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Thursday 22 May 2025

Welcome from SEND Family Voice

We really want to champion parent carer voice and give our parent carers a say in the improvement work taking place across Torbay.

In this light, we're delighted to be taking part in the second year of the Partnership For Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS). This year we have four schools taking part and each school will receive five days of specialist help to develop their support for neurodiversity. 

The schools taking part are:

• Brixham Church of England 
• Hayes
• Oldway  
• Watcombe 

We'll be holding parent sessions at each PINS school between now and March so we hope to see many of you there.

As part of this project, we're asking all parents and carers of each school to complete a short online survey.

We're also keen to keep parents informed and involved in the locality model pilot and we have a session for parents running on Tuesday 24 June at our Parkfield House offices in Paignton.

If you can't make a session with us or your school is not doing PINS, you can still contact us to let us know your experiences, ask questions or get involved. though our website or Facebook. You can also call us on 07554 040107.

Service updates

Autism waiting list project

NHS Devon and local health providers are working together to ensure young people waiting for an autism assessment receive this as soon as possible.

Key actions they’ve taken so far include:

• Increasing staff
• Holding joint clinics if a child is waiting for assessments on more than one neurodevelopmental pathway
• Holding additional clinics, including out of hours
• Finding new ways of working
• Better partnership working

Locality

Our locality pilot is moving along well. We’ve been co-producing our pilot with the 29 primary schools involved.

Our parent and carer group will continue to help us shape what this will look like when it is delivered between June and December this year.

Training and jobs for young people

Supported internships

The National Development Team for Inclusion (NTDi) has extended its supported internships grant for another year.

This means young people aged between 16 and 25 with additional needs can benefit from a supported internship.

If you would like to explore a supported internship, please email ehcp@torbay.gov.uk.

We’ve also teamed up with the Special Partnership Trust to offer supported internships to Brunel School pupils.

Participants on last year's Sound Futures course

Creative employability course is back!

Sound Communities is once again running its Sound Futures course for 16–24-year-olds who aren’t in education, employment or training.

The 10-week project helps young people work in small groups to design and deliver a creative project of their choice.

It will give participants real-world evidence of skills which can support applications, open doors and boost self-confidence.

Parent and carer workshops

Neurodiversity parent support programmes

SEND Family Voice’s popular online and in-person workshops continue in June and July.

Click on the links below to find out more and book a place.

Year 6 transition workshop

This online event aims to help parents support their child as they move from primary and secondary school.

It's on Monday 23 June from 3:45pm to 4:45pm.

Your feedback

Annual review audit

The SEND and safeguarding quality assurance team carried out an audit during the spring term.

Many of you gave your feedback about annual reviews. Here are some of your comments:

• The annual review was helpful to support my child’s transition.
• Although it was held a little early and the school didn't know him so well at the time, overall, it felt like the annual review was all about trying to help our child and support his transition into secondary.
• Overall, I like the structure of annual reviews. I'm aware I can call an early review if I want one and feel it’s good to have them in place.
• I felt like my voice was heard.
• I am very happy with my child's support at the moment.
• It was refreshing to talk to someone who knew my child well.

There were also some comments to support our improvements across the local area:

• We felt we could have been asked for more strategies to support our child’s behaviour – we are a good source of information. Instead, it was more about the school sharing with us their behaviour processes.
• I feel more could have been done to support transition; my child’s annual review was in the first month of secondary school, where they had no support after coming from a primary school where they had 1:1.
• I didn't know my child was invited to his annual review.
• I would have liked the class teacher and/or TA there.
• I feel there needs to be a lot more information about processes for parents.
• The annual review and resulting amended plan will support him through his last year at secondary, but I don't feel it supports him outside of school.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the audit.

To find out more about annual reviews, watch this video put together by children and young people.

Letters survey

Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey on how the SEND Team send letters to you.

Following the responses, we will not be changing the way we send letters as attachments.

Events

English Riviera Airshow

The airshow is back at the end of this month and will once again feature spectacular flying displays and an exciting programme of events on the ground.

It’s free to attend and takes place between Friday 30 May and Sunday 1 June.

FREE children's fun day

Paignton Town Community Partnership and the De Vey family are organising this event for children of all ages and their families.

There will be:

• One free child's meal, drink and a sweet treat
• Two free fair rides
• Face painting
• Colouring the Bay craft tent
• Children's entertainer Mr Phil
• Play Torbay
• Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue

It's on Bank Holiday Monday, 26 May, from 10am to 4pm at the Geoplay Park on Paignton Green.

Free activities for Carers' Week

Torbay Carers are offering lots of activities for carers to mark this year’s Carers’ Week, which runs from 9-15 June.

Activities include free entry to Torre Abbey, Torquay Museum and National Trust venues.

Torbay Carers offer support and signposting for unpaid carers who live in Torbay. 

Carers can have a free carers’ health and wellbeing check from a carer support worker and free courses and discounts on local goods and services as part of the Carer Friendly Torbay scheme. 

Carers can also have free parking at hospital sites locally when attending in support of the person they care for.

If you’re a carer or know of any carers who may benefit from support, call 01803 666620 or email signposts@nhs.net.

Save the date - Fair Play Day returns!

Fair Play Day is back this summer. It returns to Torre Abbey Meadows on Thursday 14 August. We’ll give you more details of how to book tickets in our July newsletter.

Resources

Deaf Choices UK

This national charity is on our doorstep (Totnes) and offers support to children, families, schools and other professionals in the use of Cued Speech.

Important contacts

Torbay Council's SEND team

ehcp@torbay.gov.uk

01803 208274

SEND Family Voice Torbay

admin@familyvoicetorbay.org

07554 040107

Children and Family Health Devon

CFHD.DevonSPA@nhs.net

0330 0245 321

SENDIASS

sendiass@torbay.gov.uk

01803 207884