2017, Looking after our children & Film 23rd December 2016 Dear All Wishing you all very happy holidays...
SFV Bat Phone We’ve finally got our phone working again! Happily, it retained all the voicemails so we’ve replied to families. We will be checking both the phone and our e-mail over the holidays; our commitment to reply within 48 hours remains the same. Hopefully, we’ll all have a good break – and if you have any queries, we’re here. T: 07469 746 145 E: sendfamilyvoices@outlook.com
SEND Family Voices - 2017 We are planning our events for Spring 2017; we will hold our informal Coffee & Chat events, plus we have a host of other projects… please keep an eye on our Event’s pages.
Keeping Children and Young People Safe These informal meetings will explore how we can keep our young people safe, especially in the world of social media. We are running these in partnership with the Local Safeguarding Children's Board. More information to follow.
What can a school do to support your child? And what can't it do? This workshop, run by members of the SEND Family Voices at the invitation of the host school, focuses on children and young people in mainstream schools where needs are often being identified for the first time (eg dyslexia, high functioning autism and adhd). For 2017, we have been asked to run these in three different schools in Kingston and Richmond. So far, we have booked the following: Late February 2017 – morning and evening morning - Trafalgar Junior School, Elmsleigh Rd, Twickenham
Short Breaks & Aiming High - consultations The commissioning cycle for short break, respite and other activities for children and young people with additional needs is nearing the consultation stage (ie what do families need and how do we prioritise?) We will be arranging parent/carer consultations to make sure our families get the best from these services. More news to follow.
Music & Magic afternoon Funded by NHS England via Healthwatch, this event aims to be fun for all the family. The deal is a) it must be fun and b) that NHS England will have the opportunity to chat informally to families of children and young people with additional needs about their health services. We will have music workshop all afternoon, and Matthew Garrett (Inner Magic Circle Gold Star) magician to entertain us. There will be refreshments, activities and goodie bags. And all free! Invites will be sent to families in the New Year. For now, please mark the date in your diary. Saturday 4th February 2017- 3pm to 6pm The Langdon Down Centre, Teddington, TW11 9PS
Employing people to work with your children We are sometimes asked to recommend services – not an easy thing to do! We also ask ourselves what we should recommend families do before employing someone. So far, we have found limited advice. So, for now, we suggest the following:
First off… …ask for their DBS certificate, their ‘Safeguarding Policy’, ask and follow up references.
Ask to see their DBS certificate (enhanced DBS certificate if possible): The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) helps employers make safer recruitment decisions and prevent unsuitable people from working with vulnerable groups, including children. It replaces the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) and Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). https://www.gov.uk/disclosure-barring-service-check/overview As an employer, you should only arrange a DBS check on a successful job applicant. You can withdraw a job offer if the results show anything that would make the applicant unsuitable. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2
Talk to the Single Point of Access (SPA) Achieving for Children's Single Point of Access (SPA) allows professionals and/or families to refer a child, young person or parent/carer that needs support in some way by contacting our SPA Team. The SPA is also the first point of contact for the Family Information Services (FIS) in each borough. https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/pages/home/social-care/single-point-of-access-spa-and
Talk to the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB) “Safeguarding (protecting) children is everybody’s responsibility and the LSCB brings together all agencies and organisation who work with children and their family in to promote the welfare of children and young people. It co-ordinates safeguarding through each of the partnership’s subgroups, as well as a number of specific safeguarding subgroups, to carry out its functions.” http://kingstonandrichmondlscb.org.uk/
Bit o’ news regarding interim management in Achieving for Children Last week we reported that Simon James (Associate Director, SEND) is moving on. The interim management arrangements are: The SEN Team (Anna Chiva) and Educational Psychology (tbc) will move to Charis Penfold, Director of Education. Emotional Health Services (Jo Steer) and the Integrated Services for Children with Disabilities (Heather Anderson) will move to Ivana Price, Associate Director, Family & Youth Support. For those that want to make contact, all e-mail addresses within Achieving for Children follow this pattern: fisrtname.secondname@achievingforchildren.org.uk
What’s new on the Local Offer? Remember, you can find information on events happening over the holidays, and in the lead to Christmas by searching #Christmas on the Local Offer.
The Family Link Service is recruiting. Family Link is a short breaks services which supports children and young people with disabilities by providing overnight short breaks at the home of an approved Family Link Carer. Do you know of someone who could offer this valuable service? https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/blog_articles/814-we-are-recruiting-family-link-carers Future Hub is a programme delivered by Achieving for Children aiming to help 16-19 year olds progress their prospects through education, traineeships, apprenticeships, and jobs. Working with a network of local providers, we offer an inclusive service to all young people in Kingston and Richmond. https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/pages/home/preparing-for-adulthood/preparing-foremployment/future-hub
SEND CQC Ofsted From Special Needs Jungle: “Six months ago, Ofsted & the Care Quality Commission (CQC) began inspecting how well local areas are implementing the September 2014 SEND reforms. At the time of writing, they’ve published 13 ‘outcome letters’ showing what they discovered during their inspections. Each of these letters outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the local area’s SEND setup. But so far, only two local areas – Rochdale & Surrey – have concerned inspectors enough for them to activate their most serious sanction; instructing the local area to write a statement of intent. “ http://www.specialneedsjungle.com/ofstedcqc-send-inspections-and-parents-more-than-afeeling/ The article makes note that we, as parent/carer forums, need to provide hard evidence. SEND Family Voices notate and anonymise every single contact we have – whether that be e-mail, telephone or face-to-face. We then transfer this to an ‘Issues Tracking Log’ which is our evidence base. Between April and mid-November 2016 – we received 314 separate contacts (314 different families). We expect to share this with the inspectors when they arrive – as evidence that we are on top of families concerns and are working to improve services.
From the Department for Education “Dear Colleague Details of the 2017-18 SEND Implementation Grant (new burdens), including a letter from Edward Timpson, Minister for Vulnerable Children and Families, and individual local authority allocations, are attached. [extracted below] We would also like to draw your attention to the 14 December announcement of £23m funding to local authorities to carry out a strategic review of their high needs provision. Further information, including individual local authority allocations is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-strategic-planning-fund. Kind regards, SEND Implementation “
The amounts of money (new burdens) allocated to Kingston and Richmond are as follows. Kingston upon Thames: Richmond upon Thames:
£118,137 £136,351
These monies are not ‘ring fenced’ (ie the local authority has some discretion / choice about how they spend this money)
Letter from Ed Timpson MP follows:
Post-16 placements “Below is a message regarding Post 16 placements for September 2017. This is a follow up to the letter sent in October asking parents to submit their preferences within 15 days. The SEN team acknowledge that it may be difficult for parents to know exactly what options are open to their young person.
However, for families to have the best chance possible of securing a Post 16 placement, it is imperative that you submit a preference as soon as possible. This will enable the SEN team to consult with Post 16 providers in advance of the deadline for applicants who do not have additional needs, thereby giving the colleges and/or potential employers ample time to assess whether they are able to offer candidates the level of support required. Prisca Cox, Post-16 Lead, SEND Family Voices “
Preferences for Post-16 - Reminder “A reminder letter will be going out to those of you who have not yet expressed a preference for post 16 provision. Please would you notify the SEN team of your preferences as soon as possible so that we can make enquiries on your behalf. Please would you also let the SEN team know if your son or daughter: expects to be staying in their current educational setting, will be going into higher education, will be going into employment. If you have any questions please contact your Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) co-ordinator who will be happy to discuss any issues with you. Their contact details can be found on the Local Offer: https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/pages/home/assessment-and-education-health-and-careplanning/who-is-who-in-sen/sen-team-contact-details-and-case-allocation-lists “
Films and song…
#1 Remember our film on Reasonable Adjustments? https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/blog_articles/754-reasonable-adjustments-the-film-of-thebooklet
#2 My Feral Heart Our filmmaker and editor sent this link through… (this is an independent film that requires people to buy tickets to make the screenings happen): http://myferalheart.co.uk/ Synopsis: “A sudden bereavement throws Luke, a fiercely independent young man with Down’s syndrome, into a daunting new environment where he finds unexpected support from his feisty, streetwise carer and a local heir dealing with his own demons. As friendships bloom and long-buried secrets are revealed, Luke verges dangerously close to disaster. My Feral Heart is a beautifully realised, understated character study bolstered by strong performances, distinctive cinematography and a deeply evocative score.”
#3 A song… Kayleigh Rogers' version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah was the highlight of her school's Christmas concert and has been shared thousands of times online. Kayleigh attends a special school in Northern Ireland. http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/38382077/special-needs-schoolgirl-wows-audiencewith-voice As ever, if you have any queries at all, please ask and we'll always do our best to find an answer. With best wishes, Caroline North (for Kingston) and Romany (for Richmond) Phone: 07469 746 145 www.sendfamilyvoices.org