Subject: SEND Newsletter - Friday 23 July

A teacher and a student doing maths work at school - Text saying SEND Newsletter. Northumberland County Council Logo

Welcome to the first edition of our SEND Newsletter.


This newsletter will keep you updated on the latest news and information on SEND services in Northumberland.
SEND OFSTED and CQC inspection
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) services in Northumberland have been recognised for making progress on areas of weakness by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

In May inspectors spoke with parents and carers of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities and met with local authority and National Health Service (NHS) officers.

They spoke with frontline practitioners from education, health and care services in the area and reviewed a range of performance data and information including the area’s SEND strategy, self-evaluation, joint commissioning strategy and outcomes framework.

A child with paint on their hands
Strategy outlines vision for SEND services in Northumberland
Northumberland County Council and Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) launched their SEND Strategy for 2021/24 in May following consultation with the children, young people and families it is prepared for.

The strategy has been co-written with parents and carers within Northumberland for children and young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), their families, schools, settings, organisations, services and professionals who support them.

 
NHS Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group logo. Northumberland County Council Logo. Growing up in Northumberland
Growing up in Northumberland
Young people with special education needs and/or disability growing up in Northumberland can now access advice and guidance to help them get prepared for the next stage in their lives.

From around the age of 14, young people, with their families, peers and teachers start to talk about what they may want to do when they ‘grow up’, and it is around this age that they’ll start to plan for those next steps.

Northumberland County Council in partnership with Northumberland Clinical Commissioning Group and Northumbria Healthcare Trust have pulled together a ‘Growing Up in Northumberland’ booklet to help support those decisions, and help young people, their families and carers consider all the things they need to think about and all the avenues they can take.
 
Summer activities
Thanks to the Government’s Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) and funding we have received from the National Lottery we are able to run a range of holiday programmes across the summer break.

The inclusive, fully funded programmes mean children and young people of all ages will be able to take part in a range of enriching activities including sport, music, dance, drama, art, cooking and gardening. The programme of events will also give them the opportunity to learn new skills and the chance to socialise with others and make new friends.

Those who attend will also receive a healthy meal as part of our commitment to ensure those who receive free school meals in term time continue to do so should they attend some of the activities taking place.

If you want to find out what is on offer in your area, please contact Northumberland Communities Together for more information.

Phone the Northumberland Communities Together Response Hub on 01670 620015 9am-6pm, 7 days a week or email: NCT@northumberland.gov.uk.
 
Northumberland Inclusive Education Services (NIES)
Northumberland Inclusive Education Services (NIES) is a free-to-use support service for Northumberland’s schools and educational settings, parents and carers and professionals.

A range of support for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities is on offer through the service.

Teams within NIES that can offer further support include: Autism Support, Speech, Language and Communication Support, Literacy Support, Emotional Wellbeing and Behaviour Support, Sensory Support, Educational Psychology, English as an Additional Language and Portage.

 
Northumberland Parent and Carer Forum
Northumberland Parent Carer Forum (NCPF) is the new Department for Education recognised parent carer forum for Northumberland. NCPF work with the local authority, health and social care to improve services for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and their families.

They listen to the experiences and wishes of families and make sure that those views are heard by those providing services, so that they can be part of every stage of planning and decision-making.

If you would like to hear from the NPCF and find out how to contribute to future work then please visit their Facebook page, get in touch on Twitter or contact via email at enquiries@npcf.co.uk.

In order to represent the views of children, young people with SEND and their families, they need to hear from as many families as possible.

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Northumberland County Council, County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 2EF, United Kingdom
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