quality of the transition is even more significant. Parents of all Year 6 children who are deciding on their child’s secondary school should have received a letter outlining the arrangements being made by our secondary schools in response to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Find out more about how schools are showcasing what they do and how parent carers and year 6 pupils can get an insight into the school.  

Autism West Midlands offer individual outreach support in the community via direct payments, supporting autistic adults to access the community and become more independent. We support with travel training, development of daily living skills, community interests and voluntary work. We are unable to support people who require personal care or medication support.

We have limited capacity to take on new referrals currently but to find out more contact gemmae@autismwestmidlands.org.uk

Since the outbreak of Covid, All In providers have had follow government guidance to reduce transmissions of the virus. This has meant that providers had to stop or significantly reduce their activities for the time being. In the last few months, the government had issued guidelines which largely lifted restrictions. However, since Monday 14 September, the government requires everyone in the UK to adhere to the ‘Rule of Six’. All In providers will again have to review the nature of their activities and decide whether and how they can comply with this. For further information on social distancing during All In Short Breaks please visit the Local Offer.

Flu vaccination invitations are on their way by post, text message or phone call, say health bosses at Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs).

GP practices across the county are now rolling out their vaccination programmes and residents are encouraged to book their flu jabs to protect both themselves and their families.

Looking to the future is hard, scary and some days too exhausting to think about! But our children and young people now need us to stay focused and clear-minded more than ever. They deserve a future, even in these uncertain times, and it’s our job to help them achieve a fulfilled life. Ellie is nearly 21 and looking back to her post-16 transition it all seemed very challenging: Little information, lack of resources, limited choice, unclear guidance, overwhelming anxiety about making the right decisions for Ellie’s future. What’s new?

Four years late her supposed career path seems seamless: 3 very happy years at Walford doing animal care and independent living skills, falling “in” and “out” of love. Followed by a fun 6 months at Shrewsbury Colleges doing introduction to catering. Slowly developing her confidence and self-worth by volunteering, thanks to Palmers and Severn Theatre. Striving for that future independence with the help of her support worker, social worker, Positive Steps family and Derwen short breaks. Always “keeping on dancing”, going to the movies, riding, keeping fit and trying new things. Then lockdown hit…

For the young woman with her “post it” notes of dreams on her bedroom wall the world stopped. All that hard work gone, left suspended in time.

 Some days it was tough: Withdrawal, separation anxiety, isolation, weight increase, incessant talking to imaginary friends. Her and us! But simple pleasures – Zoom dance sessions with Shropshire Inclusive Dance, quizzes on WhatsApp, Joe Wickes, garden visits and walks with friends have seen us through. We’ve got to know our neighbours better, celebrated VE day and even been a winner in the Wem scarecrow competition.

Getting the balance right between risk taking and being risk averse is a series of decisions every family has to take for themselves - we’ve got to live. So, returning to college and starting new activities with Identity dance and Story Makers has helped give Ellie her enthusiasm and a purpose for life back.

New lockdown, more rules and changes – what now?

Ellie’s still got her dreams and hopes and so have we for her. Just got to battle on, be flexible, make another plan, adjust, tweak and follow through. We can do this and so can you. Be strong, be safe and don’t be afraid to ask for help. Keep talking to each other, look for inspiration and ideas, there’s always so much to learn from and pass on to others on the same journey.

Good luck.

Annie

Our experience has been very positive, our son has moved from mainstream secondary school, to Shrewsbury College on the London Road Campus.  We have had communication with college over the summer, as we had already started a good relationship with the SENCo at college.  Our son’s Occupational Therapist went to the college and advised the college what his needs were and then I went in and had a walkaround discussing accessibility and his needs too. 

On enrolment and Induction, he had his TA there along with current members of the college who spent the time fact finding and ensuring everything would be in place for him, for when the course started due to no transition because of Covid!  The college have adapted his timetable and added sessions with his TA for the open workshops.  He has the support he requires at college with someone he trusts and understands his needs. 

He has huge anxiety in the morning and unable to eat much breakfast due to the worry of Covid, because of him being so vulnerable, but once he is there he has got stuck in to the lesson and he is fine.  We believe this is due to having the right support at college who can reassure him that he is safe and can help with his anxiety.

Helen

We had such hopes for the last 12 months.  After exploring the possibility of supported living, we had decided that it wasn’t the right time for Owen to make that move, and at the age of 18 the best next step for him would be residential college.  We had searched the internet for a list of possible colleges and then visited the three that looked most promising.  We fell in love with Coleg Elydir right from the start, it was in the middle of nowhere and the drive from Shrewsbury was endless, but the Coleg environment and feel was great and Owen moved there in September 2019. 

It was a big change for all of us, and to be honest Owen probably coped better than we did.  He was such a big presence in our lives and while supporting him was a full-time job, he left a big gap. We missed his enthusiasm for life and the fun and laughter that always followed him around. 

Owen thrived at Coleg Elydir and we had all settled into a good routine.  He kept in contact with us via ‘WhatsApp’ and video calls and we were seeing real progress in his independence and essential skills and then Covid 19 happened. Suddenly things changed for everyone, the Government was talking about locking the country down and Coleg had to start doing things differently.  We were faced with the possibility of our vulnerable son being stuck miles away from us, when everyone was scared about what this virus meant for us and our families.  This meant that, during a telephone call with Owen on the Sunday before lockdown, when he started to get upset and asked to come home, we knew we had to go and fetch him.

We now had eight of us at home and while Owen’s dad and I are lucky enough to both be able to work from home, this wasn’t a situation that we had planned for.  Our household is a complicated one, which meant that it was difficult to provide Owen with the support he needed when he was home 24/7. He ended up sharing a room with one of his brothers for 5 months that we hadn’t planned for and while they both happily share a room for a few weeks during holidays, this extended period was pushing the boundaries of brotherly love.  Owen was becoming a young adult, he wanted his own space, he didn’t want to have to do things just because we were doing them, but the reality was that we couldn’t leave him alone by himself and we had to meet the need of his younger brothers too. Being a family was hard during this time, and while things were easier for a while, when Owen’s older brother was furloughed and Adult Social Care agreed we could pay him to support Owen for a few hours each weekday, as well as receiving extra funding for him to visit his short break provider, we all struggled and Owen’s quality of life and therefore his behaviour deteriorated.

As the summer went on and we all started to understand that Covid 19 and its impact was going to be a long-term challenge, we started to think about how we were going to cope with this as a family. We were tired and we knew we were not supporting Owen effectively, we were also facing his brothers returning full time to school and college, which meant that an increased risk of them coming into contact with someone with coronavirus. Owen has a history of chest infections and pneumonia and we didn’t want to find out if this made him more susceptible to the effects of the virus.

Owen was due to go back to Coleg mid-September. The Coleg had done a great job of staying in touch with us since March, with weekly updates from the Head, online choir sessions, and SALT sessions over Zoom. They had had a couple of scares with a staff member and one residential student showing symptoms, but both had eventually tested negative. Everyone was starting to adjust to a new normal and Owen was asking when he was going to go back to see his friends; at one point he got very angry with us for “stopping him from going back to Coleg”.  It was then that we knew we had to find a longer-term solution for Owen and for the rest of the family. Everything felt so fragile, Owen’s brothers were also struggling with the impact of the last few months, which meant that home could be at times be a very volatile place and definitely not the best environment for Owen.

It was at this point that we had to face up to the fact that in the current situation, we couldn’t at home provide Owen with what he needed at this stage in his life.  He needed stimulation and structure and he needed space. Fundamentally he needed to be back at Coleg, but what he needed more than anything was a period of stability. This was when we start to think about a 52-week placement. Even just saying that out loud was difficult and it felt like we were giving up, but at the same time it did mean that Owen would have an uninterrupted period of support after all the uncertainty and the rest of the family would have a chance to settle into a new routine, with the space to do so.

The first person that we spoke to about the possibility of a 52 week placement was Owen, we talked about him staying at Coleg during the holidays, not coming home for any weekends, spending Christmas there etc. and did what we could to support his understanding of what this would mean for him.  He responded positively straight away and loved the idea of spending Christmas with his friends….ouch. One of the joys of parenting Owen is that he tells it to you straight!!

Next, we spoke to Owen’s social worker, which was hard because despite knowing that this was the right thing for Owen, we felt like we were asking to send him away and admitting that we couldn’t cope. We were grateful for the understanding we received from the social worker, who was supportive and kind and agreed to start discussions with senior managers and the Coleg, so that the appropriate funding could be put in place.  We talked about how this was happening as a response to a situation that nobody had expected and that in the context of Covid 19, it was a positive step for Owen.

From there things moved pretty quickly, we talked to the rest of the family, which was another difficult conversation, because we had to provide reassurance about concerns and emotions that we were struggling to deal with too. Owen’s younger brother was particularly concerned and was worried that it was his fault because they had found it difficult to share a room in the last few weeks.  So we talked about how it had never been the plan for them to have to share for so long and how we should see Owen’s keenness to move to Coleg as an example of how well we had done as a family, in supporting his independence.  Further discussions with the social worker encouraged us to think about building planned time for Owen to spend time with us and so we agreed with Owen that we would go for a 49 week placement, allowing three weeks for family holidays and a couple of weekend visits home during the next 12 months.

Owen went back to Coleg Elidyr on the 4^th September and of course he is loving it.  We have cried a few tears since then, but we look forward to his calls and messages.  In this constantly changing world we are holding on to the fact that Coleg can provide the security and stability that he relies on and which we can’t provide for him at the moment and therefore we have done what we have always tried to do for Owen, that is to make the best decisions we can, with his needs at the foremost of our minds: as parent carers what more can we do?

Sarah