Newsletter Contents
- What's been happening in SEND?
- Upcoming SEND Events
- Who's Who In SEND?
- Mythbuster
- Service Updates - Educational Psychology Update
- Service Updates - SEN Advisory Teams
- Other
What's been happening in SEND?
Autism Education Trust (AET) is coming to Bromley!
Bromley have been successful in their application to become a national hub for the Autism Education Trust (AET). The AET were initially commissioned by the Department for Education to put together training in co-production with families and young autistic people with the vision of improving outcomes for children in education settings and beyond. Bromley will have a full licence so that we can offer training and support to Early Years settings, schools and post 16 institutions.
We will also be working with colleagues across health, social care and the private and voluntary section to improve learning and life opportunities for the autistic community beyond school. At the centre of this initiative are the AET standards and competencies that enable practitioners and educational settings to continually evolve and develop with the vision of reaching positive cultural change.
This workstream sits within Bromley’s All-Age Autism Partnership who will oversee the impact of training, support and guidance that is offered. More information to follow.
Transition Event - October 2021
Young People With SEND Get Welcome Support And Advice As They Prepare For Adulthood
Young people with special educational needs were welcomed to Bromley’s recent transition day to hear about options available to them as they prepare for adulthood.
The event, run by Bromley Council, covered topics such as education; employment and training; developing independence; community inclusion and good health and was open to all young people aged 14-25 with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) and their families.
Councillor Kate Lymer, Executive Councillor for Children, Education and Families said: “Becoming an adult is an exciting and special time, but for some children and young people who have special educational needs and/or a disability, it can also be a time which needs more careful planning. This event recognised that vision and brought together local providers from across Bromley who represent services spanning the areas of education, health and social care.”
Young people and families taking part were welcomed to the informal gathering by professionals from the Council’s SEND education teams, the Children Disability Service and Adult Social Care teams and colleagues from both Bromley Healthcare and Oxleas NHS LD Community Nursing team, alongside some 30 service providers, who were ready to offer their help, expertise and advice.
Presentations delivered by Bromley Council professionals provided essential information about successful transitioning into adulthood, advice on the annual review process as well as taking a closer look at education health and care plans. Benefits and money workshops were delivered by Bromley Mencap and a wills and trusts workshop from local Orpington solicitors. REMIX theatre arts offered taster sessions for young people, whilst young people from the Bromley Mencap’s Step Forward Team provided some welcome refreshments.
The event took place at Bishops Justus Church of England School and helped deliver the Bromley vision for children and young people with SEND that ‘our children and young people have their needs met locally, as far as possible, growing up alongside their peers and are able to live, learn and work in their local community’.
This transition event to support young people with SEND is now expected to take place up to twice a year. The next event in 2022 will be publicised on the events section of the Council’s website.
SENDMatters Live @ The Glades (Early Years Focus)
From 4th to 7th November, the SEN Early Years Team took over a pop up shop in the Glades.
The Information space provided a hub for residents to pick up useful resources and guidance and provided the chance to speak with expert volunteers across all sectors in order to have a better understanding of support for children in the Early Years.
Over 100 families visited the store and families have expressed how useful the experience has been.
Upcoming SEND Events
Our Next SEND Network Champions Meeting
Next SEND Network Champions meeting – Wednesday 26th January 2022 @1pm (Virtual)
Do you want to be a SEND Network Champion? SEND Network Champions are committed and enthusiastic people who have the main goal of wanting to improve outcomes for children and young people with additional needs and disabilities in Bromley. Our SEND Network champions come from all services across Education, Health and Social Care and include many parent carers.
Key role:
- Drive an understanding of the key SEND statutory duties within their area
- Work with partners including those that work with children and young people who have SEND and their parents and carers
- Be the point of contact to share information about SEND within their service
- Act as a signpost to the Local Offer
- The commitment is a 2 hour meeting 3 times a year
What are the benefits?
- Opportunity to learn from and with a team of committed SEND professionals and families across the borough
- Being up to date with information and new developments within the SEND arena
- A chance to network across the borough
- Personal development/Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
- Children and young people and their families are confident that services for SEND are of a consistently high quality across the Local Area
For more information please email SENDMatters@bromley.gov.uk
EHCP Annual Review Information Sessions
A key focus for the recent multiagency EHCP Annual Review project is to improve consistency of understanding of the Annual Review process and for everybody involved to know their statutory duty.
A series of information sessions have been created which are aimed at anybody who wants to learn more about the EHC Annual Review process and to give them an opportunity to ask any questions they may have
Parent/Carer Annual Review Sessions
Year 8 and below
- Wednesday 2nd February 12-130
- Monday 28th February 10 – 1130
Year 9+
- Wednesday 19th January 10 – 1130
- Monday 7th March 7-830 pm
Multiagency Sessions (aimed at professionals working across Health and Social Care)
- Session 1: Thursday 9th December @09:00am
- Session 2: Tuesday 18th January 2022 @ 2:30pm
- Session 3: Monday 14th March @1:00pm
SENCO Sessions
- Session 1: Thursday 9th December 3pm
- Session 2: Thursday 16th December 3pm
For more information or to reserve your place please email sendmatters@bromley.gov.uk
Opportunities for Young People to get involved - Bromley Engagement Matters
Preparing for Adult Life
We would like to work with schools and colleges to identify young people who would like to tell us their views about the support that they need as they prepare for adult life.
If you know of any young person who would like to get involved and earn a £10 Amazon voucher please contact SENDMatters@bromley.gov.uk.
Young People’s Voice – Make Yourself Heard
Bromley Local Authority are delighted to announce the launch of a new engagement group specifically for young people (14-25) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The group aims to support young people to share their views and to hear more about what is happening in Bromley, to keep informed and get involved!
The group will give young people with SEND the opportunity to:
- Make new friends
- Develop their self-esteem, confidence, and independence
- Make choices and influence decisions
- Learn new skills
We would like to invite young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities from your school/college or organisation to get involved.
Their first job will be to decide on a name for the group and to design a logo!
If you are a young person who would be interested in joining or if you know of a young person who might be interested please contact to Kay Moore, Children, Young People and Parent SEND Lead (kay.moore2@bromley.gov.uk) by 10th January 2022.
MyTime Active - Pavilion
Bromley Y Winter Wishes & Working Days This Christmas And New Year
Bromley HAF Winter Programme
Bromley Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme
Our HAF programme, offering free holiday provision places, including activities, healthy meals and signposting to support to our families with children who are in receipt of benefits-related Free School Meals (FSM) run for the first time this year in Bromley. Our HAF programme has so far been a great success, with individual session attendances this summer exceeding 10,000. For our HAF Winter Programme, we have 14 experienced providers offering a variety of activities, covering all ages of children and locations across the borough over a period of 4 days this December.
A small portion of the HAF programme may be allocated to children, young people and their families that do not meet the main FSM criteria of the grant funding, if the DfE agrees to a written application from the local authority in advance of programme delivery. This summer, we were able to ensure we had provision available for our children and young people that are deemed more vulnerable, i.e. CLA, Care Leavers, NEET and SEND, to enjoy great activities and food over the holiday period. We are also making sure that provision is made for children with SEND this Winter, with support from our colleagues running the Short Breaks programme.
The website includes information on all the activities and how to book: Bromley holiday activities and food programme. As we continue to develop and expand the HAF programme, we aim to improve the inclusivity of children and young people however must note that the criteria for the intended cohort of children and young people to access free spaces are set by the DfE. We continue to push for more support and inclusivity for our children and young people with additional needs or SEND to be included in the grant criteria going forward.
There are limited places available, on a first-come, first-served basis. Non-attendance could result in another child missing out on taking part in the activities. If you have any queries about the programme that aren’t related to booking, i.e. support required to find suitable providers in your area, please email the Bromley HAF team at HolidayActivitiesandFood@bromley.gov.uk.
Who's Who in SEND
Donnell Asare
SEND Reforms Project Coordinator
Location: Bromley Civic Centre
Email: donnell.asare@bromley.gov.uk
Hi, my name is Donnell Asare. I have only been in role for 3 weeks and have joined Bromley through the Government's kickstart project (www.kickstartdirect.com).
My role within the team includes managing the SENDMatters@bromley.gov.uk inbox which allows me to have an overview on the happenings with the SEND Community. Working together with everyone in the local area is a core aspect of SEND, so I make sure that schools, voluntary sector and parents/carers stay up to date on SEND news and events. The SENDMatters Newsletter that I am responsible for coordinating serves as one of the ways SEND stays engaged with the local community.
Another aspect of my role is to support various projects through minute taking, agenda setting and liasing with all members of the project groups to ensure projects remain on time – These projects are part of the SEND Reforms Action Plan which is overseen by the SEND Governance Board
It is a privilege to be assisting the lives of local young people and their families.
Mythbuster
A child or young person requires a formal diagnosis in order to receive the right support in their educational setting.
Children and young people may have to wait a while before they get a formal diagnosis of a condition such as ASD or ADHD. This should not prevent the child or young person getting support in their school or other education setting. Families and schools can work together to understand a child or young person’s particular strengths and needs and then plan the best way to support them. An education setting can access additional resources, guidance, advice and support for children with special educational needs through Bromley’s SEN Advisory teams and the Educational Psychology Service. Families can also find additional information and support on the Bromley local offer website and via the Information Advice and Support Service (IASS).
Service Updates - Educational Psychology Update
Educational input to annual reviews and Year 5 transition reports
Unfortunately we no longer have the capacity to offer the optional Year 5 updates for children with EHC plans. However, description of the child/ young person’s progress and functioning presented at an annual review will usually be sufficient to allow their EHC plan to be amended and kept current.
The EP Service are not routinely offering the optional Year 5 updates for children with EHC plans. However, description of the child or young person’s progress and functioning presented at an annual review will usually be sufficient to allow their EHC plan to be amended and kept current. Alternatively, the EPS can support a school in terms of thinking about the information that they may need to submit as part of the annual review process (but this will not involve direct work). Schools can also approach their Complex Needs Team representative for support, and we are planning further ways that we can support schools to prepare for key annual reviews without EP input – more information to follow.
EHC update
We have been working hard to clear the EHCs agreed through the summer and autumn – which has taken a little longer as we have prioritised protecting time to reinstate our traded service to schools. However, rates of EHCs have remained high during the autumn term, so we will need to focus on EHC work for January (rather than traded work). We will be reinstating traded work again in February.
For more information please email Dominic Watson, Principle Educational Psychologist (dominic.watson@bromley.gov.uk)
Service Updates - SEN Advisory Teams
A Single Point of Contact for all schools- working together to support Bromley’s children with EHCP’s
Bromley Complex Needs Team have rebrand the way they offer support to schools. Bromley schools have been allocated a CNT advisory teacher who will act as a Single Point Of Contact (SPOC). School staff (usually the SENCO) can contact their identified SPOC to discuss concerns regarding children and young people with an EHCP, for support advice and training and request a referral for individualised casework. CNT will work in partnership with school, young person, their family and multi-agency team. This offer started in September and we are working hard to embed the new system. At this time 75% of schools have made contact with their SPOC.
Vision Team course for Teaching Assistants working with CYP with a vision impairment
The Vision Team have condensed what was a 2-year course for Teaching assistants working with CYP with vision impairment, into a yearlong course. This is to attract more TAs and to give greater support to TAs who have just started working with CYP with VI. Previously it was not always easy to get schools and TAs to commit to 2 years. We have condensed the content to make it as relevant as possible. The course consists of monthly sessions (2.5 hours) from September 2021 to July 2022. We have 8 participants this year from mainstream Primary and Special schools. Feedback from the attendees has been really positive with some excellent group discussions.
Topics covered so far have included: Current legislation, Impact of vision impairment on development, Access to learning and learning to access (teaching CYP the skills to become independent, using assistive technology to support their learning), Modifying materials and exam access.
We have speakers planned for the upcoming sessions which will include two of our young students who have a severe vision impairment. There will also be practical sessions looking at independence and additional skills for CYP with vision impairment plus mobility training from our specialist mobility officer.
The sessions enable the participants to share their experiences of working with CYP with a vision impairment and some of the difficulties they experience. Due to the practical nature of the sessions, being face to face has been beneficial.
SENCO Dyslexia Program
The five-module dyslexia CPD program for SENCOs has started this term, with over 40% of Bromley school SENCOs participating in this first roll-out. Aligned with this free ISAT program, the Bromley Dyslexia Toolkit has now been uploaded to the Dyslexia & SpLD section on the SENCO Hub and on the Specific Learning Difficulties Padlet.
Any professional in a Bromley school can also now access one or more online training packs by contacting ISATandCNT@bromley.gov.uk; when submitting a request, colleagues should be clear about which modules they would like to receive and their role. More information about each module is available in the Bromley SEND Training Collaborative booklet, which can be accessed on the SENCO Hub.
Communication Supportive Schools
ISAT Senior Advisory Teachers Amy Rajah and Hannah Little work with Bromley mainstream schools to develop ‘communication supportive’ practices and provision. This free service focuses on speech, language and communication needs, with autism as an additional area. Bespoke support can range from very small-scale pieces of work to whole-school projects, including strategic reviews and staff training. Contact amy.rajah@bromley.gov.uk or hannah.little@bromley.gov.uk for more information about this service. Professionals can also access practical resources on the Communication Champions Padlet.
For more information about any of the initiatives in the SEN Advisory Teams please contact stephanie.withers2@bromley.gov.uk.