School Information Exchange June 2017 LOCAL OFFER UPDATE School Information Exchange June 2017

WEBSITE UPDATE

Coming soon….

New feature

‘News’ feature

Never enough hours in the day?

Young people feedback “We like videos”- A new video created and performed by the Youth Peer Support Group is now on the Home page. “Easy Read versions would help us understand what you’re writing about” - Working with Mencap trainers to acquire the skills to adapt documents into Easy Read format.

Parent Carer Participation Wirral The group are delighted with the site’s recent improvements and keen to work on future joint ventures. Parents recently ‘test drove’ the Disability Register and welcomed the opportunity to be involved and listened to. A designated Parent now attends bi-monthly Local Offer development group meetings.

Parent/Carer feedback We wish we’d known about this useful resource earlier! Documents in an ‘Easy Read’ format would be a big help Love the clear signposting Jargon – we don’t understand it! Great to have a named point of contact

Further Engagement Parent/Carer Forum Child Protection team Social Workers Mencap Early Help Autism together Fostering Youth Peer Support Group One-stop shops and Libraries Other LA/Local Offer staff WIRED Children with Disabilities team Wirral Grandcare & Kinship Groups Wirral Chamber of Commerce Family Information Service Children in Need team

Social Media Again acting on feedback from our young people and their parent/carers the Local Offer now has

Schools and the Local Offer

Engagement with Schools Six months in….. slowly but surely awareness is on the up! Month on month we have more visitors to the site. Encouraging feedback from the SENCOs I’ve spent time with at events with Parents in attendance- thanks for all the invites! Transition events have shown anxiety levels are high amongst parent/carers as well as pupils. Local Offer as a new resource has helped.

Supporting Schools Requests from SENCOs to play an observer role in SEN Panel Meetings have been popular and proved useful. Get in touch if you’re interested. Recently presented to a large group of School Nurses and Health Visitors to help ‘spread the word’. Their collective response was that they could immediately think of families that would benefit from accessing the website. Social workers participating in TAF’s now also able to signpost parent/carers to the site.

SEN Information Report As SENCOs, you play a strategic role within your setting and your input into this statutory document is invaluable. The Information Report needs to be reviewed/updated annually. Ideally this will happen in the month of July to ensure details are accurate for the start of the new Academic Year. Governing Body have a duty to be involved (Are they in your school?) Must be easy to find from the Home screen (2 clicks maximum)

School Information Report (cont’d) The Report should be reviewed with Staff, Parents and Pupils Must cover all Statutory points (6.79 – 6.83 of the SEND Code of Practice) Must be shared with all Parents/Carers. Suggestions – small working party with Parents OR issue a letter to Parents, tell them where it is on the website and invite their feedback. Re new intake and their Parent/Carers - Include Transition arrangements within your school

Common mistakes to avoid.. Details of the school/setting’s Complaint procedure MUST be included in the SEN Information report – a link to the policy will suffice There needs to be a link to the Local Offer website http://localofferwirral.org/ Ofsted looks for this and often doesn’t find it.

I need your help! A mention in school newsletters? Whenever and wherever you are able to make parent/carers and the young people aware of the Local Offer – please do so. Ideas……… A mention in school newsletters? An invite to attend events attended by parents/carers? Regular agenda item for school council meetings? Ensuring a link to the Local Offer website from school’s website.

Let me help you! If you struggle to find information If you identify gaps in information If you spot out of date information…..just let me know and I’ll put it right. You can call me on 666 4488 or e mail me at sallytittle@wirral.gov.uk

Enjoy your summer holidays! Only 26 sleeps to go…………