Inclusion Matters Newsletter - January 2022

Introduction

BY JESSICA JUON, HEAD OF SERVICE 0-25 SEND Newham underwent a Local Area Inspection of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, led by Ofsted and the CQC, during the week commencing 6 December. The inspection incorporated a range of views including those from a number of schools and educational settings, parents, carers, children and young people. I am extremely grateful to all involved for their time and energy not just during the inspection but continually. The inspection provided valuable opportunities for people to come together to sharpen our focus and ambition for SEND. I enjoyed meeting a wide range of people during the inspection and am eager to further develop working relationships with practitioners, parents, carers, children and young people in 2022.

I look forward to sharing with you the outcome of the inspection when we receive the findings over the coming weeks. I understand that there is work to be done and am committed to collaborating with the partnership to improve outcomes. Parents, carers, children and young people have an important role to play within the improvement journey so please contact the team if you would like to be involved in co-production. You can contact the team via the following email address: local.offer@newham.gov.uk Meanwhile, the partnership continues to drive improvements at pace and our multi-agency SEND panel has been re-established to support robust decision processes around education health and care needs assessments. The panel members are working together to gather information to understand the child / young person’s needs, which includes evidence of the action taken in schools and settings.

Missing no opportunity to celebrate success, I would like to draw your attention to Raj Mistry’s commentary below. Raj writes about Aadam, who was able to correspond with Santa, using Braille, for the first time this year. Aadam receives support from a dedicated and coordinated, multi-disciplinary team. The SEND Sensory Service are delighted with Aadam’s progress and impressed by Lathom’s approach. As a result of Aadam's teacher's commitment to learn and use Braille, Aadam's confidence has grown!