What’s happening in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

11 May, 2023

Latest news and updates about special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Bromley.

Support and interventions for children and young people with SEND in mainstream schools

We have created the ordinarily available provision document which outlines the provision a child/young person with special educational needs can expect to access in mainstream school.

Would you like to find out more?

Please come along and join us on:

Date: Thursday 11 May 2023

Time: 1 – 2.30pm

Venue: Phoenix Children’s Centre, 40 Masons Hill, Bromley, BR2 9JG

To register your interest or to find out more please contact:

[email protected]

b-Hive

A new website for parent/carers to support them with their child’s communication development, physical skills and independence.

Created by local health services and Bromley Council to pull together the range of therapies that support the communication development, physical skills and independence of children, teenagers and young adults in Bromley.

The guide incorporates a collective range of therapies, such as: emotional wellbeing and mental health; occupational therapy; physiotherapy; speech and language therapy; and special educational needs (SEN) advisory service.

The b-HIVE is shaped around six core areas of child development which support the child

Visit the new b-Hive website www.bromleytherapyhub.org.uk

b- hive logo a therapy collective for Bromley

Carers strategy survey

Do you provide unpaid care and support for family, friends or neighbours aged 18 or over? Bromley Council is currently developing its carers strategy and would like to hear from as many carers as possible. Complete their survey or attend an event to give your views.

Find out how to get involved.

The deadline for carers and ex-carers to feed in their views on Bromley’s carers strategy has been extended to 23 April.

Family support through the Bromley Children Project

Our new front door is live, should you wish to make a referral to the Bromley Children Project for 1:1 family support or light touch intervention please telephone the Bromley Help, Support & Safeguarding Hub for Children and Families on 020 8461 7373/ 7379/ 7026 or email [email protected]

There is no change to how you can access the wider offer from the early intervention and family support service (EIFS) provided by the local authority which includes:-

• The wide range of parenting courses, seminars, webinars

• The wide range of activities at the Children and Family Centres,

• Information advice and support service

• ASC family support worker, and the BCP parenting hotline (telephone 020 8461 7259)

Transformational reform begins for children and young people with SEND

The SEND and alternative provision improvement plan  published on Thursday 2 March confirms investment in training for thousands of workers so children can get the help they need earlier, alongside thousands of additional specialist school places for those with the greatest needs – as 33 new special free schools are approved to be built as at the time of publishing. 

Read more about the plans ahead for children and young people with SEND.

Funding agreed for two additional Changing Place facilities

Bromley has recently received confirmation that our applied for funding for two additional  Changing Places toilets has been successful – this is great news for the borough. This means that we will be able to deliver six  new Changing Places during 2024.

Within the borough, we have one registered Changing Places toilet for the public in the Glades Shopping Centre and one in Bromley’s Vue Cinema.

Following engagement with Changing Places users and their families, the intended locations will be spread across the borough and at different venue types, opening a variety of opportunities for Changing Places users of all ages.

Families told us that these toilets will:                                                                                                                                        

  • Mean that they will be able to go to the toilet or have continence needs met in privacy and in a dignified way.
  • Allow them to take part in leisure activities to support their health and wellbeing.
  • Allow them to enjoy social activities of my choosing in the local community in places they would like to visit.
  • Enable them to participate in employed or voluntary work for them to maintain and develop their independence.                                                                                                                                       

Suggested location of these facilities included:

  • High streets, shopping centres and supermarkets
  • Parks and open spaces
  • Leisure facilities

For further information or to find a Changing Place please visit https://www.changing-places.org/.

Autism assessment pathway

SEL Integrated Commissioning Board (which replaced the Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group July 2022) are seeking parent and young people’s views on how they can improve the experience of the autism assessment pathway. 

Please select the appropriate link to access the survey.

Survey for families/carers

Survey for children and young people

Education, health and care plan (EHCP) eligibility guidance for schools

Following recent discussions and meetings with school colleagues, partners, and parent/carers, the council has published a document outlining our education, health and care plan (EHCP) eligibility guidance for schools.

The London Borough of Bromley works closely with educational settings and other partners to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities can access the right support at the earliest possible opportunity. Please speak to your school SENCO if you would like further information on SEN support and the graduated approach.

Leisure activities

Find out more about leisure activities clubs and schemes.

Bromley Brighter Beginnings

Bromley Brighter Beginnings,  run entirely by volunteer mums, helps families in poverty who cannot afford basic items, such as nappies, baby formula and school clothing. They have a comprehensive local support directory providing lots of information about services within the local area.

To read about some of the great work that they carried out in 2022, please have a look at the Bromley Brighter Beginnings newsletter.

Send Matters newsletter

Our January/February 2023 SEND Matters Newsletter provides parents, carers, young people and professionals with information and updates that inform you of the latest news, developments and services for children, teenagers and young adults (aged from birth to 25 years old) who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Bromley.

In this edition you’ll learn more about how your feedback and views have shaped the development of new services, new project initiatives and new partnerships alongside upcoming events.

View previous editions of SENDMatters newsletters

The Bromley All Age Autism Strategy

We are pleased to share our first Autism Matters newsletter for 2022 which replaces our Bromley All-Age Autism newsletter. Find out more about our Autism Strategy in Bromley

Latest webinars from Bromley Y

Bromley Y have launched a series of new webinar interventions around school avoidance and academic stress for children and young people and parents/carers of Bromley residents and Bromley school or college pupils.

  • School avoidance: initial steps to support your child’s attendance
  • Academic stress: webinar for Y10 -Y13 students 
  • Wellbeing webinars for young people:  series of free, one-off sessions for students of secondary school age to understand more about their mental health and how they can help themselves feel better. 

Visit the full calendar of Bromley Y events for more information about calendar 

Disability Living Allowance for children

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) have produced two playlists of  information videos that explain Disability Living Allowance, the process for applying for it, what happens after you have claimed and what happens when a child turns 16.  DWP Disability Living Allowance information videos

These are also available in British Sign Language. DWP Disability Living Allowance videos in British Sign Language.

National Disability Strategy

The government’s National Disability Strategy, outlines its plans to make our country better for the 14 million disabled children and adults in the UK.

This ambitious strategy sets out 100 immediate commitments supported by £1.6bn of funding alongside an ambitious agenda for future reform.

Watch the National Disability Strategy overview video 

National autism strategy for England

The government has published its autism strategy, which sets out how it plans to support autistic adults and children in England over the next five years.

Read the national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults 2021 to 2026 

The national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults 2021 to 2026 (easy 

Online safety

Online safety remains of paramount importance for professionals and parent / carers and everyone has a role in ensuring that all of our children and young people remain safe when going online.

We would like to make you aware of a few resources which you may find useful.

How to Stay Safe Online – Guidance for Adults and Young People with Learning Disabilities – Digital Safeguarding – Ann Craft Trust

LiveStreamingEbooklet.pdf (anncrafttrust.org) This gives an outline of how platforms can be used to live streaming, and potential risks associated, some details on safety settings for these platforms

I-have-made-a-new-friend-online-F.pdf (anncrafttrust.org) This is an easy read guide around making friendships online, covers sexting, seeking help, being groomed.

Online Safety Guides – Social Media – Our Safety Centre These are one page documents on a range of online social media platforms showing clearly where to access privacy/safety settings of different online platforms.