Queen Alexandra College, Open Day: 20th March

Queen Alexandra College, Open Day: 20th March

by Becki ClitsomeNo Comments
Queen Alexandra College (QAC) is a national residential College and charity that supports a diverse range of student abilities and needs based in Birmingham. Queen Alexandra College (QAC) is pleased to be hosting an Open Evening for prospective students and their families on Wednesday 20th March, 4.30pm - 7.00pm.  This event will enable prospective students to meet with a variety of staff and learn about the diverse range of study programmes on offer.  Visitors will also have the opportunity to find out more about employment progression, residential and supported living options, community based services and the various pastoral/support services that are available at QAC, helping them to achieve their aspirations for adult life.  Please note families will need to book to attend this event by completing the online booking form via the following link: www.qacopenevening2024.eventbrite.co.uk  We would be grateful if you could please share this information with your students who are exploring their next steps and their parents/carers. If families have any questions or require further information about this event, please advise them to call 0121...
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Inquiry launches into mental health and behaviour in schools

Inquiry launches into mental health and behaviour in schools

by Becki ClitsomeNo Comments
A coalition of more than 200 charities, academics and children’s professionals is launching an inquiry to explore links between mental health and behaviour among school pupils. Concerns around schools in England using punitive approaches to tackle challenging behaviour have prompted the inquiry, which is being launched by the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition. Tactics used by schools include exclusion and placing children in isolation in so-called removal rooms. The coalition fears there has been an increase in tough measures to curb challenging behaviour by schools following Covid-19 lockdowns. It warns that such measures come amid escalating mental health problems among young people. One in six pupils aged between six and 16 have a mental health problem as of 2021, compared to one in nine in 2017, said the coalition. Often challenging behaviour can be caused by “underlying conditions, unmet emotional needs, difficulties at home, at school or in the community, and exposure to trauma”, it added. The inquiry will look at how current school...
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Key measures proposed in SEND and alternative provision green paper

Key measures proposed in SEND and alternative provision green paper

by Becki ClitsomeNo Comments
Legal requirements for councils around inclusion and the creation of national standards focussed on support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are among a raft of proposals laid out in the government’s SEND green paper. The SEND and alternative provision green paper has been published following the completion of the Department for Education’s long-awaited SEND review which was launched in 2019. The proposals, backed by £70m of new funding, will be subject to a 13-week public consultation due to close on 1 July, DfE has announced. https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ut_LI2sK1R4?feature=oembed Proposals Increased early intervention for children with SEND and a single system combining SEND and alternative education provision feature highly in the plans. The creation of new national standards across education, health and care to build for a higher performing SEND system are also among measures set out in the paper. The national standards will build on the Children and Families Act 2014 which is currently the subject of an enquiry by peers. The standards look set...
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SEND pupils treated as an afterthought during pandemic, report says

SEND pupils treated as an afterthought during pandemic, report says

by Becki ClitsomeNo Comments
Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have been treated as an afterthought by the government during the Covid-19 pandemic, a report has warned. The report warns that advice to special schools was frequently published later than guidance for mainstream schools when pandemic restrictions, including lockdowns and school closures, were ordered by government. “This led settings and young people with SEND to be seen as, and feel like, an afterthought,”  the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for SEND says The report, called Forgotten. Left behind. Overlooked, details the experiences of children and young people with SEND during the pandemic in 2020. Remote teaching was particularly hard to access for some SEND children, found the report, which includes recommendations for change from a raft of charities and children’s organisations. Among those contributing was the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS), which said that remote learning options were not accessible for deaf children without additional communication support, such as speech to text software or sign...
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Transport to school and other places of education: autumn term 2020

by Becki ClitsomeNo Comments
In preparation of schools fully reopening in the Autumn, the government has issued guidance on transport to and from school. You can read the full guidance here. Part A provides guidance for Local Authorities on managing the capacity and demand for public transport.Part B provides guidance about the provision of dedicated home to school/college transport in the autumn term. Specific mentions of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Local authorities should take account of the particular needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and, where necessary, be informed by the views provided by the parents and school.The system of controls: protective measures "Children with SEND: When deciding on the package of measures that is appropriate on transport for children and young people with special educational needs, local authorities will need to take account the particular needs of the children using the transport, and to be informed by the views of the parents and school. Special schools tend to...
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Challenging Behaviour Foundation – Survey on Family Experiences

by Becki ClitsomeNo Comments
There is a new project that the CBF is involved with that may interest you and your family. The Challenging Behaviour Foundation is working with the Institute of Health Visitors to find out about the experiences of parents and carers supporting young children who display difficult or challenging behaviours. This survey is aimed at parents or carers of children with difficult or challenging behaviours aged 11 or under. The results will help to inform training and awareness raising materials for health visitors to help improve their support for families. The survey should take less than 15 to complete. Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BSD83RD ...
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A joint ministerial letter to children and young people with SEND regarding the full return to educational settings in September 2020

by Becki ClitsomeNo Comments
Children & Families Minister Vicky Ford and Care Minister Helen Whately have written an open letter to children and young people with SEND, their parents, families and others who support them. The letter explains the actions that need to be taken to ensure, where possible, all pupils return to their educational settings from September, and responds to some of the concerns and questions that have been raised. Department for Education and Department of Health & Social Care Joint Ministerial LetterDownload Key messages include: The importance for those with special educational needs and disabilities to return to educational settings safely in September so that they can receive face-to-face education and supportReassures that the risk of contracting the virus in educational settings is low and outlines protective measures in place to reduce the risk even further, including the NHS Test and Trace systemMinisters expect a small number of absences from children and young people who remain under the specialist care of a health professional however, the...
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Department for Education: Supporting Children and Young People with SEND

by Becki ClitsomeNo Comments
The Department for Education have released their guidance to schools and colleges on supporting children and young people with SEND during the reopening of education settings. The key elements of the guidance is around updating risk assessments and how the phased return to education settings will be managed. Particular care will be needed in planning for and supporting children and young people with EHC plans to return to their schools and colleges. In the spirit of coproduction, educational settings should contact parents and involve them in decisions about their child who has an EHC plan.Similarly, they should contact and involve young people over 16 who have EHC plans.Schools and colleges will need to ensure that they have the staffing needed to support children and young people at safe ratios.Local authorities will also need to reinstate safe home to school transport arrangements. Differentiated Return to School “We recognise that some children and young people with EHC plans will need careful preparation for their return, for...
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Mental Health Awareness Week

by Becki ClitsomeNo Comments
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week which is organised by the Mental Health Foundation, and the theme they have chosen this year is Kindness. We have chosen kindness because of its singular ability to unlock our shared humanity. Kindness strengthens relationships, develops community and deepens solidarity. It is a cornerstone of our individual and collective mental health. Wisdom from every culture across history recognises that kindness is something that all human beings need to experience and practise to be fully alive.Mark Rowland, Chief Executive, Mental Health FoundationFor more, go to their article here. What can you do? Reflect on an act of kindness. Share your stories and pictures (with permission) of kindness during the week using #KindnessMatters and #MentalHealthAwarenessWeekUse the Mental Health Foundation resources in your family, school, workplace and community to join with thousands in practising acts of kindness to yourself and others during the week Share your ideas on how you think we could build a kinder society that would support...
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