Early Years
Early Support Programme
Early Support is the central government mechanism to improve the quality, consistency and coordination of services for young disabled children and their families across England. The programme is funded by the Department for Education and Skills through Sure Start and has been developed in conjunction with the Department of Health and the voluntary sector.
Mencap Early Intervention feasibility study
Sure start:
Sure Start is a Government programme which aims to achieve better outcomes for children, parents and communities by:
- Increasing the availability of childcare for all children
- Improving health and emotional development for young children
- Supporting parents as parents and in their aspirations towards employment
Making Contact with early years and childcare services in Oxfordshire
Contact details and an outline of the work of the different teams which make up Early Learning and Childcare.
Oxfordshire Early Years development and childcare Partnership Plan 2006-2008
www.oxfordshire.gov.uk (.pdf)
Education
Special educational needs:
The term 'special educational needs' (SEN) has a legal definition, referring to children who have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn or access education than most children of the same age.
Many children will have SEN of some kind at some time during their education. Help will usually be provided in their ordinary, mainstream early education setting or school, sometimes with the help of outside specialists.
If your child has special educational needs, they may need extra help in a range of areas, for example:
- Schoolwork
- Reading, writing, number work or understanding information
- Expressing themselves or understanding what others are saying
- Making friends or relating to adults
- Behaving properly in school
- Organising themselves
- Some kind of sensory or physical needs which may affect them in school
Special educational statements:
A statement of special educational needs (SEN) sets out your child's needs and the help they should have. It is reviewed annually to ensure that any extra support given continues to meet your child's needs.
Special needs education act 2001:
Special educational needs: a guide for parents and carers:
www.teachernet.gov.uk (.pdf)
Special education debates:
Growing up
Transition plans
As any parent who has a child with a ‘Statement Of Special Educational Needs’ will know, each year the school holds and Annual Review. The child’s 'Statement' is reviewed at this time. In Year 9, the year a child turns 14; this review MUST include drawing up a 'Transition Plan':
"…The Transition Plan should draw together information from a range of individuals within and beyond school in order to plan coherently for the young person’s transition into adult life. Transition Plans, are not simply about post-school arrangements. They should plan for ongoing educational provision, under the Statement of Need as overseen by the Local Educational Authority" {Special Educational Needs Codes of Practice, Para 9.51}
Chapter 9 of the Special Educational Needs Codes of Practice also makes it clear that transition planning should address questions concerning the young person, their family, the school and the professionals supporting them. Questions should include:
- What are the hopes and aspirations for the future and how can these be met?
- Will parents experience new care needs and require practical support?
- How can the curriculum help young people play their role in the community?
- Does the young person have any special health or welfare needs that will require planning and support from Health and Social Care Services now and in the future?
One way to help with this process is to develop a ‘Person Centred Plan’. Person Centred Planning means finding out what is important to an individual and what is important for them to keep them healthy and safe and ‘acting’ (making it happen) on this information. To learn more about Person Centred Planning, visit the following websites:
www.familiesleadingplanning.co.uk
www.helensandersonassociates.co.uk
Transition Workshops
Growing up and moving on
"Many parents feel anxious at this time, predicting poor services or a possible lack of choice for their children. The support they have enjoyed through local parents groups or local children’s services will be moving away. For this reason it is vital that parents and their children plan for transition as early as possible" {Contact a Family}
For most young people growing up and moving on to adult life is an exciting time – a time to become more independent from ones family and a time to think about ones future.
For people with learning disabilities this phase in life is commonly known as ‘Transition’. Ultimately it means the same thing but for young people with learning disabilities and their families ‘transition’ can be an extremely challenging and stressful period for many reasons, for example:
- Lack of information
- Lack of support
- Fear of the ‘unknown’
The following Organisations focus on some of the main issues that families need to think about and who may be able to help out at this time:
Choice
Contact: Paul and Mandy Maryan
Telephone: 01235 834420
Email: paul.maryan@virgin.net
In Oxfordshire there are well-documented difficulties at the transition stage, in part this is due to the lack of choice in post-sixteen educational provision. Many of the national guidelines seem unhelpful as in all other areas of the country there is a choice of staying on at school or going to college. Currently in Oxfordshire this is not an option as it is expected that all young people will transfer to Colleges of Further Education.
A group of parents of young people living in Oxfordshire are trying to do something about this situation. CHOICE is a local parent campaign group who have for the last two years, campaigned for a greater choice in educational opportunities for young people with disabilities.
Parent partnership
Telephone: 01865 810516
Email: parentpartnership@oxfordshire.gov.uk
PARENT PARTNERSHIP services run in every Local Authority in the country. This service provides information and advice about Special Educational Needs (SEN) including:
- Support, impartial advice, information and training for parents of children with SEN
- Access to trained volunteer ‘Independent Parental Supporters’
- Regular weekly SEN advice drop-in sessions
Mencaps Transactive
Inclusive transition planning for teens.
Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities
A national charity promoting opportunities for young people and adults with any kind of impairment in post-16 education, training and employment.
The Transition information Network
Local contacts
Oxfordshire Children’s information services
OCIS provides information about childcare, early education, family support, resources for disabled children, other services for children, play and children's activities. This information is available to parents, carers and to professionals working with children.
This is a link to OCIS directory pages, specifically for disabled children:
www.oxfordshireservicesdirectory.org.uk
Oxfordshire County Council:
Information about childcare options and help with paying for it, early education for three and four year olds, family centres and opportunities to work with children in Oxfordshire.
General information
Every child matters:
Every Child Matters: Change for Children is a new approach to the well-being of children and young people from birth to age 19.
The Government's aim is for every child, whatever their background or their circumstances, to have the support they need to:
- Be healthy
- Stay safe
- Enjoy and achieve
- Make a positive contribution
- Achieve economic well-being
This means that the organisations involved with providing services to children - from hospitals and schools, to police and voluntary groups - will be teaming up in new ways, sharing information and working together, to protect children and young people from harm and help them achieve what they want in life. Children and young people will have far more say about issues that affect them as individuals and collectively.
Change for children:
Every Child Matters: Change for Children sets out the national framework for local change programmes to build services around the needs of children and young people so that we maximise opportunity and minimise risk. The services that reach every child and young person have a crucial role to play in shifting the focus from dealing with the consequences of difficulties in children’s lives to preventing things from going wrong in the first place. The transformation that we need can only be delivered.
Through local leaders working together in strong partnership with local communities on a programme of change. That is why this document sets out what action needs to be taken locall yand how Government will work with and support Local Authorities and their partners.
www.everychildmatter.gov.uk (.pdf)
Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign
A national campaign to get rights and justice for disabled children
HM TREASURY Children & Young People Review
The policy review of children and young people consists of four sub-reviews. A final report in response to three of those sub-reviews have now been published, setting out the action the Government will now take to:
- Raise the life chances of all children and young people, preventing problems by building resilience to the risks of poor outcomes and supporting children and young people as soon as possible when problems emerge
- Support those families with the poorest outcomes – caught in a cycle of low achievement
- Support families with disabled children to improve their outcomes
Further information click here:
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
Useful websites for children and young people:
Further links to useful information can be found at the websites listed below. This list is not exhaustive. If you have other information that you think will be useful to other Parents and Family Carers please get in touch with us.
- www.easywords.co.uk - Easy Words is the website of the Oxfordshire Learning Disability Partnership Board.
- www.everychildmatters.gov.uk
- www.ipsea.org.uk
- www.teachernet.gov.uk
- www.connexions-direc.com
- www.direct.gov.uk
- www.cafamily.org.uk (.pdf)
- www.mencap.org.uk/what_next (.pdf)
- www.mencap.org.uk/what_next_parents (.pdf)
- www.transitioninfornetwork.org.uk
