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

SEND and Inclusion Strategy: one year on

This edition of our newsletter celebrates the work done through the SEND and Inclusion strategy and is focused on the projects being developed with schools. We are especially delighted to have worked with the Local Offer over the past few months as we built our Tools for Schools website, which is easily accessed through the Local Offer, https://schools.local-offer.org/. You can also access from here a recording of an information session about the Tools for Schools.

The latest termly progress reports on the SEND and Inclusion Strategy are available on the Local Offer.

During the last academic year, over fifty schools, settings, parent carers and local authority officers have met together to co-develop the Inclusion Framework and the Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice guide, which we are now ready to pilot!

If you would like further information on any of these resources, please contact us at Toolsforschools@westsussex.gov.uk

The Inclusion Framework - a whole school self-evaluation tool

The aim of the West Sussex Inclusion Framework is to facilitate useful and constructive discussions to highlight good practice and inform whole school and setting development. The Inclusion Framework is designed to be used flexibly, in a way that is relevant to a school or setting and will best support its development journey.

The framework is organised into 4 main areas, or aspects:

Aspect 1: The environment, culture and ethos

Aspect 2: Leadership

Aspect 3: Personal development, wellbeing and welfare

Aspect 4: Quality of education

Over the autumn and spring terms, a series of facilitated peer to peer support sessions will be arranged to provide schools with the opportunity to share practice with each other.

Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice (OAIP) - a mainstream guide

The Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice (OAIP) guide has been developed to describe support strategies and adaptations that can be made as part of normal teaching practice. The term ‘ordinarily available’ originates from the SEN Code of Practice and refers to the support that mainstream schools or settings should be able to ‘ordinarily’ provide through their agreed funding and resource arrangements. The OAIP is organised into two main sections:

Section 1: describes examples of ‘reasonable adjustments’ that can be made through ‘quality first teaching’.

Section 2: provides examples of more tailored approaches that can be made to meet the individual needs of children or young person.

The current version of the OAIP has been co-designed mainly with 5 – 16 year old children and young people in mind. As part of the pilot we will be considering if we need to change the document to make it more relevant to pre-school and post 16 education settings.

Early Years specific Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice Guide

The Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice (OAIP) Guide, which was recently sent to all schools, has been co-designed mainly with 5 – 16 year old children and young people in mind. It is recognised that the OAIP needs some further development to ensure that it is suited to Early Years settings.  We have therefore set up a series of workshops with a range of stakeholders to develop an Early Years specific OAIP.

We would greatly value the contributions of SENCOs / Early Years Leaders in these meetings, where we will reflect on the OAIP and consider what should be changed to better reflect Early Years.

The dates for the next workshops are as follows:

20 October 10.30-12.00

20 October 3.30-5.00

Please contact Jessica.bubb@westsussex.gov.uk if you are interested in attending.

Tools for Schools

The concept of the ‘Tools for schools’ website was developed by schools and education settings through the task and finish groups as part of a request to have quicker access to reliable and useful information to support those with additional needs. The website is organised into the following 4 main areas:

Inclusion: Inclusion framework; inclusive practice and disadvantaged groups

SEND toolkit: Ordinarily available inclusive provision; The ‘assess, plan, do, review’ cycle; SEND roles and responsibilities; additional SEND strategies, information and links.

Child’s journey: Transition; person centred planning; voice of child / parent; home school partnership; journey to independence.

Team around the school: Teams that support schools; training and development, locality and area support, news and views.

To enable users to easily return to useful information, the website also contains a ‘Pin Board’ feature.

Tools for Schools is being developed in partnership with Future Gov, the West Sussex Local Offer provider. This allows the general public to access the content, as families may also find some of the information on the website useful. Over the course of the academic year we will continue to work with the Local Offer to ensure schools and education settings have easier access to the information they need. The plan is to continue to develop the site with schools, education settings and partners from health, social care and education to create the ‘go-to’ resource for staff – this will include a view on the current working title ‘Tools for Schools’.

Virtual SENCO Conference - 25 November 2020

As you are aware, we had planned to hold the postponed West Sussex SENCO Conference on Wednesday 25 November at Butlins. Unfortunately, in light of the on-going situation with Covid-19, we had to cancel this and have issued full refunds to schools.

We are delighted to offer in its place a morning of free on-line workshops, based on the ones that would have been run at the conference. Please see details in the table below.

We hope as many SENCOs as possible will be able to join us for one or more of these workshops.

We are intending to offer a full conference next year and will be engaging with schools in planning the agenda.

SEND and Inclusion Link Advisors looking for volunteers to join Transition Workstream

The SEND and Inclusion Link Advisers are embarking on the Transition Workstream as outlined in the SEND and Inclusion Strategy. This work will encapsulate West Sussex’s views on what makes a positive and successful transition for young people with SEND from 0-25. It will be co-produced and draw on the knowledge of parents and carers, Local Authority professionals - including representatives from health and social care - and colleagues from Education.

We are now at the stage of asking for representatives from:

• Early years settings and nurseries
• Primary
• Secondary
• Special schools
• Special Support Centres
• Alternative Provision College
• Post 16 providers

We have divided this work into 3 groups:

Group 1  0 – EYs, EYs to YR, YR to Yr1, led by Louise Burgess

Group 2 KS1 to KS2, KS2 to KS3, led by Rachel McDonald-Taylor and Gemma Humphrey

Group 3 Y11 to post 16- 25, led by Claire Prince.

We are planning on having a monthly online meeting and also sharing work via email in between the meetings.  If you are able to participate in the meeting that’d be great, if you’d like to be part of consultation but cannot commit to the monthly meeting that is also fine, we understand you have many priorities at this time.

If you are interested in being part of this work please contact Kathryn.Kellagher@westsussex.gov.uk to register your interest, giving your name, role, setting and which group you’d like to be part of.

We are looking forward to working with you,

Rachel McDonald-Taylor, Louise Burgess, Gemma Humphrey and Claire Prince

In further SEND and Inclusion Strategy news...

An experienced education consultant, Helen Redding, will be working with West Sussex Parent Carer Forum, special schools and other partners to co-develop clear admissions guidance for our special schools as well as descriptors of levels of need and provision. Helen will also be working on the use of SEND and High Needs funding to support our graduated approach

Progression Tools

Progression tools, developed by the Communication Trust, are an effective way to screen a child’s communication, helping teaching staff to identify children who may be struggling to develop their speech, language and communication skills.  They pinpoint which aspect children may need support with to target your intervention accurately, then help you track progression of these skills over time or following interventions - great for informing next steps and showing outcomes.  Some of you are already using this and, following positive feedback from these schools and the SALT team, we would like to support other schools to utilize the benefits the tools can bring. To this end, we are mailing out to schools the Progression tools materials during the week of 19 October.

These tools do not in any way replace the specialist support from a Speech and Language Therapist as they are not a diagnostic tool. However, they will give you further information to help decide whether children would benefit from a targeted intervention or whether they need specialist assessment and support. 

More details on how to use the tools will be provided at the SENCO Leadership Forums during the week commencing 12 October, which will be followed up by Webinars produced by the Communication Trust. In the meantime, this video from the Communication Trust will give you more context.

https://vimeo.com/418892440

Special Support Centre Development

The Special Support Centre development work continues.  The work stream is currently focused on establishing Service Level Agreements and contractual arrangements, provision descriptors, quality assurance processes and therapy support.  Re-designation of centres has been completed and plans for new centres continue.

Recording SEND primary need type on census

West Sussex County Council has commissioned the use of a place planning tool to support our statutory obligation in supporting available provision and forecasting the SEND need profile across West Sussex. This place planning tool, along with local intelligence, will provide a strategic forecast for future SEND provision. The place planning tool utilises historical census data and it is important that the primary need of all children and young people with an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) is recorded accurately. The information should be the same as the primary need stated on the child or young person’s EHCP. Please do not use ‘other’ as this produces forecasts on ‘other’ as a primary type of need.

Consultation on support for children under 5 with SEND

West Sussex County Council are consulting with Early Years and Childcare providers, parents and carers, professionals and other interested stakeholders, focusing on the support for children under 5 with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Following a review of current support, we are pleased to be able to share with you our proposed changes, which we intend to implement from January 2021. These are outlined in a video which includes proposed new ways of working including changes to inclusion funding and EYPARM. Read a summary of the proposed changes.

After you have watched the presentation, we would really welcome your views via a short questionnaire. The consultation will remain open until midnight on Sunday 18 October 2020.

Once the consultation has closed, we will review the feedback and provide a summary of the responses and report on the findings and next steps by 18 December 2020. Please do take this opportunity to give us feedback so we can make sure that your views are taken into consideration and shape the plan.

Paper copies are available by contacting the Family Information Service on 01243 777807.

The Compass Card: fun, free, helping to shape future provision

Have you heard of the Compass Card scheme?  It’s the leisure discount scheme for children and young people, from birth to 25 years with SEND, either living or going to school in West Sussex. The scheme provides some fantastic discounts on all things leisure related across West Sussex, Brighton & Hove and the surrounding areas, making fun and leisure more accessible.

But what is just as important, particularly now when local authorities are having to make extremely difficult decisions, is the disability register. This register informs West Sussex County Council and helps to shape future provision.  We need to ensure SEND communities in West Sussex are fully represented and have a voice.

So how do families/guardians apply?

It’s super quick and easy.  If the child or young person has an EHCP or receives DLA/PIP then they are automatically eligible and an online form can be completed here;  https://www.registercompasscard.org.uk/  It should take no more than 15 minutes and no further evidence or documentation needs to be submitted.

The disability register is held by Amaze, an independent charity, and we have a standard email that you can forward on to families of children and young people to let them know about the scheme.  Please help us reach more children and young people to ensure their voices are heard.  For more information, a copy of the email to send out or if you have any questions please contact Marie Baker at marie@amazesussex.org.uk or on 07484 051755.

Helping Mental Health

David Burns, a West Sussex resident, has recently co-authored and published a children’s book called "Time for each other”, which aims to open up conversations on promoting positive mental health for primary age children.

"The story of Reuben and Grandpa spans three generations and brings together examples of how we can all look after our brains and promote better mental health. Inspired by a generation of children who survived the trauma of being separated from their families and evacuated during the Second World War, the authors have presented a story of love, friendship and kindness. In a modern world it really is possible to be happy when we make ‘time for each other’."

David lives with his family in Sussex and supports families touched by autism. He is passionate about the education of children with additional needs and is the author of several books and guides. David was awarded an MBE in 2020 for services to children and young people with autism.

"Time for each other" is free to download at www.EducatingFRED.com along with other resources and is available to view on the Local Offer website.

Telephone Consultation Service with the SEND and Inclusion Link Advisers

The SEND and Inclusion Link Advisers launched a telephone consultation service for schools on Monday 1^st June. The team is available on Tuesday mornings to discuss any matters related to SEND and inclusion. This could be linked to the current Covid-19 pandemic, or a more general discussion. Calls can relate to pupils with EHCPs as well as those receiving SEN Support.

Requests for a consultation should be made on the accompanying booking form and emailed to sendinclusionsolutions@westsussex.gov.uk. No personal details or names of pupils should be recorded on booking forms please. Once a request is made, a member of the team will get in touch to arrange a date and time to call-back for a 30-minute telephone discussion.

Booking information can be found on WSSfS.

Head2Head Sensory Theatre

Head2Head Sensory Theatre are offering 3 immersive experiences via zoom in October & November 2020  

Each session takes 45 minutes followed by 15 minutes of chats and is only £10 per family!

Beachcombers & Mudlarking   Join Sara and Erica down on the beach for some messy multi-sensory and interactive fun.  We will fly with seagulls, tidy away dropped rubbish, sing songs, make some beats with buckets and spades, explore sand, go for a swim, become a fish and muck about in mud, as well as loads more!  24^th October 2020 (10am, 12pm or 2pm) 25^th October 2020 (10am, 12pm or 2pm) 31^st October 2020 (10am, 12pm or 2pm) (running time 45-minutes)  

Hatter's Hectic Tea Dance Help prepare a Tea Dance by teaching Hatter how to arrange flowers, bake the perfect scone and pour the perfect cup of tea! With water and messy multi-sensory play, songs, chants and much, much more. 30^th October 2020 (10am, 12pm or 2pm) 1^st November 2020 (10am, 12pm or 2pm) (running time 45-minutes)  

Toad's Totally Awesome Adventu​res Toad is keen to share his latest adventures with some new friends. Warning! Toad could need a little help along the way breaking out of Prison and then throwing a fantastic party to celebrate. This experience is packed with songs and silliness, messy play, puzzle solving and lots, lots more. 22^nd October 2020 (10am, 12pm or 2pm) 23^rd October 2020 (10am, 12pm or 2pm) (running time 45-minutes)  

All 3 activities come with  an advance pack, which gives a list of household objects needed to complement the experience.  When the show is finished, why not hang around for some snacks and chats.  It will be really nice to catch-up with you all! The shows will be delivered via Zoom into your own home and to several families at a time. Please ensure you have a computer capable of downloading Zoom with camera, microphone and speakers.  Full Zoom details and advance pack will be provided after booking.  The cost per family is £10, regardless of the number of adults and children taking part.  Limited places available so book now to avoid disappointment on: https://www.h2hsensorytheatre.com/zoom-live   office@h2hsensorytheatre.com   01372 278021 / 07519 747290

West Sussex Mind

West Sussex Mind has recently developed a series of zoom based workshops which can be found on westsussexmind.org

The offer includes parent carer workshops in: 

• autism
• young people's mental health
• suicide prevention

West Sussex Mind also provides a range of workshops for staff including Youth Mental Health First Aid training and suicide prevention.

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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