Welcome to the SEND and Inclusion Newsletter February 2023!

This edition reflects a range of advice and support available to schools, settings and families in West Sussex which we hope you are taking advantage of and will access in the future. You will also meet some staff who are delivering elements of the support!

Please take note of our new SEND Advice Line which we are trialing from Monday 6^th February. This will provide you with instant access to key advice and signposting where you have concerns or questions in relation to children with SEND. The trial will help us to determine the benefits of providing such a service and any changes we might want to make to enable you to be better able to meet the needs of our children and families. 

We also have a piece describing a day in the life of the Portage visitor. Portage visitors  support preschool children and model to families how they can support their child between visits, using signs or strategies from the session, stressing the importance of the very first steps on the education journey. 

Also, a reminder about Therapeutic Thinking as we know over 70 schools have already accessed the training and are reporting back on the positive impact. The following link will take you to examples of where schools have successfully implemented therapeutic approaches: Therapeutic thinking | Tools for schools (local-offer.org).

Recently we had our own SEND and Inclusion Service development day.  We reflected throughout the day on the importance of working together to support our schools, families, and each other. We considered how a whole school approach to inclusion is the key to success for our children and planning for their futures.  We heard examples of the amazing work going on in our settings, schools and colleges that support our vision for children with SEND and other needs in West Sussex.

Thank you for your on-going efforts and commitment!

Would you and your school benefit from more advice, guidance and support to work with children and young people with SEND?

We’re trialing a new, easy-access Inclusion Advice Line from Monday 06 February 2023, offering a safe space to discuss issues and concerns around SEND and/or inclusion anonymously before needs escalate.

Calls might be linked to individual children or could be general queries.

This service will be available to all staff working in educational settings. If you and/ or your colleagues aren’t sure where to turn or what to do, get in touch and we can help you find the way forward.

Ring 0330 222 4411 to speak to a knowledgeable and experienced advisor. Open Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm during term time only. (Please note the line will not be manned over half term.)

This trial will run until March 10^th, when we will review impact delivered.

Hello, my name is Jacqueline Martin I am one of two Specialist Advisory Teachers for Transition.

Our aim is to support some of our vulnerable learners with EHCPs as they transition from Year 6 to Year 7. 

We offer support and guidance, signpost to other services and generally ensure that families and schools work together to meet the young person’s needs.  Although we will not be directly teaching or assessing students, we are experienced Specialist Teachers and are able to offer oversight, guidance and support in a timely manner.

This support starts in a year 5 meeting with primary schools and parents to discuss the needs of the young person and the support offered by local secondary schools. The support we offer is tailored to suit the needs of the young person. We can attend Annual Reviews, visit schools, and support parents, SENCOs, and the young people themselves.  We work closely with the area teams within SENAT, attending considerations meetings, working with Planning Co-ordinators, Special Needs Officers and Team Managers.

The allocation of our caseloads is undertaken by Team Managers.  Schools can raise the possibility of an enhanced transition service should it be identified as a cause for concern with their Special Needs Officer.  

My name is Micki Garner, I am a new SEN & Inclusion Adviser, who joined the SEN & Inclusion advisory team in January. 

I currently work for the team on Mondays alongside working as a SENCO at a local four form entry Primary school. I am a qualified Primary school Teacher who has taught across KS1 and KS2 and I have achieved the National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-Ordination (NASENC) and an MAEd, specialising in Special Educational needs.

With 25 years’ experience of completing a variety of roles in Primary education and 8 years working as a SENCO and managing two SSC’s, I have lots of knowledge and experience in supporting children with SEND and the adults who work with them. I am passionate about helping children to achieve their full potential and supporting staff and parents to enable them to do so.

Many many years ago I trained as an Outdoor Education Teacher, specialising in teaching pupils with SEND.

Initially, I taught in special schools for pupils with Severe Learning Difficulties before a change to lead an Outdoor Education Centre for a number of years.

My return to the classroom was as a teacher in a special support centre for pupils with Social Communication needs, developing my experience to later take up the position of SENCo and Teacher in Charge of the SSC; completing my NASENCo qualification at this time.

Having been in this post for 9 years I crossed the border to become the Deputy Head Teacher of a Primary School for pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs in Hampshire.

The draw of West Sussex clearly remained however, and I returned after 3 ½ years to join the Learning and Behaviour Advisory Team and subsequently, stepping across to work as a SEND and Inclusion Adviser from January this year.

In this new role I am particularly looking forward to working with colleagues to guide and support school leaders and SENCOs in their ambition to plan and provide high quality inclusive learning and aspirational outcomes for each pupil in their school.

Gavin Jones

SEND and Inclusion Adviser

As part of the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence (RISE) programme funded by the Department of Education, we will be delivering training sessions in February and March on Social Care, SEND, and Co-production.

This workshop was designed specifically to meet an area of need for professionals working in the children’s social care system, following a workforce survey conducted by the Council for Disabled Children (CDC) and NDTi.  The objectives include: 

• Increase your understanding of the opportunities for co-production in social care and SEND
• Increase your knowledge and skills in communicating with disabled children and young people in the context of social care and SEND
• Learn from CDC’s previous DfE funded programme on Transforming Culture and Practice in Social Care
• Reflect and share local strengths and challenges with colleagues from other local areas. 

If you work in the children’s social care system and are interested in improving your understanding and knowledge of Social Care, SEND and Co-Production, we encourage you to visit the link below to view dates and register. The workshop is being delivered multiple times and will take place online, using MS Teams, so please select the training date that suits you best.  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/send-workforce-social-care-send-and-co-production-tickets-444020135177  

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Thamara Moncada at tmoncada@ncb.org.uk. 

The Ethnic Minority & Traveller Achievement Service is pleased to announce that the team has expanded.

This comes in response to the arrival of significant numbers of new refugee pupils in West Sussex, particularly those from Afghanistan and Ukraine.  As a result, we have increased our available support for schools as outlined below.

Bilingual Support

In addition to our existing Portuguese and Bangladeshi bilingual staff, we now have liaison officers in the team who speak Ukrainian, Russian, Romanian and Bulgarian.  We are also in the process of recruiting Pashto and Dari bilingual staff to support Afghan refugees, as well as a part-time French Creole speaker to support the Chagossian community (originally from the Chagos Islands, currently living in the Crawley area).

All bilingual liaison officers are able to support with:

• communication between parents and school
• advice and support for EAL parents
• joint meetings between parents, school staff and other professionals
• First Language Assessments, where appropriate
• limited direct intervention work with individual EAL children, where appropriate

Advisory Support

We have also increased our advisory capacity, welcoming two new advisory teachers on the Ethnic Minority Achievement (EMA) side of our team.  The areas now covered by our five EMA Advisory Teachers are as follows:

Francesca Mancilla (Francesca.mancilla@westsussex.gov.uk) – Bilingshurst, Bognor Regis & Felpham, Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath & Cuckfield, Hassocks

Joanna Stogiewicz (Joanna.stogiewicz@westsussex.gov.uk) – Barnham & Westergate, Chichester, Manhood, Southbourne

Pawel Wojtas (pawel.wojtas@westsussex.gov.uk) – Horsham, Lancing, Rother Valley, Steyning & Storrington

Teresa Haynes (Teresa.haynes@westsussex.gov.uk) – Crawley & East Grinstead

Vicky Lyons (Vicky.lyons@westsussex.gov.uk) – Angmering, Durrington, Littlehampton, Shoreham, Worthing

Our advisory support for Traveller Education Support (TES) remains the same:

Clare Painting (clare.painting@westsussex.gov.uk) – All schools in the north of the county

Kate Brown (kate.brown@westsussex.gov.uk) – All schools in the south of the county

Academies

EMTAS is primarily funded by maintained schools , however our full EMTAS offer continues to also be available to academy settings through the purchase of set packages.  These include blocks of seven hours of advisory and family liaison support, half day or twilight training session or attendance at an EMTAS network meeting or online training session.

In addition, due to specific  funding aligned to national refugee resettlement schemes, we can now provide support for individual Afghan, Ukrainian or Syrian refugee pupils free of charge to all settings (including academies) where needed.  For any Afghan, Ukrainian or Syrian refugee children, there is now no charge for advisory support (including pupil observations or First Language Assessments) or bilingual support from our new liaison officers, subject to available capacity within the team.   Please speak to a member of the team if you have any questions about this.

For further information regarding the EMTAS offer, including our regular network meetings, online training, support for Traveller families and available resources, please contact:

• Ethnic Minority Achievement (EMA): emat@westsussex.gov.uk
• Traveller Education Support (TES): tes@westsussex.gov.uk
• Or visit our pages on the Tools For Schools website: Ethnic minority groups | Tools for schools (local-offer.org)

We look forward to continuing to support schools in 2023.

As a service we thought we would share what a day in the life of a Portage Home Visitor is like…

My name is Hannah and I work as a Portage Home Visitor based in Chichester.

My background is in teaching, having worked in various schools for over 20 years, and I have worked as a PHV now for nearly 4 years.

So, what is Portage?

Firstly, it is a fantastic job, very rewarding and every day is different!  It is a home visiting educational service for preschool children who have additional needs. Referrals are made by health visitors, paediatricians, and families themselves. A child does not need a diagnosis to access the service.  I currently support 8 families each week.

I work with each family for up to 6 months, spending the first 6 weeks getting to really know the child. After this time, I set targets in discussion with the family, which are then sent to any other professionals involved, especially the nursery. These targets usually focus on communication, language, attention, physical and sensory needs, social interaction, or emotional regulation. Every child is unique, and their targets will reflect this.

Each week, I plan a session which builds towards achieving these goals. The sessions last around an hour at the same time and day each week, and involve toys and games matched to the needs of the child. I use books, puzzles, playdough, singing bag, bubbles, parachute, sensory games and much much more!  I try to make the sessions fun and positive. The parent is encouraged to join in with the session (learning can be greatly accelerated when this happens) and I model how families can support their child between visits, using signs or strategies from the session.

Where appropriate, we teach simple Makaton signs, use visual symbols and Now/Next cards to develop effective communication skills.  I carry big bags of toys with me, and my car is very full of stuff.  I even carry around half a drainpipe – lots of fun to roll balls down!

Part of our session is devoted to family focus time.  This is an opportunity to signpost families to other services or groups, listen to any worries they may have or help guide them through the many systems that often come with a child who has additional needs.  I will liaise with other professionals involved with the family such as Speech and Language therapists, Educational Psychologists, Health Visitors, Nurseries, Specialists Nurses to name but a few. We’re all working to achieve the best outcomes for the child.

Portage is based on small, positive, and achievable goals. We always focus on what a child can do rather than what they can’t. I enjoy working so closely with all my families and really making a difference to their lives. A colleague in our Crawley team also added that she ‘loves to support families and empower them to play with their children.’ She summarised that it’s like leaving a ‘lasting legacy and it is extremely rewarding to be a part of the journey with a family.’