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Please share this newsletter with colleagues and parent carers. If you know of anyone who would like to be added to the distribution list, please let us know.
The next edition of the newsletter will be in February 2023. We welcome your ideas for articles - please contact Kathryn Kellagher.
Welcome to the last newsletter for 2022 and enjoy our EPS Wellbeing Advent Calendar as we approach the festive period! Lots of great ideas for making you feel good whilst you are busy meeting the needs of others!
This edition includes a useful and informative contribution from the Virtual School. It describes the range of free training opportunities and support they are able to offer schools for our most vulnerable children so please look carefully to see what will benefit you and the children in your school.
Take note also of the latest updates on Tools for Schools with our lates blogs and celebrations of the brilliant practice in our schools. If you have an example of something we should be celebrating, please get in touch so we can add it in!
You might be interested in our SEND and Inclusion Reviews to help you to reflect on your strengths as well as identifying school improvement priorities to develop inclusive practice. Don’t hesitate to contact one of our SEND and Inclusion advisers if you want to know more.
We know that our parent carers are key to all our work with children. The support available from Reaching Families and West Sussex Parent Carer Forum is invaluable for so many of our families but there are other who would benefit so please share the information below with the parent carers in your schools.
We are highlighting 2 surveys which are now live to help us in our understanding of what is working for both parent carers and professionals in supporting children and young people with SEND and what we need to improve. We need you to promote the survey to families and to complete it yourselves so we can better understand how we can develop our practice to support you.
I would like to say a special thanks to our contributors to the SEND and Inclusion Newsletter throughout 2022 and to invite more contributions from our schools and other professionals in 2023!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!
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West Sussex County Council is working to improve support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, building on the work of the SEND & Inclusion Strategy.
To support this work, we have created two surveys to inform our understanding of where improvements should focus: one for parent carers, and one for professionals working with children and young people with SEND. Both surveys should take no more than ten minutes to complete. Responses will be anonymous and we would encourage you to be open and honest.
The first survey is aimed at parent carers of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Please could you share this survey with parent carers and encourage them to complete it. This survey ends on 23 December and should take no longer than ten minutes to complete.
This second survey is aimed at professionals who work with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. We would be grateful if you would take the time to complete this survey, which should take no more than ten minutes. The survey will close on 18th December 2022.
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The West Sussex Children and Young People’s Plan 2022 – 2025 (CYPP) is now complete. It will be available in electronic format so that everyone who has an interest in the plan either professionally or personally can find out what they need to know, and how they can get involved in supporting its delivery.
There is a statutory duty for all local authorities to have a CYPP. The CYPP helps local authorities and local organisations supporting children, young people and families, working together to agree shared targets and priorities, shared actions and activities to achieve them and to ensure their delivery.
Our CYPP plan is owned by the Children First Partnership and is for all children and young people in West Sussex. Its purpose is to improve outcomes for children, young people and families. It has been developed following consultation with organisations and services in the partnership and with children, young people and families including the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum.
The priorities in our plan are ones that organisations and services are already working on or planning to work on over the lifetime of the plan. One of the key priorities is taken from the West Sussex SEND and Inclusion Strategy (2019 – 2024): strengthening our multi-agency approach to identifying and meeting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The other key priorities are:
- Keeping children and young people safe from harm
- Providing the earliest possible support to families on low incomes to minimise the impact this has on their lives
- Closing the disadvantage gap for children and young people across all key stages
- Improving children and young people’s emotional health and well-being
Each of our five priorities has links with all the others, so the planning we undertake for each one, will focus on how it relates to and impacts positively on the other priorities too. The work we undertake will build on and link up with what is already happening; helping us to develop a joined-up approach to the work of organisations and services and avoid duplication of effort and resources.
Crucial to the success of the CYPP is how organisations and services in the partnership work together, taking collective responsibility for working with each other and with West Sussex children, young people and families to bring about the changes that will improve their lives.
Our work on the implementation of the CYPP has now begun and we are in the process of putting the infrastructure in place that will support its successful delivery. Please look out for future updates via this newsletter and other communications, about the plan’s launch, how it is being put into practice and how professionals, family members and children and young people can have a voice in its work too.
For further information please email cypp@westsussex.gov.uk
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The Virtual School continues to develop and strengthen its offer beyond its responsibility to monitor and improve educational outcomes for Children We Care For.
The recent extension to duties includes raising awareness of and championing the education of children who currently have a Social Worker, or have been subject to a Child Protection or Child in Need plan in the last six years, as well as Previously Looked After Children.
Our offer and responsibility to these children and young people is determined by our varying statutory duty and based on the cohort they sit in. We know that it can be challenging to understand which cohort a child sits in and what is available to them, and this varying offer is explained in more detail on our website.
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The Virtual School currently has 867 Children We Care For on roll, all of whom have an allocated Advisory Teacher. Their engagement and progress in education is closely monitored and promoted through termly PEP (personal education plan) meetings. |
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For the approximately 4500 children in West Sussex who currently have or have had a social worker in the last 6 years, including those Previously Looked After, the Virtual School works strategically to support and upskill those adults who have a role in their education. The West Sussex response to the new duties for children who are not Children We Care For but currently have or have ever had a social worker is the creation of the Virtual School Advisory Service.
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Did you know that the Virtual School offers a range of free training and learning to all education settings across West Sussex? |
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We encourage all staff to attend regardless of whether you are currently supporting a Child We Care For. Attendance at these courses will benefit not only children who experience trauma but all the children, young people and families they work with.
Full details are on our website but here is a brief insight into what is on offer.
The Virtual School Training programme
Created and delivered by the Virtual School team and our Educational Psychologists, these free courses deliver and promote the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of vulnerable learners.
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PACE Workshop (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) (1 hour session) This practical online workshop is designed to guide you through the principles of PACE and how to apply this trauma-sensitive approach in your settings.
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Brain Development (1 hour session) This session focuses on how the developing child’s brain is impacted by trauma and adverse childhood experience.
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Executive functioning (2x1 hour sessions) An Introduction to Executive Function skills – a brain-based approach.
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Understanding the impact that trauma has on young people - (2x1 hour sessions) This session will help professionals to understand the impact trauma can have on young people.
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Understanding the impact of caring (1½ hours) This session will consider the impact trauma can have on professionals and will offer ideas to support staff wellbeing.
- Let’s talk resources for SEMH (1 hour)
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Supporting transition (1 hour) This will be a practical session focusing on strategies to support impending changes and how to lower anxiety, maintain connection and keep young people in mind even when apart.
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Understanding and Supporting Attachment Needs A full day of face-to-face training in which we explore the meaning of attachment and its impact on our development.
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Empathy Skills in Care-Experienced Children (1 hour session) This session explains why behaving empathically can be a challenge for some Children Looked After.
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The teenage brain (1 hour) An introduction to the ways in which adolescence impacts on brain functioning, and how we can use this knowledge to adapt our practices when supporting young people.
Virtual Reality Training
To develop awareness of the impact of trauma on children and young people’s brain development, the Virtual School offer a powerful and immersive training session using virtual reality headsets. The content is tailored to the age and developmental stage of the child and raises awareness of their lived experiences.
In addition, for our secondary and post 16 colleagues we offer a session to explore the impact of child sexual exploitation and county lines.
To discuss your requirements or request a place please contact the appropriate phase lead.
Early Years – gemma.peck@westsussex.gov.uk
Primary – Sarah.albery@westsussex.gov.uk
Secondary – carol.finlinson@westsussex.gov.uk
Post 16 - matthew.warwick@westsussex.gov.uk
The Virtual School Support groups
We recognise that working with children who have experienced trauma can have a real impact on the wellbeing of staff. The aim of these groups is to provide an opportunity for education support staff (TA’s, LSA’s etc) to get to know others facing the same challenges and to share best practice in a supportive and open environment
Attendees should be working intensively with children who have or have ever had a social worker and who are displaying challenging behaviours as a result of trauma. This group of children includes those who are now adopted or subject to a Special Guardianship or Child Arrangements Order.
To request a place please contact the appropriate phase lead:
Early Years – gemma.peck@westsussex.gov.uk
Primary – Sarah.albery@westsussex.gov.uk
Secondary – carol.finlinson@westsussex.gov.uk
Post 16 - matthew.warwick@westsussex.gov.uk
Hi, we would like to introduce ourselves in our roles as the Designated Social Care Officer and the Designated Clinical Officer.
My name is Natalie McNeill and I am the Designated Social Care Officer (DCSO) for SEND. I am a social worker with 20 years' experience of working with families in West Sussex.
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I am Rachael Lee and I am a Speech and Language Therapist, I have worked across a wide range of NHS trusts and Charity sectors across the UK. I am also the Designated Clinical Officer for SEND.
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Our roles are to work across health services and social care implementing the SEND Code of Practice and to have a strategic role in developing services and practices supporting children and young people with SEND.
Together we are working on the Collective Responsibilities workstream of the SEND and Inclusion strategy. The main area of focus of this workstream is to focus on system-wide support and identification of SEND. This would involve upskilling colleagues across health, education and social care to promote and enable effective joint working. Our current project is looking at the quality of advice submitted by social care and health as part of an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment.
We're delighted to announce that the West Sussex SENCO Conference will be at Avisford Park Hotel, near Fontwell, on 21 June 2023.
We're in the early stages of planning but are already looking forward to it! We'll have more information to share in the New Year.
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The SEND and Inclusion Review is a reflective process, to scrutinise the lived experience of children and young people with additional needs.
This review supports settings to ensure that all children and young people achieve the ‘very best start in life’: in direct alignment with the West Sussex vision. It is important that our young people build the skills and qualifications required for successful transition into further education, training, employment and adulthood.
So far twenty-four settings have taken part across the county, with further bookings in the diary. Both primary and secondary settings alike have benefitted from reviews in the last two academic years.
When surveyed, 100% of respondent leaders said that they would recommend a SEND and Inclusion Review to others, as they agreed that recommendations in the report would strongly inform whole-school development. We’re extremely proud of this statistic!
The review aligns with Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework, in that the experiences of pupils with SEND are a strong indicator of a successful, inclusive curriculum for all.
The image below shows the process from the point of booking to reporting and wider strategic impact. There is a handy booking guide available on the West Sussex Services for Schools information page. The self-evaluation phase uses the Inclusion Framework to collect evidence of good practice and consider areas for development.
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 Could a SEND and Inclusion Review strategically support your whole-school improvement? We’d certainly say so, though you don’t have to take our word for it! We have some great testimonials from school leaders and governors, following visits we’ve made so far. Read more here.
“This was a supportive review which proved collaborative but insightful, shining a spotlight on specific areas we had identified. The discussion and subsequent guidance and advice was very helpful in refining our strategic approach.” – Headteacher, Goring CE Primary School
For more information or to discuss your needs, please contact a West Sussex SEND and Inclusion Adviser. If you’ve already decided, please book via West Sussex Services for Schools and we’ll be in touch promptly to set a date.
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The Department for Education has issued a November update to its case studies on improving attendance. Schools and multi-academy trusts (MATs) share their different techniques for improving attendance rates in their settings |
Following demand from local parents, Reaching Families will be launching a new Umbrellas support group in Mid Sussex in January 2023. This will be the fifth Reaching Families support group alongside their monthly groups that meet in Billingshurst, Littlehampton and Worthing and their online group which meets weekly on Zoom. Please see attached flyer for further details.
Reaching Families Umbrellas Parent Support Group
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The West Sussex Parent Carer Forum (WSPCF) is run by parent carers for parent carers of children and young people with SEND (0 - 25 yrs) and their families.
But... What exactly is a Parent Carer Forum?
We are a part of the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) which is a membership led organisation of 150 parent carer forums from across England. All forums are then divided into 9 regional areas, which follow the same regional breakdown as the Department of Education (DfE) Local Authority regions.
WSPCF is the official representative for West Sussex, and we are part of the Southeast regional group (SE19) along with 18 other Parent Carer Forums. Each forum is different and managed individually (we are an independent charity), with all our feedback gathered in the regional areas and then collated to form the NNPCF's key priorities and objectives and fed directly into the National Government.
As a member of the NNPCF, we are funded through a DfE grant, which outlines how we must work as a Parent Carer Forum. Our key role is to ensure that parent carers can participate more in the strategic planning and decision-making around services for children and young people with SEND in their area – we call this Coproduction.
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Working in coproduction is proven to create better outcomes for families, so making our families views heard is an essential part of our work.
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We work in partnership with the Local Authority, Education, Health, Social Care, and other organisations, to positively improve the planning and delivery of local services for children and young people with SEND and their families.
- We also provide opportunities to bring parent carers together, to understand the issues they are facing, provide mutual support, share information, and gather their views.
- We also work as a signposting service, providing information and general advice around anything SEND related in West Sussex. We cover all disabilities and additional learning needs.
Head over to our WSPCF Facebook page for more information. To book your free place on any of our range of excellent events, please ensure you sign up to the Forum's mailing list. You can do this via the blue Sign Up button on our Facebook page.
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We have produced a Three Minute Guide to the changes to Short Breaks in West Sussex.
View and share the video on YouTube
Share the video on social media such as Facebook using this link.
We would encourage you to take three minutes to watch the guide and please can you share on your social media and through your parent carer networks.
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 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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