We work with a number of outside agencies to ensure that all children at Georgeham have the support they require to achieve their potential.
The process of working with an outside agency may have come about from talking to your child’s teacher, or our SENDCo (Mrs Rinvolucri) or Mr Thomas. (It’s good to talk – so please come and ask for a chat / discussion / meeting.) After an initial discussion, and an agreement that we’d need outside agency support, we would most probably start writing a ‘My Plan’ as part of the Devon Assessment Framework (DAF). The DAF process is part of Devon’s Early Help strategy and it supports all of the people around, and including, the child. Through writing the ‘My Plan’ we’d establish and record what needs there are and what we’d all like to have as an end result. This process helps to identify the services that we’d need on board to support you and your child and improve outcomes.
School Nurse
Devon’s School Nurse Service, running out of Caen Medical Centre – 01271 818030 – provides universal health care services to children, young people and their families, from pregnancy until 19 years of age. The school nurse offers health checks for children during their first year in school and at other times when the need arises.
Worried about your child’s behaviour or mental health?
Happy Maps website says: “Wondering whether to go and see your GP ? Perhaps you’ve been referred to specialist services but there is a long wait ….. or perhaps you’ve been told the problem isn’t quite serious enough to be referred. You’ve come to the right place!”
Solihull Approach Online Courses… free for all parents in Devon.
Devon Local Maternity System have purchased a multi-user licence for four Solihull Approach online courses, for all parents and parents-to-be.
- Understanding your pregnancy, birth, labour and your baby
- Understanding your baby
- Understanding your child
- Understanding your teenagers brain
Every single resident in Devon, Torbay and Plymouth can access the courses completely free of charge.
These courses are for everyone who wants to be the best mum, dad, grandparent, carer that they can be. The Solihull Approach aims to improve emotional health and wellbeing by supporting relationships. The courses are written by CAMHS professionals with other health and education workers. They are evidence based and accredited by the DfE.
Together we are aiming to change the culture around parents‘ self-development and improve children’s wellbeing at the same time. A smoother home life is good for concentration, learning and performance at school.
Thank you for agreeing to help us disseminate this information which includes:
- Link to the courses – www.inourplace.co.uk – access code TAMAR.
Devon’s Integrated Children’s Service
Devon’s Integrated Children’s Services, has an excellent single-point-of-access website
where you can find lots of information, personlised to your search options.
Devon’s Early Help Strategy
Devon’s Early Help strategies aim to support children, young people and their families at the first signs of need, to make sure they are safe, happy, healthy and well educated.
The Early Help website has some useful information on it.
You can also contact the Early Help Coordination Centre on 0345 155 1071 or email earlyhelp@devon.gov.uk
They also have a useful leaflet explaining about Early Help and the DAF process:
Working Together To Help You And Your Family
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)
Children will have a special educational need / learning difficulty or disability if they:
- have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age; or
- have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
If a child or young person has special educational needs or disabilities their needs will fall into one or more of the following four areas, and may need extra help or support, or special provision made for them to allow them to have the same opportunities as others of the same age:
…(Clickable links to further useful information on the Devon’s SEND website)
- Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)
- Autism
- Specific learning difficulty (SpLD)
- Moderate learning difficulty (MLD)
- Severe learning difficulty (SLD)
- Profound and multiple learning difficulty (PMLD)
Emotional, social and mental health
- Attachment difficulties
- Social and emotional difficulties
- Mental health issues
- Attention and hyperactivity difficulties
- Visual impairment (VI)
- Hearing impairment (HI)
- Multi-sensory impairment (MSI/Deafblind)
- Physical disability (PD)
Interventions
Wave 1 learning: All children have access to good quality ‘wave 1’ learning opportunities. Sometimes children need a little extra support in one or more areas and they move into Wave 2 and Wave 3 interventions.
Wave 2: Children complete a specified learning programme over a set period within a group setting. Through these programme the children develop their reading, writing, communication and memory skills.
Wave 3: Children could possibly have 1:1 support or be in a focussed small group. They could possibly receive the wave 3 intervention programme over a longer period. Children are supported to develop their reading, writing, communication and memory skills.
There’s also the Thrive programme: Based on neuroscience and attachment research, Thrive helps our staff prepare children and young people for life’s emotional ups and downs. The approach teaches you how to be, and what to do, with children’s differing and sometimes challenging behaviour. As a result, children become more self-assured and ready to engage with life and learning. This programme was first developed in South Devon but is now recognised across the country.