17th March 2023
Hello and welcome to the second edition of the Lyndhurst SEND newsletter!
Here we will be addressing all things related to SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) – news, views, advice, strategies, stories and information relating to SEND.
The Lyndhurst SEND newsletter will be produced every term and distributed to all of our families at Lyndhurst. If you have any concerns about your child’s progress at school, please speak firstly to their class teacher. If you want to contact the SENDCO directly, please email Ms Ali Jones at ajones@lyndhurst.southwark.sch.uk
Parents wanted for Speech and Language research
Parent Zone, one of the experts in digital family life, wants to hear from parents and carers about their experiences of parenting children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in relation to online safety and media literacy. Your feedback will help them to build a resource to be used by children with SLCN to discuss media literacy and online safety.
Parent Zone would like any willing parents to attend a face-to-face one-hour session with a member of the Parent Zone team on 27th March 2023 at 9.15am in the Training Room at Lyndhurst Primary School. MAT SEND Lead, Will Cannock will also be attending the session.
There’s no preparation needed and more information will be sent to interested participants closer to the time. You will receive a £20 Amazon voucher for your time.
Please email april@parentzone.org.uk to find out more/confirm your attendance.
Report published to show what a society that works for autistic people really looks like…
The National Autistic Society have published a report called The Moonshot Vision, which is an ambitious vision for what society would look like if it were autism-friendly. Taking the views across the autistic community the report details Future Realities and Milestones describing the society that is wanted and the steps that will be needed to get there. The NAS ensured that autistic people were central to defining their vision and their report is shaped by autistic people’s wishes, ambitions and experiences.
For more information go to : https://www.autism.org.uk/
Nurture Group artwork from Year 1
Check out the beautiful creations made by Year 1 children who have had a lovely time singing nursery rhymes (Incy Wincey Spider, 1-2-3-4-5 and Round and Round the Garden) while developing their motor skills, listening and taking turns, sharing, giving and receiving compliments - and recovering when things don't go to plan! The sessions have involved tearing and bunching up paper, colouring and mark-making, gluing and enjoying finger-play nursery rhymes. [https://empoweredparents.co/finger-plays-for-preschool/] are all great ways to develop fine motor skills for writing.
Update on SEND legislation
The UK government recently published a new document outlining plans for improving the support and provision for children and young people with SEND and those who require Alternative Provision. The document sets out a range of measures, including:
- Ensuring that children receive the right support at the right time
- Increasing access to high-quality provision, including specialist support
- Supporting families and carers of children with SEND
- Improving the training and development of teachers and other educational professionals.
For more information and to read the report in full, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan
Specialist Training for Support Staff
Olivia Walker, our Speech and Language Therapist at Lyndhurst, recently ran three training sessions for all support staff . The Teaching Assistants and Higher-Level Teaching Assistants all benefitted from learning about Social Stories, Blank’s Level Questions and Visual Support. This builds on the wealth of knowledge that our support staff have and will enable them to continue to positively impact children both in the classroom and in small intervention groups.
SEND Sensory Space at Lyndhurst – update
The Sensory Room continues to be used widely across the school and we now have had funding confirmed so we can take it into the next stage of development. For more information or to find out how to get involved, please contact Ali Jones at ajones@lyndhurst.southwark.sch.uk
SEND UPDATES:
Looking for up to date news about SEND - these are useful websites for the most up-to-date news about all issues surrounding SEND
https://www.itv.com/news/topic/send
https://nasen.org.uk/news
https://www.wholeschoolsend.org.uk/news
https://senmagazine.co.uk/
Key dates:
SEND coffee mornings at Lyndhurst Primary School Library – 9.05am-10am
- Wednesday 29th March 2023
Discussion topic: Supporting your child’s friendships
Hosted by: Ali Jones (SENCO) and Irene Wedgwood (Assistant SENCO)
- Wednesday 24th May 2023
Discussion topic: Supporting transitions into new year group /school
Hosted by: Ali Jones (SENCO) and Jola Nowakowska (Deputy Head: pastoral)
- Wednesday 12th July 2023
Discussion topic: Roundup of the year
Hosted by: Ali Jones (SENCO) and Jola Nowakowska (Deputy Head; pastoral)
Useful contacts
- AHD SUPPORT: Support | ADHD UK
- AUTISM SUPPORT: Southwark Autism Support Team (AST) - contact Mr B for advice on 078 0286 0871 or blagoje.vucinic@southwark.gov.uk
- Southwark Information and Advice Service (SIAS) 0207 525 3104 or
- LITERACY AND DYSLEXIA SUPPORT: https://www.bellhouse.co.uk/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zf2f9j6/articles/z3c6tfr
- PARENTING SUPPORT: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/childcare-and-parenting/children-s
- SOUTHWARK SEND SUPPORT: Home | Southwark Local Offer
- ADOPTION SUPPORT: Home Page - We are Family Adoption
- MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT; Parenting Smart, Place2Be’s site for parents and carers, is full of expert tips and advice for helping to support children: www.parentingsmart.co.uk
