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Monday 23 October 2023

Welcome

Welcome to the autumn edition of the SEND newsletter! We hope you’ve all settled in well to the new school term. For those of you who have been visited by our SEND roadshow over the past few weeks, we hope you’ve found the information we’ve provided useful and have had any questions answered.

If you missed us when we visited, there’s an online roadshow on Monday 30 October. See the advert below.

Thank you to our parents and carers who attended our recent Forum and so candidly shared their experiences. We value this feedback so much and will be in touch soon.

Please do let us know if you’d like to get involved with SEND Family Voice Torbay – we’d love to speak to you! 

Karen Roofe and Rebecca Box, SEND Family Voice Torbay

Fair Play Day

This edition features photos from Fair Play Day on Torre Abbey Meadows this summer. It was great to see so many families having fun in the sun.

The popular event – organised by the council's SEND team in collaboration with SEND Family Voice Torbay and the DeVey family – attracted more than 2,000 people.

Mum Sebrina said: “My kids had the best time. They loved it. We will definitely be back. It’s such a good idea. Anyone who has a child with additional needs knows they can bring them here and if they have a wobble, other parents would understand.”

Grandmother Kerri added: “What a fantastic thing to organise. It’s so much fun. It’s good for the kids and it’s on at a good time of the day too.”

We’ll be organising another event in the February half-term. Watch this space for more details!

SEND roadshows

We’ve enjoyed meeting families at our SEND roadshows at Torbay schools over the past few weeks.

We’ve been sharing information about our new graduated response toolkits and answering any other questions you may have.

If you missed your school’s roadshow, we’re holding an online roadshow on Monday 30 October from 6pm to 6:30pm. If you would like to attend, please register your place using the link below.

If your school hasn’t had its roadshow yet, we’ll be visiting soon – your school will be communicating with you directly about this so keep an eye out for announcements from them.

Important news about SENDIASS

Many of you will be familiar with SENDIASS, Torbay’s SEND Information, Advice and Support Service.

Since 2014, Torbay Council has contracted the Torbay Community Development Trust (TCDT, now known as Torbay Communities), to deliver this well-used service, which offers support and advice to families and their children around matters relating to special educational needs.

SENDIASS has helped families prepare for and attend meetings with schools and other professionals, write letters and complete forms, understand the assessment process and much more.

It has provided advice on SEN provision in schools, Education and Health Care Plans and transport, among other things.

Following a recent review of the service, and with close involvement of Torbay Communities, Torbay Council has decided to bring the SENDIASS service in-house.

It’s important that the service is confidential and impartial, which is why it will sit away from the SEND team and statutory services and be located within the new Family Hubs across Torquay, Paignton and Brixham.

The transfer will take place on 1 November.

Please be assured there are no expected changes to the service offer at this time but there will be changes to email contact details.

We’ll let you know about these as soon as they are confirmed.

Children and Family Health Devon

Hi everyone! I’m Jo Pritchard and I have recently joined CFHD as SEND Lead. Some of you may know me from my other role as Designated Clinical Officer for SEND with NHS Devon. I am excited to be doing both part-time roles side by side and am already seeing how interlinked and complementary they are.

I am a physiotherapist by background with most of my clinical career being spent working in special schools, in the community with children and adults with complex needs and within learning disability services.

I am really looking forward to developing the role and providing support throughout CFHD for all things SEND.

We’ll be bringing you regular updates in this newsletter from CFHD. If you’d like to find out more about them and what they do, visit their website.

Jo Pritchard, Children and Family Health Devon's SEND Lead

Secondary school application deadline

Time is running out to apply for a secondary school place if your child is due to start in September 2024. The deadline is Tuesday 31 October, and applications after this date will be at a disadvantage.

Places are for children born between 1 September 2012 and 31 August 2013. 

For further information and support, contact the Admissions Team on 01803 208908. For information about an individual school, please look at their website and read their admissions policy.

Paignton Zoo GloWild SEN session

This immersive light experience features a variety of interactive light installations, entertainers and a silent disco.

The SEN session on 19 November is offered to families who experience sensory overload and is designed to be inclusive for those who might not otherwise be able to join in with typical festive-themed events.

This evening has been adapted to cater for fewer visitors, with minimal noise and less distractions to provide a safe space for people with special education needs.

Mason’s on the ball with new name for feedback service

Sports-mad Mason, 11, was the lucky winner of a competition to choose the name for our new children’s feedback service.

It was Mason’s suggestion Point of You which our judging panel named the winner.

Point of You will allow us to hear what children and young people think about the help and support we provide so we can improve.

They can email, meet in person, call, or complete an online form (there’s a SEND version available) to share their thoughts and feelings about matters that are important to them.

Overseen by our Participation Officers, there’s no set agenda and it’s a safe space for them to be open and honest about the services and support we provide. 

We consulted with 128 young people – including our Young Person Panel and local schools – to choose a winner.

Chelsea fan Mason won an Amazon voucher after receiving 41 per cent of the votes. He also gets a giant board with the Point of View logo on.

He said: “The idea came from thinking of synonyms for the word ‘feedback’. I love the logo and how my idea has been brought to life. I especially love that I’m able to take home a copy of the logo blown up on a board for my bedroom wall.”

How you can get in touch with Point of You:

Fill in the Point of You online form

Fill in the Point of You online form (SEND version)

Text, call, or WhatsApp our Participation Officers:

Katie Harris 07785 934 552 Sophie de Sousa 07500 608 141

Email: pointofyou@torbay.gov.uk

Mason, pictured with his award-winning logo design

Do you know a child in care? We want to make sure Torbay’s cared for children are listened to. That’s why we’re looking for young people to put themselves forward to sit on our Children in Care Council. If you know a child in care, please encourage them to consider running for election so they can help influence change for the better. They’ll need to fill out a manifesto – there’s a version for SEND children too. Go to the Family Hubs website to find out more (scroll down to the Children in Care Council tab).

First Steps

Do you know a young person who is discovering what helps them concentrate? 

Torbay Hospital’s First Steps team is producing an attention toolkit for young people with neurodiversity.

The team wants to collect young people’s voices on what helps them in school. 

Join us!

Would you like to be part of Torbay's parent carer forum, SEND Family Voice Torbay? We work in a co-productive way with our SEND area partners in education, health and social care, to improve services for children, young people, parents and carers. 

As a forum, we also want to be leaders of change for SEND, with an agenda set by you, Torbay parents and carers. 

If you would like to have a chat about what we do and how you could help, please email us.

Thank you!

Karen and Becky