West Sussex County Council sent this bulletin at 02-12-2019 10:26 AM GMT
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 sarah.dimmock@westsussex.gov.uk.
Merry Christmas!
What a year it's been! I wanted to personally thank you for being so supportive with this newsletter by sending in your articles, keeping me posted with what is happening in your services and organisations, as well as spreading these messages to those interested in these updates. There has been a lot of information to send this year and I look forward to 2020 where there will be lots more events, surveys and progress updates!
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
SEND and Inclusion Strategy Update 2019-2024
SEND and Inclusion Strategy Update 2019-2024
The five year SEND and Inclusion Strategy, which sets out our vision, strategic priorities and key activities for West Sussex County Council, has been approved by the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills. Project plans and progress reports will be updated termly and be publicly available on The West Sussex Local Offer.
Strategy implementation has commenced and staff capacity is being increased to deliver this vital work. A SEND placement planning officer is now in post and is preparing data to be uploaded to a SEND planning tool which will support us to more accurately plan SEND provision. A SEND and Inclusion Adviser has also been recruited to provide additional support to schools and settings, three further SEND and Inclusion Advisers will join the team during the year.
Two Task and Finish groups, with headteacher, SENCO, governor, parent and partner representation have been established. The ‘Inclusion’ Task and Finish group will initially focus on the development of an Inclusion Framework which will enable settings to undertake self-evaluations of their inclusive practice. The ‘SEND Offer’ Task and Finish group will work on a guidance tool to support schools and settings in delivering consistent standards of SEND practice.
Two specialist communication and interaction support centres have opened in both Horsham and Chichester maintained nursery schools – doubling the number of WSX pre-school specialist places. Plans for 84 additional specialist support centre places are in place and discussions are underway with over 12 schools to develop feasibility surveys and undertake public consultations on a site by site basis. In addition, a further strand of the new strategy is to increase the number of classrooms in maintained special schools by 104 Special School Places.
West Sussex County Council is keen to develop the use of therapeutic approaches in behaviour management to improve expertise and support inclusion - school focused workshops are being delivered to share information on implementing the approach. If you would like further information on the SEND and Inclusion Strategy please contact James.Richardson@westsussex.gov.uk or bella.cobby@westsussex.gov.uk.
Have YOUR Say on our Short Breaks Offer in West Sussex
Short breaks provide fun, leisure and social activities for children and young people with additional needs and disabilities outside the school day. This enables them to try new experiences, learn new skills, develop confidence and have fun! Short breaks commissioners are working with families and stakeholders to shape the service for the future, therefore there will be a series of workshops in December 2019. For details of dates, please contact SENDCommissioningTeam@westsussex.gov.uk or take a look on the Local Offer website.
Parent carers, young people and other stakeholders (such as schools, providers and services) are also invited to take part in our Have Your Say Survey.
SEND and Inclusion Strategy Picture Competition
Children and young people aged 4 to 25 across the county got creative and entered our picture competition over the summer. The brief was to design an image celebrating inclusion for the WSCC SEND and Inclusion Strategy.
Helen Johns, Head of Inclusion at West Sussex who led the team judging the pictures said: “We were very impressed with all the entries but, after lots of discussion, the one we have chosen to base our Inclusion Picture on is by Grace Thompson. We really liked the simplicity of the infinity circle and thought the symbols associated with this would work well with our strategy. We also thought the circle represented our cycle of support – assess, plan, do , review.” Well done Grace!
AScSURE Training
Exploring Autism and strategies to promote positive behaviour and relationships
Are you a parent/carer of a child or young person aged 9-16 years, with an ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition) and have not attended an AScSURE course before? The AScSURE course is an excellent source of information for those new to ASC or for those requiring a little more in-depth knowledge. The course is free of charge to families of children in West Sussex maintained schools at this time.
Course aims:
To give a broad and balanced view of how autism and social communication difficulties may impact on the child/young person’s life and that of the family;
To explore key practical strategies that can support those with autism to promote positive relationships and behaviour; and
To provide a forum for families to share their experiences and expertise together
Course outline:
The course will be run over 7 sessions. The first six dates will be as weekly morning sessions focused on both theoretical and practical aspects of the Autism Spectrum Condition and the resulting difficulties and behaviours. There will be opportunities to discuss issues as they arise and to experience/use a range of strategies, practical tools and resources. The last date will be run as a follow-up session approximately 3 months after session 6. This session will aim to briefly recap the areas previously covered and allow a forum for parents to share successes since the course and discuss any newly presenting issues. To enable participants to fully benefit from this course we ask that they attend all 7 sessions.
3 courses will start in the Spring term and will be delivered in Barnham, Lancing and Crawley. For an application form and for more details, call Jessica Bubb on 0330 222 8525 or email Jessica.bubb@westsussex.gov.uk.
We're recruiting DRAGONS!
Do you know a young person who’d like to be a Young Commissioner? The SEND Commissioning Team have volunteering opportunities for children and young people where young people can take part in panels (like being a Dragon in ‘Dragon’s Den’), work alongside commissioners to shape services, meet other young people or join in ‘virtually’ from their own living room. We currently have 8 young people in our Young Voices group who have already worked with us on commissioning services. Our Participation Lead would love to expand this work further so this is where we need your help to find our ‘dragons’ of the future! We are looking for young people who:
Are aged 11 to 25
Have SEND/an additional need
Use West Sussex services like short breaks, health services and social care
Know what they and their peers want from services
Can communicate their ideas confidently (assisted/alternative communication)
Some young people are currently under-represented in work with Commissioners, so we would especially like to hear from young people who:
Use non-verbal communication
Have a physical disability and/or use a wheelchair
West Sussex Compass Card have collated common myths they come across and created a myth-busting document for you to read and share with colleagues.
Please share this far and wide!
West Sussex Local Offer
A note from the Local Offer Officer, Keir Margrave
Remember that new services and events are uploaded regularly on the West Sussex Local Offer website as well as updates to information pages. Last month saw an update to the developmental trauma page with some new resources and links courtesy of Beacon House.
We would really love to hear your feedback to know that the information, services and events on the site are correct and up to date. Simply click on the green feedback button on the right hand side of Local Offer web pages.
If you are a school or service provider and are having problems updating your summary card, please contact localoffer@westsussex.gov.uk.
We'd love to hear from you!
Would you like to promote your service or let others know about an upcoming event? We always aim to share positive news stories and information that you would like to read and so it is important we try and fill these newsletters with as much quality articles from you.
If you have something to share, please let us know by emailing Sarah Dimmock.
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.
