Pizza, Overnight Respite, Complex Needs & other News 21st February 2017 Dear All There’s a lot in this newsletter. The jolly stuff is at the end (as usual), along with an overview of the SEND Ofsted inspections so far…
Independence & Paperwork We have just updated and reprinted our introductory leaflet. Please contact us for paper copies (especially Children’s Centres!). In essence, SEND Family Voices… “WHO WE ARE We are an independent charity run by a steering group of 20 volunteers; all of us are parents of children or young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND). Many of us are also representatives from disability specific support groups or special schools; this gives us a strong network of skills and understanding. We are all volunteers. We are all parents. We work across Kingston and Richmond with families of children and young people with SEND and seek to represent all families in our work. We always put the interests of the family at the centre of what we do.” You can find the complete leaflet here: http://www.sendfamilyvoices.org/documents-research/
Pizza & Short Breaks "Short Breaks" refers to any activity that a disabled child or young person does. As well as overnight/s away from home, it also includes things like swimming, football and dancing, as well as home and community support and ‘Aiming High’ funding.
ALL disabled children are currently eligible for some short breaks. Please attend SEND Family Voices open meetings to tell us what your family want. First one is tomorrow (Wednesday 22nd). Pizza will be provided…
All participants will be entered into a draw to win a £50 voucher of choice… Wednesday 22nd February - 7pm to 9pm The Strada, Market Place, Kingston, KT1 1JT Monday 27th February - 7pm to 9pm The Railway, Victoria Rd, TW11 0BB (by Teddington station) Wednesday 1st March - 10am to 12noon The Strada, Market Place, Kingston, KT1 1JT Friday 3rd March - 10am to 12noon Me Too & Co, The Crossway Centre, Richmond, TW1 2PD Please reply to this e-mail and let us know which event you will be attending. Thank You!
What does ‘overnight respite’ mean to you – and for you? Perhaps your child has complex health needs, severe or complex learning difficulties, or other complex additional needs that we have not described? Does your child, or you, receive ‘overnight respite’ (that’s an overnight break for you and them!). Would you like to? There has been a certain amount of interest locally regarding overnight respite; whether that be the closure of Croft Cottage or the proposed new provision in Moor Lane (more information below). And we all have our own experiences and we’d like to hear yours. So, four questions. Please reply by e-mail and let us know your thoughts:
Four questions – please reply by e-mail to sendfamilyvoices@outlook.com : 1. 2. 3. 4.
What does overnight respite mean to, and for, you? What works? What doesn’t work? Is there anything else you would like us to know?
New respite provision at Moor Lane…. …for families in both Kingston and Richmond. More information here: https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/events/23255-have-your-say-on-designing-new-respiteprovision?date=2017-03-06 Monday 6th March – 10.30am to 12noon Venue tbc – Kingston Please contact sendfamilyvoices@outlook.com to attend this consultation.
Croft Cottage - Richmond There is a news statement on the Local Offer regarding the closure of Croft Cottage: https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/blog_articles/887-short-breaks-service-at-croft-cottage Some parents are unhappy about the closure of Croft Cottage. One parent has set up a petition. The petition is below. In this petition, SEND Family Voices are currently listed as a ‘Decision Maker’. This is an error – we have no part in the decision to close this provision. https://www.change.org/p/robert-henderson-and-achieving-for-children-we-want-you-tokeep-croft-cottage-respite-open-and-this-iswhy?recruiter=54369818&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campai gn=autopublish&utm_term=mob-xs-no_src-no_msg
Scrutiny – Richmond Council “Throughout autumn and winter each year Richmond Council asks residents to suggest issues for Scrutiny to investigate. The Scrutiny Team at Richmond Council are hoping to receive as many suggestions for topics to review as possible. This is an opportunity for local people to let the council know which issued they think should be reviewed next. Examples of previous scrutiny reviews include the Cycling Strategy and Community Transport.”
But… it could include topics closer to our hearts, things that affect our family lives. The link is below and the deadline is Friday 24th February. (or… if you can’t manage this deadline, please submit the form to the Council address by midnight on Sunday!) There is an on-line application form for individual queries: http://www.richmond.gov.uk/scrutiny
Call for Evidence – the Lenehan Review (more on Complex Needs) …we can’t stress enough the importance of contributing to this review. “The Lenehan review, called These Are Our Children, is calling for urgent action at a national level to prevent these children being institutionalised at an early age, at huge cost to the taxpayer and with low ambitions for improving their lives.
If you would like a paper copy of the Lenehan Review, please reply to this email with your postal address. [The Review] found that despite numerous Government initiatives, accelerated since the abuse of people with learning disabilities was uncovered at Winterbourne View, there is not a clear vision for the treatment of children with complex needs involving challenging behaviour and a mix of mental health problems, learning disabilities and autism. Christine said: “The system is failing children with the most complex health needs. It doesn’t intervene early, it doesn’t recognise their rights to childhood, it doesn’t support families to the level that they need, and when those children then fail at every level of the system to be supported, they end up in very expensive institutional care and for lots of them we don’t understand the way out. If we don’t work with children and young people on this issue then we will just create the next generation of people who go into places like Winterbourne.” https://consult.education.gov.uk/special-educational-needs-and-disability-division/lenehanreview/
Please send responses by 17th March 2017 And more…. Linked to the article above, please see the following from Special Needs Jungle (published on 1st February): “In just 11 astonishing days, the denial of young people’s rights to education, health and care in England has been completely exposed. Evidence of young people being hidden away from their communities, removed from the mainstream, refused the support to which they are entitled and ultimately placed in serious danger has been building and has now burst into the open.” https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/children-managed-out-mainstream-schools-deniedsupport/
SEND Ofsted – the Inspection Letters… SEND Ofsted looms large in the world of SEN – whilst there are no ‘Good’ or ‘Requires Improvement’ judgments as such, there is always an ‘Inspection Outcome Letter’ of the findings; this is the strengths and areas for development), On occasions, a Written Statement of Action for the Local Authority is requested; this is not a good thing for the Local Authority.
Of the 19 Local Authorities inspected thus far, Hillingdon is the most impressive. It’s notable that the inspectors seek evidence of strong co-production with families; including an honest working relationship with the parents/carer forum based on trust, honesty and mutual respect. Where this is strong, these are the Local Authorities that fare the best. You can find an edited overview of all the letters published so far here (courtesy of the London Strategic Managers Network meeting - 9th February): http://www.sendfamilyvoices.org/third-party-documents/
World Autism Awareness – March 2017 This is a worldwide event, here are details of what is happening locally…
Express CIC We are organising a big day of events for World Autism Awareness. The day is completely FREE and will include talks, information & product stalls. Monday 27th March - 10:30am to 2:30pm The Rose Theatre in Kingston upon Thames For more information, and to book a place, please follow this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/express-for-world-autism-awareness-27th-march-2017-tickets31092745238
NAS Richmond NAS Richmond will be focussing on autism awareness in schools this time around. Please look to their friendly website for updates: http://www.richmondnas.org/
What’s new on the Local Offer?
All Age Disability Workshop (Kingston only) Wednesday 1st March – Planning event for young people’s services (Kingston)… https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/blog_articles/888-a-one-day-workshop-to-develop-our-bigplan-for-children-young-people-and-adults-with-learning-disabilities-in-kingston With earlier news item for more context… https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/blog_articles/698-kingston-all-age-learning-disabilityprogram-a-briefing-for-staff-carers-and-people-interested-in-services-for-people-withlearning-disabilities?term=stephan
SEN Access Arrangements Access arrangements, including modified question papers, enable students with special educational needs, disabilities or temporary injuries to take tests, exams and assessments. Guidance is issued by the Government and examination boards. The guidance is updated each year, usually in the autumn term. https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/pages/home/education/exam-access-arrangements-forpupils-with-send
Survey on new Youth Club (ages 10-15) Please find the link for a short survey on a proposed new youth club for children and young people aged between 10 & 15. The survey has been kept simple to enable easy completion. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/YPFBYG7 More information here: https://www.afclocaloffer.org.uk/blog_articles/924-tag-youth-club-proposal-for-a-new-juniorclub-for-10-15-year-olds
Minecraft “Minecraft is beloved of thousands of teens and pre-teens across the country, but it seems to have a particular fascination for young people who have Asperger's and similar conditions. The power of Minecraft is now being harnessed to help children with SEND and other barriers to accessing Higher Education. Dr Laura Hobbs coordinates the Science Hunters project at Lancaster University, which engages children with science using Minecraft, including a fortnightly Minecraft club with the National Autistic Society.” https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/minecraft-children-science-learning/
Discovery Programme Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew (or Kew Gardens as it’s known locally) offer a Discovery and Access Programmes offer access opportunities for visitors with additional needs (such as limited mobility, learning disability or sensory loss) and community groups to enjoy the magic of Kew. There is a cost for these activities. http://www.kew.org/visit-kew-gardens/explore/tours/discovery-programme 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