TOGETHER WE CAN

MAKE POSITIVE CHANGE

We want greater transparency so that all parents and carers understand what services are available to them and how they can gain access.

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Discover how we work, why we do it, the change we make and why we need you

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE INDEPENDENT?

It means that we have no bias to any service or department, we can speak freely about what is working and what is failing in our SEND community. We can act as a critical friend without prejudice to the local authority and various boards and services, as and when they make decisions. We can raise concerns and divert attention to how these decisions will directly impact our families, we can steer change realistically with high expectations and equality for all. We are included in the vote to agree or disagree with how services are to be created and amended. Our job is to be specific and realistic with the various departments we encounter. Our independence means that we can explain to our community what decisions have been made and why.

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LATEST NEWS

March 6, 2025
Highlights film now available! SSIF attended the Contact & NNPCF Joint in-person Conference on Tuesday 4th February 2025 at the Mercure Northampton. It was fantastic to catch up with other Parent Carer Forum's nationally to share ideas and experiences, discuss best practise and learn more about what is happening in other areas. Watch the Highlights film from the day . We are so pleased to have attended and found it incredibly valuable, we are already looking forward to next year!
February 25, 2025
The Department for Education and the Council for Disabled Children have recently published two sets of guidance to support school governing boards in understanding their role and responsibilities in relation to children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities and empowering them to hold their schools to account. This updated guidance from the Department for Education provides a high level summary of the expectations of boards in relation to disability and SEN. It includes a checklist for governors/trustees and suggestions about how to use school performance data and build an evidence base to underpin its strategic oversight. Download and read the document here. Equality Act 2010 and disabled pupils: A guide for governors and trustees can be found here. The Council for Disabled Children guide which was commissioned by the Department, focuses in more detail on the Equality Act duties to disabled pupils. It sets out the individually owed duties and the more strategic duties; and again it promotes a discussion about the evidence that governing boards need in order to understand how well the duties are being met in their school. To illustrate how the duties work in practice, the guide uses examples from schools and from case law where claims of disability discrimination have gone to the Tribunal. At the back of the guide is a set of checkpoints that schools can use to inform a discussion between senior leaders and their governing body or board of trustees. The new guide is a companion publication to the 2022 Disabled Children and the Equality Act 2010: What teachers need to know and what schools need to do which offers teachers more detailed practical guidance on meeting the duties to disabled pupils, read more about it. We hope very much that the guidance will help governors and trustees in their school securing the best possible outcomes for pupils with SEN and disabilities.
February 7, 2025
Ofsted want to know what you think about their proposed plans for inspecting schools and other settings where children and adults learn. This includes:  early years state-funded schools non-association independent schools further education and skills ( FE and skills) initial teacher education ( ITE ) In summary, they propose: Report cards – these would give parents and carers more detailed information than the current reports, including a new 5-point grading scale to evaluate more areas of a provider’s work and short summaries of what inspectors found. Education inspection toolkits – this tool shows providers and inspectors the evaluation areas that we’ll focus inspections on and how we’ll assess and grade providers (scroll down to see our toolkits). Inspection methodology – changes to how we carry out inspection. Full inspections and monitoring inspections, state-funded schools – we plan to end ungraded inspections of state-funded schools and change our monitoring programmes so that we can check that timely action is taken to raise standards. Identifying state-funded schools causing concern – a new approach to how we’ll place a school into a category of concern. Read the full report and respond to the consultation.
February 3, 2025
Kids the charity Autism HUB. Are you a young autistic person who has just been diagnosed? Are you a parent wondering how best to support your autistic child? Do you want to connect with people like you? Then The Kids Autism HUB could be for you. The Kids Autism Hub is for young people aged 12 – 25 who are newly diagnosed with autism, young people who are on the diagnosis pathway, and the family members of those young people. It is now possible to self - refer and you can find out more information and how to do this on the KIDS Website .

EVENTS 

March 10, 2025
We know that some of you have shared that coffee mornings can be difficult to attend so we have organised a Drop-In Event once every half term. The session is open to everyone, ParentCarers looking to find out more about what the Forum does, professionals who want to understand our role and those who would just like to join us for a hot drink and a natter. We will be sharing the dates of the sessions on our social media channels so be on the lookout for future dates. We look forward to seeing you there!
February 24, 2025
Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF) continues its series of valuable informative events for ParentCarers of children with SEND with the fourth seminar of the year: "Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA)”. This seminar is aimed at ParentCarers who have applied for or are thinking about applying for an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), but would like to find out if it is necessary or right for their Child or Young Person. We will aim to answer questions such as: What does an EHCNA entail? Which services are involved? What happens after the assessment? What is my role and responsibility as a ParentCarer? We have a panel of professionals from the Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) Team, Health and Education, who will talk about the assessment process. They will also bust some common myths. We are inviting ParentCarers to submit any questions they have for the panel by email, by Monday 10th March 2025, via email, to jody@southendsendindependentforum.org.uk . This is to save time in the room on the day as our speakers will build their presentations around the answers to these questions. There will also be an opportunity for people to participate in a co-production session to develop a useful route map/flow chart of the EHCNA process. Book your tickets here.
By Irvana Davies January 6, 2025
SSIF invite ParentCarers of Children with SEND to our third Seminar this year. ‘Support Plans, ISPs, Support Whilst Waiting for EHCNA and EHCP’ is the third in a series of valuable an informative events for ParentCarers that will run throughout the year. This seminar is aimed at ParentCarers who are not sure of the support and information available to them and their families whilst they are waiting for an Education and Health Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) or an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP). We will aim to answer questions such as: What is an Individual Support Plan (ISP), and who is it for? What are Reasonable Adjustments and can I expect them to be made for my child? What is the SEN Register? What is SEN Support? What can I do to support my child or young person at home? Are there any workshops or webinars I can access? We have a panel of professionals from the Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) Team, Health and Education, who will talk about what support is available and how to find it. They will also bust some common myths. We are inviting ParentCarers to submit any questions they have for the panel by email, by Monday 20th January 2025, via email, to jody@southendsendindependentforum.org.uk There will also be an opportunity for people to participate in a co-production session to develop a useful route map/flow chart of the Support Whilst Waiting process. Book your ticket here.
By Irvana Davies November 18, 2024
One of our favourite Events is our regular monthly coffee morning, where Parent Carers can get together to share their experiences. Every month we have the Local Offer team with us and invite 1 or 2 additional special guests from for example Health, Social Care, Education and more, to offer guidance and advice. There is also a sensory play creche available for your little ones aged 0-5 with Chaos & Calm. Come along and chat to other ParentCarers, get advice from one of our SEND support service guests and enjoy a hot drink with something sweet. Booking is not required.

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