We are listening

Engagement planner 2019-20

Look at all the things you can get involved in!

When?	What?	Who?	How?
July 2019- November 2019	Improving support for children and young people with autism awaiting assessment/diagnosis	Parent carers Children and young people	Continue to leave online feedback here Participate in a local workshop
July 2019 – ongoing	Improving the SEND Local Offer website	Parent Carers Young people	Continue to leave online feedback here Participate in a review session
September 2019 – April 2020	Helping people understand the EHCP process	Parent carers Workers	Participate in an information session
September 2019 – October 2019	Finding out more about Assistive and Augmentative Communication (AAC) in Devon	Children and young people with visual impairment, hearing impairment, multi-sensory impairment, or speech, language and communication needs and their parents. Workers	Take an online survey
October – November 2019 then January – March 2020	Finding out what works, what doesn’t work, and what would improve Short Breaks.	Children and young people with disabilities and their parent carers. Workers	Take an online survey Come to an engagement session
September – November 2019	Working together to improve support for families to prepare a young person for adulthood.	Young people with SEND Parent carers	Continue to give online feedback Participate in a review session
November 2019-March 2020	Checking the improvements to services are happening	Young people with SEND Parent carers	Become a mystery shopper

You said, we did - your feedback and what we did about it

Parent Carer representatives brought a report to the SEND Improvement Board in summer 2018, and returned in autumn 2018 with four key issues for the SEND Board to address.

The SEND Board has issued a response which you can read here.

Date	Feedback	Response
summer 2018	The first page of the EHCP has personal details on it and looks very formal – it would be helpful if we had a front cover for privacy.	We added a front cover to the EHCP for privacy, with a customisable image that the child or young person can choose.
summer 2018	As a parent, there are times when it is difficult for me to attend meetings and my own additional needs make it difficult for me to have a voice.	We have added to Section A of the plan: “barriers to attending appointments” and “times difficult to attend appointments” so these can be avoided and we can support you.
summer 2018	The EHCP doesn’t show how my child or young person needs to communicate.	We have added a box to the top of Section A that will show clearly how the child or young person communicates.
summer 2018	Section A of the plan is often really minimal and you don’t get any idea of what the child or young person is like.	We have changed the format of Section A to give space for the child or young person to articulate themselves. We have also included a section for parent carer’s aspirations for their child and ‘What I would like you to know about my child’ with prompts.
summer 2018	It’s hard to tell what provision is for what need and what outcome.	We have added numbers to the needs and these numbers mean it should be easier to read across the table and identify the outcome and provision corresponding to the need.
May 2018	The EHCP doesn’t show how my child or young person needs to communicate.	We have added a box to the top of Section A that will show clearly how the child or young person communicates.
May 2018	Once we had contact with a particular person, we felt a lot more in control of the process and felt listened to. Your worker was very responsive to our queries and was able to answer any questions empathically and clearly.	Thank you for this feedback which was passed to the SEN 0-25 Team.
May 2018	Very impressed with the friendly, clear and efficient service. I felt that your worker really took an interest and felt very much treated as an individual. I was impressed with the time given on the phone for information and guidance. Very helpful and I felt we were in good hands throughout.	Thank you for this feedback which was passed to the SEN 0-25 Team.
May 2018	Parent reps from Devon Parent Carers’ Voice and the SEND Local Offer Reference Group have taken a report to the SEND Board, containing issues around the EHCP process. The report covers content of the EHCPs; transfers from statements to EHCPs; communication with the SEN 0-25 Team; Multi-Agency co-operation on EHCPs; and decisions around EHC Needs Assessments.	This report has been seriously considered. The head of SEND has met with parent carers to discuss concerns face to face. As a result, Devon will be working over the summer to create: Myth-busters for Professionals Multi-agency training Changes to the EHC Plan format Improved letters and communication We will continue to work with parent carers while making improvements and we welcome constructive recommendations. We look forward to receiving another report in autumn term. We will also ensure your report is considered by the Scrutiny Councillors when they focus on EHCPs.

Feedback on EHCPs

Parent Carer representatives brought a report to the SEND Improvement Board in summer 2018, and returned in autumn 2018 with four key issues for the SEND Board to address.

The SEND Board has issued a response which you can read here.

Every time we issue an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), we ask parents for feedback about the process. We are currently re-designing the ‘feedback survey’ so it gives a more rounded picture of the whole process. We will use what parents have told us already and would welcome your views.

Parental Feedback on EHCPs – Annual Report – 2018

How to give feedback or make a complaint

Whether we’ve got something right, or could have done something better, we would like to hear what you think of our services.

Every year, we are going to run a SEND Strategic Review Survey. This helps us understand how well provision is meeting people’s needs and is an opportunity for you to provide feedback on your experience. 2017 was the first time we have ever done the review. The results of the SEND Strategic Review were published in March 2018.

What is a consultation?

We use the word ‘consultation’ to refer to a formal view-gathering process between Devon County Council and the people it serves. ‘Consultation’ might be done with a survey, a meeting or workshop. Devon County Council runs a have your say website for its formal consultations – you can see how to shape services across Devon in all areas of Council activity, from transport and roads to education and schools.

NEW Devon CCG and South Devon and Torbay CGG work closely with Devon County Council to run engagement around children and young people’s services.

Current projects include:

What if I am unhappy with a service I receive?

If you have a problem with a provider, whether this is a school, social care or health service, or private company, you should talk to them first and try to solve the problem together. If you don’t feel confident doing this by yourself you can ask the Devon Information Advice & Support for SEND service (DIAS) for help and support. You may need to submit an official complaint if it is not possible to solve the problem in this way.

If your complaint is related to the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process, there are laws which affect how you complain. Please visit the EHCP pages of this website for information about complaints, appeals and mediation. If you receive an EHCP, you will also receive a survey which you can use to give your feedback on the process.

To complain about Devon County Council services please contact the Customer Relations Team.

How do I complain about a school?

Gov.uk How to complain about a school

What are the complaints policies for different organisations?

Who could support me to make a complaint?

A guide to complaints for young people aged 16-25 in education
Healthwatch – your independent consumer champion for health and social care
Patient opinion – The UK’s independent non-profit feedback platform for patients
PALS – NEW Devon CCG – help, advice and support with concerns or comments relating to NHS services in north, East and West Devon.
PALS – South Devon and Torbay CCG – a valuable source of information about which organisations can help in South Devon and Torbay.
DIAS – impartial SEND information, advice and support

Children and Young People's Participation - how to get involved

The Council for Disabled Children has produced a factsheet about methods and levels of participation. We are working towards enabling participation where children and young people with SEND and their families can influence at an individual, organisational and strategic level.

Devon’s children and young people’s participation group is called ‘Champions for Change’. We are a group of young people with special educational needs and disabilities who believe that voices should be heard, not ignored: Listen, hear and understand.
We are working on a film project which we hope will help children and young people with special needs understand their rights to have a voice and to be heard. We meet about once every half term at Tiverton Youth Centre, where we learn about what participation means and where we can have an impact. We hope to reach more young people with our film and enable them to become ‘Champions for Change’ too!

I am a young person and I want to get involved!

Devon SEND Young People’s Action Plan – December 2016

Champions for Change – session notes from 31st January 2018

Champions for Change – session notes from 5th March 2018

Champions for Change – session notes from 2nd May 2018

Champions for Change – session notes from 21st January 2019

Champions for Change – session notes from 13th March 2019

Champions for Change – our rules

Engagement Toolkit for Practitioners >

Parent Carer Participation - how to get involved

The Council for Disabled Children has produced a factsheet about methods and levels of participation. We are working towards enabling participation where children and young people with SEND and their families can influence at an individual, organisational and strategic level.

Parent carers

Staying in touch

Subscribe for updates about Special Educational Needs and Disabilities – this will keep you up to date with developments in Devon. If you feel ready to get more involved…

Feeding back

Parent carers have a really important perspective on the services and support available for children and young people with SEND. You can send feedback at any time, about any SEND-related subject, in various ways:

Send feedback now >

sendlocaloffer@devon.gov.uk

07890595777

www.facebook.com/SENDLocalOfferDevon

www.twitter.com/DevonSEND

Joining the Parent Carer Forum

Parents are working together to re-develop a forum to help parent carers have a say in improving services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and their families. The Parent Carer Forum will offer free events and information about the issues affecting your family. We currently have a SEND Local Offer Reference Group (LORG) – a group of parent carers who meet every half term. These parent carers attend strategic meetings to make sure parents’ voices are heard by the people who make decisions. The LORG is a hub for pulling together experiences and perspectives and reporting these to key decision-makers. The LORG contributes to the review and development of the SEND Local Offer. We have a mixture of practical activities and more formal meetings.

If you would like to be involved in this group, call 01392 383000 and ask for SEND local offer, or email sendlocaloffer@devon.gov.uk

Joining the Ambassador Volunteer project

Supporting the development of the Parent Carer Forum Devon, the Ambassador Volunteer project connects parents within their own communities and more widely into a network across Devon. More information about the project can be found on the DiAS website.

Terms of Reference

LORG Terms of Reference – November 2017

LORG Annual Report – November 2018

LORG Annual Report – November 2017

What is the SEND Local Offer? a leaflet co-produced with parent carers

Devon Families Co-design Session with In Control – June 2016

How does the LORG fit with Devon Parent Carers’ voice and DIAS?

Autistic Spectrum Condition

The Autism Involvement Group (AIG) is a small forum for people with autism (and carers). The group discusses Devon County Council and Torbay Council’s local Autism Strategy.

The SEN 0-25 Team

There are currently approximately 94,000 pupils of school age in Devon. The SEN 0-25 Team currently maintains around 4,000 EHCPs (3.6% of Devon’s children and young people). The SEN 0-25 Team has its own webpage for SEN documents and guidance to support practitioners working with children and young people.

Meet the SEN 0-25 Team

Reports and Newsletters

SEND Local Area Inspection Report – December 2018

Local Offer Annual Report – November 2018

Local Offer Annual Report – November 2017

Parent Carer representatives brought a report to the SEND Improvement Board in summer 2018, and returned in autumn 2018 with four key issues for the SEND Board to address.

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

What is a consultation?

What if I am unhappy with a service I receive?

How do I complain about a school?

What are the complaints policies for different organisations?

Who could support me to make a complaint?

Parent carers

Autistic Spectrum Condition

Champions for Change

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