Welcome to our March Newsletter as we begin to see signs of Spring and lengthening days!

March has also brought the ‘SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan: Right Support, Right Place, Right Time’, which sets out the government’s plans to change the SEND and Alternative Provision system in England. The vision is to create a more inclusive society and to deliver a new national system, where children’s needs will be identified earlier and met more effectively. National Standards will set clear and ambitious expectations for what good looks like and place ‘greater emphasis on the important role mainstream settings play in providing quality first teaching and evidence- based SEN Support … reducing the need for EHCPs’. There will be practice guides for mainstream settings, published by the end of 2025, and the government will consult on an amended SEND Code of Practice. For further detail here is the link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan

We are currently working with the DfE on improving the delivery of SEND services and as part of this are involved in extensive diagnostic work to understand whether we have the right support in the right place for our children and young people with SEND. As part of this we are undertaking some in-depth case reviews to understand the journey of children with an EHCP and would very much like you to join us in the process. Please see the dates and contact Kathryn if you would like to attend.

On a different but not unrelated note, we are also preparing for the Local Area SEND Inspection under a new framework and would welcome your views and input on how we can work together to improve the lived experiences of our children and young people with SEND. 

I am aware that these are challenging times with very high levels of demand for services but continue to believe that, through working together to support children and families, we can continue to make a difference! Thank you all for your continued commitment to our shared  vision for inclusive schools where all children can thrive.

Bookings are now open for the 2023 West Sussex SENCO Conference on 21 June at Avisford Park Hotel, near Fontwell.  Tickets are £100 and can be booked via West Sussex Services for Schools

The theme of the conference will be “Are we listening” and we will focus on co-production with children, young people and their parents.  We are delighted to announce that our keynote speaker is from the organisation When the Adults Change.  Tara Elie’s talk will be about how listening is at the heart of building positive relationships with young people; she will also be running a workshop on coaching conversations and restorative approaches. 

Once booked on to the conference, delegates will be sent a booking form to choose two afternoon workshops from a choice of five:

1. The Authentic Pupil Voice – Carys Wreyford, Chi Uni
2. Autism in Schools Project – Jane Crawford, Aspens, WSPCF
3. Parent Carer views: how to strengthen the home school relationship – Hannah Torr, WSPCF and Gemma Humphrey
4. Using Progression Tools to unlock communication and understanding – Speech and Language Therapist
5. Early Years transitions – Early Years Advisory Teachers, SEND

The feedback from the SENCOs who attended last year’s conference was overwhelmingly positive:  

“Thank you! It was very interesting and thought provoking “

“Well organised and good range of practical advice that can be applied”

“Lots of information to share with school staff”

Ofsted and CQC jointly inspect local area partnerships to see how well they work together to improve the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

West Sussex was last inspected in 2018 and we are anticipating that we we will have our second inspection in 2023. 

The criteria for Local Area SEND Inspections are laid out in the recently updated Area SEND inspections: framework and handbook.   

Information about inspections

The Department for Education has created some guides for parents, carers, children and young people which can be found here.  These explain how families can play their part in the inspections, through surveys, working with the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum or through tracking meetings.  Tracking meetings are an opportunity for inspectors to hear directly about children and young people’s experiences and outcomes. Inspectors will hold tracking meetings with children and young people, their families (if appropriate) and the practitioners who work with them.  

We are part of a government-led initiative called Delivering Better Value (DBV), which aims to support local authorities to improve delivery of SEND services for children and young people while ensuring services
are sustainable.

One of the DBV projects is to carry out some in-depth case reviews and we are looking for SENCOs to join us at one of the Case Review workshops. Case reviews are an opportunity for groups of practitioners, staff and partners from across the SEND system to get together and discuss the different experiences for children and young people with SEND. They aim to help us better understand how internal and external factors impact the work we do and the journeys of our children and young people.

These are all virtual meetings which will be facilitated by DBV.  Please let Kathryn Kellagher know if you would like to attend one of the following:

19 April, 9-12pm

20 April, 2-5pm

25 April, 9-12pm

The West Sussex Disability Register team and library staff had lots of fun welcoming children, young people and families to Burgess Hill and Worthing Libraries during February to celebrate the Disability Register!

Over 100 people attended the events and enjoyed a magic show, music and circus skills, made their own sensory book, enjoyed some cake or fruit, had a play in our sensory area and more. Each event ended with a Story Magic session featuring our sensory story collection.

If you or any families you work with came along and want to let us know what you enjoyed, what we could improve on or what you would like to see at future events please get in touch with the Disability Register Team or visit our Disability Register page for more information or to sign up to the register.

Look out for more SEND friendly events in libraries soon!

Our SEND Speak Out Stay Safe is a free of charge programme to support schools safeguarding duties and link directly to the curriculum, as well as help reinforce key messages about abuse and neglect as part of teaching on relationships.

Adults who work with children and young people with SEND will be aware of the additional needs children may have that could mean they are more vulnerable to abuse and/or less able to speak out if something isn’t right.  Some children may be vulnerable because they:

• have additional communication needs
• they do not understand that what is happening to them is abuse
• need intimate care or are isolated from others
• are dependent on adults for care.

I would like to introduce the NSPCC’s Speak out. Stay safe. safeguarding programme for children with additional needs and disabilities.  Together we can help your pupils understand what abuse is and know who they can talk to if they feel worried, sad or unsafe.

Our SEND programme provides support and resources to help you deliver messages to your pupils about what abuse is and which trusted adults they can turn to for help.  We provide access to resources including session plans, films and printable props all of which use our friendly speech bubble mascot, Buddy.

What is Speak out. Stay safe. SEND?

The six-session programme has been developed jointly by the NSPCC and Image in Action, a specialist organisation with over 30 years of experience working with pupils with learning disabilities.  The focus is for children to understand what abuse is and to feel supported and able to talk to trusted adults about any worries.  It uses the concept of a safe circle to help pupils understand which trusted adults they can turn to.

The materials are aimed at children aged 9 to 11 with moderate learning disabilities, autism spectrum conditions and other additional learning needs, however they may be suitable for a wider group of ages and needs.  We understand that pupils will have varying needs and abilities and will respond to different methods, materials and strategies, so the programme can be adapted easily to suit your pupils and maximise their learning.

Speak out. Stay safe. will fit with the curriculum in many special schools and covers these themes within the PSHE Planning Framework for pupils with SEND:  Self-awareness, Self-care, Support and safety​, Managing feelings​, Changing and growing​ and Healthy lifestyles.​

We also have a Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 mainstream version of the programme available which I would be happy to discuss further with you if this of interest.  A BSL version is also available for d/Deaf children.  You could use parts of this resource alongside the SEND Programme.  This programme is available online and more information can be found here nspcc.org.uk/speakout.

Here at the NSPCC, we have lots of useful resources for schools which you can find using this link: Teaching resources and lesson plans | NSPCC Learning

Kalee Knight – kalee.knight@nspcc.org.uk 

NSPCC Schools Coordinator for West Sussex and Brighton & Hove

The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families has produced this useful resource on Addressing Emotionally-Based School Avoidance, which showcases the West Sussex guidance produced by our Educational Psychology Service.

Evidence gives us information about how different approaches impact children's learning and development. It can help you to create great learning opportunities for all your children, particularly those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

The role of early years practitioners is integral to building and nurturing strong learning foundations, giving each child the best start in life so that they can achieve their potential.

The EEF has recently published two new resources dedicated to supporting high quality early years practice: the Updated: Early Years Toolkit and the Early Years Evidence Store

On the afternoon of the 31^st of January, 11 schools attended the Autism and Social Communication Team’s Autism Aware Award (AAA) Ceremony. The event took place at Field Place in Worthing, where Kathy Lockyear, Lead for Specialist Advisory Teaching Service (SATS), presented the awards.

Kathy commented on the afternoon, “It was an absolute pleasure to present the awards to these schools, who remained committed to the programme through challenging times. We were delighted that these schools were able to attend and to hear from our keynote speaker, Dr Lisa Quadt, on the current research finding in the areas of autism, interoception and hypermobility”.

Sixteen schools in total achieved the Autism Aware Award this year, eight at bronze level and eight at silver level. Many of the schools achieving the AAA this year are part of the Autism in Schools Project and the programme has been an integral part of the project focus to transform school environments and ethos and up-skilll school staff thereby increasing capacity of schools to meet the needs of autistic students.  

The Autism Aware Award recognises whole school understanding and acceptance of autism within school (including pupils, staff and parent carers). To achieve the award, senior leaders and SEND staff began by attending two and half days of training to share across their school. Through the AAA programme, each school self-evaluated their whole school practices and protocols using the Autism Education Trust (AET) standards. They used these to identify and implement changes with their whole school team. The schools hosted AAA tutors to review evidence of this self-evaluation and to see the autism acceptance ethos embedded across their schools.

The AAA is available for both mainstream and special school settings across West Sussex. Chris Carter, Deputy Head Teacher (SEND), Woodlands Meed School, commented on his school’s achievement, “The Autism Aware Award has been brilliant for Woodlands Meed. Even special schools need to review their SEN practice, and make sure they’re doing everything they possibly can to support their pupils; AAA has given us new ideas and kept us up to date with the best ways to help our young people, and the impact on our pupils and staff has been amazing.”

For more information, please contact Jane Crawford – jane.crawford@westsussex.gov.uk