Welcome by Jo Fisher

Dear all

With the new school year starting, I am sure many of you are experiencing new emotions about your child or young person being back at nursery, school or college, what they will be facing and how they will adapt.  The ‘new normal’ may mean some challenges for many and we are pleased to share with you in this SEND issue, updates on what support is available. 

Equally we know that some of you have specific worries and questions.  For example, you may be worried about COVID school risk assessments or supporting your children to continue to experience an inclusive learning environment.   At the beginning of the school term Vicky Ford, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, wrote a letter to children and young people with special educational needs (SEND), their families and carers highlighting and responding to possible questions - see here.  The letter has links to useful national guidance, support and resources in it.  Let’s not forgot that there is support there for you; we hope you enjoy reading Rory’s Story in this issue of SEND news.

Meanwhile in Hertfordshire we continue to have fortnightly meetings (called ‘SEND Cluster’) with representatives from education, health and social care services as well as Herts Parent/Carer Involvement (HPCI).  Together we identify COVID issues that may affect our SEND families and work together to find solutions.  This has resulted in us being able to add a COVID resources section in the Local Offer and promote our Educational Psychology and other advice lines – see here for detail.

I’m proud that we haven’t let COVID stop us from doing the work needed to continue to improve our SEND services and my thanks to staff and all our partners for continuing to work with us to achieve further progress over the summer months: new IT systems for our SEND teams mean information gathering and sharing is easier and we are trialling how we can make it easier for schools to complete annual reviews or make changes to EHC Plans online.

It’s also important to highlight that the window is now open for families to consider applying for secondary school places.  Understanding the processes and timeframes can be a challenge during ‘normal times’ never mind in these extraordinary times so we’ve included some information in this issue, to get you thinking about what you need to consider and when, if you have a child who will be moving into secondary school in September 2021. Remember, if your child has an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) the processes are different - this is outlined here.

I’d like to thank you, our families of Hertfordshire and staff, who have been inspiring in the way you have risen to the challenges of COVID-19 and following all the relevant advice to prevent its spread. Although regulations are constantly changing, we need you to keep playing your part (link to campaign) to keep up preventative measures.  Many of you will have vulnerable members of your family and their wellbeing is a priority for us as we know it is for you.

Please remember if you need to call a particular team in the council you can call our main number 0300 123 4043 or if you need help about anything else SEND related and are unsure where to go for information and advice try the online Local Offer or call SENDIASS on 01442 453920.

Wishing you a good and healthy autumn term and stay safe.

Jo Fisher: Operations Director, Children & Young People

Supporting your child’s return to school

A new film for parents/carers from Hertfordshire’s Educational Psychology Service on supporting your child with their return to education has been released.

All Educational Psychologists have also shared the link to this film with their schools who we hope will share it with parents. The film is 18 minutes long.

We'd love to hear your comments which you can add via the comments button below.

Back to school - Rory's story

Fiona is mum to 8 year-old Rory who was diagnosed at age 6 with Autism and she has shared much of Rory’s progress with us over the last year.

We will be sharing more from Rory in the future and this week, Fiona talked to us about Rory’s return to school.

With the support of his family, Rory understands what being autistic means for him and has developed some of his own strategies to help him overcome his daily challenges and is a bright and confident young man.

Unlike many of us, Rory enjoyed lockdown and felt particularly calm and relaxed without the usual pressure of school life, including the social demands (and with lots of time for Minecraft!) Unsurprisingly, he was really anxious and reluctant about going back to school.

At a time when so many parents are concerned about their children’s mental health and the changes to school practices, Fiona was really encouraged by the support provided by Rory’s school. “He is settling back well into the routine of school and the school is still providing good support despite the current climate” she said. “He accesses a sensory circuit session every morning which helps him a lot in terms of his sensory regulation and also his hypermobility.”

As was the case with many families, Fiona found it hard juggling work and home-schooling last term so it’s one less worry that Rory is settling back into the school routine.

Other services the family have accessed and found invaluable, have been SPACE, Families in Focus and Potential Kids. You can find the details of these and more groups, on the Local Offer here.

Its that time again! Starting secondary school in Hertfordshire

The new school year may have started but if your child starts secondary school next year (2021) and does not have an EHCP, it’s already time to start planning.

While Hertfordshire County Council is working with all schools to ensure that children and young people can return to education as safely as possible, the application process for secondary schools is now open.

If your child starts secondary, upper or university technical college next year, and does not have an EHCP, it’s now time to apply for a place. The easiest way to do this for September 2021 is to visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions and complete the online application form. However, do make sure that before making an application, you read the information on the website thoroughly and where possible, attend school open events to help make your choice, talk to the school about how best they can support your child. This year, many schools are holding virtual open events as an alternative to the traditional open evenings. Leaflets outlining all the secondary and upper open events were distributed in July and the information is also available on the online school directory at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/schoolsdirectory

Online applications, (NB: for young people without an EHCP) can be amended at any time before the closing date on Saturday 31 October 2020 and you can also go online to see your school offer before the allocation letters are sent.

If you don’t have internet access you can still request a paper application form. These can be obtained by calling the Customer Service Centre on 0300 123 4043. Forms must be returned direct to the Admissions and Transport team and not returned to schools.

Remember! The closing date for secondary applications is Saturday 31 October 2020.

All the information you need about the secondary transfer process is available at www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/admissions.

*Please note: The process for young people with an EHCP is different. These are dealt with by a separate legal process and need to be made through your SEN team.

 

Tips to help you choose your school

Finding the right school for your child or young person is always concerning for parents/carers and with a child with special educational needs or a disability, the process can be even more challenging.

Choosing a school can be one of the biggest decisions you as a parent make, particularly when your child has SEN and/or disabilities (SEND). Most children with SEND will go to a local mainstream school. We are often asked ‘which school would be best for my child?’ but we are unable to recommend schools because every child is unique and has different experiences.

TO help you with these decisions, SENDIASS has put together a helpful guide which you can download here.

KIDS charity also has some helpful tips to guide parents through the primary to secondary school transition process – you can find these on their website here

Applying for a specific school with an EHCP

If your child has a statement of special educational needs or an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan that names a specific school, your child’s application will be handled by HCC’s Special Educational Needs team.

The process for requesting a specialist provision happens when an EHCP is issued for the first time and during an annual review of your EHCP.  This is the time when you can name your preferred setting in response to a draft EHCP. You can also ask for an early annual review.

When you request a specialist placement, a provision panel made up of professionals across all areas considers the parent request and will make a recommendation as to whether or not the child meets the admissions guidance for that type of specialist provision.  The provision panel does not decide on a particular school for your child, they just make a judgement against the admissions guidance, on the type of setting requested and may suggest which will best meet the needs of your child.

Only children with an EHCP will be admitted to special schools or specialist provisions in mainstream schools. In some cases however, a child may be admitted if they have just moved into the area from a different county and an Education, Health and Care assessment has started.

Phase Transfer annual reviews take place in the Spring term

EHCPs are updated between the summer term – end autumn term when requests for special or independent schools are considered.

On or by 15 February in the year of phase transfer an amended EHCP may be issued, naming the next phase.

Post 16 / Post 19 applications – deadline is 31 March each year