2018 Opportunities and Learning 16th December 2017
Dear All Seems like a bit of a pattern here‌ local events and news in this edition. Our extra news (mid-week) will cover national announcements and surveys. Oh... and then it’s Christmas! đ&#x;˜Š
SEND Family Voices in 2018 We have yet to formalise all our events for spring term, but here is a starter for ten‌
EHCP Transfer workshops Alongside the Independent Supporters, we will run more information and advice workshops on EHCP Transfers (from Statements) for parents. Confirmed dates are under the 2018 heading below
Community coffee mornings We will ask families what they would like us to focus on in the future, and we will do this via a short survey and through Community Coffee mornings. These will be informal drop-ins, open to all, and we expect to hold these in Whitton, North Barnes, Chessington and New Malden.
Music & Magic We will be holding a free Music & Magic afternoon, in Kingston, on 25th February for families of children and young people with SEND. This is co-funded by NHS England and is part of their ‘grassroots engagement’ programme. One of the funding principles is that it must be fun - we think we can manage that!! As well as these newsletters, we’ll be reaching out to families through the Royal Mail and schools. Look out for a Happy New Year card with full details early in 2018!
Post 16 – we don’t know what we don’t know! On Tuesday 12th December, SEND Family Voices and Achieving for Children’s 14-19 Team cohosted a meeting at which five of the local Further Education colleges presented to of parents. It was the first such information session and was a real eye-opener! We heard from five colleges; each gave a presentation about their post 16 offer for young people with SEND. If you were unable to attend, the presentations will soon be available on the Local Offer. For now, you can read a bit more about the colleges here: https://www.afcinfo.org.uk/pages/local-offer/information-and-advice/education/post-16education/afc-post-16-send-review
It’s clear we don’t know what we don’t know! Some local colleges offer so much more than classrooms and corridors; some offer facilities that we only heard about by attending this event: • Did you know that Richmond upon Thames College (Twickenham) has a sensory room and they are considered to be the ‘most inclusive college in London’?
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Did you know that Hillcroft College (Surbiton) has a residential offer for young people over 16?
Early Visits We hope there will be a SEND prospectus in the future… in the meantime, it’s up to us as families to visit these colleges. We were surprised at how open minded and keen the colleges are to support our young people – as individuals. For those colleges that came along on 12th December, they were clearly keen to do as much as possible to include our young people. Phrases such as ‘come and see us and we’ll develop the course around the young person’ were used! That’s not to say that all colleges can accommodate all young people, but there is a will to talk and explore. We plan to hold similar college events in the future. In the meantime, please hold the date for the World of Work event next year. This comes from the same 14-19 team and we hope to see you there! (we hope we’ll have a stand) World of Work- Careers Roadshow Wednesday March 7th – school hours, plus 11am to 12noon = quiet time for SEND students The Stoop, Twickenham
2018 Time Out There are various local, informal groups for parents – we’re very happy to publish details. Here’s one in Teddington, called Time Out… For parents who have children with additional needs to come along to chat, ask questions, share ideas & get to know others who have similar experiences Selected Saturday Evening 8pm at the Hogarth, Broad Street, Teddington. Next meeting 6th January For further details contact the church: 17 Church Rd, Teddington TW11 8PF T: 020 8977 8000 E: lynnette@teddingtonbaptist.org.uk W: www.teddingtonbaptist.org.uk
PfA – Parents Needed! (PfA = Preparing for Adulthood) Parents needed to review the EHCP Form for year 10 and above… Thursday 11th January – 2pm to 4.30pm Kingston (contact Penny for more details) There has been a request by some parents to look into the design of the EHCP form used by children and young people in year 10 and above. We (SFV) have raised this with Achieving for Children and they have arranged a meeting to discuss and review the form. We need a few parents to participate in the meeting to give their views - ideally parents who have already had some experience of using the form - however anyone who has a child around year 9/10 or above who is interested would be welcome. Linda Jordan, who is part of the “Preparing for Adulthood” pathfinder team advising the Department for Education will be attending the meeting. (Pathfinder = testing ideas before they become law or best practice)
Please could you let email us to let us know whether you would be able to participate. penny@sendfamilyvoices.org Your input would be very useful.
New to diagnosis? Or just on the way? Autism support groups with Education Psychology and NAS Richmond These groups are funded by the Richmond Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and will offer support to families who are 'on the pathway' or have just received a diagnosis of autism for their child (irrespective of any other needs). The Educational Psychology Team will be supporting the Richmond branch of the National Autistic Society (NAS). Friday 12th Jan. 2018 - 10.30am to 12noon at MeToo&Co, The CrossWay Centre, Twickenham, TW1 2PD * * creche available. Contact Fiona: info@metooandco.org.uk
EHCP Transfers – Part II Are you going through or are you about to go through the process of transferring a statement to an EHCP? Can we help? To help families to help themselves we are running a series of workshops / open meetings to help you understand the process, what you can do to ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible, and what to look out for. The workshop will be run by Penny from SEND Family Voices (the EHCP Lead and main author of the Golden Binder) and Alex Hardy of the Independent Supporters. Dates are: Thursday 18th January – 10am to 12noon Doubletree Hilton, Skerne Road, Kingston, KT2 5FJ Thursday 25th January – 7pm to 9pm York House, Richmond Road, Twickenham, TW1 3AA If you are able to register attendance that would be helpful, but feel free to just turn up. E: events@sendfamilyvoices.org
Behaviour that Challenges “Are you concerned about your child's behaviour at home? Would you like to talk to a member of Achieving for Children’s Educational psychology or Emotional Health teams about this? We would like to invite you to one of the following workshops: For parents of younger children age 3-7 years Thursday 18th January - 9.30am to 12.30pm The Moor Lane Centre, Moor Lane, KT9 2AA For parents of children 8-12 years Wednesday 21st February – 9.30am to 12.30pm Express CiC, 426 Ewell Road, KT6 7EL For parents of teenagers Thursday 15th March – 9.30am to 12.30pm York House, Richmond Road, Twickenham TW1 3AA” Please contact Beth Hitchins for more information: T: 020 8547 6698 / 6799 E: beth.hitchens@achievingforchildren.org.uk
Changing Lives The Changing Lives conference celebrates SOS!SEN’s 15th Anniversary. This is an informative event and includes presentations from our eminent speakers together with smaller Discussion Groups later in the day, finishing with a plenary forum. Saturday 13th January - 09:30 to 16:30 London, United Kingdom • Opening: Right Hon. John Bercow MP, Speaker House of Commons • Developmental Language Disorders: Professor Dorothy Bishop, Experimental Psychology Oxford University • Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal: Judge Jane McConnell, Lead - First Tier Tribunal SENDIST Bookings: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sossen-anniversary-conference-changing-lives-registration39076736571
@SENDFamilyVoice Not often we get to see a Channel 4 documentary on our kids - please look out for this one on Mary Hare School in Berkshire - an unsentimental insight into the life of a deaf teenager https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2017/12/14/extraordinary-teensschool-life-deaf-offered-unsentimental-inspirational/amp/ A thought-provoking clip here on why feeling pity for those who are different is useless and damaging to the spirit and ethos of inclusion https://www.youtube.com/embed/_PbWFcVcaWQ ADHD is more than an attention problem https://claireyr123.wordpress.com/2017/12/10/adhd-is-more-than-just-an-attentionproblem/amp/?__twitter_impression=true The rise of 'banding' SEND kids - why? https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/battle-bands-rise-banding-fundingsend/amp/?__twitter_impression=true Richmond's Children's Services (NB not SEND) rated as good by Ofsted https://www.achievingforchildren.org.uk/richmond-ofsted-report
Council for Disabled Children = CDC SEND Family Voices have recently been accepted for membership to the CDC. CDC membership is based upon the idea that “we are stronger and have a bigger voice if we’re together. The CDC membership is a collection of over 200 voluntary or community organisations that represent the various facets of the SEND sector” nationally: https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/members/meet-our-members/kingston-richmondsend-family-voices
On the SEND Local Offer… The Local Offer is THE online repository for information, events and queries for all SEND related matters…
Are you struggling to find the means to take a holiday this year or to buy some disabilityrelated equipment? If you live in Kingston, KCIL funds two schemes that might be able to help. https://www.afcinfo.org.uk/local_offer/blog_articles/1658-kingston-centre-for-independentliving-kcil-grant-schemes Charities and Grants to support families – open to all https://www.afcinfo.org.uk/pages/local-offer/information-and-advice/information-andadvice/charitable-funding-and-grant-information Free Children care for 3 and 4 year olds The government has committed to offering an additional 15 hours a week of funded childcare, to working parents of 3 and 4 year olds, who meet the eligibility criteria. For families of children with SEND, the approach is slightly different. Here is a link explaining the Childcare Act 2016 legislation which underpins the extended entitlement. https://www.afcinfo.org.uk/pages/community-information/information-andadvice/information-for-childcare-professionals-working-in-kingston-andrichmond/resources/30-hours-of-funded-childcare-for-working-parents-of-3-and-4-year-olds For more information on Childcare and SEND, please go via the SEND Local Offer: E: sendlocaloffer@achievingforchildren.org.uk W: www.afcinfo.org.uk/local_offer
On Special Needs Jungle (= SNJ)… A short pre-Christmas round-up for those new to SNJ… “The role of DMO (Designated Medical Officer) and DCO (Designated Clinical Officer) was created under the Children and Families Act 2014 to support local health services to implement and monitor the changes of the act.” https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/nhs-liaison-the-designated-clinical-medical-officer-forsend/ “People are happy to spend money but don’t want to spend it on something that brings no joy. What should they buy for the child with sensory needs?” https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/sensory-beings-christmas-wish-list/ Kids love Christmas, don’t they? You’d think so, but for many children with autism or other disabilities, it’s often edged with anxiety.” https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/seven-tips-calm-christmas-children-special-needs/ 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, Romany (for Richmond) and Caroline North (for Kingston) Phone: 07469 746 145 www.sendfamilyvoices.org