SEN bulletin March 2024

    Dear SENCOs,

    It was wonderful to see so many of you at the conference. I am sure you all came away with a number of ideas to put into practice in your schools and I hope the space for reflection was welcomed. I would like to express my gratitude to Sam who pulled the conference together for us.

    As promised, here is a copy of the SENCO celebration conference presentation.

    I hope you all have a well-deserved restorative holiday.

    To those of you celebrating this holiday I wish you a Happy Easter and Eid Mubarak.

    Celebrating the work of SENCOs

    This month, I’d like to celebrate successful cross-borough working at Little Ealing Primary School. Halina and colleagues held a TAF described as ‘a very thorough and supportive discussion’ where there was input to the request for statutory assessment from everyone involved. Co-production led to a much more accessible education arrangement for the young person. Well done all of you addressing the needs of pupils who go to school in Ealing but live in a different LA.

    Reallocation at SENAS

    SENAS are phasing in a new model of working with the aim of improving timeliness, co-production, staff retention and EHCCo’s availability to schools and families. Co-ordinators are being reallocated to new areas:

    • Assessment team (0-25)
    • Primary annual review / casework team (up to Year 4)
    • Secondary annual review / casework team (Year 5 – Year 9)
    • Post-16 annual review / casework team (Year 10 and above).

    EHCCos are already getting in touch with their newly allocated schools. If any setting has not heard from their team by 08/04/2024 then please get in contact via SENAS@ealing.gov.uk.

    Y5 annual reviews

    This term most primary SENCOs will have carried out Y5 annual reviews. Ideally, this is the point at which parents of children with EHCPs should be considering where they would like their child to go to Secondary school, as their places will be arranged through SENAS rather than admissions. Parent feedback is that they aren’t always aware of the importance of the Y5 annual review - if you have any questions, do consult your EHCCO or sendline@ealing.gov.uk.

    Parent and carer perspectives

    What made a difference in the relationship between home and school:

    • I was perceived as an advocate for my child
    • My knowledge, insight and experience was valued and appreciated
    • I was regarded as an EXPERT in my child’s life
    • There was transparency about resources, responsibilities and capabilities
    • Opportunities for face to face communication
    • Nothing was personal!
    • Repair was always possible

    Thanks to Djanmark for sharing her perspective at the SENCO conference this month.

    Training to book this month

    View the latest training via Ealing CPD Online Development Opportunities | Ealing Schools CPD Online (ealingcpd.org.uk).

    Here is a selection:

    Download your training record and certificates held on Ealing CPD Online. Ealing CPD Online is being upgraded. In preparation for this we are asking users to download a copy of their training record and certificates by Friday 26 April 2024.

    Lunchtime supervisor superheroes

    Still few places available on this course, which includes pre-workshop self-assessment and post workshop resources as well as the online session.

    How to become a lunchtime superhero

    Alternative provision: AV1 robots supporting children missing out on education

    The first pilot with AV1 robots in the UK was funded by the DfE in 2018. Since then, the AV1s have been adopted by over 50 local authorities.

    The robots are taken to the classroom by teachers or by classmates, enabling the student to remotely access learning using a smart device, ensuring safeguarding. The next step for the council is to explore using this technology for students with medical needs or those that receive alternative provision at home.

    Read more about it in the article below. If your school would like more information, please contact Shana Nessa on nessash@ealing.gov.uk

    Insert article for publication AV1 Robots

    Nasen Twilight Talks series

    Are you interested to hear about the different ways services are capturing children’s voices?

    Signposts for parents

    Ealing mental health support team - Their Summer term workshops for parents are now available to sign up – see poster. Please share with your parents – no need to refer.

    Ealing mental health support team summer workshop 2024

    HAF – Holiday Activities and Food

    There are still plenty of places on programmes across the borough. Providers can access funding to support children with additional needs take part in holiday clubs; some children with low attendance at school might still be able to access a holiday club. Please signpost to parents here: Holiday Activity & Food (HAF) Programme Bookings | Ealing Directory (ealingfamiliesdirectory.org.uk)

    If you have a call from a provider about a pupil who will be attending a holiday club, please do support then with ideas to ensure the CYP has a great time there. However, do not share personal details, for example an EHCP, without parental permission.

    Young carers

    You may have siblings of pupils with additional needs who are young carers – although they may not see themselves that way. The Ealing Young Carers Project provides information and advice, activities in school holidays, after school clubs and one to one support. The project is a chance for the young carers to have a break from their caring role and to meet other young carers who are in a similar situation.

    Speech and language therapy service: Bilingual co-workers

    Our bilingual co-workers have been working hard to support bilingual children and families in Ealing. They support families in 6 different languages: Arabic, Polish, Punjabi, Somali, Tamil and Urdu!

    Bilingual co-workers can support by:

    • Providing home language assessment
    • Providing home language therapy
    • Providing therapy resources in home language
    • Offering interpretation for families over the phone, email or face to face
    • Offering bespoke workshops for families in their home language
    • Providing translation of reports and targets over the phone
    • Offering drop-in sessions and coffee mornings for parents
    • Raising awareness of speech, language and communication needs within their communities
    • And so much more!

    To find out more how they can support you, please contact your Speech and Language Therapist, or email them directly at: wlm-tr.bcwealingslt@nhs.net

    Youth social network – Youth network conference 23 April

    5 pupils with additional needs from each high school and post 16 provision are being specially invited to this conference on the 23 April. For more info contact Harvey Duncan: duncanh@ealing.gov.uk

    Include Me at New Gen Festival in Walpole Park on 24 July

    Please look out for the Include Me festival survey in April. London College of Music (LCM) students are involved and the organisers plan to hold auditions and music based workshops leading up to the event. You may already have LCM outreach in your school – if not here is a chance to get involved in making this festival truly inclusive. If you have talented musicians in your school or college who also have additional needs, direct them to this survey:

    Include Me Festival Survey (research.net)

    Quality assurance and auditing of EHCPs

    A QA project started in the Autumn Term in the LA. 5 SENCOs can now have training in using the Auditing tool, Invision 360, in exchange for auditing some of Ealing’s plans. If you are interested/still interested in this project please get in touch. sendline@ealing.gov.uk

    Invision360 Digital Quality Assurance Tools | Invision360

    Top Tip

    Rachel from Gifford Primary has shared her resources for recording pupil’s views – these are for pupils with EHCPs, but they could be for any pupil with SEN to share their ideas and views.

    Did you Know?

    Over 80% of plans studied in an IoE research project did not say how pupil views were obtained.

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    Last updated: 25 Mar 2024

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