Partnership and co-production with children, young people and parents carers

› The Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Information Report is co-produced with parent carers.

› Parent carers are signposted to the West Sussex Local Offer, the SEND Information Report (for school age children) and other relevant documents, e.g. West Sussex Inclusion Framework, so they can access support and work in an informed way with the school or setting. These documents are referenced on the school’s / setting’s website.

› Parent carers are aware of the range of communication channels available for sharing information about their child and are actively encouraged and supported to contribute. This includes school / setting parent groups and forums.

› Parent carers are aware of their child’s individual needs and the support and individually tailored interventions that are in place. They are involved in setting and reviewing next steps for their child. Parents’ expertise about their child is used to inform appropriate support strategies.

› The school / setting sensitively discusses with parent carers how strategies can be reinforced at home. Equally the school / setting uses and adapts the strategies that are effective at home.

› The school / setting sensitively considers how communications about the child’s day are shared with parent carers, i.e. not in collection areas or in public. Communication is planned to take into account the child’s feelings and family privacy.

› Parent carers are provided with information about local and national support groups e.g. West Sussex Local Offer, SEND Information, Advice and Support (SENDIAS), West Sussex Parent Carer Forum (WSPCF) and other local and national helplines.

The school / setting links with other agencies and signposts families to other support where appropriate. In early years this includes the Children and Family Centre groups including Play and Learn Plus.

In early years, information is provided to parent carers about other support available e.g. Disability Living Allowance (DLA), 2 years free entitlement, early years pupil premium and disability access fund. Parent carers are supported to access available funding to support them and their child.

In schools and post 16 settings, information is provided to parent carers about other support available e.g. Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP). Parent carers are supported to access available funding to support them and their child.

Where a school / setting receives additional funding for a child or young person, the use of this is planned and evaluated with the parent carer and their child. This is to make sure the funding is being used effectively and having a positive impact on the child or young person.

› There are formal and informal events to seek views of the whole school / setting population and in relation provision for those with provision or those with SEND, additional needs and those at risk of disadvantage in the school. For example, the school / setting might use child and parent surveys, coffee mornings, stay and play sessions.

› Use of a communication book /home school diary / book bag / text / email to support communication directly with parent carers in addition to communication given via children and young people.

There is regular feedback to, and in early years, this is daily. Parent carers know about their child’s experiences within the setting and that there are no surprises for families if concerns are raised. Practitioners have developed trust and transparency with parents.

Communication methods are adapted to meet the needs of the family, for example engagement with working families, English as and additional language (EAL) families, literacy difficulties or mental health barriers, e.g. anxiety, which may impact on engagement.

* Post 16 additional examples of good practice:

There are many changes when a young person transitions between secondary school and college, not least the increased ownership of their outcomes, support and provision. Under the Children’s and Families Act (2014) once a young person enters post-16 provision, their voice is the most paramount in planning their Pathway for Adulthood and they should be the first people that colleges and the Local Authority communicate with. That is not to say the voice of their family, support network and professionals are not important, but the young person is now treated as central, giving them the opportunity to co-produce their provision.

These legal rights alongside recent GDPR legislation, give the young person the right to privacy and non-disclosure of their information including support needs and provision. This means that unless there is a significant safeguarding risk or where medical professionals have assessed that the young person does not hold mental capacity, professionals should not share their information without their express permission.

This focus on the voice of the young person and creating a provision and approach relating to what they want can be extremely empowering as seen in the case study available as a downloadable document on this page.

› Children and young people actively participate in their own ‘assess, plan, do, review’ process. Their views and feedback link directly to this process. Schools and settings should be aware and use effective resources to genuinely gain the views of the child or young person.

Adults share each child and young person’s next steps with them in an appropriate way and celebrate their efforts and achievements with them.

› Children and young people know their identified next steps and where appropriate, their end of year targets.

Person centred approaches are routinely used to evaluate and inform support and planning.