A message from Natalie Willams -Strategic Manager - SEND As we draw the term to a close it is a great time to reflect on the academic year behind us and all the hope and opportunities there are in front of us. The summer holidays can be both wonderful and stressful all at the same time, worries about childcare, what do to entertain the children, school uniforms, starting new schools, the endless snacks…. I don’t think I need to go on! But let’s take just a moment to reflect before the holiday period starts. I would like to thank everyone; parents, professionals and the children and young people themselves for the honesty, commitment and fun that we have had over the last year. The city SEND partnership commitment and solidarity that we see and feel was observed by Ofsted and CQC when they came in January this year. We absolutely acknowledge the findings and agree that we have so much more to do to improve the lived experience for each and every child and their family in the city but also agree that we have some great practice, positive experiences and amazing children and young people who are getting the right support to thrive. Watch this space as the new SEND Strategy will be launched during the summer ready for September 2024. The partnership is looking forward to bringing new workstreams together to drive forward the vision that has been created and agreed across the entire partnership with schools and settings providing the strong child and young person voice from Inclusion week. I hope you all manage to have some time doing what you love over the summer and I will say goodbye as I will leaving Stoke-on-Trent at the end of August. Hopefully I will see a lot of people in person before I go but if I don’t it has been both a pleasure and a privilege to spend two and half a years in Stoke-on-Trent and I cannot wait to see how SEND in the city continues on its improvement journey.

...on Positive behavioural support

NHS Combined Healthcare Trust are offering Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) training to those who support a child or young person up to the age of 25 years with complex needs who may engage in behaviour of concern.

Eligibility:

• Must be a parent/carer of a young person aged 0-25 years old diagnoses (or on a wait list) with a Learning Disability and/or autism
• Must be living in Stoke-on-Trent/Staffordshire
• Must commit towards to training

Training dates:

• 27 June 2024 (10am - 2.30pm at Hazel Trees)

Please email cyp.pbsteam@combined.nhs.uk to register.

Free school meals vouchers If your child gets free school meals from a school or nursery in Stoke-on-Trent you’ll automatically get a £70 voucher. Food vouchers are also available for:  children with an Education and Health Care Plan  pre-school children If you and your family live in Stoke-on-Trent, your child has an Education and Health Care Plan and is educated at home or in a school outside of the city; or if your child attends a funded two-year-old place, is eligible to attend a funded two year place or are eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium you may be entitled to a voucher.  Click the link below to complete an application form:

For more information on the range of advice and help available, go to www.stoke.gov.uk/helpisathand

SEND Youth Clubs

Don’t forget about our SEND Youth Clubs which run in Bentilee and Milton.

They are for young people with special educational needs and disabilities, between the ages of 12 and 24. It is a great chance to make new friends and to enjoy activities like cooking, competitions, games, arts and crafts and social activities.

If you or your young person would like to try it, please contact Alan Mason to find out more. You can phone him  07717 714 299 or email him alan.mason@stoke.gov.uk

Club times:

Bentilee – Tuesday 6:45 pm – 8:45 pm

Milton – Wednesday 6:45 pm – 8:45 pm

Here's a message from Kelly, Director of Family Support Services at Contact:

Families with disabled children often miss out on the services and support they are entitled to due to a lack of reliable information. Practitioners can make a big difference by signposting parents and carers to Contact’s free information, advice and support.

To help, I've listed some of our free support services for you to share with the parent carers you work with...

Autism Acceptance Week

Autism Acceptance Week is a yearly event planned around Autism Acceptance Day on 2 April each year.

Autism Acceptance Week is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness and acceptance of autism across the city. Schools across Stoke on Trent celebrated with a variety of activities including:

• staff awareness and acceptance training
• peer awareness and acceptance through PSHE and whole school assemblies
• fundraising activities
• creative art projects
• poetry competitions
• and even a buffet lunch!

A special mention should go to the following schools:

• St Peter’s Academy for always celebrating Autism Acceptance week in style! (see picture attached)
• Moorpark Juniors who are doing excellent work towards their Level 1 Autism Friendly School Status this term
• Greenways Primary Academy who held their own autism awareness day! They had a multi-coloured non-uniform day, an art lesson based on colour (each child created a colourful square for a whole school mosaic showcasing how we are all unique individually). The children also took part in a bubble run on the playground funded by the PTFA – sounds so much fun!!
• St Gregory’s Catholic Academy for excellent engagement from staff during their whole school Autism training during awareness week – all the staff were keen to implement the strategies they had learned
• Burnwood Primary who have passed the Level 1 Autism Friendly School Status this term. Well done - you are going above and beyond for Autistic children in your school!

If any school would like further information in regards to Autism training or the Autism Friendly School Award – please contact SEND Support Services via Jane Plant Jane.Plant@stoke.gov.uk

Autism Acceptance Week at St Peter's Academy

What is autism?

• People with autism have a different way of experience, processing and looking at the world. 
• Autism is not a medical condition with treatments or a 'cure'.
• Having autism does not mean you have an illness or disease.
• You can't see if someone has autism.
• Each person with autism is different.
• People with autism have strengths and need help with different things. 

St Peter's C of E Academy created a poster which was displayed around the Academy to raise awareness of autism. They also posted information on their Facebook page and invited students to a buffet lunch where they were asked to contribute to writing on a word board and joining in messy activities and social games of their choosing.

Manor Abbey Special Free School Manor Abbey Special Free School opens September 2024 and is part of the family of 15 Special Schools and Alternative Provision managed by Manor Hall Academy Trust.  Manor Abbey will be purpose-built, designed specifically to cater to the needs of students with Social Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) difficulties. Drawing upon the collective expertise of the entire trust, the school will provide a comprehensive educational experience. The new school will mean that children with SEMH EHCPs will: Have their needs met, make good progress, and reach their potential. Attend a school rated as ‘good or better.’ Experience shorter travel times to school. Attend a local school and have access to local after-school and out-of-school activities. Access local services through local commissioning arrangements based on local agreements and protocols. Receive support for high-quality local provision and placements at colleges, including initiatives like Supported Internships, to facilitate their transition into further education, employment, and training at 16.

Meet the team: David Bownds is the Executive Headteacher and has played a key role in co-writing the initial bid for the Free School and has been deeply involved in the project’s development. With over 22 years of experience in special education, he spent the last six years as the headteacher of Staffordshire’s lone secondary Social Emotional and Mental Health school. In his new role as Executive Headteacher, he will provide leadership for both schools, facilitating mutual support and the sharing of best practices in the complex and challenging field of education.

Jack Beech is the Head of School at Manor Abbey. Jack has over 10 years of experience working across both special and mainstream education. His wealth of experience comes from teaching in Alternative Provision and Independent SEMH specialist schools with an emphasis on relational practice. Jack specialises in Social, Emotional and Mental Health with Senior Leadership experience in developing the holistic pastoral approaches that schools can take to support students and their families. Jack’s most recent role saw him directing SEND across a large multi academy trust. Jack will work alongside David Bownds, leading the school’s ethos and vision. The curriculum at Manor Abbey will meet the requirements of the National Curriculum while allowing for personalised learning journeys tailored to individual needs. Teaching methods and learning styles will be adapted to help students overcome any barriers they may have faced in previous school settings. The school believes that the combination of high-quality relationships and personalised learning approaches is a proven formula for success in SEMH settings. Manor Abbey Special Free School will provide an aspirational environment for students who may have had negative experiences in the past, offering them a vibrant, relevant, and enjoyable educational experience.

SEN School Transport As we move through the school academic year and the 6 weeks will soon be on us. We wanted to remind you all about SEN school transport and getting those transport assessment forms submitted early. This will help the Local Authority to organise transport a little smoother. Parents who have young people venturing into college please remember this year you will be asked to make a contribution towards transport and parents remember when your young person is in college you must apply for transport every year. PEGiS are very happy to help you with any transport assessment applications. Please ask we are here to help. Here is a copy of the transport policy:

Our top Transport tips:

Transport is not a given right and there needs to be an application for the service.

Also remember if you have any children who live more than three miles away from school and you are on a low income the la will help you to cover transport. This is usually a bus pass.

1. When applying for SEN transport remember there is no mileage.
2. Transport is based on need not diagnosis so describe your child’s barriers and challenges.
3. You do not need an EHC plan to get transport.
4. If your child is 16 years old for them 2 years until they are 19 you will have to apply every year.
5. The local authority has to let you know if you have transport within 4 weeks of your application. Although they may not know the other details yet.
6. If you have a car but need it for work please say that.
7. A personal transport budget is only a contribution towards towards cost.
8. If your child is accessing alternative provision try to get the main stream school to pay for the transport.
9. Remember some of the things they will be looking for in an assessment is a timely manner, getting to school safely and following routes.
10. Transport will not pay for part time tables unless it’s written into the EHC plan that they do those hours.
11. At the age of 16 or below the age of 5 you may now be asked to make a contribution towards transport.
12 If your child is 16 but will be staying in education after 19 you may not have to make a contribution towards transport.
13. Transport is usually only give to the closest suitable school. Make sure the la agree that your school is the most suitable one.
14. When filling your application form move away from diagnosis and write down all the things your child struggles with and the help they will need.

The Shine Award  We are happy to celebrate that Brook Cottage Childcare in Norton Green has successfully met the criteria for the SHINE award, proving that it provides an excellent inclusive environment for all children. Parents of children with SEND at Brook Cottage are thrilled with the support that their children receive there and feel that there is nothing that they would change about the setting. They feel that their children were made very welcome and are particularly happy that they are included in every aspect of nursery life and have the same opportunities as all other children.  Brook Cottage now joins Rosy Cheeks nurseries in Bentilee and Tunstall, The Crescent Preschool (Meir) and Tiny Toez Nursery in East Valley (Sneyd Green) in having successfully gained this accreditation.  Any private or voluntary nursery, preschool or childminder in Stoke-on-Trent can apply for the award. Applicants must have an OFSTED rating of Good or Outstanding and the award must be reapplied for after 2 years.

Preparing for adulthood

We asked some of our students for feedback about different areas of Preparing for Adulthood.

These are some of the answers students in mainstream secondary schools and colleges gave us.

Q Do you know the different things you can choose to do at the end of Year 11?

• I understand what college courses are available for me at when I finish Y11.
• I could go to university after college, or I could apply for jobs. I also knew about apprenticeships but that wouldn’t be the best idea for me.
• I'm unsure what's available
• Yes; I would like to do bricklaying, carpentry, electrical installation or gardening. I would like to go to college, but you can also so apprenticeships.

Q Do you know how your healthcare changes when you are 18? What would make it easier to get used to these changes?

• Some stuff you have to start to pay for. Also I can speak to the doctors myself without my mum having to ring them.
• I would be classed as an adult so I think this means that I am responsible for my own healthcare.
• I do not know how my healthcare changes when I am 18.
• I must start paying for certain things.

Q What do you need to practise to be able to live independently? What life skills would you like more support with?

• I know that I need to be more independent, but I am unsure how. I think I will always live with my mum and dad. I do not know how I will travel to and from college.
• I think i am already quite independent.
• Cooking and learning how to pay bills. Also improving my social skills to be able to speak to people about my house. Eg when paying bills. 
• Learning how to spread my money and food over a month and not using it all at once. I would also need to learn how to cook.

We asked a group of students at a specialist college about what is important to them.

100% of those asked agreed that making friends, being treated as an adult, developing relationships, getting fit and

100%  of the students asked agreed that planning their annual review meeting was important. All these students aattend their annual review meetings and, with support from staff, create a Powerpoint to share their voice and show their progress in the meeting.

83% of students considered that learning to cope with their feelings, helping other people, learning about money, sharing their opinions, learning, volunteering and taking responsibility for their actions and behaviour was important.