SEND services in Bexley

Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Caroline Newton said:

There is so much fantastic work going on in the borough to support our children and young people with SEND and their parents and carers. We have brought together just a sample of the good work happening either through Bexley as part of the Safety Valve programme, or through our work with community and health partners, schools, children and young people, parents and carers, and the programmes and initiatives we have developed. There is much more happening. Sign up to our regular e-newsletters and keep an eye on our Local Offer website pages to keep up to date with the latest initiatives.”

Safety Valve Programme Update

The SEND Safety Valve Programme is a Department for Education initiative designed to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND. Bexley’s Safety Valve Programme has been running since September 2023. The programme included £7.2m of new investment towards implementation of interventions and initiatives.

Just some of the achievements so far have included:

• The roll out of new Resourced Provisions to provide places for children and young people who may otherwise have been placed in special schools
• 2,700 children have benefitted from one or more early intervention programmes to date
• All schools have been offered early intervention training or programmes to support their pupils speech, language and communication and their social and emotional wellbeing and development
• 44 young people started their Supported Internships via the Shaw Trust and the our local Learning and Enterprise College Bexley and have work placements secured
• 65 parents have attended the Incredible Years parenting programme
• Marlborough School’s Outreach Project working with 66 children and young people to maintain mainstream school placements

Bexley Local Offer Safety Valve Update

Parent Carer Participation Group

Parents and Carers of children and young people with SEND (Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities) came together at the start of the year with SEND leads at the London Borough of Bexley for a new ‘Parent/Carer Participation Group’ session.

Attendees included parent/carer representatives from Bexley Voice, Jesses Place Foundation, The EBSA Parent Support Group, Bexley SNAP, Bexley Crossroads, Bexley Carers Partnership and Bexley UK SEND Sanctuary.

The afternoon gave the group representatives an opportunity to discuss the issues that the parent carer members of their groups were most concerned about. These included concerns about the upcoming government SEND reforms and how these might change the support for children and young people, the need for more inclusive community social activities, the need for information and support around sleep issues and mental health support for children and young people.

The open and transparent discussions from this and other parent carer engagement meetings are vital to inform the leaders of the Local Area SEND Partnership about the needs of children with SEND and their families and inform service improvements and strategies.

The Parent Carers Participation and Engagement Group will met three times a year aiming to further improve the two way communication between parent carers and the Local Area SEND Partnership with a wide group of parents.

Incredible Years

The Incredible Years’ Programme is a 12-week parenting group for parents and carers of preschool and school aged children with facilitators from the Early Intervention Service. The team have been delivering this in some schools and at the Erith Family Hub.

It is a therapeutic, evidence-based parenting programme, supporting children, parents and carers.

Why complete the programme?

• Increasing parent and carer confidence.
• Parent-child interactions.
• Nurturing relationships
• Reducing behaviour challenges
• Promotes social, emotional and academic skills in children.
• Friendly, supportive group approach.

To find out more or to sign up please email IY@bexley.gov.uk.

Bexley Oracy Network

Oracy is a powerful tool for learning, teaching students to become more effective speakers and listeners.

The Talk Matters programme, that supports speech, language and communication needs in primary school pupils is having a strong and sustained impact across Bexley schools, embedding oracy as a core part of school culture.

Oracy strategies are now embedded in daily teaching practice, leading to improved pupil engagement, confidence and wellbeing. Schools report including reduced suspensions and lower persistent absence and fewer parental complaints.

Academic outcomes are improving reading at KS2. Pupils are increasingly confident speakers who can explain their thinking and collaborate well. Oracy is supporting calmer, more connected learning environments, whilst strengthening inclusion. These successes have led to the creation of the Bexley Oracy Network, which will disseminate best practice borough-wide.

Time 2 Talk

Time 2 Talk, Bexley’s SEND youth forum, recently welcomed Gwen, a community oral health nurse, who spoke with the group about how to look after our teeth, how to register with a dentist, what to expect when visiting the dentist, making appointments and how to change to a new dental practice.

She also explained that young people with SEND can access specialist dental services. Gwen shared helpful tips on what to do and what to avoid. Using this information, the young people decided they would like to create a poster to display in schools, colleges, GP practices, and other places where young people go.

The Time 2 Talk forum is a safe, inclusive, and empowering space for young people aged 12 to 25 years who live in Bexley who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. 

Bexley Local Offer - Time to Talk

Sleep support

Quality sleep is essential for children’s growth and development. If a child isn’t getting enough sleep, then the parents probably aren’t either – causing increasing stresses among the whole family. Sleep deprivation causes increased hyperactivity and other behavioural

problems, as well as affecting physical development.

There are many different factors which can affect children’s sleep. From the bedroom environment, sensory processing problems to health reasons such as Autism or ADHD.

If you have a child with additional needs and sleep issues, bedtime can be tricky. 

Bexley Local Offer - Sleep Support

Shenstone School officially opens

Leader of the Council, Cllr David Leaf and Cabinet Member for Education and Corporate Services, Cllr Caroline Newton, were on hand to mark the official opening of Shenstone School’s new expansion.

They were joined by Deputy Mayor Cllr Janice Ward-Wilson as they cut the ribbon to the new secondary site situated in Halt Robin Road, adjacent to Cornerstone School.

The expansion, which formally opened in September, creates an all-through school for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) aged two to 19.

The project saw nearly £16 million invested to deliver the new permanent secondary provision site, with £9.5 million contributed as part of the borough’s Safety Valve Programme and the remainder from Department for Education SEND Grants secured by the London Borough of Bexley.

This new building complements the Council’s two existing SEND Free Schools, Cleeve Meadow and Cornerstone, along with 140 new specialist Resource Provision places.

Cabinet Member for Education, Cllr Caroline Newton said: 

The expansion is an excellent example of the quality of specialist provision that we provide for our SEND pupils in Bexley.  I would again like to thank parents and carers for their patience while the new school was developed. I would also like to thank school staff and TKAT for working so closely with the Borough to make Bexley even better.”

Cllr David Leaf, Cllr Caroline Newton, Deputy Mayor’s Consort John Ward Wilson, Deputy Mayor Cllr Janice Ward-Wilson, Executive Headteacher LoriAnn Mackey, TKAT CEO, Russell Hobby CBE at the opening of Shenstone School’s expansion.

Supported Internships

Bexley is working with The Shaw Trust and Learning and Enterprise College Bexley to develop its Supported Internship programmes available to young people aged 16-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

A Supported Internship is a one-year programme supporting young people who have SEND into paid employment.

This scheme has already seen success with a Shaw Trust Supported Intern recently starting a rotation in the London Borough of Bexley’s IT team. 

Bexley Local Offer - Supported Internships

New tool-kit to support EBSA

Parents and carers of children and young people who are experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) were invited to a conference at the end of last year, organised and delivered by Bexley’s Educational Psychology Team.

EBSA refers to a child or young person’s difficulty in attending school due to emotional distress, anxiety, or fear.

The conference was a chance for participants to understand more about Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA), seek advice, share their experiences and contribute to co-creation of a Parent and Carer EBSA Toolkit for Bexley.

Bexley Educational Psychologists run the EBSA Parent/Carer support group which meets once every half term at Bexleyheath Central Library.

Email: ParentEBSAsupport@bexley.gov.uk.

Local Offer Live Event

The SEND Local Area Partnership held a Local Offer Live event for young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and their families at the end of last year, supporting their Preparation for Adulthood.

The event was developed in response to feedback from young people and parent carers, working in partnership with the Council and the wider SEND Partnership.

Young people were central to the event. A total of 17 schools and settings brought cohorts of young people to attend the event. More than 340 people attended Local Offer Live, with 72% aged between 13 and 25. 

Keep an eye out for the next Local Offer Live event due to take place on 6 March

Find out more about SEND in Bexley and sign up to our SEND e-newsletters.