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Monday 5 February 2024

Welcome to our new Head of SEND and Inclusion

Hannah Baker is taking over the reins as our new Head of SEND and Inclusion.

Hannah was previously our SEND Service Manager and before that, our Project Manager for the Written Statement of Action.

She’s worked in SEND education for more than 22 years as a SEND leader in primary, secondary and special schools in Somerset, Devon and Torbay.

With a Masters Degree in SEND, she’s also been lucky enough to work with school trusts as a SEND Consultant for five years.

She is passionate about supporting children and young people to reach their potential and is looking forward to leading the Torbay SEND team on the next chapter of our improvement journey.

Hannah Baker

Important dates for the diary

Year 6 phase transfers and Specialist Education Placement Panel outcomes

All children in Year 6 should receive their amended Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and name of school for Year 7 on 15 February. This will be sent by email from EHCP@torbay.gov.uk unless you have told us you need a paper copy instead. 

Unfortunately, this year the 15 February falls during half term and we understand it may be more difficult for parents and carers to request advice and support whilst also caring for their children.

Therefore we recommend that parents and carers can seek advice by:

• Contacting key staff in their current school – from 19 February onwards.
• Emailing or phoning the SEND Team at the council – we have additional caseworkers available to speak with you from Monday 19 February through to Friday 23 February. You can still contact us on 15 or 16 February and we will try to answer your enquiry or book a convenient time with a familiar caseworker for the week beginning 19 February.
• For impartial advice you can contact SENDIASS (see below).

Frequently asked questions

When do I find out about my special educational placement?

The outcomes for Year 6 special educational placements will be published on Thursday 15 February (in the same email as the main one you will receive).

The outcomes for all other year group special educational placements will be published on Thursday 22 February. These will be posted out to parents as a hard copy and should arrive by the 22 February.

If you have any concerns about what to do when you receive your outcome (including your rights to appeal) please see below for advice.

I'm not happy with my Special Educational Placement (SEP) outcome – what do I do?

We understand that finding out about any school placements can feel like an anxious time.

The letter sent to you will give you more information on your next steps including any rights to appeal.

If you would like any advice about what to do next you could:

• Speak to your SENDCo or teacher at your child’s current school after 19 February
• Contact Torbay Council’s SEND team (additional case workers will be available from 19 – 23 February):
  • Call 01803 208274
  • Email EHCP@torbay.gov.uk
• Contact SENDIASS for impartial advice:
  • Call: 01803 207884
  • Email: sendiass@torbay.gov.uk
  • Visit their website

If you haven’t applied for a special educational placement but still need advice you can still contact any of the above for help.

Attendance campaign

We understand how difficult it can be for some parents to get their child to go to school each day.

You may have seen a campaign recently on social media talking about the benefits of school attendance.

The national campaign strapline is “moments matter, attendance counts”. We have been running our own campaign with locally-produced material here in Torbay.

Campaign messages aim to primarily reach those parents and carers whose children are taking preventable odd days of absence – or avoidable absence.

They are not aimed at parents whose children face greater barriers to attendance, such as those with long-term medical needs or special educational needs and disabilities.

Last year we ran two successful Bridging the Gap in-person and online sessions on anxiety and emotionally-based school avoidance (EBSA).

The Family Hubs website has now been updated with the webinar and some useful resources.

SEND Employment Forum

Our new SEND Employment Forum has been set up to support the growth in the number of young people with Education, Health and Care plans who are participating in supported internships across the Bay.

The first meeting was held last month and attendees included representatives from parents, employers and education providers.

The aim is for the group to meet half-termly, face-to-face, at a range of locations through the Bay.

The next meeting takes place on Tuesday 12 March where we hope to get feedback from young people currently participating in supported internships and agree up to five priority areas for action.

If you would like to participate, contact nikki.forsyth@torbay.gov.uk.

The first meeting of the SEND Employment Forum

Opportunity for SEND staff working in schools

Stormbreak® is a registered charity that provides training programmes for trusted adults in schools and other settings to help support children’s mental health and wellbeing through movement.

It can be used in universal and targeted settings to help schools change the way that they, families, and communities promote movement to support the development of mental health.  

In partnership with Active Devon, Stormbreak® is running its Stormbreak Surge programme in Torbay primary schools. The programme offers schools a way of supporting the mental health and wellbeing of pupils and allow them to develop the skills they need as they grow.

If you work in one of the Bay’s primaries and would like to find out more about how you can get involved, sign up for an online info session. It’s held on Thursday 22 February between 4pm and 5pm.

Sound Communities event

Please see a flyer below for a Sound Communities event taking place later this month for young people.

Sound Communities reach marginalised young people to engage, create and consult using radio, music and creative media production. 

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 get in touch.

Perhaps you have suggestions of subjects you would like to see in this newsletter or ideas for future Bridging the Gap sessions – we’d love to hear them.

Thank you!

Karen Roofe and and Rebecca Box