Early Years SEN Advisory Team

Autumn Term 2020

SEN Service Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Early years SEN Advisory

team 1 Early years SEN Advisory

team (Training) 2 Look at us

3 Sensory Station

4 Schools Speech and Lan-

guage Support Team

5

Schools Speech and Lan-

guage Support Team

6

Learning and development

resources

7

STA 8

STA 9

SEN Information re-

ports 10

SEN Information re-

ports 11

Parents Voice 12

Local Offer 13 Breakout Youth

LGBTQ+

14

Short Breaks 15

Anita and the Early Years Advisory Team would like to welcome you all back to the new term.

We are enjoying supporting you at home, pre-school and in school settings.

Although we are working in a slightly different way, we want you to know that we are here to

continue to support you. By using Microsoft Teams, emails and phone calls we can continue to

support you and keep in touch, provide training when needed and continue regular meetings

with the relevant professionals.

Amanda, Kay and Melanie are so pleased to be able to work with you face to face in your por-

tage home visits, seeing all the lovely progress your children have been making.

Please see our current Portage guidance below

Portage Home Visits during the Covid19 Pandemic

If you feel unwell before our arranged visit, please contact us to let us know. Equally, if the home visitor is unwell you will be

informed, and the visit will be rearranged.

In accordance with ‘track and trace’, if you receive an alert or request a Covid test please let us know the outcome.

We ask that only one adult is present during the home visit to minimise risk of infection.

Only children under the age of 11 should be present during the visit.

We will keep to a safe distance and minimise movement around your home as much as possible.

Toys and equipment will be cleaned before and after our visits.

We will use hand sanitiser gel before entering and after leaving your home and a face mask can be worn if you request this.

Unfortunately for the time being we are not able to accept refreshments that you may be kind enough to offer.

At present we are unable to carry out any joint home visit with other professionals.

We will continue to have a fun, engaging or interactive play time with you!

Amanda.harris@iow.gov.uk kay.farrow@iow.gov.uk melanie.oxley@iow.gov.uk

Early Years Advisory Team—Training

“

Page 2

SEN Service Newsletter

Early Years SEN Advisors - Inclusion

As the new term starts things are probably looking very different from previous

years.

Esta and Sheila are currently looking at different ways to deliver their training/

networking programme, which in itself is causing some headaches! We held a

SENCO networking session via Microsoft Teams on 8 October. Isle Attend

(bucket training) came to a halt due to lockdown but Esta and Sheila are hoping

to be able to also deliver this virtually via Microsoft Teams to those settings still

requiring the training.

Esta and Sheila will be contacting all settings this term to arrange a virtual planning

meeting either via a telephone call or Microsoft Teams, whichever is preferred by

your setting. They are both still available via email or telephone for any questions

or concerns that you may have:

Esta Ford – Esta.ford@iow.gov.uk

Telephone: 821000 ext. 8436

Sheila Packham –

Sheila.packham@iow.gov.uk Telephone 821000 ext. 8439

Look at us exploring!

Page 3

Autumn Term 2020

Dominic loves learn-

ing while he plays

Joey has been

learning to play

touch and explore

with lentils.

John loves

to play and

hide in his

tunnel.

Mikey likes sensory activities

Play

Touch

Explore

Sensory Station at Clever Cloggs Pre-School

This sensory station was set up due to an increase of sensory needs within the setting and it was felt that

a specific area was required to accommodate those needs.

The sensory station has had a huge impact on the children within the setting, Children of all abilities and

sensory needs always have free access to the area throughout the day. They are able to use their senses

to feel the different textures on the board and also to match up the different textures with the words and

colours that are spread around.

We are able to change up the sensory trays that we have in front of the board each week to match the

sensory needs of the children attending. The children are able to use the area as a calm down area and

have been able to sit at the area and touch the different sections that are there.

Since returning fully in September we have needed to make a few adaptations to this area to make

it hygiene friendly in accordance with Covid 19 guidelines.

All items in the sensory trays are washed at the end of each session. Any messy play is monitored with a

member of staff ensuring the children's hands are washed before and after they use it to minimise the

spread of germs.

Additionally, all items on the wall are frequently wiped down and changed to give a fresh, clean, new per-

spectives

Page 4

Update from the Schools Speech and Language Support Team

Virtually or in person – we’re here for our schools, children and young people

The Schools Speech and Language Support Team are continuing to provide our full

Core Offer to schools and settings. Wherever possible we are providing support virtually

first (through Microsoft Teams meetings or telephone support). This includes:

Planning meetings with school SENDCos

Training for school staff

Student reviews

Student assessments.

Parent meetings

Attending annual reviews

Where a child or young person’s needs cannot be met without face to face contact, then

we are working with schools to provide this support in line with our SEN risk assessment

the school’s risk assessment. Continuing to provide high quality support and keeping

everybody safe are our highest priorities.

We have a new face in the team

We are delighted to welcome our new speech and language therapist Kayleigh Bowers.

Kayleigh is from the island and trained at Reading University. Kayleigh is passionate

about working collaboratively with schools and our education partners to support children

and young people to develop their communication skills.

Feedback from our schools

The team were so pleased with the feedback from our 2019-20 school survey. It was

great to read that our schools feel they receive a high-quality service and feel that the

support from our team has an impact on students and staff. We were especially proud

that our schools felt well supported by our service during the period of school closures

due to covid-19.

We want your input!

We want to work more closely with parents and would really love your input. Our next

parent/carer forum will be taking place on Monday 9th

November and will be focussing

on planning a FREE training workshop for parents and carers that will be delivered later

this year. The forum is open to all parents and carers (your child does not have to be

open to the Speech and language therapy caseload or have identified speech and lan-

guage needs). If you would like to be involved in this event or contribute to the parent fo-

rum please get in touch at sslst@iow.gov.uk

Watch out for our parent/carer information leaflets – planned and co-produced

with parents and carers coming soon…..

Page 5

Speech and Language Team

Page 6

SEN Service Newsletter

The first Virtual Elklan Networking Event

Our service offers a termly network meeting for all staff in schools and education set-

tings that have accessed Elklan communication support training. The meetings are

used to share good practice, problem solve situations and provide support and encour-

agement. The Autumn 2020 Elklan Network Meeting will be taking place via Teams on

15th October and will be focussing on how we continue to provide effective speech

and language support in schools in our current circumstances. Lots of Elkan

trained staff from our schools have already signed up so we’re hoping this will be an

informative and supportive event!

Updates from our CAL Team

The CAL team has returned to full service and is providing intensive, short term support for pupils with, or without, an EHCP and outreach support to support schools and settings to meet the communication needs of students without EHCPs. If you would like to know more, please contact the CAL team on CAL.team@iow.gov.uk

CAL will also be offering two very exciting, brand new services this term – teacher

workshops for teachers of students on the CAL caseload and a parent carer con-tact. The parent carer contact will be taking place on 15

th October. If your child is

receiving support from the CAL team you will have received a CAL update leaflet with more information. Again, please get in touch with the team any questions.

If you have a questions or queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch using our team

email address at SSLST@iow.gov.uk

The Schools Speech and Language Support Team

Learning and Development Resource Cen-

tre

Page 7

Autumn Term 2020

Learning and Development Re-

Cen-

Page 7

‘

The Specialist Teacher Advisory (STA) Team has seen some changes in staff this

term, including the appointment of a new Teacher of the Deaf, Emily Forrest, to the

team. Please see below new Team details.

We will be holding a Q and A via Microsoft Teams on

Tuesday 2 November 19.00 – 20.00

Invitations to all parents of children on the HI and VI caseloads will be sent via email

with a link to Microsoft Teams. If you haven’t been receiving information from us,

it’s either because we don’t have your current email address on the system or it is

going into your junk mail.

Please check junk mail or email pupil.services@iow.gov.uk to ensure we have up-to-

date contact details. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Hearing and Vision Support Service

for Children and Young People 0-25 Centrally funded, countywide services providing educational advice and support for children and young people with sensory needs, from diagnosis, in a range of settings. If a visual or hearing need is diagnosed, referral to the service should be made via telephone on 823470 or email to pupilservices.admin@iow.gov.uk. Once a child has been identified as having a sensory need (hearing and/or vision) the team, in liaison with home and school, will identify a level of support appropri-ate to the child’s needs, ranging from daily support to annual monitoring.

The Specialist Teacher Advisory (STA) Team

Page 8

Petra Robinson Team Lead

Qualified TOD Early Years and

Deafness Specialist

Hannah Byers Qualified TOD

and Educational Audiologist

Emily Forrest TOD

Ryan Agius Qualified Teacher of

Visual Impairment

Steph Pugsley Communication

Support Assistant Level 6 BSL

Page 9

The team can offer: • Early years home-based programmes to support families and facilitate early devel-

opment. • Educational audiology support in homes and settings • Educational assessment, advice and monitoring • Support for inclusion in mainstream settings • Support for pupils with additional special needs • Provision of specialist equipment to facilitate access and inclusion • Advice and support on communication issues • Professional development and training • Links with other agencies including Social Care, Health and specialist organisation.

For more details information and FAQs relating to the team, please go to

www.iwight.com/localoffer

USEFUL CONTACTS AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION

National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Ground Floor South, Castle House 37-45 Paul Street LONDON EC2A 4LS 020 7490 8656 www.ndcs.org.uk

Royal National Institute of Blind People 224 Great Portland Street LONDON W1N 6AA 020 7388 1266 www.rnib.org.uk

Isle of Wight Deaf Children’s Association 01983 525868 www.facebook.com/pages/Isle-of-Wight-Deaf-Childrens-Association/289374824416539

Isle of Wight Society for the Blind Millbrooke House 137 Carisbrooke Road NEWPORT Isle of Wight PO30 1DD 01983 522205 www.iwsightconcern.org.uk

Isle of Wight Saturday Club for Deaf Children Monthly club for deaf children age 5+ 01983 760180 www.saturdayclub.org.uk

National Blind Children’s Society NBCS House Market Street HIGHBRIDGE Somerset TA9 3BW 01278 764764 www.nbcs.org.uk

Saturday Smilers Monthly coffee morning for deaf children age 0-5 Petra.robinson@iow.gov.uk

Action on Hearing Loss Sensory Service (Hearing and Vision) 17b Riverway, NEWPORT, Isle of Wight PO30 5UX 01983 529533 Textphone: 01983 529998 www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk

SEN Information Reports Schools and colleges are reminded of the need to update the SEN Information Re-port annually and to publish that update, including linking it to the Local Offer.

The governing bodies of maintained schools and maintained nursery schools and the proprietors of academy schools must publish information on their websites about the implementation of the governing body’s or the proprietor’s policy for pupils with SEN. This is called the SEN Information Report. While colleges are not under the same regulatory duty, it is considered good practice that those settings undertake to devise, publish and update a SEN information report in the same way. The information published should be updated annually with the involvement of parents and carers, and any changes to the information occurring during the year should be updated as soon as possible. The information required is set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations 2014 and must include infor-mation about:

• the kinds of SEN that are provided for • policies for identifying children and young people with SEN and assessing their needs, including the name and contact details of the SENCO (mainstream schools) • arrangements for consulting parents of children with SEN and involving them in their child’s education • arrangements for consulting young people with SEN and involving them in their education • arrangements for assessing and reviewing children and young people’s progress towards outcomes. This should include the opportunities available to work with parents and young people as part of this assessment and review • arrangements for supporting children and young people in moving between phases of education and in preparing for adulthood. As young people prepare for adulthood outcomes should reflect their ambitions, which could include higher ed-ucation, employment, independent living and participation in society • the approach to teaching children and young people with SEN • how adaptations are made to the curriculum and the learning environment of children and young people with SEN

Page 10

Please remember, your SEN information should be updated on an annual basis. To help we have produced a template for schools and Early Years providers. Please con-tact the Local Offer at: iwlocaloffer@iow.gov.uk and we can send a blank one to you. To find your report please click here https://www.iow.gov.uk/Residents/Schools-and-Learning/Schools/School-Contacts>

Full guidance about the SEN Information Report requirements are available in the SEND Code of Practice (2015), Section 6 (para 6:79 onwards), and the Children & Family Act (2014) section 69.

• the expertise and training of staff to support children and young people with SEN, including how specialist expertise will be secured • evaluating the effectiveness of the provision made for children and young people with SEN • how children and young people with SEN are enabled to engage in activities availa-ble with children and young people in the school who do not have SEN • support for improving emotional and social development. This should include extra pastoral support arrangements for listening to the views of children and young people with SEN and measures to prevent bullying; how the school involves other bodies, in-cluding health and social care bodies, local authority support services and voluntary sector organisations, in meeting children and young people’s SEN and supporting their families; arrangements for handling complaints from parents of children with SEN about the provision made at the school.

Parents Voice IW news

We hope everyone is adjusting to the return to school, preschool and college. Perhaps you are

home schooling and trying to meet up with fellow home schoolers whilst socially distancing.

This year has been an unbelievable experience for us and our children, and the situation contin-

ues to evolve.

Parents Voice Steering Group Committee continue to meet and discuss issues with the local

authority. A particular focus at the moment is school transport for children with an EHCP.

We are rescheduling a Mental Capacity Training that was cancelled due to Coronavirus. This

will be a parent carer workshop on mental capacity, the Mental Capacity Act, Lasting Power of

Attorney and decision making by and for young people. This is an ideal opportunity to find out

about how your child or young person turning 16 and then 18 affects your ability to make or

influence decisions made about their future, their finances or their day to day lives. Date will be

announced soon.

Our Facebook page is brimming with details of webinars, trainings, helpful articles and web-

sites and other organisations that can help.

If you haven’t seen a copy of our fabulous Summer Magazine, please contact us and we can

email it to you.

Please get in touch with any issues that you have had recently. We can signpost you in the right

direction.

email: parentsvoice@peoplematteriw.org

Or contact us through Facebook: Parents Voice IW

We are the parent carer forum for the Isle of Wight. Anyone with a child or young person with SEND can join. It’s free and

could help you find your way in the Special Needs Jungle!

IW Local Offer

The Isle of Wight Council is committed to ensuring that all children and young people aged 0 to 25 have the best start in life.

All families need extra help from time to time. For children and young people who have special educational needs and disabilities(SEND), their differing needs mean

varied levels of support are required at different times. Children and young people with the most complex needs and their parents and carers may need access to

ongoing support and advice. We aim to provide a range of support so that children and young people with SEND can be educated and enjoy social opportunities

alongside their peers, in their local community.

The Local Offer tells you what you can expect to be available for children and young people who have SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) on the Isle of Wight across education, health and social care services. There is a lot of help available and we aim to enable you to get the right support and advice when you need it most. It is important to remember and acknowledge from the beginning that it is not just the professionals and specialist services that can help you and your family. For many people, it is the help of their family and friends, and the support of their community, that is most useful. Within the Local Offer website there are services that everybody can use, such as the Family Centres, schools, leisure centres and your doctor’s surgery. There are also a range of services that can provide very specialist support at times when it is most needed. e.g. drug and alcohol services, mental health etc.

It is a combination of informal and formal support that can provide your family with the help you need most and your child with the best opportunity to realise their

potential.

To visit our Local Offer please go to www.iwight.com/localoffer

Page 14

The short breaks programme is open to all children and young people who have a disability and ad-

ditional needs and may require support to participate fully in leisure or recreation activities. Mem-

bership is free of charge and entitles the card holder to access a number of activities provided by 18

approved providers.

We are pleased to announce that most Short Beaks sessions have now resumed that were able to

put protective measures in place to ensure the necessary facilities such as hand washing stations so-

cial distancing rules are adhered too. More information can be found at: www.iwight.com/

shortbreaks

The Short Breaks Caravan is also available for hire. The new fully accessible caravan offers families a

short break and the opportunity for lots of fun at a fantastic holiday park at Lower Hyde, Shanklin. It

is close to the beach and town centre, transport links and local entertainment. It can sleep up to six people, with two bedrooms and extra sleeping for two in the lounge area. There is hard standing

parking available directly outside the caravan for sole use of the visitors. There are also leisure pass-

es included in the cost. The facilities are available from March to November. Bookings can be made

through the Isle of Wight Council website: www.iwight.com/shortbreaks

Whilst providers were unable to run their usual Short Breaks sessions they put together support for

the Short Breaks children and young people by way of virtual sessions and online activities.

Here is an example of what was on offer:

• Lego club sent out lego building challenges for children to complete.

• Bodsters provided virtual sessions through Facetime, Skype and WhatsApp in order to contin-

ue virtual contact with the ponies.

• John Cattle Skate Club put together fun skateboard tasks every week for children to have a go

at home.

The support was greatly received with very positive feedback. The Short Breaks Team and its mem-

bers appreciate the hard work that went into this support during the COVID lockdown.

Page 15