 Inside this edition
1. SEND Partnership Board update
2. Short Breaks
3.YO! Wolves - WV Active Summer Holiday Activity Programme
4.Voice4Parents Survey
5. What is the quality of our EHCP?
6. Health review update
SEND Partnership Board update
The SEND Partnership Board will be changing its name in September to the SEND and Inclusion Partnership Board.
This is to make sure:
- services are giving children, young people and their families the support they need when they need it
- to give children, young people and families a way to see how well the services in their area are working
- to work as a local area to see how our services compare to other areas so we can see where we need to improve
To do this, we will collect information about how services are working, including getting feedback from young people and families. When services don’t work in the right way, we will find out what is wrong and work together to make them better.
Short Breaks
At the SEND Partnership Board on 19 July the Board received a co-produced report from Childrens Commissioning and Voice4Parents (V4P) outlining options for Short Breaks pilots focussed on those children and young people not currently eligible for services from the specialist Disabled Children and Young People's Team (DCYPT) but who’s needs are beyond that of universal provision, i.e. those children and young people who would benefit from a targeted provision.
The Board agreed a series of recommendations regarding Short Breaks which will firstly need to go through internal governance processes in the Council. Whilst that is being completed further meetings will take place between Childrens Commissioning and V4P to refine the pilot proposals, co-produce specifications and identify opportunities with local providers in time to report back to the September Board.
In the meantime V4P are co-ordinating additional summer capacity for families with SEND commissioned by the Council, as well as providing much needed additional capacity the feedback from parents, carers, children and young people will be used to inform the Council and V4P of what works and what should be commissioned going forward.
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YO! Wolves - WV Active Summer Holiday Activity Programme
 This summer WV Active are offering over 2000+ hours of free physical activity opportunities as part of YO! Wolves. Our aim is for all our sessions to be inclusive, but we understand that children and young people with a SEND diagnosis may need specific sessions to meet their needs. WV Active are putting on a range of sessions across the summer for SEND children, young people and their families to enjoy being active in an environment that supports their needs. These sessions range from swimming, cycling to multi-sports.
Information on the YO! Wolves: WV Active summer offer can be found here. Our holiday activities are free to children who are City of Wolverhampton residents. To access these activities for free, you must have a Junior Pay as You Go account. If you do not have an existing account, please register online or in one of our centres:
When registering, please select your nearest site and then complete the required fields. Once registered, please visit one of our centres with either your 2023/24 Wolverhampton Council Tax bill, utility bill or driving license and our staff will validate your free account so that you can then book and attend activities.
You can book your activities via the app, online, in centre, or over the phone on 01902 551010. If booking online, login using the details from your Pay as You Go account and select ‘Make a Booking’.
Voice4Parents survey
Voice 4 Parents presented our initial report from our annual survey to July's SEND Board. The findings from the survey will help shape priorities for Wolverhampton going forward. You will be able to find the initial report on Voice 4 Parents website. A full report will be finalised over the summer.
We would like to thank all families who took part as it's vital that families voices are heard.
https://www.voice4parents-wolves.co.uk/
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What is the quality of our Education, Health and Care Plans?
In March 2023, an audit was undertaken by a range of professionals including individuals from education, health and social care. The highlights are shown below and there were many positives to come from it as well as some clear areas for improvement.
Of the EHCPs that were looked at, over 80% of them were graded as good or outstanding in Sections A and B which is a higher proportion in Wolverhampton than in other parts of the country.
 The main area for improvement is around social care advice and work is already in place to support this, such as additional training for Social Care teams.
We are continually developing the process to make sure that the quality of our EHCPs is at least good and that there is good partnership working with the child/young person and their family at the centre.
You are welcome to email SENDQA@wolverhampton.gov.uk, if you have any comments, contributions or queries regarding quality assurance in SEND.
Health review update
The Wolverhampton SEND Community Health Review was an independent review driven by an increase in take up of Special School places and the impact on existing SEND health services. The review helped to strengthen arrangements to enable a stronger clinical commissioning picture with clear responsibility and understanding of multi-agency arrangements for providing services to this cohort of children and young people. A SEND Health strategy and action plan were also developed.
The majority of the actions have been completed due to good partnership working and it is hoped that the remaining actions will be completed in the Autumn.
Related news
For information about ‘what’s on’, information / awareness raising sessions, activities and local support please see news from the following trusted sources:
Wolverhampton Local Offer
Voice4Parents
WIASS E-Bulletins
Wolverhampton Voluntary and Community Action
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