SEND Newsletter: Issue 6
Dear Parent and Carers,
Welcome to issue 6 of the Herefordshire SEND newsletter. This newsletter is co-produced by Herefordshire Council, Parent Carer Voice Herefordshire and Herefordshire Integrated Care System (ICS). This newsletter aims to provide easy access to key information and updates for families of children and young people with SEND.
Please give us feedback on this newsletter so that we can make it work for you and hear what articles or information you would like to see in future. You can send your suggestions about the newsletter to the editor, Emma Kelly, by email: localoffer@herefordshire.gov.uk
- Service Update
- Local Offer Updates - You Said, We Did
- Parent Carer Voice Herefordshire
- New Government SEND and AP Improvement Plan published
- Herefordshire & Worcestershire Key Worker Pilot Service
- Herefordshire &Worcestershire SENDIASS
- Pharmacy Support for families
- Vamos Theatre - taster session open for bookings now!
- Report crime anonymously - new youth service launched
- Children's Help and Advice team (CHAT) Herefordshire
- Speak to your Learning Disability Partnerships Board- Changing Places
- Autism West Midlands
Service Update
Following the retirement of Les Knight, we are delighted to welcome Roz Pither as Interim Head of Additional Needs. Roz has a wealth of experience of working in Special Educational Needs in local authorities across the country. Over the coming weeks, Roz will be spending time with colleagues in the SEN team and working with strategic partners to continue the ongoing work on further strengthening SEND Services in the county. Roz is also looking forward to planning some school visits as soon as possible.
Local Offer Updates – You Said, We Did
Work is continuing to host all of the information on the SEND Local Offer on the Herefordshire Council website so that it is all in one place for you. Our Early Years pages of the Local Offer are now live on the Herefordshire Council website and we are developing a new landing page especially for parents and carers to make it easier to find what you are looking for. A new Preparing for Adulthood section is in the final stages of development too, so we will be able to update you with the links to this area soon.
A Local Offer focus group including parent carers, SENCOs, SENDIASS, health and council colleagues meet regularly to review content and navigation to ensure it works well for all who use it. If you would like to be involved in shaping the SEND Local Offer site, please get in touch by email: localoffer@herefordshire.gov.uk
Parent Carer Voice Herefordshire
Coffee and chat
Parent Carer Voice (PCV) Herefordshire hold regular coffee and chat sessions for parent carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). All are welcome to the informal sessions where you can meet other parent carers and find out how PCV might be able to support you. The dates and locations for their next coffee and chat sessions are as follows:
Wednesday 22nd March – 12.30pm
Kington SEN Stay n Play, Lion Café, Bridge Street, Kington
Thursday 23rd March – 10am
Ross Coffee and Chat, Royal Hotel, Ross-on-Wye
Wednesday 12th April – 9.30am
Kingston SEN Coffee Morning, Lion Café, Bridge Street, Kington
Tuesday 18th April – 7pm (evening event)
Hereford evening coffee and chat, Grandstand Pub, Hereford
Wednesday 19th April – 12.30pm
Kington SEN Coffee and Chat, Lion Café, Bridge Street, Kington
Thursday 20th April – 10.30am
Ledbury Cuppa & Chat, @Coffee#1, Sear House, Bye Street, Ledbury
Thursday 27th April – 10am
Ross Coffee and Chat, Royal Hotel, Ross-on-Wye
There is no need to book to join any of the coffee and chat sessions, please just come along and join other families for an informal chat over a cuppa.
SEND Summit – new date!
Due to some late spring snow, the Herefordshire SEND Summit due to take place in March had to be postponed. We are very pleased to confirm we have now rebooked the summit to take place on Thursday 18th May, 9.30 – 1pm. Amanda Cotton, Senior Educational Psychologist at Herefordshire Council, will be giving a talk on the Teenage Brain and practitioners from the new NHS Key Worker programme will be explaining how their service can support young people with autism, a learning disability, or both. You can book your place now.
New Early Years information booklet for parent carers
Parent Carer Voice have co-produced a new booklet for parents and carers of very young children, aged 0-5. The booklet is designed to help signpost you to different services available, explain some of the pathways for referrals and simplify lots of jargon that may be unfamiliar if this is the first time you have needed to look into what support is available for young children with SEND. Read the booklet online.
Follow PCV Herefordshire on Facebook or visit their website to read more about their work and how you can get involved. To get in touch, email admin@pcvherefordshire.com
New Government SEND and AP Improvement Plan published
On 2 March, the government published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan: Right Help, Right Time. You can read the full document on the UK Government website and the Department for Education press release about its publication is also on the UK Government website.
Herefordshire & Worcestershire Key Worker Pilot Service
The new Keyworker Pilot Service is being developed as a response to the NHS England Learning Disability and Autism long-term plan commitment that by 2023/24, children and young people with a learning disability, who are autistic, or both, with the most complex needs will have a designated Keyworker.
The Key working function is an important response to ensuring children, young people and families get the right support at the right time, from local systems that are responsive to meeting their needs in a holistic and joined up way.
The Keyworker will be a navigator, will ensure continuity of care for the child/young person, and work across systems and services to ensure they are responsive to a child/young person’s needs as required, with the aim of supporting children and young people to remain in the community and avoid admission where appropriate.
Find out more about the Key Worker Pilot Service by downloading their leaflet. The team can be contacted on hw.complexneedsteam@nhs.net with any specific enquiries.
There's also a video about the Key Worker service, which you can watch.
Herefordshire & Worcestershire SENDIASS
SENDIASS Advisory Group
Herefordshire and Worcestershire SENDIASS are looking for parent carers to join their Advisory Group. The group meets online on a quarterly basis to quality assure the work of SENDIASS and co-produce new initiatives. If this is something that you would be interested in supporting SENDIASS with, please email them on SENDIASS@herefordshire.gov.uk
Service Update
We have recruited a new advisor to the Herefordshire team, and they will be starting towards the end of April. We hope to have the advice line back up and running five days a week as soon as possible following their training.
Contact SENDIASS
For free, impartial information, advice and support on matters relating to children and young people with SEND contact SENDIASS on 01432 260955 Monday-Wednesday 8.30am-4pm or email sendiass@herefordshire.co.uk
For regular Special Educational Needs/Disabilities (SEND) updates, sign up to the SENDIASS mailing list by clicking the sign-up link on their homepage www.hwsendiass.co.uk or follow them on social media:
Pharmacy support for families
Need medical advice or support for your child or young person? You might be able to get the help you need from your local pharmacy. As qualified healthcare professionals, pharmacists can offer clinical advice and over-the-counter medicines for a range of minor illnesses, such as coughs, colds, sore throats, tummy trouble and aches and pains. If symptoms suggest it's something more serious, pharmacists have the right training to make sure you get the help you need. For example, they may advise you to see a GP.
Watch this video from Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care System (ICS) to find out more.
Vamos Theatre – taster session open for bookings now!
Vamos are now inviting young people age 16 – 25 along to their taster session for the new Vamos Central Youth group on 25th May at The Swan Theatre in Worcester 3.45pm – 5.15pm.
Email learning@vamostheatre.co.uk to find out more and book a place on the taster day. You can also read more about the group on Vamos’s website: https://www.vamostheatre.co.uk/learning/join-in/vamos-central-youth
Report crime anonymously – new youth service launched
Fearless is the dedicated youth service of the independent charity Crimestoppers. They provide young people with the opportunity to give information about crime 100% anonymously.
Young people can give information to them using an online form or by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Fearless cannot track your IP address or your phone number and have no way of knowing who has contacted them.
After receiving a completed form or call, Fearless create a report, ensuring it doesn't contain any info that could identify the young person reporting the crime, and then generate a report which is then sent on to the relevant authority with the legal responsibility to review the information that has been passed to them.
Fearless are not the police, they are a charity. You will not be contacted by the police after passing information on to Fearless as the police have no way of knowing who the information has come from. Want to know more? Have questions about how it all works? Check out the FAQs section on their website.
Children's Help and Advice Team (CHAT) Herefordshire
A new helpline has been launched by Herefordshire Council for families that need some extra support.
The Children’s Help and Advice Team (CHAT) phone line is aimed at families and young people who are finding family life or being a parent hard to manage or they just need someone to talk to and a helping hand.
The CHAT team can offer support, advice and guidance for families on the following topics:
- Family relationships
- Challenging behaviours
- Housing and financial matters
- Emotional and mental health worries
- Keeping your child safe (on-line and in the community)
- Child well-being and development
- Any issue affecting you and your family
Families and young people can call the CHAT team on 01432 260261 and speak with an experienced supporting families advisor.
The line is open from 9.00am to 4.45pm, Monday to Friday.
Speak to your Learning Disability Partnerships Board – Changing Places
An invitation to have your say. This month's survey is about Changing Places.
Complete the Changing Places survey.
An easier to read copy with pictures to print is also available here.
Thank you for telling us your thoughts on the polls so far. You told us you wished to continue having them and liked the difference you can make by taking part.
The presentations on previous surveys can be viewed on the Council Learning Disability Partnership Board site.
The deadline for completing the Changing Places survey is the end of April.
Autism West Midlands are continuing to run various online sessions designed to support parent carers of children and young people with autism or who are awaiting an assessment. The links below are for each session, to find out more and book your space:
Autism and Sensory Differences Webinar - 17th April at 9:30 am - 11:00 am
The Annual Review of an EHC Plan – 18th April at 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Autism and the Teenage Brain – 28th April at 9:30 am - 10:30 am
Autism and Communication - 2nd May at 9:30 am - 11:00 am
To find out about other events running over the coming weeks and months, please visit the Autism West Midlands event page.