SEN Communication is key
Contact a Family is a charity which provides support, advice and information for families with disabled children, no matter what their condition or disability. We look at the charity’s latest project which aims to ensure families with a disabled child at school get access to good quality information
children. All state schools are legally obliged to ensure that special help is provided for this group of children. Once a child with SEN is placed in a school, the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) will get to know more about each child’s needs and requirements and at the same time advise parents about how the school will meet their child’s additional requirements. Contact a Family has launched the SEND Information project, which aims to save SENCOs time by supporting them in their role of directing families that have children with SEN to appropriate sources of support and information on non-education issues, such as getting back into employment, benefit entitlement and short breaks.
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Point of contact Contact a Family has long recognised that SENCOs are a key point of contact and support for families within schools and often have very demanding schedules. But while understanding a child’s condition and its wider impact can help SENCOs signpost families to appropriate support and information, with so many different medical conditions and disabilities affecting children – some very rare – it would be impossible for education professionals to know about all of them. Parents tell Contact a Family that money worries, finding suitable childcare, juggling family life, getting the right benefits and trying to
“With so many different medical conditions and disabilities affecting children – some very rare – it would be
impossible for education professionals to know about all of them.”
find out about local services is stressful and time consuming. Battling for the right support for their child can often leave parents feeling isolated, particularly when a child relies on specialist services or equipment to support their physical and communication needs. Through the SEND Information Project, Contact a Family will be working with both professionals in schools and parent support groups to ensure families get access to high-quality information and support. Led by Contact a Family and funded by the Department for
Education, the SEND Information project offers SENCOs the following services: n Free access to the online version of the Contact a Family’s Directory of Conditions until March 2013. Containing information on more than 400 medical conditions plus details of support groups for parents, the Contact a Family Directory is a valuable source of information produced with leading health experts and already widely used by a variety of professionals. It gives SENCOs access to information about symptoms, diagnosis and treatment as well as details of national condition-specific support groups for parents. Access is usually £18 per year.
n Access to a dedicated information service to help SENCOs answer a family’s questions.
n Free, dedicated and easy-to-use resources. n Free information sessions through existing SENCO networks. n Help to work in partnership with parents.
Strength in numbers: Contact a Family helped thousands of parents find condition-specific support groups last year
In addition, SENCOs will have access to the charity’s SEND
Information team who can research and answer questions around information provision for families with children with additional needs or disability. Contact a Family also produce a wide range of parent- friendly publications, podcasts and videos and the charity’s freephone helpline for parents is a “one-stop shop” giving advice on all aspects of caring for a disabled child with access to interpreters in over 170 languages. Contact a Family’s SEND Information project is just part of the work
the charity carries out with and for families. Last year it supported over 340,000 families to access life-changing help including giving around 9,000 families one-to-one support over the telephone, at drop- in sessions and through home visits. The support the charity provides includes help with claiming benefits, accessing other sources of support, and negotiating with social services or education bodies. The charity’s helpline answered over 8,000 specific enquiries from
families in crisis or need and it provided opportunities for 12,000 parents to come together at workshops and meetings for support and to learn new skills. Contact a Family linked up 179,000 parents with children with specific rare conditions and linked 10,000 families up with local services and resources.
Further information SENCOs working in England can register with the project for free by visiting
http://tiny.cc/0d0f6 Anyone needing advice and information on any aspect of caring for
a disabled child can call Contact a Family’s freephone helpline on 0808 808 3555 where expert parent advisers can talk through any issues. You can also visit the website at
www.cafamily.org.uk For further information or questions email
SENDinfo@cafamily.org.uk
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igures from the Department for Education show that more than a fifth of children (21 per cent) in England are said to have special educational needs (SEN) – that is about 1.7 million
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