Individual Needs

Help & Support Newsletter January

2018

Happy New Year!

From all of us at the Children with Disabilities

Team & Rochdale’s Parent Carers Voice!

Education, Health & Care Plan

-20 Week Assessment Timeline-

Week 0 Request is received by the SEN Assessment Team.

Weeks 0-6

The request is considered and a decision is made at

a panel. All information is taken into account.

If it is a ‘Yes’ to assess then the assessment is

started and a request is made for professionals to

submit their advice within 6 weeks.

Weeks 6-12

A ‘My Plan’ meeting date is set for within a week of

the advice deadline so all advice should be available

to write the plan prior to the meeting. These

meetings usually take place within the educational

setting.

Week 12 The plan is then drafted by the Education Officer.

Week 14 A quality assurance check is completed by the SEN

Assessment Team.

Weeks 14-18

The draft plan is issued. Parent/Carers, the young

person and the educational setting have 15 days to

respond to the draft plan with any recommended

changes or suggested alterations.

Week 20 The final plan is signed and issued.

If you have any questions please contact Justin Henderson: 01706 925 120

Key Contacts

Special Educational Needs Assessment Team:

Call: 01706 925 981 Email: sen@rochale.gov.uk

Rochdale Additional Needs Service & Educational Psychology:

Call: 01706 926 400 Email: rans/epsadmin@rochdale.gov.uk

Children With Disabilities Team:

Call: 01706 925 900 Email: cwd@rochdale.gov.uk

Barnardo’s Support Service:

Call: 01706 515 717 Email: rochdale.services@barnardos.org.uk

Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Information, Advice & Support Service:

Call: 01706 515 717 Email: rochdale.sendiass@barnardos.org.uk

Children's Acute and Ongoing Needs Service (NHS):

Call: 01706 676 777 Email: pcn-tr.HMRChildrensAONS@nhs.net

Parent & Carer Information & Engagement Officer:

Call: 01706 925 120 Email: justin.henderson@rochdale.gov.uk

School Admissions Team:

Call: 01706 925 982 Email: school.admissions@rochdale.gov.uk

Positive Steps (Post-16):

Call: 0800 1958 528 Email: www.positive-steps.org.uk

Family Information Service:

Call: 01706 719 900 Email: family.info@rochdale.gov.uk

Family Health Link Worker:

Call: 01706 676 777 Email: chantelle.tynan@family-action.org.uk

Rochdale Parent Carers Voice:

Call: 07901 854 741 Email: contactus@rochdaleparentcarersvoice.co.uk

Early Help & Assessment:

Call: 01706 925 127

Emergency & Urgent Care Service (NHS):

Call: 111

Rochdale Safeguarding Children Board:

Call: 0300 3030 350 Email: rbscb.admin@rochdale.gov.uk

Head of Children & Young People With Additional Needs Service:

Call: 01706 925 123 Email: michael.kemp@rochdale.gov.uk

If you have any suggestions for any additions to our ‘Key Contacts’ list

please send them to Justin.Henderson@rochdale.gov.uk

Area SENCo

Team

Who we are and what we do:

Every private day nursery, playgroup and childminder in Rochdale has ac-

cess to the Area SENCO Team. For some children with a special educa-

tional need or disability, more specialist involvement is needed. Where ap-

propriate, the Area SENCO Team can provide specific advice, support and

guidance for both you and your child’s early years setting to encourage

your child’s development.

We have developed an ‘Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) Champion’ pack-

age alongside the educational psychology service and we are very excited

at the overwhelming positive response we have received so far.

Our ‘ASC Champion’ training includes; 3 whole team training sessions, 3

cluster meetings for nominated ‘Champions’ from across the borough to

meet and share good practice and a sensory resource bundle to use within

the setting.

By the end of this academic year over 100 early years practitioners will

have accessed our ASC training!! WOW!!!

The Gallery Share your child or young person’s work with us and have it featured here!

Send entries to: Justin Henderson,

Children with Disabilities Team,

Number One Riverside - Floor 4,

Smith Street,

Rochdale,

OL16 1XU.

OR

Justin.Henderson@Rochdale.gov.uk

Rochdale Parent Carers Voice

Chair: Kath Bromfield

I am a mother to four children and am a very proud Mancunian. My

background is in education, but as a parent/carer I felt unsure of the

way forward until I went on a parent leadership course with Partners in

Policy making. This really challenged my thinking and I then became

Chair of Rochdale Parent Carers’ Voice. I am passionate about the

inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of life, and an active

trainer as well as expert by experience and person centred planner. I

have delivered training to forums nationally and work closely with my own

regions NWTDT/Pathways to ensure inclusion happens in all areas of our

society, particularly for those in or at risk of hospital settings.

As Chair of my local forum we work with other parent/carers to enable

families and young people with additional needs across the borough to co

-produce and work with the council to achieve greater outcomes for

people with disabilities and their families. I believe strongly in developing

communities through focusing on people’s strengths, and working with our

varied and wider communities to ensure people with disabilities and their

families have a voice and are valued citizens. I am a Governor at my

local secondary school and am active in my local community. I love

meeting people from all walks of life and ensuring that there is more

that unites us than divides us.

Visit the Parent Carers Voice website & sign up to receive updates at:

www.rochdaleparentcarersvoice.co.uk

The Children’s Acute and Ongoing Needs Service are now offering an

education programme as part of the social communication pathway. The

new ‘bubbles’ groups allows families to have access to education

sessions sooner by speech and language therapy, occupational therapy

and the nurse practitioner, touching on topics of language development,

feeding, play, toileting, sensory processing and sleep. The sessions also

include information from the local parent / carer information officer

about activities in the community and the education and health care

plan process. Parents are empowered to implement strategies to

promote the development of their child.

Bubbles!

Our Communication With Families Is Changing…

Rochdale Parent Carers Voice are working with Rochdale Local

Authority and Child Health to look into all the different ways they

communicate with families.

We all receive a lot of letters with SO much information in them!

Forms upon forms we have to fill in and return, or appointment

details we have to find hidden away in a mountain of text! Thankfully

we have an opportunity to change all of that.

We all lead such busy lives, so what is our goal? Making things

simpler for all of Rochdale Borough’s families!

We’ll keep you posted on our progress!

The Disability Register

Would you like to be the first to hear about new training sessions,

events, activities and information? If your child has an additional

need and/or disability, you can sign up now!

For more information or if you’d like to be more involved in the

changes we are making please contact Justin Henderson, our Parent

Carer Officer: 01706 925 120 or Justin.henderson@rochdale.gov.uk

Sign up now at: www.rochdale.gov.uk/localoffer

Person Centred Approach

A ‘Person Centred Approach’ involves listening, thinking together, sharing

ideas and seeking feedback. The process is ongoing to make sure each

person is supported in their development, personal goals and care, even as

they evolve and change.

Relationships are a big part of us all! Person Centred Practice also

recognises and involves other people who make a difference in someone’s

life: family, friends and community. It’s most successful when these people

support the process and help identify and develop the persons strengths.

It is especially useful and important for children and young people with

additional or individual needs.

Did you know?! Our communication consists of: 7% verbal, 38% tone & 55%

movement!

“By asking what someone does like doing means we don’t need to ask what

they don’t like doing. Focus on the positives not the negatives”

- Susan Harris

“We tend to focus on what someone doesn’t do or can’t do. We need to

praise each other more as it’s so easy to forget the things someone does do

and can do”

- Kath Bromfield

Justin

If you need any advice or

help on where to go or

what to do next OR you

would like to be more

involved in the making of

this newsletter and more

please contact me!

01706 925120

Justin.Henderson@Rochdale Gov.uk

Rochdale’s Local Offer

“The home for the information we need to support our families”

www.rochdale.gov.uk/localoffer