This service supports parents from pregnancy to the time their child starts school. It includes both:

• Health Visiting, which works with every family with a child of pre-school age, and typically involves five contacts with the health visiting team from the antenatal period (28 weeks) to when the child reaches two and a half years old
• Family Nurse Partnership (FNP), which works with first time young mothers and families to provide the support they need.  

The 0-5 Public Health Nursing Service aims to build the confidence of parents, promote child development, and strengthen parent, infant and family health and wellbeing. It works with families who all have different levels of need, to get them the right help at the right time.  

The council wants to hear about the experiences of people who have used any element of the service and their feedback will be used to review the service and shape the future offer. A short survey to gather these views is available at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/ask or bit.ly/2TowM3D until 15 September 2021.
Warwickshire County Councillor Margaret Bell, Portfolio Holder for Health and Social Care said:

“We encourage as many parents and carers as possible to take part in the survey so we can understand their expectations and experience of the 0-5 Public Health Nursing Service, pre-COVID and during the pandemic, and what matters most to them.
  
“The opinions of parents and families are important in influencing the future of our local services, so we hope lots of people will take time to share information with us about the support they have received. We would also like to know how they would like the service to look and feel moving forward.”  
  
For a paper copy of the survey, an alternative format, queries or assistance to complete it please email familywellbeingteam@warwickshire.gov.uk or call 01926 731443 or 01926 737765.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will be visiting Warwickshire County Council and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group next week to carry out their SEND Local Area Inspection. 

As part of the inspection, the Inspectors will look for evidence of how children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (or both) are identified, how their needs are assessed and met, and how they are supported to move on to their next stage of education, the world of work and wider preparation for adulthood. 

During the week, inspectors will visit several providers including early year’s settings, schools, Further Education colleges, independent schools and health provision to gather the relevant evidence needed. This will add to the inspector’s understanding of how all providers and agencies work collaboratively together. Inspectors will also collect information about children and young people in Warwickshire and will speak to key partners, parents and carers. 

Talking about the inspection councillor Jeff Morgan, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services said: 

“We welcome the inspection team to Warwickshire and the opportunity to show how our ambitious programme of change is working to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.  

“Working together with our partners, we want all children and young people in Warwickshire to lead a fulfilling life and be part of their community. We aim to achieve this by promoting inclusion in mainstream settings, giving schools the skills and resources to meet the needs of learners and building the confidence of parents and carers.     

“As part of the inspection, the team will visit several providers including early years settings, schools, Further Education colleges, independent schools and health provision. They will also be talking to parents, carers and children and young people about their experience of using the service. Once the inspection is complete, the report will be issued on our website.” 

Dr Sarah Raistrick, a working GP and Chair of NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Clinical Commissioning Group. 

“Working together with Warwickshire County Council we are working in partnership to contribute to the implementation of the SEND reforms. Together we will ensure that health services commissioned locally for children and young people are shaped by the lived experience. This means that the CCG, partners, families and young people will work together to identify what matters in accessing Education, Health and Care and to identify any gaps in local provision. 

“It’s a really important programme for us and we are proud to be working together to improve things for our local children, young people and their families.” 

The review will start next week and will be completed within six weeks. The report, with any recommendations, will be published on Warwickshire County Council's website and shared with those who contributed to it. 

Information on local area duties towards children and young people with SEND can be found on the Department for Education website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-guide-for-parents-and-carers. 

Submit your views here. For more information on SEND provision in Warwickshire visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/send

This resource provides information and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND). It is called the SEND Local Offer and Warwickshire County Council has been working hard to improve its SEND Local Offer to ensure that families with SEND can find the information they need.

Every local authority in England must produce and maintain a Local Offer. It brings together information about the local services and support available across education, health, and social care for families with children and young people aged 0 to 25 who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Consultations with families, young people and professionals in Warwickshire across five months revealed that it wasn’t always easy to find the information they were looking for in the Local Offer. A task group of Warwickshire County Council officers and independent parent carers have worked together with young people and practitioners to address these concerns.

The group explored the understanding gained from these local evaluations with a mapping exercise across 167 other local authority inspection reports. They also cross-referenced against current SEND legislation on what must be included in a Local Offer.

The group worked on improving the navigation issues which were impeding access to information. They have created 12 broad categories to help people find what they were looking for within a more accessible and logical format. On completion, this was re-checked across a range of people through online exercises designed to identify and evaluate the user experience.

The process of redesigning the navigational aspects of the Local Offer enabled the group to identify where the problems in locating information and support were. Importantly, it also helped identify where there were gaps in information or provision. Mapping current information and services across the new categories is now underway. This work will continue alongside development of new information and resources that will see further updates to the Local Offer in the future.

Councillor Jeff Morgan, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families said: “Warwickshire County Council is committed to continuous improvement to build an interactive Local Offer that residents can be proud of. Actively engaging with people and working productively together within a ‘you said, we did’ approach is an integral part of our work going forwards. We were grateful for all the input from children, young people, professionals, parents and carers that fed into the redesign. Please do take a look and tell us what you think.”

Find the SEND Local Offer here: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/send

Backed by a nationwide investment of up to £220 million, the expanded programme ran initially during Easter in all local areas and is also scheduled for the Christmas holidays in 2021. It will enable children and young people to enjoy fun activities with friends and learn and develop new skills. The local programme is launching at the start of the summer holidays and is aimed at those who are eligible for benefits-related free school meals.  

The holiday clubs can involve helping young people learn new thing by taking part in enriching activities from sport to music, dance, drama, art, cooking and gardening through to engineering workshops, junk modelling, den building, farm animal welfare and much more. The activities all aim to improve socialisation and help young people to have fun with friends this summer. 

The Government’s investment in the HAF programme will build on the foundations laid by WCC sporting organisations, charities and the voluntary sector during the successful programme over the Easter holidays. This initiative is running alongside the £200 million funding announced in February to provide summer schools to help pupils who have experienced the most disruption as a result of the pandemic.  

John Coleman, Assistant Director for Children and Families at WCC said: “We are delighted to be taking part in the HAF programme funded by the government as it will benefit children in all parts of Warwickshire.  

“After such a challenging year for many children and young people across the county, we want them to be able to make the most of the summer holiday with healthy meals, fun activities and learning opportunities.  

“WCC strives for Warwickshire to be the best it can be, offering a great place for children and young people to live, learn and grow. The HAF programme will support this aim, helping them reach their full potential and look towards a brighter future.” 

Cllr Jeff Morgan, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families added: “Enabling children to learn new skills, socialise with their friends, and enjoy nutritious food in a safe environment is important now more than ever. By taking part in the HAF programme, we can enrich the summer holidays for young people across the county while supporting their return to school and alleviating parental stress.  

“If you’re a parent or carer in Warwickshire and you think you might benefit from free holiday clubs then please make sure you find out more about this exciting programme!  

Applications are now open to enrol children in a free holiday clubs programme over the summer and places are free for those who are eligible for free school meals. Children will be able to access lots of activities throughout the summer and there are also activities available for children with SEND or additional needs.  

Eligible families will have received a HAF booking code via text from Warwickshire County Council this week. If you think you may be eligible but haven’t received a text please email haf@warwickshire.gov.uk or call the Family Information Service on 01926 742274. 

View the summer holiday activities taking place across Warwickshire.

Warwickshire County Council is working with local schools, voluntary and community organisations, and childcare providers to provide the HAF programme. The free places are funded by the Department for Education. Visit the government website for more information on the national programme.