Introduction to the Southend Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Local Offer
1. Introduction
The local offer, in terms of the services and support available for children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND and their families in the local area is overseen by the Southend SEND Partnership. Each local area has statutory duties (under the Children and Families Act 2014) and responsibilities in supporting children and young people with SEND.
The Southend SEND Partnership was formed to ensure the local area carries out its duties and to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of support. Together, the Partnership oversees the work of the local area to ensure that children and young people with SEND achieve the best possible educational and other outcomes, such as being able to live independently, secure meaningful employment and be well prepared for their adult lives. Further information about the Southend SEND Partnership can be found here: The Southend SEND Partnership
Every local authority must publish their SEND Local Offer, showing in one place information about provision expected to be available from education, health and social care for children and young people with SEND with or without an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Details of Southend's SEND Local Offer is published on Southend#39;s health and wellbeing website, Livewell Southend which contains 3 channels:
2. Statutory framework
Section 4 of the SEND Code of Practice 2015, sets out the requirements for Local Authorities to publish in one place, information about provision they expect to be available across education, health and social care for children and young people with SEND, both with and without an EHCP. This must include provision in the Local Authority's area and provision outside the area which it expects children and young people with SEND are likely to use.
3. Resourcing and capacity
The SEND Local Offer Team sits within the Southend Council SEND Team. The Local Offer team is now fully staffed and currently comprises 3 paid members of staff and 1 part time volunteer:
- 1 x 0.7 FTE SEND Project Manager
- 1 x 1 FTE Local Offer and Co-Production Officer
- 1 x 1 FTE Local Offer and Co-Production Assistant
- 1 x 0.3 FTE volunteer
There were 2 vacancies in the team over the spring term of 2022 and capacity in the team was significantly reduced. A Local Offer and Co-Production Officer and Assistant were recruited and joined the council in late April and May 2022. Both members of staff came with a wealth of relevant experience and were able to settle into their roles quickly. The newly formed team have quickly developed an effective working relationship and have made a significant improvement to the information, advice and guidance on offer through the SEND Local Offer channel of Livewell and social media channels.
In July 2022, the team were able to take on a young person as a part time volunteer. The volunteer lives in Southend and had a Southend Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) whilst at school. He is currently studying for a Masters in Public Policy and his personal interest and insight into the work of the team and services and support for young people with SEND, as well as an academic interest has been an asset to the team.
4. Professional development and training
The Local Offer and Co-Production Officer and Assistant are currently undertaking an Asset Based Community Development training programme which will support future engagement work with parent carers and children and young people with SEND. As part of their induction with the Council, they completed e-learning modules in Autism Awareness, Information and Cyber Security, and Data Protection.
The Local Offer and Co-Production Assistant also attended Ability Net training on accessible social media and has viewed a recording of an Ability Net training session on How to Create Accessible Documents with Word and PDF's.
The SEND Local Offer team also attended a conference in November 2022 entitled "No 2 children are the same".