HPCI Member Update 16 January 2023

Happy new year – we hope that you and your family had a good Christmas.  Our first newsletter of the year has a few items of information about events and opportunities to give your views (as below), but I really wanted to put a call out for input from families, to help HPCI to draw a clear picture of what it is like being a family with SEND in Hertfordshire.

As was mentioned in our update before Christmas, Hertfordshire is likely to have its SEND Area Inspection in the coming months.  HPCI will be drawing on the feedback parents and carers gave us through our survey to let Inspectors know about family views and experiences.

In addition to this, we are creating a series of case studies, looking at the current experience of Hertfordshire children and young people with SEND. These may be shared with OFSTED/CQC in the next Hertfordshire SEND Inspection and will also be used in our ongoing work alongside education, health and social care teams.

If you’d be interested in sharing the current experiences of your child or young person (over the last two years), please leave your details here and we’ll then contact you for further information. We may not be able to follow up with everyone immediately, but will work to develop a balanced set of case studies, that represent a wide range of families.  Thanks in advance to everyone who is able to support this work.

The rest of this newsletter covers:

• Finding out more about the Local Offer website (webinar on 19 January)
• Save the date for the next Inclusive Job Fair (Thursday 23 February at West Herts College).
• Online event looking at getting medicines right (for autistic people and people with a learning disability, and their families and carers – 26 January)
• Opportunities to take part in research and give your views

Finding out more about the Local Offer website (webinar on 19 January)
The Local Offer website brings together a wealth of information about SEND in Hertfordshire. The team at HCC that manages the website are hosting a webinar for families this Thursday evening, if you wanted to find out more. The webinar is at Thursday 19 January 2023, 8pm – 8.45pm and you can Click here to join the meeting

Inclusive Job Fair
Save the date for the next Inclusive Job Fair aimed towards people with learning and physical disabilities, sensory needs, neurodiversity and mental health conditions.  The Fair is taking place on Thursday 23 February (10:00 to 15:00) at West Herts College and further details can be found here.

Getting medicines right
This online event is for autistic people and people with a learning disability, and their families and carers.  It’s taking place on Thursday 26th January from 10am to 3:30pm (with breaks) and more details can be found here.

Opportunities to take part in research and give your views

• A research project looking at caregiver stress during their child’s transition from secondary school or college. This is aimed at parents or carers of a young person with a diagnosis of a learning (intellectual) disability who is currently transitioning from secondary school/college or did so in the last five years, and who found this process stressful. More details here.
• Autism Bedfordshire (who also work in Hertfordshire) would like to hear from autistic adults or their parent/carer about their experiences with health and social care teams; to find out if reasonable adjustments have been made for them when attending appointments, being in hospital or any other reason for meeting with a healthcare or social care professional. Click here to complete the survey.

Thanks for reading.  As ever, if you have any feedback on this newsletter or anything you’d like us to be aware of regarding services for families with SEND in Hertfordshire, you can always email us: contact@hertsparentcarers.org.uk