Home / HPCI Member Update 25 February 2022
Just a brief update this week, which covers:
Hertfordshire childcare survey
Each year, HCC undertakes a survey into childcare provision in the county. Parents and carers of children aged 0-14 are being asked to feed in their views and it would be great if the needs of children with SEND were highlighted in this work. If you have a few minutes to complete the survey, you can find it here: https://surveys.hertfordshire.gov.uk/s/7PWXXJ/
Supported Employment Job Fair for Herts residents with disabilities
Step2Skills are hosting an event for people living in the Stevenage area with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, sensory needs or Autism to meet with potential employers, find out what jobs are available and meet the Supported Employment Team. The fair will be taking place on Thursday 12th May 2022 at 10am to 12 noon, and 1pm to 3pm at North Herts College, Monkswood Way, Stevenage, SG1 1LA. A poster with further details is at the bottom of this page.
Support for Herts families who may need help paying for food or heating
New data from the Food Foundation shows that people who are “limited a lot” by disability are approximately 5 times more likely to be food insecure than people who aren’t living with a disability. And Contact, the charity for families with disabled children, found that 10% of the families it supports used a food bank for the first time during the pandemic. If your family needs help, you might find the Contact benefits calculator tool a useful way to check your entitlements. Contact also has a grants search tool to see if you can apply for support and pages on benefits and tax credits and on money and debt advice. More locally, you can contact HertsHelp (0300 123 4044) if you need help with the costs of paying for food or heating your home.
Reminder about Goal Based Outcomes training taking place next Monday (28 Feb)
You might remember that the Educational Psychology Service ran some training at the end of last year about Goal Based Outcomes (GBOs). This was aimed at parents and carers of children and young people who have an EHCP and attend a mainstream school or SEMH provision and provided information about GBOs, which will be used to measure progress against outcomes in EHCPs as part of the Annual Review process and discussions.
There were a number of families who were not able to attend the training session, so another session will be taking place via Microsoft Teams on Monday 28 February from 1:30pm – 3:00pm. To book a place, please email sendstrategy@hertfordshire.gov.uk and you will be sent an invite.
Government blog about vaccinating clinically vulnerable children
In response to concerns from families about vaccinating clinically vulnerable children and young people, the Government has recently published this blog, that covers questions about eligibility and access, as well as safety and interactions with other medication.
