Please disseminate this newsletter to parent carers, professionals and those who are interested in reading more. Haven't received a copy or know someone who hasn't? Email sarah.dimmock@westsussex.gov.uk.

Implementing the SEND Strategy

Implementation of the SEND strategy continues to be one of our highest priorities. We have established a Programme Board chaired by Deborah Myers and appointed a project manager to ensure that we increase the pace of progress. Below are some of the recent activities supporting implementation:

The Graduated Approach: supporting children and young people in Early Years settings, Schools and Post 16 education settings.

As laid out in the SEND Code of Practice, schools and education settings should adopt the Graduated Approach of ‘assess, plan, do and review’ to ensure appropriate and effective support is put in place for learners with SEND. A draft West Sussex document was posted on our Local Offer earlier this year. Thank you for your feedback on this - we are pleased to say that as a result it can now be accessed in ‘bitesize’ chunks.

This updated version of the West Sussex Graduated Approach can be found on our Local Offer, alongside the full PDF version which can still be downloaded for off-line use. The document also contains a wide variety of suggested Quality First Teaching, targeted and specialist interventions and strategies that can be used to support a child or young person and will be a useful resource for parent carers and other practitioners as well as teachers. It will be included in the agenda for the SENCO conference to be held on 9 November (further details available shortly).

New Information for Professionals on the Local Offer

A new area of the Local Offer has been developed to help schools and education settings have quicker access to information on the range of professionals who provide support or training.  If you have other suggestions of organisations or services to include please email localoffer@westsussex.gov.uk.  The ‘professional area’ of The Local Offer can be found here or on the drop down menu on the information toolbar.

Index for Inclusion

Inclusion is at the heart of the SEND strategy and following the successful Index for Inclusion conference in April, schools were invited to be part of a pilot programme for West Sussex to enhance and improve inclusive practice across the county. In July we circulated proposals for an ‘Index for Inclusion’ pilot in West Sussex. These were: schools would work in cross-phase clusters across the county agreeing commonalities, sharing best practice and building capacity we would build a county-wide collaborative model which will be consistent in its approach to implementation and select a clear and focused aspect of the Index to ensure manageability and evaluation of impact. Ensuring the parent and child voice across all aspects of school life in participating schools and challenging peers and colleagues will be key. The proposals were strongly supported and the pilot will be starting early this term, led by Miriam Hill, Senior Adviser (Inclusion). Over 70 schools have committed to being part of the pilot and clusters have been identified.

Person Centred Planning Tools - Free to use!

Information, practice examples and ‘how to use’ guides for two person centred planning Tools (PATH and MAP) can be found on our Local Offer. These tools are really useful for SEND Annual reviews and when working with any child or young person who has become ‘stuck’, where new ideas are needed to help them move forward. Over 200 professionals and parent carers have already attended training sessions and now have the skills to use these tools in their work. Practice examples and the PCP Facilitators Guide, which can be downloaded for use, can be found here.

Meeting our deadline to transfer statements to Education Health & Care Plans (EHCPs)

Jo Hill has recently started as the new Service Manager for the SEN Assessment Team. Staff within the team have been working to transfer statements of SEN to EHCPs. These all need to be completed by end of next March and the Department for Education is asking us to report on a monthly basis on our progress. We have recruited additional staff and are now making good progress towards that target. We apologise to those who are waiting for their child’s transfer to be completed. 

SEND Inspection Reminder

Inspectors from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission will be in our area for one week - they will visit education settings and meet with children, parents, teachers, leaders and governors. There will also be focus groups and we are briefing those who may be involved in these. The phone call giving us five days’ notice of the inspection could arrive any Monday during term time and we believe it is likely that the inspection will take place this term. Guidance for education settings, health staff and other partners can be found here. If your setting is to be visited, we will contact you as soon as we know to give you information.

The focus of the inspection is on how effectively we identify, meet the needs and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND, and it will look at how the local area as a whole meets its responsibilities. This will include children & young people who are at SEN Support, as well as those with Education Health & Care Plans. We have developed a self-evaluation framework to ensure we will have a good understanding of our effectiveness and an improvement plan which identifies areas where we need to do further work.

If you would like more information about any of the above items, contact Jon Philpot, Principal Manager (SEN & Inclusion) jon.philpot@westsussex.gov.uk.

Exceptional People in Care (EPIC) Awards Nomination window is now OPEN!

Do you know an exceptional person in care or care leaver? This is your chance to nominate them for this year’s Disney themed EPIC Awards. Hosted by the Children in Care Council (CICC), Care Leavers Forum, the County Council and partners, this year promises to be a spectacular celebration of the achievements of young people in care and care leavers. Your help is needed to nominate these young people aged between 5 and 25 years. Nominations are open from 29 August to 5 October 2017. All those nominated will receive free tickets for themselves and two guests to attend the Disney themed ceremony at Butlins, and then enjoy all the fun of the resort after the event. This year showcases new categories entitled Big Hearts, Big Talents, Big Thinkers and Big Strength designed by the CICC. For more information, or if you would like an application form emailed to you, please contact Toby Wilson, epic.awards@westsussex.gov.uk. Let’s celebrate our fantastic young people in care and care leavers and give them a day to remember!

New service for mums with mental health conditions

The Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service (SPMHS) is a community-based service for mums with severe mental health difficulties either now or in the past, during pregnancy or up to a year after birth. The service is provided by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. This is a new service that will be launched on 1 September. View the SPMHS leaflet

Autism Friendly Classrooms

Do you want to know how to create Autism friendly classrooms using strategies that help all pupils? David Burns champions the need to support families and schools in helping children with autistic minds grow and develop into adults. As an autistic adult, David is a member of Mensa and is the author of “Do Lemons Have Feathers?” published by Jessica Kingsley.

Information can also be seen on the Local Offer, including David's booklet about creating autism friendly classrooms especially designed for secondary schools.

Stonewall Bi Workplace Role Models Programme

Stonewall are running a Role Models programme specifically for bisexual people to explore what it means to be a visible bisexual role model in the workplace. This one-day empowerment programme enables you to: Reflect on personal experiences and increase confidence  Establish practical ways of stepping up as a visible role model in the workplace Celebrate difference, improve inclusion and increase visibility in their workplace WSCC are Stonewall Diversity Champions so the discounted rate will apply. If you are interested in attending but do not want to discuss this with your line manager please contact Laura Mullins in HR or Paul Windsor (LGBT Staff Group Coordinator). Any contact will be treated with the strictest confidence. Click for more information

Free your Mind- Mental Health Campaign Group

The Free Your Mind is a group of young people in West Sussex who are passionate about challenging views about mental health. As winners of Positive for Youth's Impact Award, this group have been busy delivering workshops at World Mental Health Day, designing, filming and launching 'Let’s Talk About It' video and much more! Read more about their blogs For more information, contact Claire Tooke.

Make Your Mark Youth Consultation

The Make Your Mark Youth Consultation has launched! Since 2000, the UK Youth Parliament has provided a voice for young people to be involved in decision making. Make Your Mark gives young people aged 11-18 the chance to decide what Members of Youth Parliament debate and vote on during their sitting in the House of Commons this November.

Last year West Sussex achieved over 18,000 votes and ranked 5th Nationally.

This year we aim to improve on this and give a wider voice to the young people across West Sussex. Voting is from the 1st September - 30th September.

To join in this consultation, or if you have any questions, please email Caz Henry-Evans with your name and how many young people you think you can reach and we will provide all the information you need to take part.

Resources available:

•        Lesson plans, British Sign Language Video, posters and a press release 

Family Assist

A pilot has been launched for Family Assist - an innovative new support system via emails and an internet platform which is being trialled by Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WSHT), the County Council and Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust.

The first of its kind in the UK, Family Assist is an online hub of information which has been professionally approved and can be accessed by public and professionals.

From 7 August midwives at WSHT will be signing up pregnant women to create their own Family Assist Pathways in order to receive relevant information and tailored support and advice via email; once registered they will have the option of adding up to five people to their pathway. There is also the capacity for registered users to email professionals with non-emergency queries. It currently contains information and advice from conception to twenty months and there are aims for this to expand further in the future.

The Family Assist website and email system complements an app which is currently being used by County Council frontline staff called Baby Buddy. Baby Buddy is a free app targeted more specifically at younger families that offers guidance through pregnancy and the first six months of a baby’s life. Users can create their own identity in the app (avatar) to follow during their pregnancy, keep track of appointments, store photos and access a range of short films, among other benefits.

Visit the website

Five to Thrive

Your child's body grows better when you give the child good food. Your child's brain grows better when you do five simple things. Respond * Cuddle * Relax * Play * Talk Respond: In the first weeks of life, your child's deepest and most primitive areas of the brain are developing. These parts of the brain will control all the basic functions of the body such as sleeping and waking, appetite, and temperature control. When the parent responds to the baby’s attachment behaviours such as crying, back-arching, and chaotic arm and leg movements the baby feels safe. Stress hormones have an adverse effect on this early brain development.  Read more about baby brain development here.

EPIC Awards Nomination Window, Now Open!

Do you know an exceptional person in care? Please stand by to nominate them for this year’s Disney themed EPIC Awards (Exceptional People in Care). Hosted by the Children in Care Council, Care Leavers Forum, the County Council and partners, this year promises to be a spectacular celebration of the achievements of young people in care and care leavers. Your help is needed to nominate young people in care, or Care Leavers, aged between 5 and 25 years. Nominations are open from 29 August to 5 October 2017, with the ceremony taking place Sunday 10 December for all those nominated at Butlins in Bognor Regis. This year sees redesigned categories entitled Big Hearts, Big Talents, Big Thinkers and Big Strength designed by the Children in Care Council. Please help us make this a great event by submitting nominations from 29 August.  For more information, contact Toby Wilson, Epic.awards@westsussex.gov.uk.

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From the Editor...

I hope you were able to have some well deserved rest over the summer holidays and are nearly ready for Autumn Term next week.

In this newsletter you will see top news stories along with upcoming events from services. 

Missing something? Please let us know if there is anything you would like to see in the next newsletter in November - we are constantly looking at improved ways to communicate with our partners, colleagues and families.

Thank you. Sarah Dimmock, sarah.dimmock@westsussex.gov.uk.

Some of the services listed in this newsletter or on the Local Offer site are provided by private service providers and not by West Sussex County Council. These do not have a recommendation or endorsement from the local authority. If you decide to use a service / provision, you should be aware that you are responsible for doing your own checks to ensure they are suitable and fit for purpose. West Sussex County Council will not be liable for any damages or losses suffered by anyone who relies on the information in this newsletter.

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