SEND newsletter February 2025
Spotlight on SEDIS provision
Since September 2024, districts across the county have been introducing their Staffordshire Enhanced District Inclusion Support (SEDIS) teams.
These teams are groups of schools and academy trusts who can support other schools with their SEND and inclusion graduated approach.
SEDIS is currently accessed through the Enhanced Assess Plan Do Review (EAPDR) pathway. As we move forward into 2025, we’ll be looking at whether SEDIS can be brought in at an earlier stage in your school’s graduated approach pathway.
For now, your Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) can request SEDIS as part of the EAPDR ‘Do’ phase, if you feel your school would benefit from additional support with your SEND and inclusion systems and processes.
Currently, SEDIS teams operate across six of our eight districts, which you can see below. We’re currently looking to commission teams in Lichfield and Staffordshire Moorlands. Last week, we invited education providers to submit a formal expression of interest to become SEDIS providers. Find out more about becoming a SEDIS team and how to submit a formal expression of interest online.
Current providers
- Cannock – Littleton Green Community School
- East Staffordshire – Fountains Primary, Fountains High, The De Ferrers Academy and William Shrewsbury Primary
- Newcastle – Langdale Primary School
- South Staffordshire – Endeavour Multi-Academy Trust
- Stafford – Creative Learning Partnership
- Tamworth – Endeavour Multi-Academy Trust
Reviewing and developing our joint SEND strategy
A strategy development group has been formed to review the joint SEND strategy 2021-25.
The group includes internal and external partners, and they will work to understand the impact of the current strategy and identify areas for improvement.
This review will inform the development of a new joint SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) strategy, which will be co-owned by Staffordshire County Council and the Staffordshire and Stoke-On-Trent Integrated Care Board. This strategy will continue to build on our successes and address ongoing challenges.
The strategy development group’s first area of focus will be to develop a comprehensive engagement plan that makes sure children, young people, their families, and wider stakeholders can contribute, co-produce and have their say in shaping the new strategy.
We’ll continue to share updates as this work progresses. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts or feedback on our SEND strategy, please email ellie.brownridge@staffordshire.gov.uk
Updates from our specialist teaching support service
Autism Inclusion Team (AIT)
The Autism Inclusion Team (AIT) is currently licensed to deliver Early Bird Plus and Teen Life parent training sessions on behalf of the National Autistic Society (NAS).
The Early Bird Plus programme helps parents and carers develop a greater understanding of their child’s needs following a diagnosis. It also aims to develop a consistent approach at home and school.
Teen Life is a six-session programme for the parents and/or carers of autistic young people aged 10 to 16 years. The programme brings parents together to share information, experiences and ideas in a structured way. It emphasises the importance of autistic perspectives, with a variety of videos and quotes used throughout the sessions.
We’re delighted that six families completed our latest Teen Life programme, which finished in December 2024. It was a privilege to work with the parents, and to see them support each other and share their worries and successes. We marked the final session by presenting attendance certificates and, as we were well into the festive season by then, sharing mince pies!
The next Early Bird Plus course started on Monday 27 January in Cannock and will run for ten weeks. We’re looking forward to getting to know our new group of attendees.
Wraparound training
Wraparound childcare is before and after school care for children. In a 2023 survey, parents told us they were not confident that wraparound childcare could meet their child’s needs, particularly for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
With funding secured from the Department for Education we’ve developed a comprehensive training programme for wraparound providers called the inclusive practice pathway.
As part of the Autism Inclusion Team’s contribution to the pathway, we’ll be delivering autism-specific training to any school or provider that has before and after school provision. We’ll be doing this online and in-person. The training is free, so please spread the word in settings with wraparound provision.
Traded packages of support
The Autism Inclusion Team offers traded packages to schools in Staffordshire. Traded packages allow schools to purchase specialist teacher and Communication Support Worker (CSW) support for their autistic students, including those on the pathway diagnosis.
The team has a limited number of traded support hours still available in this academic year. Many schools have already bought their package but if you still need to purchase support for your education setting, you can do this until the end of February 2025.
If you would like further information on our training offer, you can email sss.service@staffordshire.gov.uk
Intensive Support Service (ISS)
The Autism Inclusion Team offers an Intensive Support Service (ISS). Previously known as the enhanced team, this service provides support for autistic students who are struggling to access their mainstream curriculum and environment and may be at risk of a placement breakdown.
The service works with students from reception to year 11. For a young person with a Staffordshire Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), support can be accessed through the core offer. For children and young people without a Staffordshire EHCP, support can be accessed through our traded offer.
The Intensive Support Service for primary schools was used in ten different settings during the winter term. That means ten young people benefitted from specialist intensive support from the Autism Inclusion Team, for six weeks, in their own settings.
Each programme of support has focused on the individual, by listening to the pupil. It’s also worked in partnership with employees and the family, to identify strengths and differences, and support strategies have been put in place to make sure school is a positive experience for the young person.
It also helped to increase the knowledge and skills of the people working closely with them. Employees feel more confident in their roles, as a result of the training and support.
We’re looking forward to the spring term, where we can support more pupils, families and settings.
The Intensive Support Service for secondary schools was utilised in schools across the county during the autumn term, supporting pupils who were struggling to fully access their mainstream provision.
The team completed six eight-week programmes. Three of those were a continuation from the summer term, which included supporting with the transition back into school, delivering bespoke training to new employees, assessing the needs of the students, and providing final report and recommendations to settings and parents.
If you have an autistic student in your school, who you feel would benefit from our Intensive Support Service, please speak to your Autism Inclusion Team specialist teacher or the relevant social worker. You can also learn more about our Intensive Support Service and visit the local offer to read more about our core and traded offers.
Staffordshire AIT Facebook page
The Staffordshire Autism Inclusion Team (AIT) Facebook page continues to thrive, with more than 2,800 followers.
We advertise all our training sessions on the page, to boost interest and attendance.
We also used it to publish a poll, asking parents to vote on their preferred topic for two online sessions.
The poll showed that our ‘Autism and girls’ topic was very popular, which means we’re running a repeat session this month for the people on our waiting list.
Parents have valued these sessions, and feedback has been very positive, with parents keen for them to continue.
We’ll be running another poll in the coming weeks, asking parents again which sessions they’d like us to run for future dates.
Please visit our AIT Facebook page, and feel free to follow and share!
Event: Developing Attention in Autism – training and implementation for autism provisions, December 2024
Recent research in autism highlights the importance of education processes, which are linked to learning and academic performance, mental health and anxiety.
Importantly, attention can be developed, especially with the use of digital tools such as the Computerised Progressive Attention Training (CPAT) app. This, in turn, could benefit autistic children in schools, in terms of academic performance and wellbeing.
The event shared the experience of the University of Birmingham, who joined forces with the Staffordshire autism inclusion team and the National Association for Special Educational Needs (NASEN), to co-produce and test training materials and activities, which enabled teachers and practitioners to understand attention development and how to implement the CPAT app effectively.
The event included presentations from key practitioners and experts from The University of Birmingham, The University of Tel Aviv, NASEN, clinical psychologists and specialist teachers. This included a presentation of the CPAT app.
This collaboration continues to go from strength to strength, making sure that our practice remains current and relevant, and is evidence based.
Deaf/Hearing and Vision Inclusion Teams (DHIT and VIT)
We were pleased to welcome colleagues from mainstream and special schools to our deaf/hearing and vision inclusion training days, last term. We explored the impact of pupils’ sensory needs and how to effectively support children and young people in the classroom. We’d like to take this opportunity to offer our thanks to the young people and parents who came along to share their experiences and insights.
We met families and other organisations at the annual Parent Carer Forum. We welcomed the opportunity to deliver a workshop about the role of our teams in supporting children, young people, their families and settings. We were also able to share news about some of the other organisations that offer opportunities and advice for the children and young people we support.
Extra-curricular activities
Extra-curricular opportunities remain a key part of our offer for children with sensory impairments, helping them to come together to share experiences, forge new friendships and develop support networks.
Arts day
Last term, children and young people supported by the deaf/hearing and vision inclusion teams had great fun at our arts day, gluing and sticking, baking and taking part in a drumming workshop.
Families enjoyed joining in with the storyteller, and there were opportunities for families to chat. One parent said, “Thank you, my daughter has the best time and hasn’t stopped talking about it. She can’t wait for the next one!”
Trip to Foxfield Railway
A trip to Foxfield Railway was a magical way for children from the visual impairment team to begin their countdown to Christmas. They all loved the train ride and were very excited to meet a special person all dressed in red!
If you would like to know about upcoming events for your child or young person, please speak to their specialist teacher.
Updates from our Educational Psychology Service (EPS)
Colleague news
In January, we welcomed two new assistant educational psychologists to our service and we’re looking forward to Dr Tara Janda joining us as a new educational psychologist in our Cannock and Lichfield, after half term.
This term, we’ll also welcome a new educational psychologist to Stafford, and one to Burton. And we’ll be saying farewell to Nicki Walker, Caroline Lowe and Anna Andrews, who have all worked with us for the past year helping to embed Enhanced, Assess, Plan, Do, Review (EAPDR), and have contributed so much to the service.
Lastly, we’ll be celebrating Dr Rachel Oates’ new position as Academic and Professional Tutor.
EPS traded offer for the 2025/26 academic year
On Monday 6 January, we shared information about our traded offer for the 2025/26 academic year.
As we explained in our initial message, traded offer request forms are available from Monday 24 February and the deadline for returns is Friday 4 April 2025.
If you have any questions, please email EPSTradedService@staffordshire.gov.uk
Wraparound childcare
As the specialist teaching support service explained in their update, wraparound childcare is before and after school care for children.
We’ve been successful in securing funding from the Department for Education to provide an inclusive practice pathway for all wraparound childcare providers.
We have developed the pathway in partnership with the Improvement, Performance and Engagement Team (IPET), the Staffordshire Virtual School, and the Staffordshire SEND and inclusion service.
We're aiming to begin the inclusive practice pathway after February half-term and this month, we’ll be sharing lots of information with wraparound providers.
Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)
We currently supervise 160 Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) in Staffordshire, and we’re training a further 16 people.
We’re also providing an ongoing programme of Continuous Professional Development (CPD), which means ELSAs can book onto a variety of training events.
Our annual conference will be taking place in June 2025, and we’re delighted to be welcoming Dr Karen Treisman MBE as our guest speaker. Karen will be discussing how to support children’s emotional regulation.
Enhanced Assess Plan Do Review (EAPDR)
Educational psychologists continue to play a valuable role in the EAPDR pathway, attending the planning and review meetings, supporting schools to implement various interventions and monitoring progress.
We’re enjoying the breadth of practice and interventions that we have been supporting schools with, right across the county.
Educational psychology literacy approach/EPATT
Almost 250 schools have registered with the Educational Psychology Assessment through Teaching Tool (EPATT) and the numbers of young people being signed up continue to increase. We’re pleased to see the great progress that children are making, who have been struggling to read.
We’ve also launched the spelling EPATT, which is available for all schools to use, and we’re working hard to develop the numeracy version.
We’re excited to be working in partnership with McGraw-Hill, one of the largest publishers of educational materials, this term. We’ll be offering a spelling programme that is based on direct instruction – a method we know is effective for children with SEND.
If you have any questions, please email epliteracy@staffordshire.gov.uk
Staffordshire Virtual School
We continue to collaboratively support our care experienced community of children and young people through our involvement and strong relationship with the Staffordshire Virtual School.
Educational psychologists contribute to the extensive development offer provided by the virtual school, delivering central training to school employees of ‘Becoming attachment and trauma informed’ and ‘Emotion coaching’.
School employees completing or beginning an attachment and trauma pathway in their setting are invited to join us at our upcoming reflective network events. We’ll share more details about these events, soon.
We’re also investing in supporting and developing evidence-based practice approaches, through research. This includes exploring suspensions and exclusions, and the change of placements.
Children’s homes
In 2025, we’re excited to develop our connections with children’s homes in Staffordshire. Educational psychologists will work alongside colleagues in these residential settings, to develop relational systems and experiences for our care experienced community of children and young people. We’ll do that through a ‘Team around the home’ model.
Non-attendance at school
Our practice in this area continues to develop, by working alongside communities at different levels.
The educational psychology service guidance has been updated, following valuable feedback from schools who attended the School Non-Attendance (SNA) training.
We continue to take part in conversations about research, challenges, good practice and next steps at local authority level for education and health. We do this through our community of practice group and at a wider level, though co-leading the regional and national educational psychology SNA workshops and networks.
Updates from Staffordshire Virtual School
As always, we want to thank you for your continued support of Staffordshire’s care experienced children and young people.
Please take a moment to visit our new website for up-to-date information about policy guidance and training, and details about arts and sports opportunities for our children in care.
Training offer
We’re pleased to share our Virtual School training programme for spring and summer 2025.
Sessions include RADY for designated teachers, introduction to emotion coaching, attachment and trauma aware approaches to support children and young people, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
Arts and sports calendar
Our arts and sports calendar 2024-25 shares details of fantastic experiences for our care experienced children and young people.
Sessions include a music event with Entrust, regional arts events and an experience day with Stoke City FC.
Student ambassadors programme
Visit the Staffordshire Virtual School website for information about our student ambassadors programme for children in year 5 and above. Budding ambassadors will develop skills for life, including active listening, negotiation, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and modelling positive behaviours.
Attachment Research Community (ARC) pathway
For more information about the Attachment Research Community (ARC) pathway offer, keep an eye on our website or email virtual.school@staffordshire.gov.uk
The pathway provides support for your school’s development and provides formal, national recognition of your journey from ARC membership to bronze, silver, gold and hub Centre of Excellence achievements.
Introducing the Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) network
Staffordshire County Council and the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust are pleased to announce the launch of our Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) network.
This is an exciting new way to support speech and language progression in education settings right across the county.
Network meetings will take place four times a year. They are a way for a diverse group of professionals to work together to improve educational outcomes by sharing good practice and developing innovative strategies.
Attendees will enjoy interesting and informative discussions, workshops that will offer practical tools and insights, and networking opportunities with peers.
The first meeting took place on Wednesday 29 January 2025, and we were delighted to be joined by professionals from a variety of settings. It was an engaging and informative session, with lots of feedback shared by attendees that will shape the way we run future network meetings.
In our next update, you’ll be able to read about how work is progressing, and we’re excited to share our journey with you.
Upcoming sessions for 2025
- Thursday 3 April, 2pm to 4pm, online
- Tuesday 17 June, 2pm to 4pm, online
- Wednesday 1 October, 2pm to 4pm, online
Key contacts
Melissa Jones, Principal Educational Psychologist, Staffordshire County Council, melissa.jones@staffordshire.gov.uk
Paula Simpson, Team Leader Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy, Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust, paulaa.simpson@mpft.nhs.uk
Participants needed – exploring the experiences of children and young people affected by parental imprisonment
We’re supporting Elenya McGovern, a year three trainee educational psychologist at the University of Birmingham, to complete a research study on the experiences of children ages 8-18 who have, or have had, a parent or carer in prison.
Elenya’s research hopes to improve the support for children and families who have experienced parental imprisonment. It also aims to identify the strengths and positive experiences of individuals, and what professionals can do more of.
In return for taking part, there will be signposting services to resources and information created by charities to support families, and each child will receive a £15 Amazon voucher as a thank you for their time.
Full details can be found on the study overview. For more information, you can email Elenya ekm260@student.bham.ac.uk at any time.
Update from Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (ICB)
The Integrated Care Board (ICB) and health providers, North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust (NSCHT) and the Midlands Partnership Foundation Trust (MPFT) have a SEND health team, to make sure we’re meeting our duties and responsibilities.
Our colleagues
Catherine Lewin is the designated clinical officer for SEND and continues to be the lead between our health teams and Stoke-On-Trent City Council.
Denise Dyke is the ICB’s strategic improvement lead for SEND and she works with the local authority commissioners.
Within the ICB, Catherine and Denise work to make sure SEND is embedded throughout all the relevant improvement work, including that of children’s mental health and children’s young people’s services. They provide information back to make sure we can all work together to improve the outcomes in SEND.
Liz Salvage is the SEND manager in MPFT and Debbie Boughey is the SEND lead and preparation for adulthood lead in the NSCHT. Liz and Debbie work to make sure SEND is everyone’s business in children’s and adult’s services.
Key areas of work for our colleagues are to make sure quality advice is sought and provided for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and annual reviews. They support the plan writing teams, providing quality assurance with plans and supporting co-production improvements to health services. They also provide updates and training, facilitate collaborative working across education, including Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs), health and social care teams.
To find out more about health services, please see the SEND local offer.
For questions about therapies and nursing services, including 0-19, MHST or CAMHS, email elizabeth.salvage@mpft.nhs.uk
For questions about the North Staffordshire Mental Health in Schools Teams (MHST), or Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), email Deborah.boughey@combined.nhs.uk
For all other questions, please email catherine.lewin@staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk or denise.dyke@staffsstoke.icb.nhs.uk
Health appointments and attendance
Health teams have been made aware of the new attendance guidance, Working together to improve school attendance. They will always try to prioritise appointments to miss minimal schooling.
Unfortunately, we’re currently seeing a high number of ‘was not brought’ (WNB) appointment notes. This is due to schools not releasing children to attend necessary appointments, which can cause significant further delays in meeting their needs.
Did you know? Health teams have invested significant time adding professional, school and parent resources to their MPFT and MSCHT websites.
This information can be found by visiting pages including the local offer, health and occupational therapy, and following the links.
Please make the most of these pages. Team leaders welcome your feedback, to improve the information available. You can share that using the contact details provided on each website.