Welcome to the August AAD Newsletter

Hi and welcome to the August edition of the All-Age Disability (0-25 years) Newsletter. We are well and truly in the summer holidays now – though the weather has been mixed to say the least! If you do want to get out and about then we’ve included some links to websites with information about things to do.

SEND and Alternative Provision Change Programme

I hope that you are all enjoying the summer break. I want to provide an update on the involvement that Worcestershire will have with the National SEND and AP Programme. The SEND and Alternative Provision Plan sets out the plans to change the SEND and AP system in England. The full details of the plan can be found via the following link SEND and alternative provision improvement plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

I am pleased to announce that Worcestershire will be part of the Change Programme and will be one of the Local Authorities in the West Midlands that will make up 9 Regional Expert Partnerships (REPS). REPs will work with the Department of Education, the SEND and AP Delivery Partner and an Evaluator to:

• test, deliver and iterate key reform proposals

and

• build capacity and capability and further spread the testing of reforms, through a sector-led taskforce approach targeted at local areas that need help to improve their practice

A national launch event will be held in September and further updates will be added to the Local Offer.

Mel Barnett – Director of All-Age Disability Service

Update on the Pre-School Forum

Over recent months Worcester Children First alongside Stakeholders have been reviewing the functions of the Pre-School Forum (PSF) (the information sharing and advice relating to health and education).  As a result, a new Early Years Inclusion Pathway is being co-developed and will launch in early October 2023.  This new approach will fulfil the following purposes:

• achieve positive outcomes for Early Years children and their families, ensuring needs are identified early and provision is in place to meet these needs
• monitor and collect information to inform the strategic development of services across Worcestershire; to inform commissioning arrangements and to help address emerging service developments and provision planning
• exercise the Local Authority and Health Authorities’ responsibility to ensure that children's Special Educational Needs or Learning Difficulties and Disabilities are identified and addressed.  This is done through its oversight and monitoring of notifications and of provision and services being delivered by multi-agency teams
• ensure the effective operation of the multi-agency collaborative teams in working alongside children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and their families

More information regarding the Early Years Inclusion Pathway will be shared in September 2023.

Development of a Neurodiversity Zone on the Local Offer

We are developing a new Neurodiversity Zone to include AASD and ADHD for the SEND Local Offer.  Anna Swift, the Lead for Neurodivergent children and young people in the Herefordshire and Worcestershire NHS is working with both Herefordshire and Worcestershire local authorities to refresh their respective Local Offer websites.  The first workshop was held on 18th July with parent carers invited from both counties.

The first piece of this work is to establish what information parent carers of Neurodivergent children and young people, and Neurodivergent children and young people themselves would find useful and how they would like it to be presented.

We would like you to look at Local Offer’s from three other LA’s and tell us:

1. what specifically do you like and not like about each of the sites? (Think about layout, language used, the use of videos, links to resources etc)
2. what content from each of the sites you find useful?
3. was it easy to find the information you needed, was it clear what information was in each section?
4. what other content, if any (not found in these examples) you would like to see on the LO?

The three sites we would like you to look at are:

Bedford: Assessment and diagnosis of autism: what to expect A quick guide for young people and their families | Bedford Local Offer

Kensington & Chelsea: Autism Zone | Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (rbkc.gov.uk)

Kent: Autism (ASC) support - Kent County Council  Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) support - Kent County Council

If you would like to provide any feedback on this project then you can do so by Friday 25th August, by emailing: Jhughes2@worcschildrenfirst.org.uk

Woodland walk meetups for autistic adults

Autism West Midlands have started to run a series of Wellbeing Walks in Worcestershire for autistic adults. They are free to attend and are an opportunity to meet other autistic adults, talk to staff from Autism West Midlands and enjoy nature in a calm outdoor setting.

The walks in Worcestershire are on the second Wednesday of the month and there is no expectation to talk or socialise. They will be led by an Autism Specialist from Autism West Midlands who will be able to provide informal advice and signposting to services if needed.

You can book a place online and it’s for adults with a diagnosis or those on the pathway to being diagnosed.

To check out when the next one is, and book, go to the Events page on the Autism West Midlands website: Events | Autism West Midlands

Short break groups and Activities on the Local Offer

With the summer holidays in full swing you may be looking for things to do. On the SEND Local Offer we have a page dedicated to information about groups and activities for children and young people with SEND.

There are groups and activities open to any child or young person who has a special educational need and/or disability. Families can access these groups and activities themselves and there is usually a cost associated with them. Why not have a look and see what’s available near you?
We have made every effort to make sure all information held on there is correct, but we would recommend you contact the groups to check the information is correct before travelling. Worcestershire Children First cannot accept any responsibility for third party services.

If you know of any groups that are not on the list then we would love to hear from you so we can get them added, please email mdavies3@worcschildrenfirst.org.uk

• Short break groups and activities

Visit Worcestershire website

If you’re looking for ideas of things to do or places to visit you could look at the Visit Worcestershire website which has a ‘What’s on’ and an Offers section.

The site also has some useful articles about Rainy day activities in Worcestershire, Free/Budget Days Out in Worcestershire and 5 great summer holiday activities.

Please note that this is not a disability specific website, and some activities have a cost associated to them.

Welcome to the July AAD Newsletter

Hi and welcome to the July edition of the All-Age Disability (0 to 25 years) Newsletter.

Early Years Update

We have been conducting a review to help us to understand how we can better improve our early years offer.

In November 2022 Worcestershire Children First (WCF) invited mainstream and specialist nursery providers to take part in open discussions about the future of Nursery Assessment Units (NAU). At the end of November Worcestershire Children First also sent a questionnaire to providers and parent/carers for their feedback on what was working well and what could be improved.  The feedback received through this engagement has provided us with a rich source of information which has been invaluable to inform recommendations for improvement.

The purpose of the review was to:

• re-model existing specialist nursery and nursery assessment provision to better meet the needs of pre-school age children in Worcestershire
• review and redesign the way we are jointly meeting the early education provision for pre-school age children (0 to 5 years) known to Pre-School Forum (PSF), who have been identified by professionals as having the most complex needs
• provide advice and guidance to mainstream early years education settings to support pre-school age children 0 to 5 years known to PSF

The review identified:

• a need to consider the sufficiency of places, where children with complex needs, could access their full Nursery Education Funding (NEF) Entitlement
• a need to redesign the PSF operational model

What does this mean?

We are developing an enhanced provision, delivered by an early years provider or school, which will meet the requirements of children whose identified complex needs make it difficult to attend an early years setting.

The places for children will be allocated via a termly, multi-agency planning meeting for children with identified complex needs. The needs will have been identified through an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). 

Whilst this early years provision is being set up, we will continue the offer of Specialist Outreach support for children in their mainstream provision, or at home, for those children not able to access mainstream provision.  

WCF are aiming to open enhanced early years provision in Worcester City and Wychavon in January 2024, with the provider being awarded the contract in October 2023. WCF will then look at rolling the provision out across Redditch/Bromsgrove and Wyre Forest in the future.  

What’s Next?

• we have developed a specification for the enhanced provision and have recently completed market engagement events. Providers will be invited to apply in July 2023
• we are redesigning the operational functions of the Pre-School Forum and will communicate the outcome in September 2023 regarding the new operational model
• if you have previously been informed that your child will be attending a Nursery Assessment Unit you will be directly contacted by a member of the team with an update

Pre-School Forum

Over recent months Worcester Children First staff along with Stakeholders have been reviewing the functions of the Pre-School Forum (PSF) i.e. the information sharing and advice relating to health and education.  We would like to provide assurance that although the virtual PSF meetings are no longer taking place, the functions of the forum are continuing and feedback is being provided for all children that this relates to, which will be in the form of actions and next steps.  There has, however, been some delays in the feedback being provided for several reasons, for which we apologise. 

If I have any questions, who can I contact?

Please email eyinclusion@worcschildrenfirst.org.uk should you have any questions.  We will also be creating a Frequently Asked Questions Document that will be added to the Local Offer and regularly updated.

Phone Surgery appointments introduced in SEND Services

In SEND services we are continually looking at ways we can improve our communication between the service and you, our parents/carers. We understand how frustrating it can be if you can’t speak to your case worker when you call due to them being unavailable because of meetings and other commitments. 

We are increasing the number of people who answer the calls in the first instance, and it maybe that they can answer some of the queries that you have. However, we do realise that in most cases you are looking for an update from your case worker. We need to ensure there is a balance between the time case workers are on the phone and doing their other case work, so we have introduced a new system which we are calling Phone Surgery Appointments.

The phone surgery system means that if you contact the office and your case worker is not available, a time for a call back from them will be agreed and booked. 

Case workers have allocated time in their diaries each week for these phone surgeries. Whoever answers your call will be able to see these surgery slots and discuss with you what is the best time and day for you. 

Once a time has been agreed details of your query will be taken and they will book a 15-minute appointment in the case worker’s calendar. You will then know when you can expect your call back and case workers will have the time allotted in their virtual diary. 

Wherever possible case workers should take your call when it is received, but this system means that if they are unable to then a suitable time can be arranged.

We hope that this new way of working will improve communication. The new system is being trialled until the end of September, and we will be monitoring its effectiveness throughout the time of the pilot.

Help with Fine motor skills

Many parents notice that their child’s handwriting is not as neat as they would like or expect and ask what they and the school can do to help this. It is often the case that this difficulty is not limited to handwriting but is a wider difficulty of core strength, coordination, and spatial awareness. Schools have many resources to hand which can address these areas and the teaching teams within WCF can support them with the implementation of these. But the Children’s Occupational Therapy service (NHS) have produced a range of short videos demonstrating really good ideas for parents at home. 

• Worcestershire Children's Therapy Services - YouTube

These clips can help to develop core strength, but also look at fine motor control skills that develop into handwriting skills. Have a look, as there are plenty of activities that could make up a simple workout for the summer holidays.

Pilot of parent/carer consultation service

Worcestershire Children First (WCF) Educational Psychology Service (EPS) and Complex Communication Needs Team (CCN) are piloting a remote consultation service, via MS Teams, to parent/carers who have a child or young person who attends a Worcestershire setting or who live in Worcestershire.  

Parents/carers have an initial consultation of up to 45 minutes with a member of either the Educational Psychology Service or CCN Team.   The offer varies slightly, with the CCN Team having a specialism in supporting families and autistic children and young people so if this is a primary area of concern, a booking will be made with the CCN Team.  The EP Team can support with a wide range of concerns relating to the needs of child or young person in their family context.  

Topics parent/carers can discuss or explore can include: 

• how can I promote emotional wellbeing and positive mental health for me and my family? 
• how do I support my child’s learning, social and emotional needs at home?
• how do I support my child who is anxious or worried?
• how do I promote positive behaviour in the home context?
• how can I support positive relationships in my family?
• what can I do as a parent/carer to support my child or young person through transitions?

The pilot is running between June and July, with the set number of consultations fully booked during this time.  This has been trialled through a soft launch via Starting Well, SENDIASS and Early Help pathways.

We will be evaluating this work in July and will consider how to sustain this offer, as it is a distinct offer for parents/carers and is not an extension of our work in schools.

Preparing for Adulthood section on the SEND Local Offer

We have been holding workshops to co -produce a new look section of the SEND Local Offer, to provide information and support around “Preparing for Adulthood” aimed at young people aged 16+ and their parent carers.  

So far, we have had two workshops involving parent carers, young people, SENDIASS, FiP and other interested professionals, including representatives from the Educational Psychologist Service, Social Care and Health. 

These workshops were really productive sessions generating some creative and interesting ideas, which include having case studies, illustrations and videos within a larger content.  We will be using these suggestions to develop the new pages over the Summer and will give further updates once it goes live and invite feedback.

We also have plans to develop our Neurodiversity content on the SEND Local Offer. This will be co-produced jointly with Herefordshire County Council and the Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB.  Our aim is to provide resources and support for young people and their parent carers with conditions including ASD, ADHD and Tourette’s.

HAF IT 2023 – holiday activities is now taking bookings

In last month’s newsletter we told you about the HAF IT! Summer 2023 programme. This is to let you know that HAF IT! is now taking bookings. This programme of holiday activities and food clubs, for children who receive free school meals (FSM).  Children who are not eligible for Free School Meals can be referred for a place on the HAF programme by schools, social workers, HAF providers and other professionals. Please be aware that referred places are very limited and not guaranteed for non-FSM eligible children.  

All HAF activity clubs are inclusive of children with special educational needs and disabilities. There are also some specialised SEND clubs available; these are run by providers with specialised staff and facilities and include adapted activities. To find these, type ‘SEND’ into the keyword search. Parents and carers are invited to contact providers directly to discuss suitability of clubs and contact details can be found on all activity information pages found on the HAF booking system.  You can browse activities by map, calendar, or list.   

Sign up to the booking system now, and subject to eligibility, your account will be automatically credited with 16 free passes per registered child, representing 16 days’ worth of exciting activities across the summer holiday – subject to availability.  Please take care on sign up to provide as much information about your child to providers – it’s important that they have this to best support and safeguard your child. You will only need to complete this information once as it can then be resubmitted for each booking and subsequent holidays – with the facility to update any changes.    

If your child does not receive Free School Meals, please contact providers listed on the HAF booking system directly to request a referral to book or ask your school to contact enquiries@hafworcestershire.co.uk with your name and contact information. We can then help you book your free places on the programme.   

The programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE).

Worcestershire libraries summer reading challenge

The national Summer Reading Challenge is the UK’s biggest free reading for pleasure programme for children. Taking place annually, the Challenge encourages children aged 4 to 11 to keep reading during the summer holidays.

The ‘Ready, Set, Read!’ Summer Reading Challenge launched on 8 July and runs until September 2023.

Each year, the Summer Reading Challenge has a new theme. This year, The Reading Agency have teamed up with the Youth Sport Trust to create ‘Ready, Set, Read!’, a Challenge that’s all about sports and games. Children will join a fictional team and their animal mascots as they use their skills to weave their way through a summer obstacle course. 

Worcestershire library staff are on hand throughout the summer to help with book selection, provide encouragement and host events for children based on the Sports and Games theme. You can find out more here Summer Reading Challenge or visit your local library.

Welcome to the June AAD Newsletter

Hi and welcome to the second edition of the All-Age Disability (AAD) Newsletter. We hope you find it interesting.

Worcestershire’s Draft SEND Strategy published

The draft updated Worcestershire Strategy for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) has been developed, by the Local Area Partnership, for the period of 2023 to 2026. This will be presented to Cabinet for final approval on 28 September 2023. 

The strategy will drive an ambitious programme of work overseen by the All-Age Disability and SEND Partnership Board to change how we work with children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers.  The strategy sets out the vision that: 

'In Worcestershire we want all children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities to be truly seen and respected as individuals and to be the best they can be'. 

To deliver this vision, six strategic priorities have been identified based on what parent carers, children, young people and professionals have told us is important.

These priorities are:

• dentification and assessment of SEND is timely and effective
• there is sufficient and effective SEND provision
• there is awareness and understanding of SEND within local communities
• outcomes for young people with SEND are improved as a result of effective planning, preparation for adulthood and better coordination of service delivery to ensure positive transitions as they progress through their education
• CYP with autism achieve positive outcomes and the support required to enable this is in place
• emotional health and wellbeing is actively promoted for CYP with SEND and their families and effective targeted and specialist support is available for those CYP at risk of, or experiencing difficulties

You can download the strategy here: SEND Strategy 2023-2026 (SEND Local Offer)

SEND Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) review

Following a review of the progress made against our Accelerated Progress Plan (APP), officials from DfE SEND and NHS England have recognised the vast amount of work that has taken place to continue and accelerate improvement in our SEND service.

In March 2023, officials from DfE SEND and NHS England reviewed the progress we have made against our Accelerated Progress Plan (APP).

Officials reported that the local area has a tangible commitment from stakeholders, willing to build more inclusive cultures to improve its SEND services for the children and young people in Worcestershire. Based on the evidence provided, alongside feedback from partners, they said it was clear that a vast amount of work has taken place and that we had demonstrated the range of actions in place to continue and accelerate improvement in our SEND service.

As the improvement work continues, the DfE have asked to see further evidence how the local area continues to develop and embed the changes into our policies and processes to sustain improvements.

The next review meeting will take place in September 2023.

Read the outcome letter in full.

Requests for EHC Needs Assessments

The SEND Service has carried out an internal upgrade of our case management and information systems from February 2023. This now includes an easier and more secure way, via the Worcestershire Children First (WCF) Portal, for schools and parents to submit requests for EHC Needs Assessments and for submitting Annual Review paperwork.

For parents/carers, this upgrade should provide an easier and more secure platform to communicate with the SEND Service. You will also be able to see updates and/or progress of your Child’s Assessment and life cycle of their EHCP.

If your child/young person already has an EHCP, then we will be in contact over the coming months to invite you to set up an individual user account, to give you access to the new Parent Portal.

Request can be made here: Request for EHC Needs Assessment

We have produced a step-by-step guide to this new EHCP Assessment process, and how to use the portal.

They can be downloaded here: 

• Parents guide to submitting and EHCP assessment request (PDF)
• EHCP: Parent Guide to Setting up a Parent Portal Account (PDF)

Free Online Transition Resources for Schools and Early Years

A range of downloadable resources to support transition between settings and within settings, for autistic learners and others with enhanced transition needs.

Worcestershire Children First Autism/CCN team website have a range of downloadable (and editable) resources to support transition between settings (Early Years to Primary, Primary to High etc.) and within settings, for autistic learners and others with enhanced transition needs.

The resources can be used at home to help support your children during transition and they can be adapted to suit and help to make transition more planned and successful.

Resources include; Pupil passports, Sensory profiles, School information booklets, Calming strategies etc.

You can find them halfway down the webpage, under the Resource: School Transition section.

• WCF Inclusion support services - Autism and complex communication needs

HAF IT 2023 – holiday activities

HAF IT! 2023 is a fantastic programme of holiday activities and food clubs running in Worcestershire, for children who receive free school meals (FSM).  Children who are not eligible for Free School Meals can be referred for a place on the HAF programme by schools, social workers, HAF providers and other professionals. Please be aware that referred places are very limited and not guaranteed for non-FSM eligible children. 

All HAF activity clubs are inclusive of children with special educational needs and disabilities. We also have some specialised SEND clubs available; these are run by providers with specialised staff and facilities and include adapted activities. To find these, type ‘SEND’ into the keyword search. Parents and carers are invited to contact providers directly to discuss suitability of clubs and contact details can be found on all activity information pages found on the HAF booking system . You can browse activities by map, calendar, or list. 

Sign up to the booking system now, and subject to eligibility, your account will be automatically credited with 16 free passes per registered child, representing 16 days’ worth of exciting activities across the summer holiday – subject to availability.  Please take care on sign up to provide as much information about your child to providers – it’s important that they have this to best support and safeguard your child. You will only need to complete this information once as it can then be resubmitted for each booking and subsequent holidays – with the facility to update any changes.  

If your child does not receive Free School Meals, please contact providers listed on the HAF booking system directly to request a referral to book or ask your school to contact enquiries@hafworcestershire.co.uk with your name and contact information. We can then help you book your free places on the programme. 

The programme is funded by the Department for Education (DfE).

New style Directories with some brand-new entries on the Local Offer

Did you know the SEND Local Offer has information about parent support groups, short breaks and activities and useful websites? We have directories with the information, and, for the groups, you can search for what’s available in your area.

We have recently updated all the directories and if there’s something missing that you think others would find useful, please get in touch (my email is at the end of the article), and I can get it added. 

We have recently added details about a new SEN group for families in Upton, and a charity which offers free bike hire.

Short break groups and activities

We have been told by SEND families that often their best source of information and support is other parents in similar positions. 

We have produced a directory of Worcestershire support and online groups which have been recommended to Worcestershire Children First as ones which other parents and carers have found useful. New additions include a group which Sight Concern run for parent/carers living with sight loss, or who have a child between 0-5 with sight loss. 

You can search for ones in your area and also look at countywide groups too. The information and  directory can be found here: Support groups for parents and carers.

There is also directory of useful websites on the SEND Local Offer, again we list websites we have been told by families are useful. You can search for locally based websites for example Autism West Midlands, national disability specific websites e.g. British Deaf Association, national websites covering all disabilities and website relating to SEND in education.

Useful websites and links (SEND Local Offer)

If you know of a group or a website you’ve found useful, and it isn’t included, please let us know and we can get it added. Email: mdavies3@worcschildrenfirst.org.uk

Things to do

Summer is upon us and with the longer, warmer days comes the opportunity to get out and about, if you can. We could all do with ideas about things to do sometimes and Visit Worcestershire and Worcestershire libraries have information and ideas. There are things happening both inside and out, some are free, and some have a cost.

The Visit Worcestershire website has ‘Explore’ and ‘What’s on’ sections, please remember that it isn’t a disability specific website but offers ideas for things for the whole family to enjoy.

Visit Worcestershire website

Worcestershire libraries run a whole range of activities and events throughout the year. The website has a search function which allows you to search by area, date and event type which includes family and children’s activities.

Library events and activities

Welcome to the All Age Disability Newsletter

Welcome to our new and refreshed newsletter. This will provide parents and carers of young people with SEND with news and updates within the service.  We hope you find it useful. 

Plan for New School for Pupils with Autism

We will start this update with the fantastic news that it has recently been announced by the Department for Education that our proposal to establish a free special school in Malvern has been approved.  The school will provide 120 full time places for pupils aged 5-19 with autism.  This announcement followed an application that evidenced the need for school places for children and included engagement and support from stakeholders including education providers, health partners, parents and carers and Local MP’s.  Thank you to everyone involved.

Delivering Better Value (DBV) Survey

As a Local Authority we know we can improve the outcomes for children and young people with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND).  The UK government has long term objectives to reform the system supporting children and young people with SEND, but these will take time.  The DBV Programme recognises the current challenges faced and will provide valuable, short-term support to Local Authorities (LAs), and the local systems supporting children with SEND. 

Worcestershire Children First is one of 55 LA’s taking part in the programme, which is designed to identify the changes a Local Authority can make to sustainably support children and young people with SEND.  The programme puts children and young people at the heart of the approach, and also wants to understand the experiences of the partners within the SEND system, including you as the parent carers.  We would really appreciate you taking the time to fill out the survey to help us understand your views and experiences of your child or young person’s education. 

Worcestershire: SEND Survey for Parents and Carers   

The survey close at midnight on 5 May 2023.

To find out more about the DBV programme download this document: DBV Introduction leaflet (PDF).

Parent Carer Engagement in Schools Toolkit

Members of staff from the All-Age Disability Service have worked together with a range of schools, parent carers from the SEND Parent Stakeholder group, SENDIASS and Families in Partnership to develop a parent carer engagement toolkit for schools.

Parent carers of children and young people with SEND have told us that they can feel isolated and on the edge of the wider school community.  We have co-produced this toolkit to help support schools to develop their parent carer engagement, and it includes a range of ideas, practical examples, best practice, and tools to help them.

It is designed to help schools reflect on their current practice and encourages them to involve their parent carer community in developing their engagement plan moving forwards.

While the toolkit is aimed at schools, it is available to everyone to read on the Parent carer engagement toolkit page - SEND Local Offer.  As a parent carer you may wish to have a look at it and then talk to your child’s school about working together to develop a parent carer engagement plan.

Inclusion Support Services Update

Educational Psychology Service (EPS): The EPS have continued to successfully recruit and from April we will have a team of 2 full time equivalents Senior EPs, 10fte EPs 2 Assistant EPs and 2 Trainee EPs.  This team continues to deliver professional psychological services across a range of settings and systems to promote positive outcomes for children and families.  The team have been working on a range of projects which include collaborating with the Virtual School, the Refugee Resettlement Team and Mentor Link; as well as providing Statutory Advice for WCF SEND Services (with the backlog now being reduced significantly so that there is no longer a wait for an EP assessment) and commissioned work in educational settings.  After April the team will also be working in collaboration with SENDIASS to provide single-session consultations for parents and carers – more information will follow shortly.

Sensory Impairment Service: The team provide statutory support to CYP with a range of sensory impairments and have just recruited to their post of Teacher of Children with Multi-sensory Impairments.  The team provide support to families and more information can be found on their Facebook groups (Worcestershire VI Children First and Worcestershire Deaf Children First) which is for families known to the services.

Learning Support Team: This service is commissioned directly by schools to help them meet the learning needs of children in settings.  This year they have launched a new Dyslexia Pathway for settings to follow to ensure early identification in this area, and they are just completing work on the Dyscalculia pathway with information being shared soon.  

Complex Communication Needs/ Autism Team: The team continue to support a range of settings in supporting Autistic CYP and those with social and communication needs.  Their Autism Champion training is supporting the development of knowledge within settings so that there are specially trained staff in settings who can support identify and support CYP.  The team have joined the EPS in attending SCERTS training which is an evidence based framework for supporting Autistic Children, and this will be rolled out to settings across Worcestershire later this year.

For more information on these services, please visit the Inclusion Support Services page.

Parent Stakeholder Group Engagement

We want to hear from our SEND families about their experiences with services that we, the All-Age Disability (0-25) service, and our Partners deliver.  We do this in a number of ways, including having parent carer representatives in our strategic meetings and workstreams.  Worcestershire Children First also has a SEND Parent Carer Stakeholder Group which is made up of a range of organisations who support SEND families across the county.  The group meets virtually once a month, 5.00pm to 6.30pm, and has a varied agenda which covers all SEND services, including health and social care.

The meeting gives the parent carer representatives opportunities to feedback about their families’ experiences, give views and opinions about what is working and not working, and they also share any information and updates that we may have with their groups.  All formal parent/carer groups are welcome to send a representative and there is an open invitation to join each month. 

If you know a group that might be interested in attending, please ask them to email sendimprovement@worcestershire.gov.uk to find out more.

Updating our SEND Local Offer

The All Age Disability (0-25) Service have been asked to look at the current webpages of the SEND Local Offer, as this has been moved onto the new Worcestershire County Council platform with refreshed graphics and easier navigation. We are now taking the opportunity to look at the way the information is organised and check content.

The SEND Local Offer provides information about the provision and services that families can expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people who have Special Educational Need (SEN) or are disabled, including those who do not have Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans.  As a Local Authority we need to ensure that everything is included on the website makes sense and is helpful and relevant.  We would welcome any parent carers who wanted to be part of this work and thank you to everyone that completed the recent survey.

If you would like to be involved, please email localoffer@worcschildrenfirst.org.uk and mark your email Local Offer Refresh.

There have been some documents recently uploaded to the Local Offer and we hope you find them useful:

• SEND Parent Carer Survey Spring 2022 Executive Summary of Results
• Local Offer 2020-2022 Report. You Said, We Did
• SEND Parent Carer Survey Spring 2022 Executive Summary of Results Update
• Find a school or specialist educational provision – this link will provide information about the different types of specialist provision and how they support children with SEND
• What is the SEND Placement and Provision Panel
• EHC needs assessment timeline

Good News Stories from AAD

Claire Cale, the Team Manager for AAD 16-25 Social Care Team was recognised by BASW this week as an “Amazing Social Worker”, as part of their World Social Work Month celebrations.  Well done Claire!

Worcestershire Children First are extremely Proud to announce that Bromsgrove Short Breaks Home have been rated OUTSTANDING by Ofsted. A huge congratulations to Bev Harris and her team who are committed to ensuring all Children and Young People have fun and the best care when they are away from home. 

And finally… we would like to hear from YOU! 

We would like to use the All Age Disability Newsletter to keep you up to date with developments and news from the service.  Please get in touch if you have any suggestions for future additions by emailing mdavies3@worcschildrenfirst.org.uk