SEND Newsletter - September

Hi everyone

Welcome to the first edition of our SEND newsletter.

We’ll be sharing latest information which matters to you and we’ll be asking you to share your feedback. We’ll feature latest news on school places, events, decisions and highlight support and advice available. We’d also like to include feedback from you and share your experiences.

We’d like you to tell us what’s been happening in your area and what you’d like to celebrate. Our newsletters will be on the Local Offer website.

Thank you.

Helean Hughes

SAIL Academy

The Department for Education has confirmed a provisional opening date of September 2023 for the Salisbury Academy for Inspirational Learning (SAIL) in Salisbury. This announcement means that consultations for Children and Young People for places at the new school can now get underway.

The SEND free school project will offer 150 places for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school will accommodate pupils with a diagnosis or primary need of autism (ASD) or social, emotional or mental health needs (SEMH). This will be a major contribution in ensuring that young people in south Wiltshire receive the specialised support they need.

Initially the new school will open on a temporary basis in part of Pembroke Park Primary School in Salisbury and at what is now Springfields in the South at Sarum Academy. It will then move to permanent accommodation on land and buildings at the former South Wiltshire University Technical College in the city.

SAIL consultation

A consultation has now been launched to allow parents/carers and pupils, staff and governors from local schools, local authorities, local councillors, local residents and any other interested parties to learn more about SAIL and Reach South Academy Trust, and to share their views. The consultation runs until Wednesday 2 November.

There is also a public consultation event on 11 October 2022 at Springfields South to hear everyone’s views.

More information on this

Dyslexia Friendly Schools

Lyneham Primary School and Malmesbury C of E Primary School have been successful in achieving the British Dyslexia Association’s nationally recognised Dyslexia Friendly Quality Mark.

Wiltshire Council’s Specialist SEN Service (SSENS) is currently supporting 17 primary and secondary schools across Wiltshire to achieve the Quality Mark.

The award is issued to schools or organisations that can demonstrate they provide high quality education and/or practice for dyslexic individuals.

Congratulations to both schools and good luck to all our schools working towards the award.

More on this

Dyslexia drop-in event

People wanting to know more about the dyslexia support and advice that is available can join a drop-in event at County Hall in Trowbridge on 12 .

The event is free but people are being encouraged to register to attend the event.

Wiltshire Council is hosting the Dyslexia Awareness Event at County Hall on Wednesday 12 October from 2pm – 5pm.

More information about the Dyslexia drop-in event

Book your free place now

Get Connected – National Award Winner!

Get Connected is part of Employment and Community Skills, supporting people on the pathway to adulthood, employment and beyond.

Last year Get Connected worked in four schools across Wiltshire supporting 52 students to learn road safety awareness and work towards independent travel.

They won the Best Sustainable travel initiative for Education at the national Modeshift Travel Awards.

Find out more and watch some short clips

SEND Strategy – Short Breaks Scheme

In 2020 we published our Wiltshire SEND Inclusion Strategy. This was based on discussions with parents, carers, young people and those providing support for young people with SEND and runs until next year.

The small grants scheme, which provides SEN groups with opportunities to fund equipment or activities which best support their local needs, arose from parental feedback on the Wiltshire Council SEND strategy.

Read the strategy now

Silverwood School latest

Our camera at the Rowde campus at Silverwood School is capturing how the site is taking shape as we create classes and additional facilities.

The work will extend the existing campus to provide a high quality provision for 350 pupils by September 2023.

The work will include creating a ‘school within a school’ feel with a community of small teaching clusters that will provide a range of specialist teaching spaces, therapeutic support, and quiet dining. Also planned is a hydrotherapy pool, a new all-weather sport pitch, new playing fields, landscaping, and ecological enhancements. The new facilities create exciting new learning spaces for Early Years/Reception aged children, through to post-16 learners, each with their own designated areas with age appropriate facilities.

Additional SEND school places thanks to partnership working

Partnership working with our special and mainstream schools is providing an additional 129 school places across Wiltshire for this new academic term. A number of resource bases in mainstream schools are being created as well as additional provision at our special schools and on mainstream sites. We will be providing more detail on these developments in future editions but thanks must go to all partners for working together to provide these additional places for the start of term.

POET Surveys

We’ve recently been asking parents and carers and people working with children and young people who have additional support. on a number of issues around SEND. The questionnaires have provided us with a wealth of information to consider which will be put into a more detailed report but see the highlights below.

Parents and carers felt their views were included when support was planned including for Educational Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Children and young people were happy or mostly happy with their progress towards their goals and most parents also felt their young person was making progress towards their goals.

Other feedback included:

Ensuring young people, families and professionals are aware of the SEND and Inclusion strategy
Get views of young people with SEND using other tools as well as questionnaires
People working with children and young people said we need to get views from across all types of settings.

The POET survey can be accessed at any time and it is our plan to return to responses on a regular basis. At the moment, we are seeking views about children and young people with an EHCP. You can fill in the survey here:
Practitioner survey
Children and young people
Parent and carer survey

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