Message from the council's SEND team:

In the SEND service we continue to experience a high volume of Education Health Care (EHC) Needs assessments and EHC plan amendments at this current time.

As a service, in addition to recruiting to vacant posts we are securing additional temporary support. We are working extremely hard to return our timeliness to our previous high levels of performance and to ensure that EHC Plans for those children and young people moving between educational settings in September 2023 are amended within statutory timescales. 

Do not hesitate to speak with your EHC co-ordinator if you are worried about a deadline or a delay. You can email the team senteam@southend.gov.uk. Or access advice and support by visiting Southend’s Local Offer www.southend.gov.uk/SENDlocaloffer 

Cost of living booklet

If you need additional help and support during the cost-of-living crisis, Southend-on-Sea City Council has produced a booklet full of guidance and advice for where to get help. 

You can read a PDF of the booklet here. Or if you need a hard copy of the booklet please contact localoffer@southend.gov.uk with your contact details.

Information can also be found at One Love Southend's website.   

Staying well this winter- do your bit

The NHS has published a helpful guide on how to stay well this winter and 'do your bit', with advice on everything from vaccinations to checking on elderly neighbours. Find out more

Avatar army connects kids with their classroom

The Education Access Team loan the AV1 robots to our schools and are hosting an information event on Monday 21 November 9.30am to 12pm at the Tickfield Centre for professionals to learn more, see one in action and ask questions about this unique and innovative approach to education access. Find out more

Children's Health Matters

A free NHS guide that was co-designed with local parents and is packed with expert advice and guidance on what to do when children are unwell with common childhood illnesses has been relaunched with information for 2022/23.

It explains how to treat children at home, when to see a GP or call 111, and when symptoms are more serious and you should seek emergency help. Find out more

SSIF update - we need your help

The Education Board have awarded £1 million for the 2022/23 academic year to improve inclusion and the graduated response across all schools in Southend.

Do you have any thoughts, ideas or suggestions on how to improve inclusion and the experience our children and young people have in schools across in Southend? 

Help us shape how this funding will be spent by taking part in our survey.

The survey will run until the 21 November so don’t delay! Click the link below to give your feedback. Click here to visit the survey.”

Join our next Lighthouse Parent, Carer and Young Person Network meeting

Parents, carers and young people who use services provided by the Lighthouse Child Development Centre in Southend are being asked to share their views at an upcoming virtual event.

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) will be hosting its next Lighthouse Parent, Carer and Young Person Network meeting on Monday 5 December from 7pm to 9pm.

The meeting will take place on Microsoft Teams – Click here to join the meeting. If you have any queries or need to any support to join the meeting, please email epunft.pet@nhs.net. 

Reading Well for teens launches in City’s libraries

A new ‘Reading Well’ collection of books and resources for teenagers was launched in public libraries across England and Wales on World Mental Health Day in October.

The scheme, run by national charity The Reading Agency, aims to support the mental wellbeing of teenagers providing information, advice, and support to help them better understand their feelings, handle difficult experiences and boost their confidence in a post-pandemic context. Reading Well will also add value to existing services by helping teens to identify when they might be experiencing poor mental health through their reading content. Find out more

Eating disorder toolkit launched with support of Southend school nurses

A national toolkit, which was designed with help from one of Southend's school nurses is being launched in Parliament as part of a wider eating disorder manifesto. Find out more

Take a virtual tour of Club Ink!

Club Ink is a friendly, weekly group for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Watch this video to meet Debbie, find out more about the club and take a virtual tour!

Watch the video.

Find out more about Club Ink.

For further details or enquiries, please contact Debbie at debbieknott@southend.gov.uk or by phone on 01702 298495.

Terminology survey update

Thank you to everyone who responded to the terminology poll run by the SEND team in the summer.

After much discussion and consideration of the poll results alongside published documents and other sources, the team have decided to use the term ‘hearing loss’ in their documentation. The team will, however, always ask parents and carers, or the young person at the outset how they would like their disability described.  

The team have also agreed a new name for what were previously called the Hearing Impairment (HI) Outreach Service and the Visual Impairment (VI) Outreach Service. The new name for the service will be the Vision and Hearing Support Service.

Updated service information will be available on the SEND Local Offer soon, but in the meantime, details of support available from the team, and useful resources and links, can be found here:

Hearing Impairment (HI) Outreach Service 

Visual Impairment (VI) Outreach Service 

Monthly SEND Stay and Play Sessions

Free monthly Stay and Play sessions are available to children with SEND aged 0 to 5 and their families in Southend.

The sessions, which are held at Summercourt Family Centre, are being delivered by Southend Family Centres and A Better Start Southend. As well as providing activities for children to engage with, the sessions are also an opportunity for parents/carers to meet other families on a similar journey. Siblings are welcome to attend too.

Booking is required. Find out more.

Your feedback matters - thank you

Thank you to those who attended the SEND annual conference and the Education Health and Care Hub Feedback session.

The SEND annual conference is offered to all Southend schools as part of the SEND Leadership Programme and took place on Thursday 10 November. The vast majority of schools attended the day, which was titled ‘No two children are the same’, bringing together school leaders, SENCos, parent and carer reps, family support groups, professionals, charities and organisations.

Thank you to Fin O’Regan for his inspirational words and to all that attended or contributed. We look forward to continuing to drive this agenda forward together to ensure that all learners, including those that are neurodiverse, meet their full potential.

And thank you to everyone who joined the Southend SEND Team and the Hub provider on 17 November to give feedback about the EHC Hub. If you are a user of the Hub and haven’t yet given your feedback, you can do so via a survey before 30 November: EHC Hub survey for parent carers

EHC Hub survey for practitioners

Your Local Offer, Your Way - November sessions

Thank you to those who attended the sessions which were focused on developing information about SEND conditions for the Local Offer website. Following the sessions, we would like to initially co-produce more content around dyslexia and autism. Parent carers have also requested ‘Road Maps’ to help them navigate the system. If you would like to be involved in this work, please email localoffer@southend.gov.uk

SEND Surgery at Shoeburyness Youth and Community Centre

Thank you to the parent carers who came along to the first SEND Surgery at Shoeburyness Youth and Community Centre on Tuesday 15 November. The team were very happy to provide support and answer a range of questions.

At the session were members of the SEND Local Offer team, an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) Co-Ordinator, the Preparing for Adulthood team manager and a member of the Advisory SENCO team. 

Parent carers are invited to the next surgery which will take place on 20 December at Centre Place Family Centre which is at 15 Prospect Close, Southend-On-Sea, SS1 2JD. At this surgery we will be joined by Victoria Coatsworth (Specialist School Nurse for SEN), from the Public Health School Nursing Team. Find out more.

Dates for the diary

Important dates:

• UK Disability History Month, runs from 16 November to 16 December
• 20 November: Universal Children's Day
• 24 November: Carers Rights Day 2022
• 5 December: International Volunteers Day 

If you know of or are running an activity or event for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), please let us know by emailing localoffer@southend.gov.uk. 

Look out for more information and things to do by following the Southend SEND Local Offer Team on Facebook and Instagram and by visiting the events and activities section on the SEND Local Offer: Events and Activities