Welcome to the April 2024 edition of our parent carer monthly newsletter. This newsletter has been developed following a request from families and is not a replacement for or a repeat of the weekly SEND News Splash.

This month's SEND Families News Splash includes:

• A profile of our Statutory SEND Service - Preparing for Adulthood (PfA)
• Deaf Awareness Week 2024
• Swindon SEND Families Voice May events

Hello everyone. I am Mine and I work as a Statutory SEND Team Leader in one of the Hubs in the SEND Service. I am part of The Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) Team along with 8 EHCP Coordinator's and a Delivery Support Officer. 

The PFA Team supports Children and Young People (CYP) with SEND, who have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), to transition to their next stage of education, into employment and adult services.

The team processes annual reviews and EHCPs for CYP's in Year 10 and above, embedding their preparation for adulthood goals into the EHCP design and the annual review process.

This work includes processing phase transfer EHCPs for CYP's who are transitioning to their next phase of education. It also includes the attendance of annual review meetings, working closely with education settings (SENDCos), liaising with other services such as Social Care (including Adult Social Care) and working closely with our Support into Employment and Education, Employment and Training Teams.

The PfA Team consists of annual review EHCP Coordinators who process EHCPs for students with existing EHC plans, new Assessment Coordinators who handle the statutory process of Education Health and Care needs assessments for new applications of EHCPs, and our Delivery Support Officer who assists us with all kinds of administrative support in our daily duties.

Below some of my team have described what they enjoy about their roles. Here is what they said.

What does Debbie like about being an EHCP Coordinator:

"It is a privilege to meet young people and their families and join them on the road to Post 16 Education. To know I am doing my best to help ensure they are having their Educational needs met gives a real sense of job satisfaction. I also enjoy the teamwork with school SENDCos in helping them navigate available provision and our systems and processes. Each day brings new challenges and I am constantly learning and improving my service to young people who need additional support to reach their goals.”

What does Eva like about being an EHCP Coordinator:

"The PfA team welcomed and introduced me into the EHCP Coordinator role last October. No day is the same within my role and that’s what makes it very interesting and eventful at times. I really enjoy helping families and their young people to navigate their way through their educational journey after year 10 and into adulthood. It is so lovely to see them thrive and achieve their dreams and wishes. I really enjoy meeting young people in annual reviews and potentially help them to overcome certain obstacles they might come to along the line. I like to work closely with schools and also look for new opportunities for our young people with SEND.”

What does Leah like about being an EHCP Coordinator:

“I enjoy working with a wide range of young people, their families and the professionals who support them, who all bring a range of experiences to the conversations. For me, the best bit is creating plans which truly reflect their needs and supporting them into the appropriate setting for them. Securing an EHCP can be a huge moment for families and I feel privileged to be a part of it. My role is varied and no two days are the same but this keeps it interesting.”

What does Mel like about being an EHCP Coordinator:

“What I enjoy about my role is working with young people and their families; I work with students over 14 and I like being able to engage them in their decision making for their next steps in their education. My favourite part of my role is working closely with schools and I enjoy visiting school and meeting the young people in person. My role can be very complex however it is very satisfying seeing young people reach for their aspirations.”

What does Neil like about being an EHCP Coordinator:

"In the Preparation for Adulthood Team, I love the opportunity to play a part in helping young people to move onto college and beyond into adult life. The best moments of my job are attending Annual Reviews and hearing about the great progress and achievements a young person has made. I enjoy assisting young people to get onto the right courses and sometimes helping to sort out the problems and barriers which can get in the way. There is a large amount of paperwork in the job but the opportunity to meet these fabulous young people and their families makes doing it worth it.”

What does Helen like about being a Delivery Support Officer:

“Being a Delivery Support Officer is very rewarding, and to be part of a great, knowledgeable team, who I enjoy working with.

The job is interesting because I’m always faced with new challenges and my day is very varied. I am privileged to be part of a team that works together to achieve the best possible outcomes for young people with special educational needs.”

Another member of the team, Leo, was not able to provide his information for this article but we will feature him in a later edition.

You can get to know more about members of the SEND Service and view their 'All About Me' profiles, on the Meet the SEND Service page.

Deaf awareness week is celebrated every May to promote and shine a light on the challenges that the deaf community face on a daily basis and to educate others on how they can support them.

These challenges faced could be mental health related or to do with feeling excluded from services or other people.

The theme for this years’ Deaf Awareness Week is ‘Love and Trust'. This is a great time to reflect on how we can come together to create a more inclusive society that values every individual and ensure that deaf children and young people feel included.

Pictured below: (left to right) hearing aid, British Sign Language signed and a cochlea implant. 

How to support deaf peers.

The Hearing Support Team at Swindon Borough Council have put together a list of things that might help support children and young people 

• Use simple gestures to communicate where possible.
• Try not to cover your mouth – seeing lip patterns is important
• Face the person so your face is not in shadow /is not facing away when talking
• Reduce background noise
• Gain their attention
• Speak one at time (in a group it is hard to follow when you talk over each other)
• Learn British Sign Language
• Write it down to try use speech-to-text software such as Google Live Transcribe.