Warwickshire Written Statement of Action Update - March 2022
There’s lots going on to improve SEND services in Warwickshire as part of our Written Statement of Action and this work is broken down into five areas of focus. Here’s the latest update:
Area 1: Autism waiting times and support for families:
Additional staff are being recruited to neurodevelopmental posts and the length of time referrals are waiting to be triaged has reduced. A new model of assessment is being developed to improve the process of assessment and diagnosis. Work is underway to improve the self-help offer to improve awareness of services and support via an online portal for information and advice, including an e-booklet and webpage to be launched at the autism conference on 2nd April. A webinar in December outlined autism support and answered questions from parent carers – to find out more visit here: autism webinar
The Together with Autism Conference on 2nd April at Myton School, Warwick will include speakers, workshops and stalls for parent carers of autistic adults and children and professionals wanting to better understand autism. To join this free event please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/in-person-together-with-autism-conference-tickets-266911879617
Community support services are being redesigned to provide better support for children and young people with SEND and their families. A workshop to review speech and language services was held in February ws led by I Can with health, education, social care and other partners. A skills audit of children and young people mental health services will start in April.
Area 2: Communication and engagement with parent carers:
Aswell as the revamped local offer webpages which provide a one stop shop of information on SEND services in Warwickshire, there’s a wide programme of communications and events including:
The new Parent Carer Forum - Warwickshire Parent Carer Voice (WPCV), launched last year, ensures parent carers are involved in designing services for our children/young people and their families. WPCV is an independent, parent carer led organisation for everyone with a child or children with SEND aged 0 -25. A coproduction and engagement hub meets every other Friday to help shape improvements in SEND, and WPCV members sit on all key working groups and boards. Parents are encouraged to add their voice and Join WPCV. To find out more please email the chair, Elaine Lambe: warwickshireparentcarervoice@gmail.com
Over 100 SEND staff have been trained in ‘Restorative Practice’ to help create and maintain respectful and trusting relationships with families, in our schools and settings. Free training is also available to schools. Events are running from April to July, to register please visit:
Primary Schools: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scc-cs565-an-introduction-to-restorative-and-relational-practice-primary-registration-162435572169
Secondary Schools: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scc-cs566-introduction-to-restorative-and-relational-practice-secondary-registration-162437822901
A forum to capture the voice of children and young people with SEND is also being set up. Young people can register their interest here: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ypvoice
Area 3: Inclusion in schools:
Thank-you to the 17 schools in Rugby who are trialling a new approach to help meet needs of children and young people with SEND in mainstream schools. Staff have had training and are carrying out SEND reviews with peer-to-peer support, to be followed by further training and support. The learning from this trial will be used to roll out an inclusion framework across all mainstream schools with the support of 'change champions'. To nominate a change champion or get involved please contact schoolimprovement@warwickshire.gov.uk.
Area 4: Workforce development:
Four Head Teachers have joined a Working Group with partners from education, social care, health and parent carers to develop a programme of support to improve the knowledge, skills and understanding of staff in schools. The aim is to increase the confidence of staff in meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND, which will in turn increase the confidence of parent carers and improve outcomes. We’re working with the Whole School SEND team from NASEN (the National Association for Special Educational Needs that supports and champions those working with, and for, children and young people with SEND and learning differences). There is free training and resources online - please visit: https://www.sendgateway.org.uk/
Free Autism training is also available via the Autism Education Trust (AET), a not-for-profit organisation supported by the Department of Education. Warwickshire County Council is a training partner with AET and delivers quality assured training to make a difference to autistic pupils in our schools. Making Sense of Autism training takes around 1.5 hours. Once staff have completed this training, they can then access the Good Autism Practice module, providing guidance on processes and tools to support autistic pupils. We can now also offer an Anxiety Module, to help schools support autistic pupils to reduce and manage their anxiety, and an Exclusions Module to support the prevention of exclusions. There are lots of free resources on the AET website to support with peer awareness, working with parents, evaluating practice to name just a few. Go to the website at https://www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk to have a look. For more information and to book training in for your school please contact evegodwin@warwickshire.gov.uk
Area 5: Local Offer webpages:
The new improved local offer webpages were launched last October and provide information about local services and support available across education, health and social care for families with children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND. To find out more please visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/send. Briefing sessions are available to professionals and our communities – please email fis@warwickshire@gov.uk for more information.
For more information about any areas of the Written Statement of Action please email Rachel Barnes, Change Delivery Manager at WCC at sendchange@warwickshire.gov.uk. We would love to hear your feedback, thank-you.