It’s hard to believe this is our final newsletter of the academic year – a year with many challenges but also great achievements thanks to the commitment and hard work in supporting our children, young people and their families.

I have really appreciated meeting more of you in person, particularly this term through the events we have been able to hold, especially the much awaited SENCO Conference which we all greatly enjoyed. Thank you very much for all the contributions from participants and please do let us know if you would like to help plan the next one!

The Alternative Provision showcasing events illustrated the range of provision to support children and young people to access a mainstream education both from providers and in some of our secondary schools with really positive case studies. We will continue to work on developing the range of providers and welcome any examples of good practice from schools or providers!

We’re including information on a range of services and training available in this issue and a focus on refugee and asylum-seeking children & young people, thriving in education which is something we are all very aware of in our lives in the current political climate.

I wish you all an enjoyable and refreshing summer break and look forward to welcoming you to the next edition in the autumn term.

We were delighted that so many of you attended the SENCO Conference last week in Butlins, Bognor. 

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and has inspired us to start planning the next conference already! 

SENCOs told us: 

Great conference, welcome focus on wellbeing and mental health. Nice to think others are thinking about our wellbeing!

It has been lovely to meet with colleagues, share stories and I feel thoroughly treated in terms of food and wellbeing!

Well organised and good range of practical advice that can be applied.

If you would like to be part of the planning team for the 2023 SENCO Conference (first meeting will be in September), please email Kathryn Kellagher.

Slides from the keynote speaker presentation can be accessed via Tools for Schools, along with the handouts from the five workshops:

• Understanding and Supporting LGBT+ Children & Young People, led by Allsorts
• Promoting Equality and Tackling Racism. Led by EMTAS (click here for their slide presentation)
• Introducing the Individual Support Plan, (ISP), a graduated response template (click here for the handout from the conference). Led by Maryanne Woodland, Educational Psychologist, WSCC
• Journey to adulthood, focusing on transition points across education, health and social care from the earliest stages (click here for their slide presentation). Led by WSCC SEND & Inclusion Advisors and Designated Social Care Officer.
• What to do when a child or young person self-harms.  Led by WSCC Safeguarding in Education. Follow the links for the handouts from the workshop:
  • Managing self-harm guidance and toolkit
  • Self-harm flowchart
  • My Wellbeing and Safety Plans and Supporting Guidance Documents 
  • Self-harm resources for schools

We asked the SENCOs who attended the recent SENCO conference what they considered to be the best thing about being a SENCO. 

Here are some of their inspirational responses:

Helping children break down barriers to learning. Getting to know children, understand what their behaviour is telling me and then supporting their needs.

Supporting pupils, parents and school staff to feel a true part of the school community and supporting children to thrive

Making a difference to a SEND child’s learning experience.

Being at the heart of the school improvement process.

The new West Sussex Single Point of Access (SPoA) for emotional wellbeing and mental health support for children and young people launched on Wednesday 1 June.

The SPoA, which is provided by Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), West Sussex County Council's Youth Emotional Support Service (YES) and YMCA Dialogue, provides a simplified single route so that children, young people, families, carers and professionals can be directed to the right service, eliminating the need to refer to multiple services.

The three services work together to triage the referrals and determine which service is the most appropriate offer for the young person.

Who can refer to SPoA?

Anyone - children, young people, parents, carers, families, GPs and other professionals. For professionals in a school where Thought-Full (MHST) is available, they should consult with the schools Senior Mental Health Lead to consider Thought-Full in the first instance.

How to make a referral

Go to e-wellbeing.co.uk/support and click on the link.

What to include in a referral

When making a referral to SPoA, please provide as much information and detail about the issues the young person is currently experiencing. Doing so will allow SPoA to triage the referral much more quickly and effectively.

Please also ensure that you provide your contact details (email and telephone number), as well as contact details for the young person and their parent/carer, so that if further information is required, SPoA can get in touch.

Are there any referral exclusions?

• If they are a West Sussex young person, aged 4-18, with an emotional wellbeing or mental health need, SPoA will accept a referral for them
• If a young person who is close to turning 18 is referred to the service with a mental health need they will be signposted to adult services unless there is an urgent need or crisis
• All ASC and ADHD (neurodevelopmental) referrals need to continue via the current pathways. If there is a mental health or emotional wellbeing concern separate to this, the young person can also be referred to SPoA
• Referrals for young people with eating disorders, including Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, need to continue directly to Sussex Family Eating Disorder Service (SFEDS).

Further details

• The SPoA is open Monday to Friday 9am-5pm
• The service will accept referrals for children and young people from the age of four up to the young person's 18th birthday, who are registered with a West Sussex GP, whilst recognising and working within NHS CHOICE regulations (please note. YES will accept referrals for young people who live in West Sussex or go to a West Sussex school)
• Useful diagram to explain how SPoA works - click here.

Should you require any further information about SPoA, go to sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/west-sussex-spoa or contact Naomi Frith, Project Manager, at naomi.frith@spft.nhs.uk.

As part of the EYSEND Partnership, I CAN is offering training to early years SENCos, managers and early years practitioners to enable excellent support for Speech, Language and Communication needs in early years settings. 

The training is totally free and provided at two levels – core (introductory), in-depth (advanced). You may choose to start with the core training and move to the in-depth, or if you have had previous training in Speech, Language and Communication needs, you could move straight to the in-depth training. Full details of how to access both levels can be found here.

This 2.5 hour course is for early years settings, childminders, out of school clubs and schools with early years provision. If you do not fall into on of these groups, but work with young children, please email early.years.training@westsussex.gov.uk.

The Makaton Taster online course provides an opportunity to be part of a small group with direct access to a trainer who will be 'teaching' during the session. You must have access to a computer, the internet, a web camera with microphone and have set up a Zoom account to be able to participate. Mobile phones are unsuitable due to the small screen. To book your place on 15th September 2022 from 19:00 - 21:30, please visit the Learning & Development Gateway.

"The biggest change is definitely my confidence”. A young person speaks of their experience and what it meant to receive support at a pivotal moment in his life. 

The Allsorts Youth Project supports young people who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans or exploring their gender identity and/or sexual orientation, alongside their families in West Sussex. Please watch and help us share this important information and film.

Watch & share film

Boost your confidence working with LGBT+ young people

Approaching conversations around gender identify and sexuality sometimes can feel like a minefield. Allsorts has a range of great resources to help, including Top Tips for working with Trans & Gender-Exploring Young People.

Two recent events have showcased some of the inspiring work taking place in West Sussex with regards to alternative provision.

On 30 June, over a hundred schools came to listen to presentations by some of our independent alternative provisions.  Alternative educational provision is used to complement/supplement the provision in school for learners who struggle to attend school full-time.   Giving children and young people the opportunity to access a small, nurturing, therapeutic based setting for a period of time, and involving them in activities such as bushcraft, art, angling, forest school or equine therapy, allows them to build the skills and resilience they need to return to a mainstream setting. 

Several independent alternative provisions are signed up to our Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). This ensures quality assurance is in place and provides a level of regulation to support our schools in their use and the safety of our children in the provisions. 

If you were unable to attend the showcase, you can access all of the presentations on the Showcase for Independent Alternative Provisions on Tools for Schools.

The second event was led by schools showcasing the inspirational work they are doing with regards to alternative curriculum pathways.

These are interventions for students who need some time away from mainstream education to "reset" their behaviour.  From the calming, therapeutic Wellbeing Garden at St Wilfrid's Catholic School (see picture) to the creative approach to alternative education at Bishop Luffa's Launchpad, it was inspiring to hear about the wonderful inclusive practice taking place in West Sussex Schools. 

Some of the presentations can be found on Tools for Schools under Alternative Curriculum Pathways.

A massive congratulations to the first cohort that took part in the Accredited Early Years SENCO Award!!!

This is a DfE funded award, run by Nasen and developed by School Improvement Liverpool. The participants attended a 12.5 day course, which ran over a 5 month period, facilitated online by Jessica Bubb. After undertaking a series of online written tasks and an observation in the setting, attendees have been awarded a Level 3 Early Years SENCO Award, which is accredited by CACHE. The Early Years SENCO Award has been proven to inspire SENCOs from across the Early Years sector.

For more information about future cohorts, please contact Grace Fairbourne.