Home / HPCI Member update 19 January 2024
We’ve had a busy start to the new term, including meetings with the 0-25 team to discuss parent carer feedback from the HPCI survey, further conversations about what parents would like to see included in the training for the new SEN staff that are being recruited, and a first meeting of the group looking at improving SEND data, as set out in the new Priority Action Plan. More on this Plan below – this week’s update is covering:
Ofsted/CQC Inspection update: Priority Action Plan has been published
Following last year’s Ofsted / CQC’s inspection of Hertfordshire’s SEND services, the local partnership of HCC and health were required to develop a plan to set out how they will deliver the improvements the report said were needed. They had to submit this plan to Ofsted before Christmas and it has now been published on the Local Offer website.
If you have any thoughts about this plan that you would like us to feed in as your parent carer forum, please do let us know. We will be doing all we can to keep the views and voices of families in the conversations about delivering change and keeping the focus on improving outcomes for our children and young people.
Survey: Issues with Transport
Last September, lots of parent carers took part in our transport poll (via Facebook). We really appreciated all your input and have shared your feedback and used your views in conversations with the Herts SEND Transport Team (anonymously).
At the national level, the NNCPF (the National Network of Parent Carer Forums) have said that they are hearing from a growing number of families whose child’s attendance is affected because of issues with transport. If you are one of those families and you have a few minutes to share your experiences, please do fill in the survey here.
Training: Free online training sessions for parent carers of children with SEND aged 0-5
There are lots of free training course being offered online at the moment from Contact and the Council for Disabled Children. Many of these are aimed at parent carers of children with SEND aged 0-5 and cover topics such as sensory processing, sleep, money matters and the Equality Act. Click on the links above for more details and booking information.
Competition: Design and name a new Dental Van
The Special Care Dental Service in Hertfordshire is a referral service for children and adults who are unable to access dental care from their local dentist. This may include very anxious children, those with a learning disability, a complex medical history, a mental health problem or those who require the use of specialist equipment. The service is buying a new dental van to drive to areas that have difficulties in accessing this service and they would like to hear from children and young people about what they think the van should be called and how it could be decorated. If your child would like to take part in this competition, they can complete a survey here or print and colour in a picture of the van, by clicking here. The competition is open until 29 March.