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March extra ebulletin
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Welcome to our last e-bulletin of the Spring Term. You will find updates on shielding and Covid testing, new resources for families from Contact, Easter holiday activities as well as events happening this week so don't miss out.
Wishing you an enjoyable and restful Easter break.
 Download our "Listening Ear Wednesdays" flyer and click on the dates to book your place
Young People update
Last Thursday we held our termly meeting of the IASS Young People's Advisory Board. One of our members did a fantastic job of chairing the meeting, keeping us on track and focused on the agenda. The group has decided to take it in turns to chair the meetings for the time being.
The Advisory Board is keen to make sure that young people with special educational needs and/or disability can receive information and advice to empower them to get the right support they need in school or college. We discussed ways in which this could happen, and the group came up with some exciting ideas. Watch this space for more updates.
As always if you are a young person or know a young person who would like to get involved please do get In touch with Lisa Colton at ias.service@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Calling all schools and settings If you would like us to deliver our "Aspirations and Outcomes" session for young people with SEND who you work with please email us for more information ias.service@wolverhampton.gov.uk
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Covid-19 SEND update
From Thursday 1 April, shielding guidance will be paused for clinically extremely vulnerable people (CEV). From that date they will no longer be advised to shield and must continue to follow the national restrictions that are in place for everyone.
From Thursday 1 April:
- all CEV children should attend early years provision, school, college, wraparound childcare and out-of-school settings, unless they are one of the very small number of children under paediatric or other specialist care and have been advised by their GP or clinician not to attend.
- CEV students who are enrolled in practical, or practice-based (including creative arts) courses should return to in-person teaching.
Asymptomatic testing at home should continue over the Easter holidays to manage the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), as part of a regular habit of testing at home every 3-4 days (twice a week).
You may find information in the following guidance helpful:
Special schools and other specialist settings: coronavirus (COVID-19) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges during COVID-19 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
COVID-19: guidance on supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Area SEND inspections to restart
Local Area SEND inspections, which Ofsted carry out jointly with the Care Quality Commission, are set to begin again. They were paused in March 2020, owing to the impact of COVID-19.
Full area SEND inspections are planned to restart from June 2021 at the earliest, subject to government guidance and any COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time.
Wolverhampton is one of the local authorities yet to be inspected. So watch this space as we will be looking for parents, carers, children and young people to be involved.
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New resources for families from Contact
Guides to ensure children with additional needs get vital eye, hearing and dental health checks
Contact has worked in partnership with parent carers and charities SeeAbility and the National Deaf Children's Society, to produce three new guides highlighting the importance of hearing, eye and dental checks for children's health. They explain how hearing, eye and dental checks are done, how families can access them and how to prepare and support their child.
- A Parents' Guide to Hearing Care
- A Parents' Guide to Eye Care
- A Parents Guide to Dental Care
Resources for parents claiming Universal Credit for a disabled young person in education
Contact has produced new resources to help families claiming Universal Credit for a disabled 16-20 year old.
Contact also has a new webpage on claiming Universal Credit for a young person in education.
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"Out on Your Loan" new inclusive cycling programme
 Out on Your Loan is a new inclusive cycling programme that will support disabled people from across the West Midlands who want to travel and be active by making cycling journeys in their local area. Out on Your Loan will be delivered by staff from Cycling Projects, working in partnership with Transport for West Midlands (TfWM). The programme is targeted at people with disabilities or long-term health conditions 18 years and over who are unable to use a standard 2 wheeled bicycle.
They will provide: support. training and guidance to each individual and long-term loan of an adapted cycle suited to each individual’s needs and abilities (6 months)
Applications are open until 26th March
For more information or to apply please visit https://cycling.org.uk/out-on-your-loan
Healthy Child Programme
NCB is looking to conduct a set of focus groups with parents in April and May for Public Health England. They would like to speak to parents about their views of the Healthy Child Programme. They are particularly looking for input from:
1) parents from ethnic minority communities
2) parents of disabled children
3) young parents
4) parents of children aged 0-2
Each parent participant will receive a £20 voucher for their time. Each focus group session will last approx one hour and all input will be anonymised.
Any parent who would like to take part or who has any questions about the project is asked to email research@ncb.org.uk
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WV Virtual Squad back for Easter Holidays
Head to City of Wolverhampton Council’s WV Virtual Squad website where you will find fun online activities and educational resources for children and young people of all ages. New activities are being added for the Easter break – many of which are free!
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Please help us to increase our Social Media following
We post lots of information and advice on our Facebook and Twitter Pages to keep you aware and informed of upcoming events, activities, useful resources and other information.
If you don't already please follow us on Facebook and Twitter
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Share your news
We are always happy to share information on our e-bulletins which help to promote a relevant and appropriate service which will be informative and of interest to our readers.
We aim to add short and punchy stories, facts and information. Please add web-links wherever possible & any necessary documents in PDF.
Please e-mail your information to ias.service@wolverhampton.gov.uk
Our next e-bulletin will be sent out Wednesday 21st April so please send any inserts by Friday 16th April .
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