Keeping you up to date with SEND improvements

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You can see the results and impact of what BMBC is doing to improve SEND Services in Barnsley on this page. 

The page is regularly updated so please check back soon. 

After the results of the Co-Production survey (May2023)  a face to face workshop was held on the 9th August 2023 at the Ozone. The aim of the workshop was to start developing a way of bringing parent/carer groups together to be involved in co-production.

At the workshop the consortium model was presented as a way to bring parent carer groups together. 

Discussions happened in 4 mixed groups to look at 4 key questions:

• 👩‍👩‍👧‍👧What might a consortium model for SEND co-production with parents and carers in Barnsley look like?
• 📝 Who could be its members?
• 👩‍🏫 What are the next steps we need to take to make it work?
• 🧔 How can we make sure that other parents and carers who are not part of groups feel included in co-production?

Find out more: 

🔎 You can read the write up and summary report from the workshop here.

• 🤝 You want to be involved in co-production
• 📄 You want a plan for how we do co-production in Barnsley
  
• 📝What should be in the plan
  
• 👬 You want a mixed method approach to co-production
  
• 📱 How you want to be communicated with

As parents and carers you told us that you want a specific Facebook page for co-production.

In July 2023 the SEND Co-production Barnsley Facebook page was created where, alongside the Local Offer you will be able to find information about all opportunities to be involved in shaping services and decisions about SEND in Barnsley and future updates.

Good News 🎉 The Department for Education has been accepting proposals for new special free schools. Barnsley Council and Sheffield City Council submitted a joint proposal, and it has been approved.

Who is it for?

🧒 The new school is designed for 200 children and young people from Barnsley and Sheffield who have complex autism and communication needs. It's not necessary for a child to have an official autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis to get a place. Instead, if there is strong evidence of complex communication and interaction needs through the Education, Health and Care (EHC) process and the child is on the pathway for diagnosis, they can be considered. The school will also admit children who show traits of, or have been diagnosed with, pathological demand avoidance.

When will it open?

👷‍♂️ As for when the school will open, it depends on how long construction takes, and the exact dates are not confirmed yet. The working assumption is that it might open in either September 2026 or 2027.

🔎 Find out more

You can read the full statement here on the BMBC website

BMBC shared key headlines of the SENDIASS review via social media at the time.

Find out more: 

The council’s children’s commissioning team has now published the executive summary, where you can read more about the methods, findings, and recommendations of the review. Take a look at the SENDIASS Review Executive Summary here

• How well we identify the needs of children and young people.
  
• How well we assess and meet needs of children and young people.
  
• How successful we are at getting the best outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

• The engagement of, and communication with, parents and carers. Local statutory partners need to ensure that the lived experience of families is influencing their strategic plans for services and provision.
  
• Improving the identification of, and provision for, children and young people with SEND but without an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

📝 Read the full SEND Inspection Letter from Ofsted here