SEND Update - February 2024

Welcome to the February 2024 SEND Noticeboard which contains important information and updates on the SEND Co-Production Award Scheme, Parent and Carer's Meet the Services Event, Training opportunities and much more!

This update includes:

Birmingham SEND Co-production Award Scheme

Purpose of the Birmingham SEND Co-production Award Scheme

  • Embed the SEND Co-production Framework & Charter across all Birmingham SEND Services.
  • Ensure the voices and engagement of children, young people, parents and carers in the commissioning, design, delivery, and assessment of SEND services.
  • Capture, recognise, measure the quality of, and celebrate co-production activity.
  • Enable settings to fulfil their statutory obligations to co-production as detailed in the SEND Code of Practice 2015, Children and Families Act 2014 and the Area SEND inspections: framework and handbook 2023.

The Four Stages of the Award Scheme

  1. For organisations to receive the Bronze Award, they will submit their registration form outlining their commitment to SEND Co-production Framework & Charter
  2. To receive the Silver Award, organisations will need to submit a delivery plan which sets out what actions they will take across the 4C’s of Co-production (Co-commissioning, Co-design, Co-delivery, and Co-assessment).
  3. To receive the Gold Award, organisations will need to produce an evidence portfolio, showing how their delivery plan has been implemented and what positive impact this has made on the lives of children and families.
  4. To receive the Platinum Award, organisations will need to evidence their long-term commitment to embed co-production.

Who can apply for the awards?

This award scheme is open to all Birmingham based organisations working across education, health and social care and the voluntary sector that can demonstrate how they are co-producing SEND Services with children, young people, parent carers and carers.

How the Awards will be Assessed, Managed, and Approved

Members of the Birmingham SEND Co-production Champions Group will assess and offer a ‘support and challenge’ role for organisations seeking the award. This champions group comprises of young people, parents and carers and professionals working across education, health, social care, and the voluntary sector. The champions group members will:

Measuring the Impact of Co-production

Organisations will need to show how they are making a positive impact against the following eight principles set out in the SEND Co-production Framework and Charter. Schools undertaking The Rights Respecting Schools Award | UNICEF UK can also cross-reference their supporting evidence against these eight principles:

  1. Trusted and Able to Trust
  2. Listened to and Heard
  3. Treated with Transparency and Openness
  4. Fully Communicated with
  5. Involved
  6. Empowered
  7. Equal
  8. Accountable and able to hold to account

Celebrating Achievements

  • Organisations will receive a certificate at each stage of the award and can use their awarded logos on their letterheads and publicity materials etc.
  • Organisations are encouraged to widely publicise their achievements at every stage of this award scheme.
  • Organisations can celebrate their award achievements by holding 'Award Recognition Events' for their staff and communities.

Award Scheme Criteria

Full details of the award scheme criteria are listed in the SEND Co-production Award Scheme Information Pack and are based on the following elements:

  • Evidence of Commitment
  • Evidence of Planning
  • Evidence of Impact
  • Evidence of Embedding

For further information about the award scheme, please contact Lakhvir Sahota at lakhvir.sahota@birmingham.gov.uk

You may also find the links below helpful to raise awareness around some of the Co-Production work currently taking place:

Early Years Delivering Local Provision

This is the first of regular updates on the Early Years Developing Local Provision (EYDLP). Following on from presentations to the sector last term, Phase 2 of the project launched this month.  All SENCOs in PVI settings and nursery schools are encouraged to engage with the exciting work going on in their District.

Each District project is led by a headteacher of a maintained nursery school.

Across all districts the outcomes that have been identified by the Local Authority address local and national priorities to:

  • Increase of uptake of EEE by eligible children in the district
  • Increase % of children achieving GLD at end of the EYFS
  • Decrease % of children remaining with an EY provider rather than taking up their Reception place with their typical age cohort​
  • Decrease % of children who are at risk of placement breakdown following transition to Reception

Whilst EYDLP is a universal programme, early years children with SEND may have a different experience or specific vulnerabilities in relation to these outcomes and because of this, the engagement of SENCOs is particularly welcomed and important.

Information on EYDLP can be found on the Birmingham Early Years Network website: https://www.birminghamearlyyearsnetworks.org/developing-local-provision

If you are yet to do so, please sign up for the Birmingham Early Years Network website newsletter, to receive updates.

There will soon be contact with the sector to seek a PVI representative for the DLP reference group, which is part of the governance structure. If you are interested, discuss this with your setting proprietor /manager and respond when expressions of interest are requested.

Feedback from Special School Outreach Support 

Special School Outreach Support (SSOS) is working closely with Birmingham City Council as part of our approach to build capacity for the support of young people with SEND across the city. An update on some of the support that has taken place over the last 12 months as well as some feedback from schools in receipt of this can be found at this link. The information also clarifies the process of engaging with the SSOS, so please ensure that you are discussing pupils you feel this may be useful for at your termly MAP meetings.

Have You Seen the Family Hubs latest Newsletter?

The January edition of the ‘Family Hubs and Best Start for Life’ newsletter is available to view, and which we hope you will find interesting and informative. It includes news on:

  • Ladywood Family Hub Network to open by the end of January.
  • Baby Buddy comes to Birmingham - interactive pregnancy and parenting App. Find out how to get involved.
  • Change of building for the Hodge Hill Family Hub Network.

Don’t forget the Parenting Support Available now for all Birmingham Residents:

  • Online parenting course for parents and carers to develop their knowledge around social and emotional needs of their child inourplace.co.uk - just use a Birmingham postcode to access.
  • The Pregnancy to 3 years Programme enables parents to understand the importance of developing a good relationship with the child from pregnancy onwards approachableparenting.org
  • The Henry Programme for parents and carers of children aged 0 to 5 years old. This programme supports family life, including wellbeing and confidence as a parent or carer www.bhamforwardsteps.co.uk/the-henry-programme/
  • Promoting Happier Parenting is a 5 week programme. Sessions involve discussion, sharing of ideas and looking at strategies to promote positive behaviour in children. More information is available from Children’s Centres. bhamforwardsteps.co.uk/childrens-centres

For further information or any queries please email familyhubs@birmingham.gov.uk

Meet the Services - Event for Parents and Carers

Birmingham Parent Carer Forum are inviting parents, carers and young people to meet the SEND services across education, health and social care. There will be a brief presentation from Helen Ellis, Director for SEND and Inclusion and an opportunity to chat with service providers and get more information on what’s available in Birmingham.

The audience of the event is parents, carers, and young people, so please share this flyer with families at your school. 

SENCO Network Briefings - Spring 2024

The Spring term round of SENCo Network briefings are planned for the last week in February. These 90-minute sessions will be hosted through MS Teams and this time will have a one-item agenda on Annual Reviews.

An EHCP Task and Finish Group has been working on exploring improvements to our EHCPs and the processes around assessment and review. Partners from across all sectors have been involved and we now wish to reach out to SENCOs specifically, to share views on EHCP Annual Review documentation. 

At the briefings the focus will be on:

  • Reviewing the current guidance.
  • Capturing and explaining any misconceptions.
  • Understanding the necessary evidence required when any changes are being considered.
  • What a good quality annual review looks like.

There will also be opportunity for questions and discussion around the annual review process.

Dates for Network briefings:

  • Monday 26th February between 1.30 and 3pm.
  • Tuesday 27th February between 1.30 and 3pm.
  • Thursday 29th February between 9.30 and 11am.
  • Thursday 29th February between 1.30 and 3pm.

The agenda items and city-wide content of each briefing will be the same. Please choose the date and time which is best for you and follow the links below to book onto one of these sessions:

Speech and Language Therapy Update - January 2024

This is the second term for the Children’s NHS Speech and Language Therapy (SaLT) Service to be part of a whole system implementation of ‘The Balanced System® Framework’ across the city.

Positive Feedback

SaLT staff are enjoying working together with Early Years and Education staff in Children’s Centres, Mainstream and Special schools to understand and address the SLCN needs of the children and Young People in Birmingham.

Comments:

  • SaLT staff are enjoying building rapport with school staff
  • SENCos have been welcoming
  • Schools are receptive
  • SaLT staff can be more efficient and make a difference
  • Schools are doing a lot to support SLCN
  • Staff are getting a more naturalistic view of children and their communication skills
  • SaLT staff are enjoying doing universal and targeted work
  • The SaLT service are enjoying working with children’s centre staff
  • They are clearing historic waiting lists
  • They are learning new skills from joint working
  • Parents have reported that they appreciate being seen face to face and in child friendly settings

EHCPs

The SaLT service is still getting a high volume of requests for advice for new EHCPs, so this is a reminder that the time for this work comes out of the capacity allocated to schools and early years work.

Early Years

The SaLT service is offering booked Drop-ins at Children’s Centres and community buildings in each of the 10 districts. Around 600 appointments have been offered since October 2023, where families can share their concerns with therapists and receive targeted advice and strategies in the session and in follow up workshops.

One parent said: “Thank you very much for the amazing session. I have gained a lot of knowledge and cleared lot of doubts. You have made things easier to understand now. I really appreciate it.”

There has been great partnership working with BFS Language Through Play workers supporting these sessions.

Schools

SaLTs are continuing to visit schools, carrying out assessments, advising and delivering a range of targeted and specialist intervention and meeting with parents. The amount and type of support provided by SaLT in different schools will vary dependent on the level of need within the school and the skill and experience of staff available to support.

Wi-Fi Issues in Schools

There are still issues with connectivity to Wi-Fi in a few schools. The SaLT team are grateful for help in resolving these issues which take up some of the valuable time allocated to schools.

Collaborative Working with Independent SaLTs

The SaLT service is developing closer working relationships with Independent SaLTs and will be inviting independent colleagues to join an MS Teams meeting on 5th March to share examples of good practice and build collaborative working.

Building the Universal and Targeted Offer

Multi Agency Working groups are focussing on mapping and developing the existing Universal and Targeted offer and linking this to the new Ordinarily Available Guidance (OAG) with the aim of identifying what additional training and resources are needed.

For further information please contact: www.bhamcommunity.nhs.uk/childrens-SLT

SaLT Advice Line: 0121 466 6231 (Monday - Friday: 9am to 4pm)

SEND Sufficiency Strategy 2024-2030 – Update on Progress

Please find below an update on the sufficiency work and next steps being taken for your information.

The Challenge

  • Statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient school places to meet the needs of CYP including those with SEND.
  • Year on year increases in numbers of school-age EHCPs.
  • At present Birmingham does not have enough places, either in special schools or in mainstream resource bases, to meet the needs of our children.
  • Clear need to continue to expand our existing special schools and resource bases as well as commissioning new provision.

The Strategy

  • Sufficiency Strategy 2024-2030 is aligned with our vision for CYP in Birmingham; the priorities set out in our SEND and Inclusion Strategies launched in July 2023; our graduated support and provision models; and the need to ensure that our CYP are educated in the right settings for them.
  • It details our existing provision for CYP with EHCPs, summarises what additional capacity we have delivered so far, forecasts the need for future places, identifies gaps in provision, and sets out details of our current projects and ongoing plans for securing the additional places required.
  • The strategy will inform our future commissioning intentions and will be used as a basis for ongoing engagement with providers of school places and with our CYP and their families.

Our Forecasts

  • The overall number of pupils aged 4-19 with an EHCP in Birmingham has grown by 1147 (13.7%) in the last three years.
  • The two years following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic saw a 75% increase in the overall number of new EHCPs being issued.
  • It is currently projected that there will be over 2,100 more CYP with an EHCP by 2030.
  • Forecasts show a potential shortfall of 1,133 special school places and 456 resource base places between now and 2030. The majority of these places are required for CYP with ASC and SLCN.
  • These forecasts include those CYP that are currently awaiting a special school or resource base placement.

Action Taken So Far

  • Expansion schemes delivered 123 additional special school places between September 2022 and September 2023.
  • Resource base expansion programme has delivered 68 additional places within the same period.
  • Capital projects include remodelling, extensions, and modular buildings.
  • Successful Free School bids for two new special schools to provide up to 520 additional places have been approved and suitable sponsors are now being identified.

Current Plans – Special

  • Current schemes involve 13 of our existing schools and will potentially provide 523 new places in our priority areas of need phased over the life of the strategy (in addition to the Free Schools).   
  • Schemes are being prioritised between now and September 2024 with a projected delivery of 188 extra places.
  • Overall, our confirmed number of planned places total 1,043 against the projected shortfall of 1,133 places.

Current Plans – Resource Base

  • DfE approval has been received in respect of 7 new resource bases. Further business cases are being urgently prioritised for 6 schools.
  • Additional schemes currently planned are projected in total to deliver 318 places against the projected shortfall of 456 places.
  • Again, some of these schemes are being prioritised to deliver a potential 210 places between now and September 2024.
  • We are working with a total of 54 schools who have indicated a willingness to develop provision.

Next Steps

  • Strategy to be presented to Education O&S in February 2024, with a report to Cabinet in April 2024.
  • We will continue to refine data/forecasts and identify opportunities to manage sufficiency across the whole education estate.
  • Further detailed consideration is required in respect of Early Years, Post 16, and AP sectors.
  • We will design a specific SEMH strategy in collaboration with schools and stakeholders.
  • We will continue to develop a robust implementation plan detailing the projects required to deliver the necessary places.

For further information please contact Dave Bridgman, Head of SENAR Commissioning at david.bridgman@birmingham.gov.uk

Support for Parents and Carers of CYP with Autism

The Communication and Autism Team (CAT) offer termly autism awareness courses and drop-in workshop sessions for parent carers.

CAT PAC is our parent autism awareness course designed to share knowledge, skills and strategies to enable parent carers to further understand the strengths and needs of their autistic child/young person. There are 3 courses for parent carers of Early Years, Primary age, and Secondary age children and young people, available each term.

Dates for Spring Term 2024 for online delivery: 6th February, 20th February, 27th February, 5th March.

Parent carer drop-ins are also available at different venues each term in different areas of the city. Themed presentations are delivered at these drop-in sessions with plenty of time given for questions and discussion. Parent carers of children and young people of any age are welcome, they do not need to book and can “drop in” on the day.

Dates for Spring Term 2024 for Parent Drop In Sessions:

  • East Locality - Venue tbc 14th March (am)
  • Central Locality - Venue tbc 19th March (am)
  • South Locality - Venue tbc 20th March (am)
  • North Locality - Venue tbc 21st March (am)

Please share this information and the accompanying flyers with parents at your settings.

Flyer Links:

Supporting the Occupational Therapy at Home Referrals - School and Family Questionnaire

As part of the management of the current waiting list and support to Families and children awaiting statutory assessments in their homes, the Children’s Occupational Therapy Service have developed a questionnaire to support the sharing of information about the child - this quality assurance and triage of the referral is an approach already used in the NHS nationally.

What Will This Mean for the School?

All referrals to the service will be sent a questionnaire about their child at home but also their child’s needs and presentation at school. This is to support a full understanding of the child in all of their environments, which will support a faster processing and more accurate prioritisation of the child needs. By using this approach, we are getting a holistic picture of the child and using the knowledge and expertise of school, as this plays a major part in the child’s lived experience, with the child spending the majority of their day within these environments.

This document will be sent to the families electronically, and they are requested to engage with schools for their views. We have asked for families to be responsible for the gathering and sending of this information back to the service, however if there is sensitive information which you feel is important to share then schools can send this directly back to the service.

For further information, please contact the Children’s Occupational Therapy service – Advice and Duty line: CYPOT@birmingham.gov.uk or telephone 0121 303 3865.

Training Events Coming Up

Pupil & School Support

Interpretation of Toolkit Progress Tracker Data to support Provision Management

PSS are offering a half day course for schools who are using the Toolkit Progress Tracker (TPT) in their setting and want to know more about how to use the data to support effective provision management in their setting.

This course supports schools to:

  • Interpret Toolkit Progress Tracker data to inform their development and adaptation of the curriculum.
  • Evaluate whether pupils’ outcomes are improving as a result of the different or additional provision being made for them.
  • Monitor and quality assure the data and its use for provision and learning.

The next course is taking place on Tuesday 20th February 2024, 9:00am – 12.30pm at Oakhill Centre, Oakhill Close, Harborne, Birmingham. B17 8BB

Cost: £120.00

For further information please contact Ali Ayres at alison.v.ayres@birmingham.gov.uk and access these flyers.

To secure your place on this course please book online via: http://accesstoeducation.birmingham.gov.uk

Person-Centred Review (PCR) Facilitator Training

Person-centred approaches, including PCRs, impact positively on how our SEND families experience the SEND offer in Birmingham, they are also a key theme of the SEN Code of Practice (2015). Pupil and School Support would therefore like to invite you to receive accredited training so that you can use person centred planning tools with your setting as well as being able to facilitate Person Centred Reviews.

This is a two-day course and participants need to be able to attend both days.

Day 1 includes:

  • An introduction of the principles of Person-Centred practice.
  • A range of practical person-centred tools to develop pupil voice and parental engagement in line with the Code of Practice. These tools can be shared with colleagues in school, to support throughout the graduated approach.

Day 2 includes:

  • An understanding of the process and principles of Person-Centred Reviews (PCRs).
  • Training in facilitation skills.
  • Practical application of the PCR process and how to use information gathered to inform statutory requirements.

The next course is being held on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st March 2024 9:00am – 4:00pm at Oakhill Centre, Oakhill Close, Birmingham, B17 8BB

Cost for 2-day training: £395 (Reduced to £300 per participant, if 2 or more participants per setting)

For further information please contact David Hill at david.w.hill@birmingham.gov.uk or visit Person-Centred Review (PCR) Facilitator Training March 2024 – Access to Education (birmingham.gov.uk) to book a place on this course.

Further details can be found through this flyer. 

Sensory Support and Physical Difficulties (SSPD)

Hearing Support Team course - ‘Deaf Awareness in Education’ (Online Module)

The Hearing Support Team are pleased to offer a short introductory course that is recommended to all staff who work with a child with hearing loss in school.

The course covers:

  • An overview of how the ear works.
  • Types and degrees of hearing loss.
  • Types of personal hearing technology.
  • Implications of hearing loss in education.
  • How radio aids help children with hearing losses.
  • Strategies for the classroom.

It can be accessed via the Local Offer: https://www.localofferbirmingham.co.uk/courses/deaf-awareness-in-education/

Physical Difficulties Courses

The Physical Difficulties Team are pleased to offer a range of courses to enable settings to ensure inclusivity for children and young people with physical difficulties:

  • Including pupils with physical difficulties in primary mainstream schools via teams Monday 29th January 2024, 2.30pm – 4.00pm New Time!
  • Including primary pupils with physical difficulties in PE and Outside Play via Teams Monday 5th February 2024, 2.30pm – 4.00pm New Time!

In addition, the team are offering 20 minute PE consultations – please contact your school’s PDSS specialist teacher for further information.

Please follow the link to book a place on either of these courses Physical Difficulties Support Service – Access to Education (birmingham.gov.uk)

Communication and Autism Team

The CAT team are pleased to offer the following AET training courses taking place this term. Autism Education Trust training is nationally recognised, DFE approved and CPD accredited training. All Autism Education Trust materials are fully co-produced with all stakeholders. The Communication and Autism Team is a Regional Partner with the Autism Education Trust and offer a range of courses for Early Years, Schools and Post 16 settings.

For more information, please speak to your CAT representative.

Update on Progress Data Moderation Pilots

Since July 2023, school have been asked to submit an annual report relating to the progress children and young people with SEND have made that year. Schools are asked to report on whether they have made the expected rate of progress or not.  Feedback from schools regarding the first two year’s submissions reflects that there is a low level of confidence about whether the judgements being made are consistent and robust across the different schools and settings. 

To address this a model for peer moderation of these judgements is being developed and piloted with 4 primary consortiums across the city - Cole Heath, Kings Norton, Erdington and FAYES.

The sessions focus on:

  • Creating a shared understanding of ‘expected progress’ for children with special educational needs.
  • Sharing the processes individual schools have used to make judgements of progress.
  • Moderating judgements based on shared understanding and experience.
  • Considering next steps for each school.

Once the pilot phase has finished, the completed model will be available for all primary consortiums to use in their local area meetings ready to support the data submission in the summer term 2024.

The next steps for this pilot are to consider the model for moderating at a secondary level. Any secondary network groups who would like to participate in the pilot phase for this should contact Terri Cawser at terri.cawser@birmingham.gov.uk

Virtual Reality Pilot - Opportunity for Secondary Schools Supporting Pupils with SEND

Birmingham and Solihull ICB are working with Birmingham City Council on a new pilot for Secondary Schools.

Aim

The aim of this project is to support innovation within the care and education system using virtual reality (VR). We aim to provide meaningful opportunities, least restrictive practices, and a reduction in exclusion for our pupils with a Learning Disability and/or Autism in a small pilot so that we can assess impact.

VR offers citizens of all ages the ability to have an immersive experience and as such offers the opportunity to re-focus the person’s attention. The pilot offers the opportunity for pupils needing de-escalation or downtime to be transported into a calm and relaxing space or somewhere that offers an opportunity for exploration. It also offers the opportunity to support the introduction of a new environment or a learning opportunity in a safe manner.

VR also offers the staff team who support pupils an opportunity to work creatively. It can enable the staff team to offer choice and control to their pupils in situations where this can often be lacking for our children. VR can also offer de-escalation without having to use physical intervention or exclusion. 

This small-scale pilot will offer an opportunity for learning and impact for all our LDA citizens. 

Offer

We will provide each school with a VR headset that can be used by multiple pupils, training for several staff on how to use it, and remote support. Pupils will be able to choose from a library of experiences through the headset.

The headset must be kept secure when not in use and only used under supervision.

Scope

We are seeking several schools to participate in this project. Due to the age restrictions for the headsets used all pupils involved in the pilot must the 13 years or over and have a Learning Disability and/or Autism. Please note pupils with photo-sensitive epilepsy or medically implanted devices will not be eligible for the pilot.

The pilot is for a 12-month period. All schools involved will be required to provide some basic reporting. This will likely be baseline data for each pupil prior to and at point of evaluation as well as Qualitative feedback about the experience from pupils, staff and any parents/family if willing to comment. A framework would be developed to support this reporting. We would want to collect this data at the start, middle and end of the pilot. 

Next Steps

If you would be interested in this pilot, please contact Clare Yarnall at clare.yarnall@nhs.net with an expression of interest by Friday 9th February. We will then be in contact to discuss further and arrange a Q&A session. If demand exceeds resource, we will complete a selection process.

 

This entry was posted by Jessica Wykes on 30/01/2024.