Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Services in NE Lincolnshire
Hello, I am Clare Linfitt (NE Lincs SEND Services Manager).
Education Health and Care Plans
Part of my job is to manage the SEN Assessment and Review Team (SENART). This team of Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) co-ordinators gather the information needed to assess, write and amend EHCPs for children and young people with SEND who are aged 0-25. We currently have around 1300 learners in NE Lincs with an EHCP.
Find out more about EHCPs team. NELC SEND Local Offer | Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) (nelincs.gov.uk) and meet the SENART Team NELC SEND Local Offer | Meet the Special Educational Needs Assessment and Review Team (SENART) (nelincs.gov.uk).
You can also email AskAnnie@nelincs.gov.uk with any questions about SEND Post 16 Education and look at Preparation for Adulthood (PfA).
Working together with children and young people and their families
Another part of my job is to manage the SEND communications and Local Offer team. We work together with children and young people with SEND, their parents, carers and families in co-production to make changes to services and the ways things are done based on feedback from everyone who is involved in SEND in our local area. Our aim is to continually improve what is offered for children and young people with SEND and their families in NE Lincs. Take a look at the North East Lincolnshire Parent Carer Forum (NELPCF) website for more info and the SEND Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG) page.
We also meet regularly with SENDIASS who provide independent, impartial, free and confidential support and information for parents/carers. Look at the SENDIASS Facebook page.
Education Settings, Health and Social Care professionals and other SEND providers
I work with education settings, health and social care in NE Lincs to offer support and challenge in making sure all children and young people with SEND , with SEN Support or an EHCP are able to access the help they need to meet the outcomes they want to achieve. Schools and education settings and professionals from health and social care can contact me clare.linfitt@nelincs.gov.uk or text 0797482474 for any advice and discussion. We have regular SENCo forums throughout the year to share information and keep up to date on all things SEND. Take a look at our past SENCO Forum events and if you would like to be involved, please contact Siobhan.Hardy@nelincs.gov.uk.
Education Team for Hearing and Vision (ETHV)
I also manage the Education Team for Hearing and Vision (ETHV) who offer a wide range of services to support children and young people who have been diagnosed with hearing and/or vision loss from birth to leaving school. As part of early support, they aim to provide families with high quality, unbiased information enabling families to make informed choices for their children.
To find out more about this team or get involved in the regular ETHV young people’s Bowling nights, visit NELC SEND Local Offer | Hearing and vision (nelincs.gov.uk).
Follow our British Sign Language Tutorials.
Also check out SEND Local offer page NELC SEND Local Offer | Celebrating SEND- local stories (nelincs.gov.uk).
Tribunals and mediation
Another part of my job is to communicate with families who are unhappy about decisions NE Lincs has made about Education, Health and Care Plans. NE Lincs has one of the lowest local authority statistics in England and we are committed to conversation, mediation and working together to get things right for all children and young people with SEND.
For more information on tribunals and mediations, you can email John Williamson, SEND Tribunals and Mediation Officers at SENDappeals@nelincs.gov.uk.
Learn more about SEND tribunals and mediation. NELC SEND Local Offer | Appeal or make a complaint (nelincs.gov.uk)
Find out more about mediation and resolving disagreements.
Take a look at the “Where can I find independent help and support?” section of NE Lincs SEND Local Offer.
