Team: Barnet Specialist Autism Team

Partners: Owen Chiguvare, Tokunbo Agunbiade, Aisha Tijani, Geoffrey Kidega

Main Submission:

The Specialist Autism Team in Barnet was established to address the growing needs of children and young people with autism and complex associated needs, aligning with the ambitions set out in the National Autism Strategy 2021-2026 (The national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults: 2021 to 2026 – GOV.UK). Formed in 2020 with a small support team of two social workers, the team has since expanded to include 1 team manager, 1 advanced practitioner and 5 Social Workers. This team works to ensure every child and young person with autism, regardless of complexity, has the support they need to thrive in their communities.

By focusing on multidisciplinary collaboration and evidence-based interventions, the team tackles key barriers faced by children and young people with autism by:
• Primarily addressing gaps in care and support across the continuum of autistic and co-occurring complex needs.
• Improved understanding and acceptance of autism within society.
• Improved access to education, health, and social care services for autistic individuals.
• Reduced health inequalities and improved outcomes for autistic individuals.

• Challenges Addressed:
  a) High rates of hospital admissions for autistic children with complex needs.
  b) Children and young people with autism coming into care due to a lack of community support.
  c) Barriers to accessing inclusive education, often leading to school exclusions or emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA).
  d) Addressing the impact of unmet needs on overall wellbeing and behaviour.
  e) Limited access to evidence-based interventions tailored to the complex needs of autistic children.

• Ambitions:
  • To build a pioneering model of support that empowers children and young people with autism to live safely, confidently, and successfully within their communities.
  • To align local interventions with the National Autism Strategy by enhancing education, health, and social care integration for autistic children and young people.
  • To create a replicable, multi-disciplinary model of autism support, addressing pan-London as well as wider nation-wide challenges.

• Objectives:
  • Enable neurodivergent children and young people with high support and complex mental health needs to live safely within the community.
  • Reduce reliance on costly and often disruptive services, including out-of-borough placements, residential care, and emergency health interventions.
  • Improve education, health, and wellbeing outcomes for children, young people, and their families.
  • Reduce reliance on intensive services, including hospital admissions, residential care, and emergency health services.

1. Actions, Activities, and Initiatives to Achieve Objectives:

a) Initiatives Designed to Deliver Commitments. SAT core aims align with National Autism Strategy 2021-2026; further emphasis is placed on key learning reviews, reports from commissions of inquiries reviews, and latest research papers to ensure that the team is adaptive to the ever-evolving intervention landscape and dynamics.
b) Ensuring Staff Stability: The Specialist Autism Team benefits immensely from Senior management support and leadership; addressing staff retention; promoting job satisfaction; inviting external scrutiny and reviews. The reviews and inspections are used as mechanisms through which key learning is incorporated, internal research and knowledge transfer is promoted to improve the outcomes of autistic children and young people. A further emphasis is placed on promoting student placements within the team to harness an array of benefits like, the fresh perspectives that the students bring; building future workforce; holistic skill development; understanding of evidence-based work and promoting a culture of reflection and, perhaps most importantly, providing insight into systemic practice where students gain valuable experience in navigating local authority processes, statutory responsibilities, and partnership work with families, schools and health services.
c) Managed Caseloads: Prioritizing caseload sizes to ensure meaningful engagement with autistic children and young people.
d) Relationship Building: Strengthening trust with families and individuals to foster long-term impact.
e) Multiagency Collaboration: Bringing together health, social care, and education professionals to ensure a joined-up approach to complex needs.

2. Best Practices Implemented:

a. Public-private partnerships for Bespoke Support:
i. Autistic Peer Mentoring: Enabling children and young people to connect with autistic mentors to foster understanding and empowerment.
ii. Autistic Discovery Journey: Interactive, strengths-based programs that help children explore their identity and develop self-confidence.
iii. Bespoke mentoring for ADHD and associated needs: Supporting cooccurring condition with tailored interventions.

b. Health Partnerships:

i. Development of clinical pathways that include autism-specific interventions, such as ADHD therapy (CBT, DBT), family psychotherapy, and trauma-informed approaches.
ii. Incorporation, working in collaboration with the ICB, Dynamic Support Registers and an inhouse Complex Care Partnership panel to ensure coordinated care collaboration with Adult Services.
iii. Implementation of personalized Communication Passports for children to support consistent care across settings.
iv. Early Transition Planning

c. Social Care and SEN Partnerships:

i. Collaboration with autism advisory teachers to support children in mainstream and specialist schools.
ii. Dedicated social care support for families navigating the EHCP process.
iii. Provision of blended online learning and/or mentoring or 1:1 tuition (home, safe spaces) for children experiencing emotionally based school avoidance.

d. Promoting Awareness of Contextual Safeguarding:

I. Coproduced risk assessments in collaboration with families and professionals.
II. Strong partnerships with local police to address absconding behaviour and mitigate risks of criminal exploitation
III. Complying with the wider Pan London safeguarding protocols.

3. Evidence of Impact:

a. In 2024, Research in Practice ( Supporting evidence-informed practice with children and families, young people and adults | Research in Practice) was commissioned to provide an independent evaluation of the team to inform its future direction. Across the evaluation, evidence highlighted them unique approach the team adopts to support autistic children and young people. A copy of the report is herein attached.
Research in Practice Evaluation Outcomes Highlighted in the Report:
i. Preventing Tier 4 admissions and entry into care. and improved crisis response.
ii. Improving access to education through successfully working with schools to understand individual needs and where possible implement reasonable adjustments to support attendance increased access to education and reduced rates of school exclusions.
iii. Behaviour and mental well-being where the team work with families to implement predictable structures and routines, supporting development of healthy coping strategies, thus improving functioning, self-esteem and wellbeing.

Key in all these circumstances was children, young people and families benefitting from the team’s expertise and capacity to help them in navigating complex health, social care and education systems

4. Ofsted Inspection October 2024: Outcomes Highlighted:

In June 2024, the Ofsted Inspection of Barnet Local Authority Children’s Services rated the ‘experiences and progress of children in care’ as outstanding with the report highlighting the expertise of the Specialist Autism Team as a key strength. A copy of the report is herein attached.

5. Feedback and Testimonies:

a. From parents

• ‘All we were told was that a residential provision was the best option for our son. But the Social Worker was very thorough in his assessment, looking back, we now understand why keeping our son at home was the best decision, this is down to the expertise and guidance of the Social Worker’. – Mother

b. From the young people

• ‘A young person also valued the benefits of an Autistic Led Program […] I really like how it (ADJ) was run by (Autistic) adults, i think this would be beneficial for younger autistic people who may struggle to see how they’ll do in adult life, it helped me in that way.’ This theme reflects another of the outcomes or impact of the project, ‘Improve access to education, employment and training and supporting positive transition into adulthood (National Autism Strategy 2021-2026)’.
• ‘It is very rewarding to work with young autistic people and be a part of helping them to understand more about themselves and their unique strengths and challenges, as well as learn about cultivating autistic joy and self-soothing activities’. Priscilla- Autistic Young Person)

c. From other agencies and professionals

• ‘We actively are able to, not only listen to one another challenges and actively seek solutions, but we have also been able to actively share our knowledge and experiences in our respective areas. The team are able to actively listen and give effective feedback when jointly working on cases that involve both Health and Social Care’. – Children’s and Young People’s Commissioning Manager
• ‘The joined-up working has had a significant impact, supporting students to stay in school, preventing exclusions and prevent students becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training). The correct support has been offered through CETR’s, Team around the Family, and other joint meetings, leading to some exceptional outcomes. It is a pleasure to work alongside this dynamic and passionate team’’. – Head of Service for the Specialist Inclusion Team

d. Metrics and Data:

Further information regarding the performance of the team can be found in the evaluation report from the Research in Practice Report herein attached:
The team has taken on board recommendations from the evaluation reports specifically within the context of collecting more administrative and quantitative data; however, qualitative data from interviews and case studies suggest that the team is having a positive impact across the key areas of preventing Tier 4 admissions; reducing use of residential care and improving participation in education.

6. Voice of the Child and Family:

• a) The Specialist Autism Team integrates the voices of children and families into every stage of its interventions. Examples include:
• b) Children co-designing risk assessments to ensure their safety and preferences are considered.
• c) Families participating in Child in Need and CIC review meetings.
• d) Where risks are high and dynamic, parents are invited to participate in regular ‘Amber’ and ‘Red’ review and coordination meetings support planning, giving them ownership over therapeutic pathways.
• e) Young person’s experience of Autistic Peer Mentoring Project and the Autism Discovery Journey Projects

Conclusion:

The Specialist Autism Team exemplifies how the goals of the National Autism Strategy can be implemented at a local level, offering a blueprint for other local authorities to adopt. By fostering inclusive education, reducing health disparities, and improving community-based support, this initiative
contributes to national ambitions while addressing shared challenges faced by children and young people with autism in London and across the UK.

Supporting Information:

Team: Intervention First Team

Partners: Local primary schools in the Harlesden area

Main Submission: Brent like most local authorities has seen a growing number of children assessed as requiring an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). As a result of a growing High Needs Block deficit the Local Authority joined the DfE’s Delivering Better Value programme (DBV) in 2021 and through funding from this was able to design an early intervention offer aimed at responding to children’s needs at an earlier stage. The intention of meeting needs earlier was also to reduce the number of EHCPs.

The IFT offer was designed as an intensive 12-week multi-disciplinary programme to children aged between 4 – 7 years old in the Harlesden locality. The service is targeted for children with emotional wellbeing and learning needs who do not have an Education

Health Care Plan. The IFT was created as part of the DBV to offer earlier, targeted intervention for children with the aim of achieving more positive impact on outcomes for children rather than implementing an Education Health Care Plan. The IFT clinicians provide evidence-based interventions as part of a peripatetic delivery model.

Last academic year (23/24), 39 referrals were accepted by IFT for 34 males (83%) and 7 (17%) females. The highest number of referrals were received for Year 2 children (39%). In terms of ethnicity, the highest proportion of referred groups were Black British / Caribbean (20%) Black British / African (17%) and Any other white background (15%).

On referral, each child and family are offered a two-week assessment period in which the team meet with the parents, observe the child and meet with the child’s school and other services involved in their care. Following this assessment, the panel agree an intervention plan designed around each child and family’s needs. The intervention may include individual therapy with the child, parent work or work with the school to support their learning and understanding of the child’s needs. The team also offer one off consultations to schools around referrals that do not go on to have a full intervention, whole class interventions when a number of children are referred from a particular class and training for groups of staff in schools.

During this term, a total of 421 sessions were delivered. Of these, 166 were assessment sessions and 255 were intervention sessions. A total of 12 children and families completed the planned intervention.

The service has noted improvements in the symptoms reported on referral according to the SDQ and the Thinking about you Child Questionnaire. Parents report an improvement in their own parenting skills and in their parent-child relationships. Parents and teachers report high levels of satisfaction with the service.

From the work carried out to date, only 1 child out of 30 whom schools thought may need an EHCNA, has subsequently required an EHC needs assessment (which all parties fully supported).

The team have so far collected 6 ESQ’s following completed interventions. All parents surveyed rated the intervention as helpful. The average total score was 26 out of a possible 27 points. Some comments made by parents include:

• “I want to say thank you so much for your help, thank you for teaching me and for all the help for my son. It has helped a lot. I was really nerves before meeting you, but you were so welcoming and helpful.”
• “The practitioner prompted me to talk to my child about their feelings and her suggestions and support worked so well. Suggested that I create timetables, so my child is prepared for what is coming – school noted an improvement in my child towards the end of the last year. She also told me to make sure that I had confidence in myself and taught me how to know that what I was doing was good enough – she gave me the confidence. We will really miss the support.”
• “My child found the Direct sessions in school helpful and really enjoyed them. The parenting support sessions were extremely insightful for me, and it was so helpful to have someone to listen to my concerns and who understood me.”

The team have collected 7 ECQ’s from schools following completed consultations. All teachers surveyed rated their consultation helpful.100% said they left the consultation with ideas of what they could do next regarding their concerns. 100% felt heard and understood by the person who delivered their consultation. 100% said they would recommend the service to another professional. Some comments made by teaching staff were:

“We are extremely satisfied with the exceptional services delivered by the Intervention First Team. The referral process was impressively simple and efficient, enabling us to swiftly obtain the necessary support for my students. The team’s communication with our school has been outstanding, consistently offering timely updates and clear guidance. Their understanding of each child’s needs has been invaluable, and the professional discussions we’ve had have greatly improved our ability to support our students effectively. Moreover, the support provided to the school and staff has been excellent, further enhancing our teaching abilities and overall school environment.”

Supporting Information:

Team: SEND and Curriculum Inclusion, The ECASS Team- (Enfield Communication Advisory Support Service)

Partners: Caroline McCallum, Speech and Language Therapist – Founder of NHSVerbo, Henrietta McLachlan, Speech and Language Therapist – Founder of ELKLAN

Main Submission: The Enfield Communication Advisory Support Service (ECASS) is a Local Authority (LA) speech and language initiative that has successfully addressed the provision gap for Children and Young People (CYP) with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) who were unable to have their needs met by the existing Health offer which only provided speech and language provision for those with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). This gap in the local offer has led to the high number of Education Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) requests for CYP with SLCN which makes up approximately 37% of all Enfield EHCPs. The ECASS initiative is effectively narrowing this gap, providing much-needed support to these CYP at SEN support.

The ECASS initiative has fostered a spirit of collaboration within the LA, enabling flexibility in commissioning health and in-house multi-agency colleagues. The service includes Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Educational Psychologists, and Specialist Advisory Teachers. Together, this multidisciplinary team delivers a flexible service to meet the community’s needs while utilising assistive technology to enhance their capacity, making ECASS a cost-efficient SEN Support model. This collaborative approach is key to the success of the initiative.

Fundamental to Enfield’s Local Area key improvement priority, the ECASS approach aims to provide an equitable universal, targeted, and specialist offer which empowers the education workforce with the confidence, knowledge, and self-sufficiency to deliver high-quality teaching to all children and young people. The positive impact of the ECASS initiative on the education workforce is inspiring and has motivated local area partnerships to further collaborate their efforts in this direction.
Enfield’s SEND Partnership are striving to overcome the following exceptional challenges:

• A significant increase in demand for EHCNA, compared to statistical neighbouring boroughs

• A national shortage of speech and language therapists

• A gap in the universal and statutory offer

• An increase in the high-needs financial deficit

• Over-commissioning outside the health contract to meet needs with private therapists

• A lack of both rigor and a coordinated approach in the range of private therapists attempting to meet the needs of Enfield’s children.

A record-high number of CYP (1.9 million) are recorded to have speech and language challenges nationally. If left unsupported, they may face a lifetime of struggle and exclusion. Research led by Speech and Language UK indicates that, without the proper support, these children with SLCN are up to 11 times more likely to be behind in key subjects at school and twice as likely to be unemployed as young adults. This community of CYP in Enfield makes up more than half of mental health service referrals and two-thirds of the young offender population.

Enfield’s ambition is to make every school a communication-friendly school with the skills and resources available to meet the needs of CYP with various speech, language, and communication differences. This includes utilising technological initiatives such as NHSVerbo, a virtual speech and language toolkit which has added capacity to the ECASS team. This has enabled school staff who are already well-placed in settings to continue accessing speech and language strategies through a virtual toolkit, freeing up therapists to focus on providing specialist support which only a therapist can provide; thereby extending the range of specialist resources and provision available. This has enabled the ECASS team to hold a higher caseload and target more direct therapy support to more specialist cases.

To achieve the Enfield ambition, the ECASS team has worked in close partnership with Elklan and NHSVerbo. This collaboration has brought schools an offer that focuses on education workforce development and offers parent/carer-focused training and support to build on strategies taught in school with confidence. Elklan, is a nationally recognised training programme designed to support children’s communication, language, and speech in the classroom which is being delivered as a programme of study to every Enfield school. This partnership ensures that all CYP with SLCN receive the high-quality education they deserve. Members of the ECASS team have also been involved in the national review and coproduction of Elklan training materials for the courses they hold licenses to deliver.

Before investing in Verbo, the Enfield offer did not include speech and language screening or assessment for CYP without an EHCP. Verbo, on average, reaches 48 SEN Support children in each target school, now totalling 580 CYP across 12 Enfield pilot schools. As a result, this has enabled therapists to offer statutory provision to 388 additional pupils across these schools, narrowing the growing statutory provision gap and further reducing the need for commissioning private therapists to meet the needs of these children and young people. This has resulted in a significant cost saving of £556,743 this year. Schools supported by the ECASS team have also seen a 60% decrease in EHCNA requests, as children’s needs are being better met through high quality teaching strategies. This has avoided premature escalation to more specialist pathways, resulting in a further cost savings of £487,500 per academic year. This makes ECASS’ cost saving to Enfield’s high need’s deficit a total of £1,044,243.21 for the academic year 2023-2024.

In addition to the positive impact the service has made on Enfield’s high needs deficit, the service has also had an impact on Enfield’s educational outcomes. 95% of schools supported by ECASS achieved the national average score in the KS1 phonics screening, compared to 66% of non-ECASS-supported schools, and 74% of ECASS-supported schools achieved the London average score, compared to 53% of non-ECASS-supported schools. Further to this, the impact ECASS in Enfield has summoned interest both nationally and internationally. Three neighbouring London boroughs have expressed an interest in learning more about the ECASS offer and how this can be modelled within their respective communities. Nationally, ECASS have extended their reach in sharing their practice with the University of Ghana, as part of the university’s speech and language therapy training programme for therapy students.

ECASS is utilising current resources through innovative delivery to meet demand now and in the future. Every Enfield school will have access to a speech and language therapist to support them in delivering targeted provision to those with the greatest need. In contrast, using VERBO and a multidisciplinary SEN support team such as ECASS, can help schools implement universal support effectively, appropriately streamlining the Assess Plan Do Review (APDR) process. In this way, children who experience speech and language challenges will have the best opportunity to overcome learning barriers, progress towards their educational outcomes and achieve their aspirations and goals.

The service has developed a whole-school communication approach, which is enabling schools and settings to identify speech, language, and communication differences early to provide the proper support in the right place at the right time. The 2023 Local Area SEND inspection recognised the service for maximising the communication and education outcomes for CYP with SLCN. As quoted by Ofsted:

“The needs of CYP with SEND are typically identified promptly. For example, the Enfield Communication Advisory Support Service (ECASS) provides school settings with a whole-school communication approach to aid early intervention and train education staff. This ensures that children’s speech, language, and communication needs are identified and met promptly.”

CYP are at the heart of the speech and language offered in school and at home. CYP have made significant progress in their targets, and families have informed us that they feel more confident meeting their children’s and young people’s needs. Our schools are highly supportive of the offer. They have found that their staff are more skilled in identifying needs and feel confident supporting children without escalating to statutory support.

Feedback from an ECASS setting:

“The input we have had from ECASS has been relevant and personalised to our setting. Staff have received training on areas of SEN that are often forgotten, and this has allowed the school to upskill staff whilst gaining a broad understanding of the varied presentations of speech, language and communication difficulties. Erin has been a great sounding board and has provided excellent advice. She has taken the time to get to know our school and understand the needs of our students. The Latymer has hugely benefited from being an ECASS target school and the input we have received has been far-reaching, impacting students, curriculum, and environment.”

Supporting Information:

For direct quotes from schools, children, young people and families we have worked with, please see our ECASS Annual Report link

Page 17-22- Feedback from Education Workforce
Page 26 – Parent feedback
Page 28- Child/Young Person feedback

Team: Sport & Leisure

Partners: Tim Henman Foundation

Main Submission:

Young people with SEND living in Merton highlighted a need for greater access to sport and physical activity sessions in spaces, and with delivery, designed especially for them. They wanted activities designed for their needs and not just inclusive sessions they could join.

Disproportionally Effected:

Sport England highlights: “disabled people and people with a long-term health condition are twice as likely to be physically inactive than those without a disability or health condition.”

Challenge:

Fully inclusive coaching costs 3 x more than mainstream provision.38% of students with special educational needs and disabilities said they haven’t enjoyed mainstream sports in the past.

Aims:

• Listen to the young people and address the provision gaps.
• Establish a strategic mechanism to deliver a meaningful leisure offer to children with SEN. Increase the number of physical activity opportunities for children with SEN.
• Identify partners that could collaborate and invest.

Action:

• Established the Accessible Sport for SEND Working Group that meets quarterly. The group’s purpose is to develop an accessible and inclusive leisure offer.
• The group has an agreed and monitored Action Plan.
• The group reports into the SEND Governance Board, which is chaired by the Council’s CEO therefore,
• high-level decision-making staff are informed of progress and hold the group to account.
• Membership consists of groups across the council (Sport & Leisure, Youth Voice, Education, Health), key external providers, Head Teacher and parent representative. Youth voice is fed in through consultation with SEN School Youth Councils.
• External organisations (experts) are invited to present ideas, research and opportunities.

Tim Henman Foundation:

The first project identified by the Group is with the Tim Henman Foundation. The Foundation has:

• Provided the support of a well-known sports star
• Provided match funding
• Engaged other organisations to strengthen the offer (Disability Sports Coach)

Securing Buy-In:

Collaboration is key, ensuring the Group has:

• Representation from key groups across the council that have aligned objectives.
• Incorporated key external groups as equals.
• Identified strong external organisations to collaborate with.
• Been steered by youth voice

Impact:

• All SEN Schools able to provide groups of pupils with an additional quality PE – over 100 children benefitting.
• A SEN PE teacher highlights:
• “The tennis coaching provided by the Tim Henman Foundation has been an invaluable opportunity for our pupils. Socially, the inclusive nature of the coaching promotes teamwork, collaboration, and communication as pupils engage in paired and group activities. They build confidence in interacting with peers, develop turn-taking skills, and learn to celebrate their achievements and those of others.
• Emotionally, the program creates a sense of accomplishment as pupils master new skills at their own pace, boosting self-esteem and encouraging perseverance.”

Pupil Feedback:

• “I really enjoy it because someone helped me with Tennis.” (Pupil from Cricket Green School) “It has taught me how to be confident at Tennis” (Pupil from Cricket Green School)

Community Club Feedback:

• “The club is goody and fantastic” (young participant)
• “Really good, Oscar, really engaged, it’s a safe space and he really likes it” (mum of two young participants)
• “Great that it’s free and so accessible for us it brilliant” (father of participant)
• “I’m so thankful I found this group” (mum of a young person)

Supporting Information:

• Tim Henman Foundation/Merton Partnership Launch Video

Team: Families First, Achieving for Children

Main Submission:

The Families First team in Kingston and Richmond is a multidisciplinary team of family coaches, domestic abuse specialists, mental health professionals, substance misuse specialists, and employment advisors. A 2023-2024 internal review revealed that for children who have closed to Children’s Social Services in our boroughs, “it is more likely (68% vs 26%) for a further contact to be received for the same presenting issues without Families First involvement.” Despite this success, concerns have arisen about whether families requiring preventative or ‘lower-level’ support are receiving adequate assistance.

This is especially evident for families seeking support for neurodiversity, where local offerings of ADHD parenting groups have been reduced. CAMHS practitioners have reported that this shortage has “overwhelmed resources at CAMHS,” leaving parents without necessary first-line behavioural support and children “going straight onto medication” in violation of NICE guidelines. We’ve also noted an increase in child-to- parent violence, school avoidance, and social withdrawal among children with neurodiversity diagnoses. Parents, while receiving group support from external agencies, often struggle to apply psychoeducation to their daily lives.

These challenges point to the need for an innovative solution addressing three key questions:

1. How can we deliver effective, tailored interventions to more families across varying risk levels within stringent budgetary and personnel constraints?
2. How can we address the unmet needs of families facing complex behavioural challenges related to neurodiversity?
3. How can we equip families with skills to manage future challenges independently, without further social care intervention?

Our response is the Connective Parenting course, an intensive 8-week programme consisting of three core modules, all informed by Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): 1) Creating Safety, 2) Creating Stability, and 3) Making Change. The course integrates trauma-informed care, Non-Violent Resistance (NVR), and psychotherapeutic skills, with input from multidisciplinary professionals who have worked directly with families.

The innovation lies in the course’s dual approach: it provides practical strategies for managing complex needs and behavioural challenges while also helping parents process their own trauma that may be hindering their ability to engage. One notable feature of the programme is a bespoke de-escalation safety planning model, designed to help parents understand and manage moments of escalation by creating targeted strategies for safety.

A pilot was conducted from August to October 2024, led by Claire MacDiarmid, a neurodiverse and trauma-informed practitioner. The pilot received strong support from leadership and teams across Early Help and Safeguarding. In response to growing demand, Connective Parenting has been integrated into the Early Help service, with multiple practitioners now being trained to deliver the course. A second course has already been completed.

Evidence of Impact:

The pilot and second group demonstrated strong retention rates. In the pilot group, 90% (8 of 9) of participants attended more than 70% of sessions, while Group 2 had an 80% retention rate (8 of 11). Retention may be influenced by the pre-course consultation, which participants found helpful for “reducing anxiety” and providing “immediate practical strategies.”

The outcomes following intervention (drawn from participants who attended more than 70% of sessions) demonstrated that there had been reduced child-to-parent violence frequency (90%) and intensity (90-100%), reduced child to parent verbal aggression (90-100%), improved child emotional self-management (90-100%) and increased child- to-parent positive interactions (100%).

Furthermore, there was improved parent-child closeness, warmth, trust, respect (90- 100%), parent emotional self-management (90-100%), improved understanding of neurodiversity and trauma (100%), improved confidence in supporting complex needs (100%) and confidence to provide safety (100%).

Participants described the course as “practical,” “empowering,” and “insightful,” praising the “empathetic commitment” of practitioners and their ability to create a “safe” space for collaboration and problem-solving. Parents reported improved self-awareness, with one commenting, “I’ve learned so much about myself and my son’s needs and strategies to use.” Another noted, “The violence has gone from 100% to 15%. This course has changed our lives.”

In Group 2, parents shared, “It has made me focus on the benefits of staying calm,” and “My relationship with my daughter has completely changed—she actually wants to spend time with me now.” Notably, this child recently stepped down from an 18-month Child Protection Plan to Child in Need, with professionals noting no concerns about the mother’s parenting.

Comparing Connective Parenting with previous courses (e.g., NVR), participants

indicated that it had a more significant impact on family functioning due to its tailored, practical approach

Practitioner Feedback

• CAMHS Psychiatrist: “Ideally, I would love every parent with ADHD children to access this. It would align with NICE guidelines and be a real resource for families.”
• School SENCO: “(4 y/o Child’s) behaviour at school has improved so much due to parents’ improved ability to respond to him.”
• Early Help Practitioner: “There are a million books that tell parents what to do; it’s the understanding that is missing, and that’s what makes this course so valuable
• Facilitators of the course benefit from the flexibility it offers, allowing for continuous refinement to meet the evolving needs of families. With no external paid training required, this cost-effective solution is able to meet the growing demand for support

Opportunities for learning and wider application

Participants have suggested that all practitioners in Children’s Social Services would benefit from completing this course to enhance their understanding of neurodiversity and child-to-parent violence. Our Director of Social Care is in support of a wide range of practitioners being trained and supporting the delivering.

One parent highlighted the importance of supportive structures, commenting, “When a professional comes and just tells you to put boundaries in without the support of something like this course, it can do more damage than good.”

Additional training for Social Workers, Support Workers, Early Help Practitioners, and Family Hub staff could enhance their skills in supporting families with neurodiverse children and those experiencing child-to-parent aggression. Resources from the course, particularly those on de-escalation and trauma-informed parenting, offer potential for targeted training, ensuring more effective, inclusive support for families.

Team: Stop and Search Safeguarding Project

Partners: Metropolitan Police Service North Area BCU, London Innovation and Improvement Alliance (LIIA)

Main Submission:

Stop and Search through a Safeguarding Lens

Collaboration is the bedrock of effective child safeguarding. The London Borough of Haringey Children’s Services and the Metropolitan Police Service in North Area BCU have, since 2020, been working on a phased project to improve the safeguarding response to children who are stopped and searched. The project aims to consider the information obtained by the police in using their power of stop and search and, where there are wider safeguarding concerns, how these young people can benefit from timely support and interventions.

The learning from this project has been invaluable and has informed changes to systems and processes in Haringey including adjusting the screening within the Multi Agency Safeguarding Hub and requesting individualised child stop and search data to enhance risk prevention plans via Multi Agency Child Exploitation meetings.

Together with London Innovation and Improvement Alliance (LIIA) we are delivering this pan London project phase and have 29 Local Authorities and 12 BCUs participating. Galvanising the safeguarding body of professionals, we are working to strengthen the mechanism by which children at risk are identified through stop and search, how information is shared, and to ensure children are provided with better safeguarding support interventions. Our project builds on a child centred approach, serves to create safer communities and reduce trauma to children where this could occur. It aligns with the commitments made in a New Met for London and delivers on the priority set by the Association of London Directors of Children’s Services to build safety for young Londoners.

Team: Portage Parenting Team

Main Submission: Families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the London Borough of Merton often face significant barriers to accessing support. Families often feel overwhelmed, isolated, and unsure how to support their child’s development. These challenges can result in missed opportunities for early intervention, which is critical for long-term outcomes.

The Portage model was introduced in Merton to bridge this gap. This home-visiting educational service provides tailored, one-on-one support to families, helping children achieve milestones while empowering parents to support their child’s needs. Alongside home visits, the team runs group sessions, focusing on social interaction, communication, and sensory play, providing children with opportunities to practise key skills in a supportive setting while fostering peer connections among parents.

Primary aims of the initiative:

1. Improve outcomes for children with SEND through personalised early interventions.
2. Empower families to take an active role in their child’s development.
3. Deliver a model of collaboration and partnership across services.

Best Practice Implemented

Portage delivers practical and emotional support tailored to each family’s needs. Key elements include:

• Individualised Support: Practitioners work collaboratively with families co- developing plans based on their child’s unique strengths and needs, focusing on achievable goals.
• Holistic Approach: Developmental needs spanning communication, motor skills, sensory processing, and social interaction addressed through play-based strategies
• Family Empowerment: Parents receive strategies to support learning into everyday routines.
• Group Sessions: Parents gain practical strategies and peer support, fostering collaboration and shared understanding of their child’s needs.

Collaboration and Overcoming Challenges

The success lies in its collaborative approach, working closely with health visitors, therapists and transitions into early years settings, to ensure consistency and continuity of care.

Initial challenges included misconceptions about the role of Portage and limited awareness among some professionals. We address this with key initiatives:

1. Training Multidisciplinary Teams: Regular sessions were delivered to raise awareness of Portage’s model, role, and impact, leading to higher referral rates. For example, following a presentation to the Family Hub, referrals increased by more than 25%.
2. Sharing Success Stories: Case studies highlighting tangible outcomes for children and families were shared in local forums and team meetings, building trust and confidence in the programme.
3. Leadership and Resource Allocation: Senior leaders prioritised funding and resources, enabling the programme to expand its reach and meet the needs of underserved families.

Examples of Joint Working

• Collaboration with the Occupational Therapy (OT) Team: Sharing workshops, resources, and shadowing, practitioners gained deeper insights into the physical and sensory challenges faced by children. This joint approach enables families to receive tailored support.
• Health Visiting Partnership: The Portage team collaborates closely with the Health Visiting team, conducting joint home visits when necessary and sharing of practice across evidenced based parenting programmes, enhancing their ability to identify families needing referrals.
• Speech and Language Collaboration: Termly joint meetings with the Speech and Language team allow for updates, discussion of caseloads, and coordinated planning. Joint home visits with dysphagia/feeding therapists ensure families receive holistic and integrated care.
• Evidence that the best practice is having an impact; description of the effect on outcomes and how the best practice has made/is making a difference.

Improved Outcomes for Children

• Developmental Progress: 100% of children supported by Portage achieved key developmental milestones such as improved communication, motor skills, and social interaction.
• Transitions to Early Years Settings: Children experience smoother transitions into early years settings, supported by EHCPs where required.

Empowered Families:

Parent Feedback:

• 100% of parents reported increased confidence in meeting their child’s needs.
• One parent shared: “Portage has supported my child’s development by providing strategies, encouragement and also been invaluable in boosting our confidence.”
• 100% said they felt less isolated and better connected to resources. One parent shared: when asked what have you enjoyed about the about the Portage Parenting service “Meeting parents with children that have the same difficulties as mine and sharing experiences with them.

Voice of the Children Family and Staff:

Families’ experiences highlight the transformative impact of Portage. Families and staff shared:

• “The Portage staff, were wonderful. They were knowledgeable, friendly and supportive. Portage group provided us with the opportunity to meet other parents, giving a sense of support and community.
• “Having the home visits gave us access to information and resources we wouldn’t have had otherwise and having such a knowledgeable and kind Portage officer visiting regularly was reassuring to us as parents and carers. It helped us understand what we could do to help [my child] develop and gave us confidence in doing so. The support offered navigating the bureaucracy and support when things took longer or were more difficult than expected was invaluable.”
• “My child lights up when the Portage worker arrives. They love the activities and feel so proud when they achieve something new. It’s given them a way to communicate their joy, even without words.”
• “As a Portage officer, it’s rewarding to empower parents with strategies that help their children thrive. Each family’s journey is unique, and our work makes a real difference in both child development and family confidence.”

Broader Relevance and Transferability:

Portage offers a proven, adaptable model for other local authorities. Lessons learned in Merton include:

1. Early Engagement: Reaching families soon after a child’s needs are identified maximises developmental outcomes.
2. Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Working with health and education professionals ensures a joined-up approach to support.
3. Flexibility in Service Delivery: Portage practitioners’ ability to adapt their interventions to the individual needs of each child and family, whether through in- home visits, group sessions, or online support, ensures that services are accessible and effective for diverse family situations
4. Data-Informed Decision Making: Collecting feedback and evaluating outcomes enables ongoing improvements. Tracking developmental milestones and parent satisfaction demonstrates interventions effectiveness. While children’s development is tracked individually, there is scope to enhance the systematic collection and analysis of data to further refine approaches and demonstrate the programme’s effectiveness. Prioritising this improvement ensures interventions evolve in response to needs

These principles ensure Portage is impactful and replicable, providing a roadmap for local authorities to support their SEND populations.

Conclusion:

Portage in Merton has transformed the lives of children with SEND and their families through personalised support, strong partnerships, and a commitment to inclusion.

Team: ‘Commissioning SEND’ and ‘Child Friendly Lambeth’

Main Submission: As part of the UNICEF UK Child Friendly Communities and Cities Programme, Lambeth aims to become a child-friendly community where the voices, needs, and rights of children and young people shape public policies and services. Child Friendly Lambeth has chosen ‘Child Friendly Services’ as one of its core priorities (badges) in which the views and experiences of children and young people are consistently used to inform the commissioning, design, development, delivery and review of services. Our SEND Young Inspectors Programme is a leading initiative within this framework. Our SEND Young Inspectors Programme aligns with our new SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy 2025-2030 which prioritizes amplifying the voices of children, young people, and families. The voices of young people with SEND are often marginalized in decision-making processes that directly affect them. Our goal is to provide these young people with a platform to actively influence services ensuring they are inclusive and accessible.

Introduction to the Initiative

The SEND Young Inspectors Programme recruits young people with SEND to evaluate council and commissioned services, both SEND-specific and universal to ensure they meet the needs of young people with SEND. The young inspectors assess services from their perspectives and provide actionable recommendations. Since launching the programme in June, we have piloted two inspections:

1. The ‘I’m a Young Person’ section of the SEND Local Offer website.
2. Our commissioned short break service providers

Our next inspection will focus on assessing the universal Active Lambeth offer, further expanding the programme’s reach and impact.

To date, we have recruited inspectors by partnering with schools who put forward students who were keen to engage in the pilot sessions. The first inspection involved six students aged 11–15 from Dunraven School, with diverse SEND including speech, language, and communication needs, hearing loss, visual impairment, ADHD, and autism. The short breaks inspection involved four students from Dunraven School and London Nautical School. These students were chosen due to the quick turnaround between the inspection and the end of the academic year. We prioritized schools with established relationships and a strong willingness to participate. For future inspections, we will be exploring more equitable recruitment strategies to ensure diverse representation.

Local Offer Inspection:

• The inspection was conducted as a three-hour session during the school day.

• The inspectors used Chromebooks and guided worksheets to evaluate website navigation, accessibility, and content quality.

• Their feedback was collated and a report identifying eight key themes was drafted, reviewed, and signed-off by the young inspectors. The report was presented to our Local Offer Communications Coordinator and published on the Local Offer.

Local Offer Inspection:

• The young inspectors joined quarterly commissioning monitoring visits, evaluating our four short break service providers.
• The inspectors used structured checklists to assess the providers on criteria like activity range, interactivity, and accessibility.
• The inspectors shared their findings in a feedback session which were included in official monitoring documents and relayed to the service providers.

Buy-in and Collaboration

• Inspections were welcomed by Local Offer stakeholders and short breaks providers, who have demonstrated a strong commitment to integrating recommendations.
• Inspectors were paid London Living Wage (£13.15/hour at the time of inspection), reflecting the time and effort required to complete their work. This payment underscores the value placed on their insights and empowers them to contribute meaningfully. Certificates of participation and refreshments were also provided, further supporting their engagement. The initiative also aims to upskill young people by improving their analytical skills and confidence to contribute to decision making.

Impact and Outcomes

Ensuring Accountability

• Local Offer: We have been able to update the inspectors on actions which are already being taken in line with their recommendations. They have been pleased to hear that their recommendations are being taken seriously. A ‘You Said, We Did’ style response paper is being drafted to ensure that each recommendation is addressed and that the young people are informed about what changes can and cannot be made and why. This will be presented to the young inspectors.
• Short Break Providers: Recommendations from the young inspectors were relayed to service providers during contract management meetings and have led to tangible changes. During our following monitoring visits, our SEND YI Coordinator was able to see implemented changes for example enhanced staff training and better engagement from service users. These updates have been shared with the young inspectors.

Impact for Young People Involved

A key benefit of youth participation is personal development, when young people are involved in decision making, they gain a sense of ownership and empowerment and are able to make more effective contributions.

Our young people have expressed pride and satisfaction in their roles. Feedback has included:

• “This is great; I like that you want to include kids and help them.”
• “They listened to us well; no improvements needed—they were excellent.”
• “It was amazing. They were really kind.”

• Families have also expressed gratitude for the opportunity:
• “Thank you for giving [my child] the opportunity to be part of this project. Wider Impact

Service-level participation benefits both the individual and other service users. We hope the recommendations from our young inspectors will continue to enhance the accessibility and inclusiveness of our services for young people with SEND. Future updates to the Local Offer must be assessed by service users to ensure improvements align with their needs. Feedback from short breaks users has been consistent with young inspector findings, therefore users must also be consulted again to measure improvements to the service. Our SEND YI Coordinator observed increased engagement among service users during follow-up visits though this remains difficult to measure due to a variety of influencing factors. The inspections have also strengthened trust and partnerships between young people, the council and service providers.

Challenges and Reflections

• Inspections have included young people who attend mainstream schools, significant resources and adaptations are needed to involve those with higher levels of need. For the next Active Lambeth inspection, we aim to include this cohort.
• As a paid opportunity, equity in recruitment is vital to ensure inclusivity and avoid repeatedly involving the same participants. Developing a robust recruitment strategy will be essential as the programme evolves.

Transferable Practices

1. Partnership Working: Collaboration with schools, service areas and service providers is needed to ensure diverse representation and buy-in.
2. Youth Empowerment: Budget is needed to pay young people for their work and to recognize their contributions and ensure meaningful engagement.
3. Feedback and Accountability: Transparent reporting processes are crucial to this initiative in order to empower young people and to encourage continuous improvement.

The SEND Young Inspectors Programme is a creative approach to embedding the voice of young people with SEND in service design and development. The programme demonstrates how empowering young people can lead to meaningful service improvements. Through emphasising collaboration, inclusivity and accountability, the initiative will improve outcomes for the inspectors, services users and their families and sets a replicable standard for other local authorities.

Supporting Information:

• Local Offer Young Inspection Report

Team: Children’s Rights and Participation Team,

In Southwark, one of London’s most vibrant and diverse areas, there is a special project called SpeakerBox. SpeakerBox is Southwark’s Children in Care Council (CICC) and gives young care experienced people the chance to speak up, share their stories, and make a real difference. This project is all about helping young people feel heard and valued in their community. SpeakerBox is run by young people, for young people aged 5 to 25 in Southwark. It’s a place where they can develop new skills, get creative, and talk about things that really matter to them. Whether it’s making podcasts, videos, or blogs, SpeakerBox gives young people a chance to share their opinions and have their voices listened to. It’s all about helping them get involved in their community and show others what they care about.

Partners: Speakerbox, the Family Council, Parent Advocates and Staff Members

Main Submission:

Speakerbox began 21 years ago and has continued to evolve over time. There are now 2 children’s rights and participation officers (CROs), Dechaun Malcolm – who works primarily with the 13 – 25 age group and Ekta Gupta who works with the under 13s and young people with special educational needs. In 2023/24 there were 1005 episodes where young people engaged in SpeakerBox.

We initially built SpeakerBox membership through activity based events and consultations with young people but what was missing was young people’s voices consistently being heard by senior managers and meaningful change to practice and services occurring as a result. When changes were made they weren’t always communicated back to young people so they weren’t always clear how their voices were heard and acted upon. Having two CROs has enabled space to recalibrate how we work together with young people, we have a stable membership of around 35 young people and we have made the decision to reduce the amount of activities we offer and focus on SpeakerBox being an intentional space with a strategic focus and strong links to senior managers across Southwark Council and not just within Children’s Service. The messaging is that ‘Corporate Parenting’ is the responsibility of everyone who works for Southwark Council.

Young people have voted to move away from having one chair and they have organised themselves into groups based on different themes and interests with each one having nominated representative. One challenge we have faced is how we use young people’s voices without re-traumatising them. We were initially involving young people in a variety of in-person training sessions but we were concerned that they were having to re-live their often very traumatic experiences through re-telling their stories. So we have now moved towards using other methods such as films, podcasts, music, newsletters and artwork.

We enhanced the engagement with senior leaders across Southwark through having a group of young people attend the Director’s Forum and present their top priorities as young people in care and care leavers. This helped departments to think about what they could offer as a Corporate Parent and young people felt seen and heard. We have now had offers from many Directors including Housing, Environment and Leisure and our call centre to work in partnership. As a result young people have been offered ring-fenced employment opportunities and free leisure activities and opportunities.

Innovation Project Ekta and Jacqui founded the Innovation Project which is a grass roots approach to changing the way we practice and how senior managers make decisions about services for young people. It is a collaboration of care experienced young people, parents with experiences of children’s services, social workers, team managers and independent reviewing officers. The group votes on which ideas to take forward and involves other areas to help create change. One of the projects young people voted as most important was around equity across teams and services when it comes to finances and understanding financial rights and entitlements. The finance service have been meeting with young people to explain their entitlements and are co-designing an information sheet with young people, parents and social workers. Young people have taken the lead with pitching for innovation money funds for specific projects and are awaiting an outcome. The innovation project report in regularly to senior managers to ensure that there is buy in to the project and learning from it.

Shaping Services: Young people have been involved from the very beginning of Southwark setting up their own Children’s Homes. They were involved in building and garden design, furnishing, naming the home, designing artwork, the documentation for Ofsted registration and creating the young person’s guide. They also sat on the recruitment panel for the residential manager and all of the staff.

Funding has been provided to furnish and decorate a section one of our buildings so young people have a space they can call their own and it is part of our new CareLeavers Hub. Young people were consulted about how the space should look and a cartoonish captured their vision for the hub in a beautiful piece of art which has been framed and displayed. Young people are regularly given paid opportunities to be part of consultation groups both within and external to Southwark. Some recent opportunities include meeting with the CLA nurses to design materials to promote health assessments and how they can encourage greater attendance and dispel myths and fears; meeting with sexual health services to think about how to design the Careleavers Hub, meeting with another borough to give feedback on setting up services for UASC.

Cooking Group for young people with Special Educational Needs
Ekta has been running a cooking group for 14-25 year old care experienced young people who have an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) or are in the process of being assessed for one. We collaborate with Bread Ahead Bakery and support 10 young people every fortnight during term time to engage in a 2 hour cooking session. Young people have made pizza, brioche, focaccia and various other delicious things. The session helps young people to develop new skills, become more independent, to follow along with instructions and to meet other young people in a relaxed setting. It is absolutely joyful watching their faces as
they marvel at what they have created! The feedback has been incredibly positive and we always have a waiting list for each session. Young people who have attended the cooking group have grown in confidence and gone on to present at corporate parenting committee.

There was a SEND consultation and young people undertook a workshop regarding ECHPS – see feedback in the last section. Young people and practitioners benefited greatly from this. This has also led to our care leavers going into schools to facilitate conversations with students and film this. We have some incredible talented young people who are aspiring photographers and film makers and instead of hiring professionals in to capture events we have been employing our care leavers.

Young people write a staff newsletter to update the social work services about what SpeakerBox have been up to. Within this there is a section in tips for social workers and advice from young people about what has worked well and not so well for them. They also share poetry and lyrics. There is an “Ask A” column where social workers can write to a care leaver for advice on a matter.

Learningfest
We have a quarterly event which has a different theme each time. Young people have led sessions around writing for and about children and young people and been involved in co-facilitating training around care planning and permanence. Foster carer recruitment and training – Young people directly and films they make are involved in foster carer recruitment and training.

Creative Collective
We’ve run a fortnightly session with a singer/songwriter called creative collective where young people come together to sing and create music. It’s been a great way for young people to get to know each other and learn a new skill

Podcasting: We have collaborated with Camden Roundhouse and young people have learnt all about Podcasting. Southwark Council have pledged to fund the podcasting equipment and young people are looking forward to sharing their views.

Fundraising: Young people are raising money, ideally for a trip to Disneyland Paris. They have attended screen printing workshops and have designed and printed their own t-shirts, we have been selling them via a donation to make money and young people have raised close to £2500.supports.

Celebrating:
SpeakerBox love celebrating and coming together! The care and permanence service has made this possible through funding events such as our Summer Cook Out, Yearly Big Celebration and our Winter Ball. We finished off the year with a chef gifting her time to come and cook and incredible meal for SpeakerBox members. This really helped them feel valued and part of a community at a time of year which is often quite tricky.

Residential
We took a group of young people away on our first residential in many years in Summer 2024. The theme of the residential was around conflict management and over the space of 4 days young people engaged in sessions around how they experienced conflict and how they could effectively navigate it. A very talented aspiring film maker who is one of our care leaver has made a film of their experiences across the week.

Supporting Information:

SEN consultation feedback from young people:
“At the beginning of the consultation, I felt intimidated by all the adults there because I have social anxiety and I am shy. As I got to know them I opened up more and I found it inspirational. The lady that spoke to me was very funny and made me feel comfortable sharing my experiences. She never judged me. The department listened and took what we said into consideration. I could see them trying their best to help us in every way they can”

“After the session, I felt I got a lot off my shoulder and felt that the department would use my opinions to help us in the future”.

I think other departments should do this to help young people in care. I think if young people and departments work together young people will get the help they need and feel more comfortable sharing their view and vision of the care system. I appreciate the time and effort the SEND department put into coming to see all the young people including myself”.

Quotes from YP – “Speakerbox for me brings me to be a part of something bigger to make a difference, but to also have fun, experience and experiment” – (YP 21). “SpeakerBox has made a great impact on my life and shaped a lot of how I think about things nowadays. SpeakerBox really has an amazing community which continues to grow throughout all of the activities which I take part in and really appreciate. I love coming to SpeakerBox and having a great community around me” – (YP 16)

Home:

Young people in SpeakerBox voted to focus on the theme ‘Home’ this year. Their intention was to help social work staff, managers and foster carers understand how they could best support and care for young people. We engaged the 5-12 year old group in a collaboration with The Roundhouse with a DJ and music producer. Young people wrote lyrics and recorded a track about Home. We had a second group of 13+ young people who also did the same. It was a powerful representation of their views. The 13+ age group also made a film with ‘The Mouth that Roars’ to highlight how foster carers can think differently about young people and help young people feel like they are ‘home’ by being included within the foster family and ways carers can hold them in mind. The film will be used as a training resource for foster carers and social workers. Later in the year young people will be recording an album together with the same DJ and producer.

We engaged the younger cohort with the theme of ‘We Run the World’ to get their views on how they want to be cared for and what they would want to be different in life. We worked alongside a cartoonist who created a comic strip with our children and their super powers. We printed the comic strip and they absolutely loved seeing themselves in what looked like something you’d buy in a comic book shop. Some of their comments about what they wanted to be different in the world/their life were “I would want to get rid of false hope and despair (YP aged 8), “I would want to get rid of lying” (YP aged 9), “I would want to get rid of fighting” (YP aged 6). We hope that by engaging the younger cohort in these activities we will hear their voices and also encourage them to be an active part of SpeakerBox in the future.

Team: Merton Abbey Primary School

Main Submission: As the number of children with Special Educational Needs continues to rise, the issue of inclusive practice has become of critical important to schools and local authorities. Funding constraints, along with the growing demand for placements within ARPs and Specialist schools, means that mainstream primaries are increasingly striving to meet the needs of more high needs pupils.

Many parents, over the years, have voiced that they would like their child to be educated within their local mainstream school, alongside friends from their local community, but that they are aware that mainstreams schools are often not funded adequately or that they may not always be ‘set-up’ to meet the needs of pupils with very high needs. Parents know that Specialist schools offer classrooms which are designed to meet their child’s unique needs, that there are specialist resources and equipment which might not be available in mainstream schools, and that staff in special schools will have received vast amounts of training on SEND. There is a very important role, and place, for Specialist schools and ARPs. But, with the often-long wait times for placements, and an increasing number of pupils attending mainstreams with high needs, it is crucial that mainstream schools draw on the expertise of specialist teachers and leaders to develop their offer to pupils with high needs.

Merton Abbey Primary School is one of growing number of mainstream primaries in London that have an increasing percentage of pupils with high needs. Most of the children who have EHCPs are children with autism, matching the national picture. Many of these pupils have needs which are frequently met very successfully through careful planning, close partnership with external professionals and with strong relationships with families. However, for a number of pupils very significant adaptations to provision are required – and this presents both exceptional challenges and, more importantly, fantastic opportunities for inclusive practice.

With the aim of meeting these growing high needs, Merton Abbey Primary are currently working in close collaboration with MAOS (Merton Autism Outreach Service) to develop the provision for and support the inclusion of pupils with Autism. Drawing on the expertise of this advisory team has been an easy and very-much welcomed process. After initial discussions with parents, the school Headteacher, school SENDCo, Class Teacher, Educational Psychologist and the MAOS Advisor met and agreed the project aims. Joint observations, followed by further discussions led to refinement of the project plans. Over a number of visits, MOAS shared examples of resources, modelled teaching and trained key staff, explained core principals and facilitated visits to observe best practice in specialist provisions. Ongoing feedback and support is in place. The cost of the collaborative project has been minimal and, where required, a very small amount of EHCP funding has used. For the children, access to a broad and balanced curriculum, alongside mainstream peers fully remains – and specialist teaching and learning takes place within the mainstream class.

The project is still within in the early stages – but the impact of this collaborative work has been overwhelmingly positive. School staff feel empowered, knowledgeable and skilled to plan the required provision, the classroom environments are suitably adapted and, in line with the project aims, children with Autism are working confidently and independently with much less dependence on key adults. As a result, the pupils are making even better progress across all areas of their learning, too.

Although the aims of the project naturally differ for each pupil – much of the new practice is highly replicable across the school and will, in time be implemented as a whole-school project and then embedded as a core part of our general teaching and learning. It is exciting to consider where else the project will lead. Undoubtedly, for mainstream schools to fully develop inclusive practice continued training and increased funding, along with the development of local and national policies, are urgently required. Further opportunities for mainstreams to work collaboratively with expert advisory outreach teams, alongside the continued development of our shared vision of inclusive practice, are paramount.

Team: Newham SEND/Transformation and Newham Youth Empowerment Service

Partners: Newham Youth Empowerment Service, UEL Connected Environments, Department for Education (funder)

Main Submission: The “Access Newham Project” was initiated as part of a grant funded project focusing on building confidence and independence in young people with special educational needs and disabilities in Newham. With feedback provided by both young people, parents and carers, it was identified that we could do more to promote independence in SEND young people and that we needed to draw more attention to inclusive and accessible spaces in the borough. The aim of this guide was to create a resource that supports SEND young people, their peers, parents and guardians, along with the wider community in finding inclusive and enjoyable environments within Newham. We wanted to build the confidence of young people to explore more in the borough, and to review and identify areas that SEND young people found welcoming and fun.

The primary motivation was to empower young people by providing them with a platform to share their experiences and insights, thereby promoting independence and confidence.

This project was a collaboration between the Youth Participation Team from Newham’s Youth Empowerment Service, who led the co-production work, and Newham’s SEND Transformation Services, in partnership with UCL Connected Environments who provided the digital platform for what became the host for the Access Newham Project.

The project involved a group of 10 SEND young people who worked over the summer co- produce this project. Co-production was central to this piece of work, and it was entirely led by the young people in terms of what they wanted the guide to look like and to include. In line with Newham’s reward and recognition policy, the young people were paid for their work and time in creating this council resource. The group worked together with the participation team to decide how they wanted to approach this project, devise the criteria for how they would be reviewing places, choosing and visiting different locations and how to express their feedback and insights which feature on the interactive map.

We partnered with UCL Connected Environments to utilise the Newham Memory Mapper tool, which had been previously developed in a youth participation project. Staff provided their expertise and guidance to educate and support young people to update the map with their new reviews.

The project culminated in the development of a digital map that highlights inclusive and accessible spaces in Newham, recommended by the young people themselves and accompanied by their reviews.

We launched this project with the young people delivering a presentation at our SEND ‘Local Offer Live’ Event in October, and holding a stall for young people and parents/families to visit. The launch was a huge success, with many feeding back that the Access Newham Project and presentation was the highlight of the event!

The commitment and creativity from the young people involved, as well as excellent leadership and co-ordination from the Youth Empowerment Service, facilitated the project’s success, with a huge amount of work going into the October launch.

The “Access Newham Project” has had a notable impact, covering:

• Increased awareness: The project has raised awareness about SEND supportive spaces in Newham
• Empowerment: Young people involved in the project reported increased confidence and a sense of ownership.
• Social and emotional learning for young people
• Meaningful co-production work
• Community resource: The interactive map serves as a valuable resource for SEND young people, their families, and carers, helping them find supportive environments.

Feedback from participants and their families has been really positive, with many expressing appreciations for the practical and insightful nature of the guide.

“Working on a SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) project has been a truly rewarding experience for me. It has deepened my understanding of the challenges faced by individuals with diverse needs and has reinforced my commitment to making a positive impact. Throughout the project, I’ve worked closely with a team of dedicated professionals to create inclusive solutions that empower and support these individuals. This experience has honed my skills in empathy, problem-solving, and communication, and has given me a greater appreciation for the importance of accessibility and tailored support in all areas of life. I am proud of the progress we’ve made and excited to continue working on initiatives that promote inclusion and equality.”

-CH (Young Person)

“The Access Newham project means making and giving back to my community that has done a lot for me as a teenager to becoming a full adult. I took part in the project to meet and socialise with my peers from Newham and to know more about the diversity in Newham”

– KO (Young Person)

We believe the “Access Newham Project” exemplifies best practice in supporting SEND young people and represents a true example of co-production. While we have created and launched the site, we now hope that it becomes a resource owned by young people and something that is regularly used and added to. Our next steps are working with young people and UCL to further develop the site to be more accessible with more images, digital art, voice recordings and to upskill a larger group of young people to be able to edit the webpage independently.

By sharing this project, we hope to contribute to a broader movement towards more inclusive communities and improved outcomes for all young people.

Supporting Information:

• Access Newham Project website (please follow link and then filter the map with the layer ‘Access Newham Project’): https://newhamyouthmap.memorymapper.org/

Team: Redbridge Educational Wellbeing Team

Main Submission: Created in 2018, REWT are an ambitious, creative and fast-paced team of Specialist Senior Educational Psychologists, Educational Psychologists (EPs) and Assistant Educational Psychologists (AEPs).

REWT supports schools through evidence-based training packages, delivering targeted interventions and signposting and raising awareness within the community. REWT are innovative and unique and the leadership and drive of the team has led to a highly successful service for the Local Authority.

REWT have a clear strategy for all projects, following a regularly reviewed development plan. All work is underpinned by policies and guidance from the Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP), the British Psychological Society (BPS) and the Department of Education (DfE). Management has been excellent and has led to the growth of the team from 3 people to 12 people. Management has also secured funding and grants which has enabled the growth and depth of the team’s work.

Over the past three years, the Redbridge Educational Wellbeing Team (REWT) has passionately developed Rhythm and Wellbeing (RAW), an intervention centred around music to bolster emotional literacy among children and young people (CYP) facing social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. RAW was developed as a response to the rise in SEMH needs observed nationally in CYP, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The intervention aims to have a positive impact on the mental health of young people through providing early intervention.

Furthermore, the group nature of the intervention allows for efficient deployment of support.

The intervention not only directly benefits students by addressing their SEMH needs, but it also acts as a valuable resource for training Emotional Learning Support Assistants (ELSAs) and other school staff, supporting and strengthening the workforce in educational settings. Through RAW, school staff are empowered to independently implement the intervention, while also gaining transferable skills that can enhance the broader school environment. This approach is particularly timely given the strain on external services and the long waiting lists young people often face for specialist support. Additionally, REWT hosts termly RAW networking events, providing practitioners with the opportunity to learn new skills, exchange best practices and gain insights from one another. In the summer of 2024, REWT hosted our first-ever RAW showcase, bringing children across schools together to share the work they have done in their RAW sessions.

The RAW programme initially received funding from the LTP partnership to pilot in nine Redbridge schools, including eight primary schools and one SEN secondary school. The SEN school adaptations allow the program to be accessible to pre-verbal students’ helping to address the co- morbidity of SEMH needs with other special education needs. RAW consequently became part of REWT’s traded offer in 2023 and continues to grow its reach. RAW has since been adapted to run in mainstream secondary schools. Focus groups were conducted with young people from two secondary schools who suggested adding the emotions of anxiety and confusion and adaptations to some of the activities to better suit the older audience.

REWT is working hard to increase the reach of the RAW program outside of Redbridge. REWT has directly delivered the RAW program to two schools in Brent and trained ten schools in Bicester through our new train-the-train model. REWT has also been invited to present RAW at the ELSA National Conference in Birmingham in November ’22, the NAPEP (National Association of Principal Educational Psychologists) Conference in June ’23, the annual AEP (Association of Educational Psychologists) in October ’23 and the North Wales ELSA Conference in June ’24. At present a research paper is being drafted to be published in Educational Psychology in Practice and other professional publications.

The RAW project uses aspects of the Play Acceptance Curiosity Empathy (PACE) model, Emotion Coaching and the Zones of Regulation to create a fun and safe space for CYP to explore emotions. Using musical provocations, CYPs are supported to develop interoception (the sense of the body’s internal state, including awareness of physiological processes like hunger, thirst, heart rate, and emotions), build their emotional awareness and develop self-regulation strategies. RAW sessions follow a repetitive structure to promote feelings of predictability and safety within the group. Each session focuses on one emotion, sessions are split into six psychologically informed sections; the “hello song”, musical games, an emotional provocation, reflection, relaxation and the “goodbye song”. Provocation games and activities are used to elicit different emotions. To increase interoception and emotional awareness CYP are then encouraged to reflect on the bodily sensations associated with each emotion through the use of body maps. Students are then supported to explore strategies for self-regulation to manage different emotions.

The gathered evidence strongly suggests that this intervention has proven effective in nurturing emotional awareness and self-regulation. Moreover, it has demonstrated promising outcomes for children with a range of special educational needs developing social skills, self-esteem, self- confidence, and even communication skills among participants.

The thematic analysis suggests that the RAW intervention was very well-received by the young people involved, with students particularly valuing the opportunities for musical engagement, emotional expression, and relaxation. Across multiple schools, students consistently rated their experiences highly, often giving scores of 9 or 10, with feedback like “it was an amazing experience”, capturing the uplifting and positive impact that RAW had on their emotional wellbeing. When asked which activities they found most useful, students repeatedly highlighted musical components as a favourite, particularly playing instruments, singing, and engaging in rhythmic activities. Additionally, activities focused on expressing emotions.

The program was similarly well received by the members of staff training to deliver the program. The feedback from staff across multiple schools illustrates a strong appreciation for the RAW training programme. Staff members highlighted how the programme’s structured approach, incorporating activities like body mapping and targeted music sessions, supported children in understanding and managing their emotions in a meaningful way. Comments emphasised the value of using music to facilitate emotional exploration. Furthermore, the data indicates a general increase in staff confidence across schools in applying music to support emotional well-being, running the RAW intervention, and perceiving their impact on children and young people’s emotional development.

Supporting Information:

YouTube videos:

The Data:

The data analysis across schools participating in the RAW intervention shows a general trend of improvement in children’s emotional regulation, as evidenced by reductions in scores for Difficulty Controlling Emotions and Frequency of Emotions post-intervention (Figure 1).

Staff Confidence:

The data indicates a general increase in staff confidence across schools in applying music to support emotional wellbeing, running the RAW intervention, and perceiving their impact on children and young people’s emotional development. This is evidenced by positive mean deviations in confidence scores (Figure 3), showing the intervention’s effectiveness in boosting practitioner confidence. Schools with staff who began with lower initial scores, such as School 7, School 9 (SS), and School 4, demonstrated substantial increases in confidence (+2.0, +2.0 and +1.75 respectively), highlighting the RAW intervention’s effectiveness for practitioners who initially felt less prepared to use music for emotional wellbeing.

Team: Family Hub Transformation team.

Partners: Merton Connected, Keystone Marketing, KidsFirst (parent/carer forum)

Main Submission:

In late 2021, Merton applied for transformation funding to support borough wide implementation of the DfE Family Hub programme. Since November 2022 Merton has, alongside 12 other successful LA’s worked diligently to initiate and embed widescale change in the way that Early Help services are accessed and experienced by babies, children, young people and their families.

Moving to a place-based delivery model with strong focus on ‘Access, Connections and Relationships’ has been achieved with careful planning, navigation and engagement across a wide stakeholder landscape. The need to talk with, hear and respond to the views of local families has remained front and centre of early development work. Embedding the ‘Family Hub’ brand and a shared understanding of the concept has taken time. The evolution of ‘Our Merton Family Hub’ was driven by a need to develop simple language and messaging about how Family Hub services would be experienced by those who use and deliver them.

The development of ‘Our Merton Family Hub’ (or visual pledge as it is often referred) was an iterative process, drawing initially, from insights and feedback gained through engagement and consultation activity. This included:

1) Discussions with parents who had joined ‘Merton Family Voice’ (a parent/carer forum where feedback on various aspects of transformation has been sought).

2) Conversations with young people and families who attended the Family Hub launch event in August 2023.

3) Feedback shared by VCFSE partners in a series of workshops aimed to build relationships with third sector organisations (many of whom represent the views/experiences of lesser groups within our local communities).

4) Structured activity held during a Partner Engagement Day (19.01.24) where views were sought on the shaping of a visual pledge.

A visual illustrator was drafted in to translate words into pictures. This was considered important to ensure that the messaging about Merton Family Hubs is understood and accessible to a diverse audience, including younger children, families with SEND, people with learning needs and those with English as an additional language. Young people also told us that any information needed to be easy to both read and understand.

Five versions of ‘Our Merton Family Hub’ were drafted before landing a final product. Each draft was consulted on, and feedback drawn from several sources (including the audiences has allowed Merton to be fully assured that the inception of ‘Our Merton Family Hub’ is truly informed by co-production and collaborative working, supporting a sense of borough wide ‘ownership’ regarding the programme and its aspirations.

This mode of engagement and consultative approach has enabled families and delivery partners to contribute to the shaping of Merton’s Early Help/Family Hub offer. We recognise that for many families, the support provided through Our Merton Family Hub has made a huge difference when managing very challenging circumstances and whilst waiting for specialist health interventions. This has been of particular significance to parents of children with SEND, who have told us how Family Hub services have really helped them to better care for their children when they become dysregulated. The interface with ‘Kids

First’ has helpfully shaped the framing of Merton’s approach to better reflect and respond to the lived experience of families with SEND and work towards improving outcomes through an effective support offer.

Using the strapline ‘Our Merton Family Hub’ and displaying this widely across buildings, promotional material, websites, presentations and communications has also promoted a sense of collection and belonging. Families told us that they wanted Family Hubs to be somewhere with more opportunities to ‘drop in to’ and meet other parents when the opportunity arises. This is reflected in various ways within both the visual pledge and through the developing Family Hub service offer. As a direct result of feedback, we have increased drop-in sessions across our Family Information and Support Hubs, Open Garden Sessions, MIASS and delivered more open access ‘on off’ events for Families to attend. This has been well received with over 100 family members attending a recent open garden session at one of our Family Hub network delivery locations.

Children young people and parents each contributed to the shaping of this work. Parents of children with SEND shared helpful feedback on use of colours and imaging to support greater full accessibility. Whilst efforts were made to reduce the amount of text within the visual for ‘Our Merton Family Hub’ some parents shared that the visual had too many images and not enough information. Based on this feedback, a decision was taken to develop a separate booklet for parents which explains Family Hub services and the support available. These have been shared at various engagement events with parents reporting that the information contained within these booklets has been a useful source of reference.

We are planning to revisit the effectiveness of our FH brand (including our visual pledge) as part of ongoing review and evaluation activity. This will involve the development of a practitioner resource tool kit which partners will be invited to use in their engagement with families and young people to gauge feedback on perception and experience of support through Merton Family Hub.

Supporting Information:

Team: SEND Inclusive Education Team

Main Submission: The SEND Inclusive Education Team is a new team that was established in September 2023, to ensure outstanding and inclusive specialist practice happens in our schools for our most vulnerable learners. Their aim is to support more pupils with SEN remain in local mainstream schools and nurseries schools through increased parent confidence in local schools and improve outcomes for our Children C Young People with SEND through review and evaluation of the SEN practices and provision, which will in turn ensure value for money. The aim increase skills within schools so that schools can deliver provision confidently and effectively which in turn means less children moving into independent or specialist settings when their needs can be met in their local mainstream school.

The team spend most of their time in schools observing children, working with SENCOs, support staff and class teachers to see what is working well for the learner as well as identifying any barriers to inclusion.

Together they then look at how these barriers can be broken down via modelling, training, sign posting to other services.

The model works best with multi agency working as the team have established strong relationships not only with schools but also with Educational Psychology, Speech and Language, OT, School standards, Autism Advisory service. One of the most significant working relationships is between the team and SEN Case Coordinators, this ensures any concerns about inclusion or delivery of provision are quickly managed through a supportive school visit.

Team attends meetings with other teams to share patterns, emerging areas of work and to ensure join up working is as effective as possible.

Impact is shown in several ways

• Evaluations from schools identifying visits and follow ups were impactful in supporting and improving their inclusive practice and delivery of provision.
• Return visits from teachers or practitioners show where strategies are implemented and embedded and the improvement in inclusive practice, for example children more regulated and spending more time in their mainstream classroom.
• Increase in parental confidence following on from visits as notes and actions are shared directly with them.
• Via feedback from other professionals who are seeing best practice in place and can identify and share impact.

As part of all visits a follow ups we seek to gather the voice of the child and ensure this is reflected in our actions and notes of visits. Parents and schools are also always asked for their views prior to a visit to ensure a collaborative approach.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Originality: a new or creative improvement or innovation that demonstrates uniqueness. This was new team designed to meet needs locally. It is a unique service it’s approach working closely to establish best practice for learners with a wide range of SEND across all ages ranges from nursery to the end of year 11.

• Making a Difference: impact of the initiative on improving identified outcomes and contribution to common themes. In the short time the team has been in existence the impact has been large as shown by evaluations from schools, feedback from parents, observations from wider professional networks.

• Measurable: data and evidence that clearly demonstrates the impact of the initiative. Data has been gathered termly and highlights proven impact on inclusive practice across our schools.

• Transferable: initiatives and ideas that can be shared, adopted or scaled for use by others. We have shared the approach with other professionals.

The vision was developed to give a clear message for everyone on what they hope to achieve, and peer assess each other to ensure everyone is working consistently, but also to share best practice. They have evolved from their original purpose where needed, such as supporting schools to set up new specialist resource provisions, evaluating the effectiveness of our existing enhanced provisions and working with the Education Psychology service to identify gaps in school staff knowledge and develop some intense joint support around it.

Supporting Information:

Testimonies:

“It was good to have expert feedback on how staff are supporting X, especially with his communication. It was good to have an in depth observation over a longer period of time. Her feedback on the note of visit were detailed. It is good for parents to receive reassurance from an independent advisor. It is useful as a school to have the evidence to present to inspectors. It is good to have someone to ask advice in terms of EHCPs and overall provision for a child.”

“L gave practical steps which were manageable to implement. It was useful that she spoke to both myself, the Class Teacher and LSA. Speaking directly to the LSA allowed L to broach subjects that we could then follow up on. I found that Lilly did listen to our views and what was feasible and possible within a mainstream school.”

“Helpful that she saw him over a range of lessons. Nice to hear what is going well and the agreed actions list helped focus in on what we need to do. It felt manageable, achievable and not overwhelming.”

“Useful for E to have time in the classroom observing and especially speaking to the child. The discussion with Ellie, class teacher, LSA and myself was useful. Report was good to look at what we are doing well and what else could be put into place to further support the child”

“The visit was positive and feedback was supportive. The school were listened to and the visit felt very much like it was in the best interests of the child”

“S is now in the Y5 classroom for the majority of the school day. He is having many more moments of being regulated.”

“Useful for E to have time in the classroom observing and especially speaking to the child. The discussion with Ellie, class teacher, LSA and myself was useful. Report was good to look at what we are doing well and what else could be put into place to further support the child”

“The visit was positive and feedback was supportive. The school were listened to and the visit felt very much like it was in the best interests of the child”

“S is now in the Y5 classroom for the majority of the school day. He is having many more moments of being regulated.”

Team: Cognus Clinical Psychology

Main Submission: Cognus Clinical Psychology conducts Autism assessments for young people between 5-18 years old. In an innovative enhanced experience for the young person in their autistic journey, after ASD assessment, we offer The ‘A’ Plan. This is an individualised post diagnostic initiative offering education, support/interventions for the newly diagnosed young people regarding autistic and mental health related concerns.

At inception in 2018, our Clinical Psychology Service initially began by solely conducting autism assessments with minimal post diagnostic support provided. Post Covid-19 made it very apparent that there was a gap in service provision with regards to extended post diagnostic support, especially with autistic young people with additional mental health concerns (mental health concerns of autistic young people can be given very limited focus and just be considered as ‘part of being autistic’). This gap in service provision extended beyond our service as we had no place to sign post our newly diagnosed young people to for further support. From these observations and limitations, the innovative ‘A’ Plan was developed.

Service Provision

The ‘A’ Plan is our service’s post diagnostic initiative attached to the autism assessment process and is all individualised for the young person. This includes;

• Follow-up discussion/session post assessment to further explore specifics ascertained from the assessment and to develop a plan of further support for the young person and family.
• Understanding diagnostic sessions. This is considering the young person/family’s understanding of autism and considering this within a autistic strengths and challenges framework. Many families on their journey towards a diagnosis focus on the differences/challenges of being autistic. However, during the ‘Understanding Diagnosis’ sessions, we are very keen to emphasise the strengths and joys of being autistic such as being experts in their given interests. We emphasise many successful autistic people who are autistic to challenge the dominant view that being autistic is a negative attribute.
• Following this, we provide a maximum of 5 support/intervention sessions focusing on the need of the autistic young person. This can be support/interventions with challenges such as social skills or mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, trauma, self confidence.
• We also work with families and carers; at times it is more useful and valuable to work with the family system rather than the young person. We offer parenting advice and support for challenges such as sleep, routine hygiene or understanding their autistic young person further.
• Liaise with schools, SENDCo and other professionals regarding the young person in question. We may attend family meetings to inform informing of what we have learnt about the young person and how it help them thrive in school

Outcomes, Impact and Feedback

Since funding approval in 2022, we have seen 100 young people on The ‘A’ Plan for social skills support, anxiety, low mood, emotion regulation, attachment difficulties, trauma, self-esteem, self-harm and suicidal ideation. Some of our outcomes have included 100% reduction in serious self harm, reduction in anxiety 90% . However, there is more beyond the numbers.

Below is some of the lived impact of The ‘A’ Plan for some of the autistic young people and their prior concerns.

Autistic Young People

• Young persons have reported re-engagement in social activities, e.g., boxing, cadets, attending theatre shows, increase in seeing friends outside of school, trying to get a part-time job, taking public transport on their own/with friends, transitioning to new schools.
• Young people have reported that using the self-soothing techniques and resources discussed in sessions has helped decrease anxiety.

Parents/families Feedback

Parents/ Families have also reported the positive impact of The ‘A’ Plan.

‘Thank you so much for all of your help. It’s been such a relief for **** and the rest of the family to talk to you about his autism and some of the impact of that and I know it has helped him a lot’.

‘**** mentioned some of the strategies you’ve been doing with him and he opened up for the first time (at school) about his autism. He told his teacher that your sessions have been really helpful for him. **** seemed more settled after this and has been in school every day. Thank you for your work with him and see you next week.’

**** is sad that it’s going be to last session with you. He likes you and asked me if I can extend the sessions…I wish

Within our service, we do not just see identity as well as need. With our ASD assessment and The ‘A’ Plan provided as an individualised, holistic, complete package, we help impact positively the direction of life travel for young people within Sutton.

Team: Bi-Borough Short Breaks Service

Main Submission: Bi-borough Children’s Services Short Breaks Service 

An Overview of Our Service  

Short breaks enable disabled children to have time away from their carers, explore new opportunities, have fun and broaden their social networks whilst promoting independence.  

The Bi-Borough Short Breaks Service operates after school, on weekends, overnight and during the school holidays. It is flexible to the needs of our families so much so, that during lockdown it continued to take children during the daytime. The service supports any disabled child aged 5-18 years old across the two boroughs, whilst also providing an early years support offer for those under 5 years old. We have four in-house centres across both boroughs, which link with health and education partners.  We utilise relationships with parent-carer forums to provide regular updates on the offer and what is available.  

Investment 

Recognising an increase in demand for services for SEND children, in 2024 Westminster City Council invested nearly £4 million into dedicated facilities for children and their families with SEND; 

• In the north of the borough, £1.9 million of council funding has been invested in significant refurbishment and expansion of our popular Tresham North Short Breaks Centre. This investment has greatly improved our existing centre and provides more spaces for children, as well as more varied opportunities for play. This includes a dedicated space for our children with complex health needs, a youth zone, an outside cinema, two soft plays, and two kitchens. It also includes a permanent base for our Parent/Carer Forum ‘Full of Live’ who are co-located on site. The Centre opened for families in September 2024.  

• In the south of the borough, £1.8 million has been spent on our brand-new College Park Special School satellite and co-located Short Breaks Tresham South in Pimlico. The new Short Breaks centre contains two main activity rooms that cater for lots of different types of free-flow play: one for older children and one for younger children. It also features arts and crafts spaces and a main hall for larger group activities. The school’s facilities include a sensory room, occupational therapy suites and seven classrooms to provide an additional 50 school spaces for SEND children.  Our expanded Short Breaks service addresses our desire to increase provision in the south of the city in response to feedback from parents and carers, and extensive co-design with them. It offers eligible children a local place where they can socialise, enjoy activities and learn in a safe and nurturing environment.  

In Kensington and Chelsea, there already exists a purpose build Short Breaks centre, St Quintin’s which has been operating for the last 15 years. This year we invested £100,000 to create a cinema and dedicated youth area at the centre. St Quebe Cinema was opened by Cllr Catherine Faulks and gives older children with SEND a space dedicate for them.  

In the south of the borough, St Quintin’s South, opens during holiday periods and on Saturday’s from 10am-4pm, meaning there are now options in both north and south of Kensington and Chelsea for 52 weeks of the year or children with SEND and their families. 

Whole family support 

These services allow children the opportunity to experience and explore in a safeguarded and secure environment. Sessions in the centre can include invited guests, such as zoo animals or might include a drum jam and there are chances to explore activities in the community from London museums to trips to the theatre. The centres also offer Sunday drop-ins, many families live in flats and struggle on a wet Sunday for places to go. In the school holidays, we arrange family days out to local sites or a larger trip on a coach to the beach or theme park. Going together as a group gives families a chance to meet other parents and having a shared group enables parents and carers to enjoy the day with other families who have similar lived experiences. We also arrange family fun days in the holidays where the whole family can come and join in the activities on offer. 

We support siblings with monthly events giving them a space to talk about their caring responsibilities and enjoy time away from their family in a safe environment. We also provide training for families with groups such as Early Bird and Early Bird Plus as well as a range of short-term advice and guidance relating to specific areas such as sleep and toileting.  

In 2025 we are moving our centres towards a Family Hub model for families with a disabled child. They will be a one-stop with help with wheelchairs, OT support, speech and language therapy groups, housing and social welfare assistance and on-site social workers and short breaks practitioners.  

Feedback  

Parents on Tresham North –  

‘There’s nothing (else) actually like this to include children with learning disabilities into the community.’  

‘This kind of place is good for the parents, we can have a break and then at the same time, we know they are happy, enjoying and in a lovely environment with people who understand their needs.’  

Parents on St Quintin’s:  

‘The centre provides such an invaluable service for so many different reasons, it provides (child’s name) with a safe, engaging and inspiring place to attend, where we know that she is well looked after….and  

Supporting Information: