2:42 pm, Friday, 7th January 2022

SEND weekly parent and carer update

This is the SEND Newsletter for Monday, 3 – Sunday, 9 January, 2022.

This week:

SENDIASS (Special Educational Needs Disability Information Advice Support Service).

Joint Communication from Barnardo’s and NELC

North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) are undertaking a competitive tendering process for an organisation to deliver their SENDIASS Service from 1st April 2022 – 31st March 2027. Link: https://sendlocaloffer.nelincs.gov.uk/sendiass-tender/

The timeframe for the tendering process has had to be extended resulting in an interim arrangement between Barnardo’s and NELC been agreed. The interim agreement sets out what the SENDIASS offer in North East Lincolnshire is able to provide from 01.01.22 until 31. 03.22. The successful applicant for the tender will be in place as at 01.04.2022.

 From the 1st January 2022 NEL SENDIASS will:

  1. Provide a service Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm (with an answerphone available outside these hours)
  2. Respond to new enquiries via phone, answerphone, webchat, and email within 5 working days and no longer than 10 days
  3. Offer face to face support for:
    1. mediation preparation/attendance
    1. tribunal preparation/attendance
    1. Permanent exclusion preparation/attendance
  4. checklists of how best to prepare for meetings
  5. Provide template letters/fact sheets to support parents/carers with form filling and letter writing
  6. Signpost parents/carers and professionals to recorded workshops / training opportunities on our website/other websites
  7. Direct Access Pathway related enquiries to the Access Pathway Team

Please note that unless there are exceptional circumstances during this interim period SENDIASS will not be able to offer 1:1 support for school meetings (re the graduated approach, Annual Review meetings, Emergency Review meetings, etc); or check Draft EHC Plans.

Barnardo’s will continue to work closely with NELC and partner agencies throughout the tendering process to ensure that parents/carers of children with SEND, and young people with SEND have minimal distribution to the support they need during this interim transition period. 

Other sources of information, support and guidance which you may find helpful are:

Find this article at, NELC SEND Local Offer | North East Lincolnshire SENDIASS Service Tender (nelincs.gov.uk)


Get in touch

SENDIASS provides free impartial information, advice and support to disabled children and young people aged 0-25, and those with SEN. Get in touch Monday-Thursday, 8.30am- 4.30pm. Friday 8:30am- 4pm. Leave a message and we’ll get back to you within three days.

Email: nelincs@barnardos.org.uk
Facebook: @NELSENDIASS

Web chat

We’re pleased to announce that in the New Year we will have more availability to be contacted through our webchat facility.

Simply visit the SENDIASS website between the hours of 9.30am and 1.30pm, from Monday to Friday, and a project worker will be available to chat to online.

SEND Awards postponed

After taking advice from the North East Lincolnshire Public Health team, we have sadly we have had to take the difficult decision to postpone the awards ceremony due to risks around COVID spreading in large gatherings.

We’re really disappointed that this is the case, but we have to think about the safety of the attendees. We are committed to rescheduling the ceremony for the earliest opportunity, and will continue to liaise with Public Health about rescheduling the event in the coming months.

We will be contacting the winners, schools, and other guests on Monday.

We apologise for the inconvenience but are excited to celebrate your achievements and involvement whenever the time comes.

See the winners and the nominations. NELC SEND Local Offer | SEND Award winners and nominations (nelincs.gov.uk).

Franklin College Adult Learning

Franklin College is offering a range of adult learning courses.

FREE Distance Learning Courses – All CACHE level 2 certificates:

  • Understanding Autism
  • Understanding Mental Health Problems
  • Adverse Childhood experiences
  • Understanding Children & Young People’s Mental Health
  • Domestic Abuse Awareness
  • Principles of working with people with Learning Disabilities
  • Adult Social Care

Classes available throughout the year include:

  • English & Maths Functional Skills
  • ESOL
  • Supporting Teaching & Learning
  • Intro to Health & Social Care

Join the Open Day at our Community Hub on Monday, 10 January, 9-4pm, for people to drop in and find out about courses, jobs, careers and local support services.

For further details contact: adult.learning@franklin.ac.uk or see our Franklin College Adult Learning social media, (20+) Franklin College Adult Learning | Facebook.

Health

Masks

If you need to be covid safe but assist someone who lip reads or may need to see more of your expressions why not consider these transparent fluid surgical face masks.

Transparent Fluid Resistant Surgical Face Mask | Contechs Medical

Covid

Please check the Gov.uk website for the latest guidance.

Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance and support – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Masks must be worn at school by children over 12, even in the classroom.

If there is Covid in the household your child can still go to school.

If someone with Covid gets a negative test on day 6 and 7 they can cut their isolation period.

There is more information on vaccinations. Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine for children aged 12 to 15 – NHS (www.nhs.uk).

For up-to-date information regarding eligibility for COVID-19 vaccinations and booster doses please visit the NHS Website COVID-19 Vaccination page.

Book or manage a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

If your child aged 12 and over missed their vaccination at school they may be able to be vaccinated at a drop-in clinic.

COVID Vaccine Drop In Clinics • NHS North East Lincolnshire CCG

If you have any queries about boosters please contact Sarah Harding, Designated Clinical Officer, designatedclinicalofficer@nelincs.gov.uk.

Support for children and young people to be vaccinated

We appreciate that for some children and young people attending a vaccination appointment can be daunting and they may require additional support to prepare in advance for this.

If you require any adjustments to be made such as centre access arrangements, specific appointment times at quieter times of the day, photographs of centre facilities and staff to support with preparation for an appointment please do not hesitate to contact our vaccination sites directly or contact Sarah Harding the Designated Clinical Officer (SEND) who will be happy to support with this.


If you have questions about SEND we are always here to help. Please don’t hesitate to email sen@nelincs.gov.uk. We always try to make sure that children and parents/ carers voices are heard.

These Weekly SEND parent/carer newsletters are shared with teams within education, health and social care as well as parents/carers SENCOs, the DfE and local charities.

If parents/carers or young people over 16 do not have access to the internet or if they prefer to receive paper copies only please contact sen@nelincs.gov.uk.