16 Feb News from Worcestershire Children First
Welcome to our February information update for families with children or young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND).
It’s half term next week, so I hope you get the opportunity to get out and about, fingers crossed the weather is kind to us all!
If you’re looking for ideas of things to do or places to visit you could look at the Visit Worcestershire website which has ‘Explore’ and ‘What’s on’ sections – please note that this is not a disability specific website and some activities have a cost associated to them.
Below we have updates from Worcestershire Children First and SENDIASS have a survey to find out about what sort of training you as parent carers would be interested in, you can find out more here.
News from Worcestershire Children First
Ready, Steady Worcestershire – Easter School Holiday Activities
Ready, Steady, Worcestershire have partnered up with holiday clubs, schools and activity providers all over the county for a fun, action packed Easter Holiday period.
If you are eligible for Free School Meals or have been referred to the programme by your school, you will be credited with four free sessions to book onto over Easter through our online booking system.
There is so much to choose from – activities range from sports, drama, dance, music, arts and crafts, golf, swimming, outdoor adventure, horse riding, graffiti sessions and are a great way to have fun and meet new friends this Easter. A tasty, healthy lunch will be included in all activity days.
To sign up for updates and to find out first when bookings are live, sign up to the Easter School Holiday Updates.
Accessibility and Children with SEND
Our full programme is inclusive of all needs, however, we do have some specialist providers who are really experienced in activities for children with SEND and we have secured spaces at these clubs so that they can be offered first to the children that would most benefit from them.
Please get in touch at enquiries@hafworcestershire.co.uk for more information and booking.
SEND Service – Staffing update
Sarah Wilkins, Director for Education, Early Years and Children with Disabilities has written an open letter to parent carers to provide an update on staffing changes within the SEND service.
Download letter on staffing changes in SEND (PDF)
Ofsted and CQC reinspection of arrangements for SEND in Worcestershire: Next steps
Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out a revisit inspection in November 2021. We are working hard to respond to these findings and make sure we build on the progress and address the four remaining areas of concern. In response to the report, the Department for Education and CQC have asked us to produce an action plan (Accelerated Progress Plan) for each of the areas of concern.
You can read more on our SEND Improvement Plan page.
SENDIASS News
At SENDIASS our new Training & Development Officer, Sally, is looking to gather the views of parent carers of children with SEND in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, on the training that will be of benefit to them.
To let us know the areas that you would value training in and how you would like it to be delivered please complete our SENDIASS Parent Carer Training Survey
The closing date for this survey is Friday 25th February.
For more information visit our new Training webpage details at the bottom of the form.
Families in Partnership News
Families in Partnership is Worcestershire’s Parent Carer Forum. A Parent Carer Forum is a group of parents and carers of disabled children who work with local authorities, education, health and other providers to make sure the services they plan and deliver meet the needs of disabled children and families. You can find out more about them and how to join on their website.
Families in Partnership | Worcestershire Association of Carers
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