SEND( Special Educational Needs and Disabilities)Support Service-Early Years

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Our Early Years Special Educational Needs and Disabilities team (EY SEND) includes a Portage Team who work with children from Birth to 3 years and an Early Years Educational SEND Support Service who work with children up to the end of their Reception School Year.

Portage

 

Portage is an educational service delivered in family homes, for children from birth to three years old who have significant special educational needs and disabilities.

Our Portage Model is based upon child-led play, structured teaching and family focus to ensure children and their families are supported in the best way possible to achieve their full potential.

We support parents and carers in their own home to develop their child's learning through play and promote positive outcomes. Parents and carers know their children best and it is easier for children to learn in familiar, comfortable surroundings. The idea is to have fun together.

How to access the service

 

Online referral forms have now replaced the old paper form.  Once an account has been created you can apply for Portage by clicking the link:  SEND Support Programmes | Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council

What happens after the referral?

When we have received a referral, the Portage team will contact you to make an appointment for you to meet them and a member of the team. This appointment will last no more than an hour. The session is an opportunity for us to get to know you and your child better through talking to you and playing with your child.

If we decide that Portage is not the right service for you we will look at the range of other support available through the Children Centre Network and their groups and activities, all of which are focused on developing children’s learning. We will support you to access these.

What happens if my family uses the Portage service?

If the Portage service is appropriate, a Portage Worker will be assigned and will visit you at home weekly or fortnightly for approximately 1 hour. During the visit, the worker will play alongside you and your child, model activities and strategies to support you in developing your child's learning. They will also help you to observe and understand their progress. Between visits you will be asked to repeat the activities until the next visit to develop the new skill. You can involve other family members in this as the activities can be built into usual family routines or play time.

At the end of each block of visits, we will carry out a detailed review of your child's progress. These reviews aim to celebrate success and outline the focus for the next block of visits.

Working with other professionals

With your permission, we will work with the other professionals who are involved with your child and family. We may talk to you about opening a Child and Family Assessment (CAF).The CAF is a useful tool to support this multi-agency involvement.

When your child leaves the service, the Portage Worker will share any relevant information regarding their progress with their nursery or other setting as this will support a smooth transition for you and your child.

If you would like to know more about Blackburn with Darwen Portage service, or have any further questions, you can email us at: EYSEND@blackburn.gov.uk

Other Portage Offers

Monthly Portage Group - by invitation only for children that are awaiting a Portage worker.

Sensory learning group - by invitation only held at Little Harwood Family Hub on a Monday afternoon 1.15pm -2.15pm

Portage Stay and Play Group - held at Darwen Family Hub –this new group is open to all families who have previously received Portage or have been invited to the group.It will be held term time only- Thursday 1.15pm-2.15pm - direct contact Rachael Haworth 01254 666717

Little Treasures Group - A group for families who have children with complex and additional needs. The group caters for children from birth to 3 (pre-school age). Families meet weekly on a Friday morning-9.30am-10.30am at Shadsworth Family Hub. The session includes opportunities to meet with relevant professionals, a variety of stimulating activities and toys and useful information. Professionals can make a referral to this group. In Blackburn with Darwen we also offer groups as part of our Portage offer, these are delivered in our Family Hubs/Children’s Centres. These groups are designed to support your child’s development, provide opportunities for them to socialise with other children and for you to meet other parents connecting you and your child to your community.

Many parents have found Portage very helpful because of its supportive approach and the positive impact upon their child's development.  For more information contact Rachael Haworth - 01254 666717 rachael.haworth@blackburn.gov.uk

Early Years Advisory Teachers and Specialists SEND Practitioners (SSP)

Our staff work closely with parents and in partnership with other agencies involved with individual children including professionals from health and social care.  We provide children (Birth to 5 years) and their practitioners with support to meet the individual needs of young children who have or may have a special educational need or disability.

This could include:

  • Assessment of a child's needs
  • Advice and guidance drop-in sessions for practitioners including Private Providers( PVIs), Nursery Schools, Childminders, Children’s Centres and Reception classes  (see below for times or call on the number provided)
  • Training for practitioners - through Melearning or face to face training  (follow the link below to make a booking)
  • Training for practitioners - SSP’s will be allocated to a setting where an Intervention training need has been identified.  (Settings will be required to have an adult to work alongside us to learn and deliver the intervention once SSP input has ceased - normally after half a term).

Melearning: www.blackburn.melearning.university

We aim to support the inclusion of children with SEND in their Early Years setting or school. In partnership with Early Years settings and schools we monitor children’s progress and development and support a successful transition into school.

 

Our Offer

Graduated Response – this document has been created by the EYSEND Team to support parents and settings to provide quality first interactions with their child. (See download)

 Advice and Guidance Line-  Thursdays 11-2pm. Tel 01254 585700 (term time only).  

This Advice Line allows you to discuss individual children anonymously or general SEND difficulties you are experiencing in your setting. We cannot accept referrals through this Advice and Guidance line. If you would like Early Years Advisory Teacher input please use our new on line referral system.

 

Early Years SEND Support Service | Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council

 

  • To access our support please ensure you have followed Advice and Guidance from the Graduated Response document and completed a cycle of Assess, Plan, Do and Review before contacting our team.
  • Once the referral has been received, an Advisory Teacher will contact you within 10 working days to discuss a mutually agreeable telephone appointment time within their usual drop in clinic.
  • With effect from Wednesday 13/09/2023 we are now live with the EY SEND Referral form online on our Digital Customer Portal (DCP). We will no longer accept email referrals after this date.

 

Please scroll down the page to find further useful information for practitioners:

  • Graduated Response Document: please see download
  • SEN Inclusion Funding for 3 and 4 year olds 2023-2024: Children who are aged 3+ years and are working well below their age related expectations in two or more of the prime areas of learning (for example range 2/3 in the Non-Statutory Birth-5 Matters Guidance or Steps 7/8 on the Early Support Developmental Journal)
  • Early Years SENCo cluster meetings - The aims of these meetings are to:

-        Provide updates about changes to legislation, statutory responsibilities or service  delivery with regards to SEND

-        Share good practice, challenges and solutions across the range of EYFS providers.

-        Provide information about funding opportunities or additional resources and support that could support a plan for a child

  • Please note:
  •  EYFS Cluster Mid-Year Moderation Meeting Wednesday 6th March 13.30-15.30 at St.Thomas's School
  • All SENCo cluster meetings will take place virtually - Next SENCO Cluster meeting Wednesday 13th March 4pm -6pm.
  • BwD are using Microsoft Teams www.microsoft.com, if you have not already downloaded this onto your systems, we advise you to do so and invitations will be sent to you via email.  When you accept, you will be sent a link to "join the meeting".

 

We advise that all children who have SEND have a co-ordinated plan in place. Examples could be:

  • Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP)
  •  Child Protection (CP)
  • Child In Need(CIN)
  • Child & Family Assessment (CAF) 

 There are a number of reasons for this:

  • It ensures that parents/carers and children's voices are central to the support for their children
  • It provides the opportunity for regular reviews of progress  with  the range of professionals involved with the child and a ‘one plan’ approach
  • Where children are progressing to an EHCP, a CAF is well placed to gather and co-ordinate information and demonstrate the efforts that have been made to support the child prior to an EHCP request.
  • Early Years settings will be able to claim the SEN Inclusion Funding for children with low level or emerging needs to support them with their graduated response.

What is a CAF?

  • The child and family assessment (CAF) is a 4 step process whereby practitioners can identify a child or young person's needs early, assess those needs holistically, deliver coordinated services and then review progress.
  • The CAF is designed to be used when:

-        a practitioner is worried about how well a child or young person is progressing, e.g. concerns about their health, development, welfare, behaviour, progress in learning or any other aspect of their wellbeing

-        a child or young person or their parent/carer raises a concern with a practitioner

-        a child's or young person's needs are unclear or broader than the practitioner's service can address

Advice and guidance about CAFs can be accessed through the CAF Link Workers: Sonya Rustidge, Hazel Dean  who supports Lead Professionals with quality assurance support.

       

The EYs SEND Team

The Portage Team

Rachael Haworth – Direct line: (01254) 666717 - rachael.haworth@blackburn.gov.uk

Lyndsay Regan-Hicks – Direct line: (01254 507734 - Lyndsay.Regan-Hicks@blackburn.gov.uk

Laura Cummings - Direct line: (01254) 269292 - laura.cummings@blackburn.gov.uk

Anisa Manjra – Direct line: (01254) 666594 - anisa.manjra@blackburn.gov.uk

Lorraine Swinn - Direct line: (01254 585513 - lorraine.swinn@blackburn.gov.uk

Emma Vargas - Direct line: (01254) 666632 - emma.vargas@blackburn.gov.uk

 

Early Education Lead Advisory Teacher

Bridget Collinge - Direct line: (01254) 587966   Email: bridget.collinge@blackburn.gov.uk

Early Years SSP Team Leaders

Joanne Kelly - Direct line: (01254) 587243 Email: joanne.kelly2@blackburn.gov.uk

Tracy Griffin - Direct line: (01254) 666697 Email: tracy.griffin@blackburn.gov.uk

 

 

Area Advisory Teachers

Gemma Carr - Gemma.carr@blackburn.gov.uk  Direct dial: 01254 585884 (3-5 years, Darwen)

Joanne Edwards - Joanne.edwards@blackburn.gov.uk  Direct dial: 01254 269273 (3-5 years, West)

Samantha Widdup - Samantha.widdup@blackburn.gov.uk  Direct dial: 01254 870815 (3-5 years, East)

Magdalena Abbotts - Magdalena.Abbotts@blackburn.gov.uk  Direct dial: 01254 666416 (3-5 years, North)

Pamela Clough - Pamela.Clough@blackburn.gov.uk  Direct dial: 01254 22254 (Under 3s, All areas)

Under 3’s drop in Advice and Guidance (no referral needed) - Tuesday 1.30-2.30pm

 

Additional Support for parents/carers

www.thechildrenssleepcharity.org.uk

www.councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk

www.cafamily.org.uk

Local Offer: www.bwd-localoffer.org.uk

You can log into your Portal account using the following link: Login (blackburn.gov.uk)- see dropdown box for guidance.

Other enquiries: EYSEND@blackburn.gov.uk 

 

 

   

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Who to contact

Contact Name
Comments,compliments,concerns please contact EYSEND@blackburn.gov.uk
E-mail
EYSEND@blackburn.gov.uk

Where to go

Name
www.EYSEND@blackburn.gov.uk
Notes

The Early Years Team is part of the SEND Support Service and covers all Early Years Settings, Nurseries and Reception Classes in Blackburn with Darwen. 

Availability

Age Ranges
0-5
Referral required
Yes
Other notes

The SEND Support Service Early Years Team is available to support all early year’s settings and ensure the local authority meet the duties placed upon them by Government legislation for Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

Local Offer

Local Offer Age Bands
0-5 years
Needs Level
Low
Medium
High
SEN Provision Type
Universal
Targeted
Specialist

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