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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 12th April 2021 
Wasting time is not time wasted...
I can't claim that one! I think I read it on a poster I saw once and it resonated with me, like I hope it does for you too. Unfortunately, we always seem to be in such a hurry to do things and are constantly chasing our tails in the process, or we always seem to be internally telling ourselves that we cannot do this or that as we think of it as unproductive (or 'wasting time'), that we often convince ourselves that we will therefore be losing valuable time, where we could be doing something else more productive and worthwhile. Well, believe it or not, this is not true! That's because the time that we think we are wasting being unproductive actually usually helps us to relax and refresh ourselves. This, in turn, means that when we then return to doing the 'productive' thing that we were worried about losing time over, we can do it much more quickly and creatively, sometimes even in half the time that we would have taken to do it, if we hadn't taken a break to do something where we thought that we were wasting time! It's like not making yourself stay up at night to finish a piece of work, but instead stopping at an earlier hour (when you still have energy and can think more clearly to do this) and then, after getting a good night's sleep, coming back to it again afresh in the morning. You will really be amazed at how much quicker you can then do something and how much better it may also be. Go on try it. In this week's SEN Update, you will find sections entitled:
I know how busy everyone always is, so please feel free just to read the sections that are of interest to you or read everything; the choice is always yours.
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
A QUIET WEEK AGAIN
Whenever I sit down to write my weekly SEN Update on a Sunday afternoon, I review what has happened in the news since my last update and then ask myself what information I can usefully pass on. But I'm afraid that again, like last week, it has been a bit of a quiet week, so I am just going to skip again to the news articles which I have found of interest (but you can ignore if they are not of interest to you). 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
Here are the news articles that I found of interest: Secondary school pupils to keep wearing masks after Easter Schools 'a lifeline to many students' in past year' £280m for SEND school places and improvements Pupil premium changes: Useful or just more paperwork?
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get a digital copy of the magazine: Autism Eye which is very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with Autism. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas 
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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 6th April 2021 
People say that you can get used to anything...
I guess the past year, with so many changes arising out of the Coronavirus pandemic, has proved this idea, with so may of us doing things so very differently to the way that we had ever imagined before. The saddest thing I have heard during this past year (but only after the personal stories of loss, which are all so really, really tragic to hear), is the story of the physically disabled university student, soon after the first lockdown, who said that she had been pleading with her university for many years to allow her access to her courses online, but they had consistently told her it was not possible. However, within just a few days after lockdown, the university had miraculously found a way to put, not only her course, but all courses online. This made her then sadly realise that it had always been possible, but they just did not want to make it accessible for her. Sad isn't it and makes you think doesn't it? The trick is now also not just to go back to our old ways of doing things, if we have found new ways now of doing things that are better for us and those around us in the long run. But also remember, it is very easy to change things when things change around us, but also for us to go back to old ways when things go back to what they were, so try not to just go back to old ways, if you have found better ways now. In this week's SEN Update, you will find information about:
I know how busy everyone always is, so please feel free just to read the sections that are of interest to you or read everything; the choice is always yours.
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
WE ALL NEED A BIT OF QUIET TIME NOW AND THEN
I'm afraid that there doesn't seem to be a lot for me to talk to you about this week. I am also conscious that schools are now on their break and many parents/professionals may have their domestic responsibilities piled up on them. We all also need a bit of quiet time now and then. As such, I have decided to skip my normal three 'middle' three sections of my update this week and jump straight onto the new stories that I have found of interest. 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
Here are the news articles that I have found of interest: Tackling sexual abuse not just for schools, say heads Everyone's Invited: Schools abuse helpline and review launched 'Inadequate funding' is school Covid risk, says union ADHD in girls: why aren’t schools spotting it? School moves are adding to children’s trauma, psychotherapist warns
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get a digital copy of the magazine: Autism Eye which is very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with Autism. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas 
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Douglas Silas, Specialist SEN Solicitor 29th March 2021  Hi Sometimes you can't do everything that you want to... I'm afraid that I have realised that I am going to be unable to get my 'SEN Update' to you this week. With a day off for religious reasons, a day-long hearing and another day off on Good Friday (as well as several other matters to deal with), I knew already last week that I would not have the time to do everything that I wanted to do, even if I tried. I actually wrote this last Wednesday - see, it pays to look ahead! Anyway, I have still included a cartoon for you as usual, which I hope you will enjoy. I will catch up with you I hope next week (although on Tuesday, because it is also Bank Holiday Monday next week). Hope that you have a good and productive week (you probably will also need to squeeze 5 days into less!) Keep safe. With best wishes Douglas  P.S I understand that there are many educational items, news articles, or other useful resources on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that you think that others may find useful, so that I can direct people to them.
Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 22nd March 2021 
You can see a lot when you just watch!
Seems really obvious doesn't it, but you will be surprised at how often we fail to notice what it right ahead of us and sometimes staring us in the face. And sometimes the reason we don't see things coming that we should do, is that we are usually too wrapped up in thinking our own thoughts, or spending our time telling other people what we think (whether or not they have asked us!) Another very common reason why we don't see things sometimes, is that we fail to spot patterns repeated by other people, or in repetitive situations. If we don't want to believe something, we often, subliminally, try to convince ourselves that what we are seeing is not really happening (or is not happening again). We don't see the patterns of behaviour at play. It is like we are sometimes in denial and do not want to unconsciously face up to the truth or reality. Yet, in the end we always try to comfort ourselves, by telling ourselves that, deep down, we always knew it and we should have trusted our gut instincts, or have people around us telling us (albeit with the best of intentions) that: "I told you so", which then just makes us feel even worse, or even more defensive. Again, it seems obvious, but we can often notice things if we just look at them more closely and think about them. Like someone once said (and apologies if you have heard another version of this before) - if it looks like a duck and it acts like a duck, it probably is a duck! In this week's SEN Update you will find information about:
I know how busy everyone always is, so please feel free just to read the sections that are of interest to you or read everything; the choice is always yours.
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
NEW CHILDREN'S COMMISSIONER
After I said in my SEN Update at the beginning of last week that there was not a lot of news to report the week before, the past week has now made up for it with lots of news and articles! So today, although, as usual, I am going to still share a few new stories which I found of interest, in the third section of this update, I want to use the first two sections to look at some of those stories in more detail. The first bit of news I want to share with you is the appointment last week of Dame Rachel de Souza, as the new Children's Commissioner for England (I shared some departing words from her predecessor, Anne Longfield, a few weeks ago). Although widely covered in the media, I can do no better than to quote from the BBC's website article entitled: 'New children's commissioner pledges to 'rebuild' childhood', which said: 'The new children's commissioner for England wants to "rebuild childhood" after the disruption of the pandemic. Dame Rachel de Souza says the scale of the challenge is like reconstructing the social security system in the wake of World War Two. She also wants short-term measures - such as free school meals - being extended into the summer holidays, and not "dropping" Universal Credit levels. Dame Rachel says she will be "fearless" in representing children's interests. The new children's commissioner is launching what is claimed to be England's biggest survey of children - the "Big Ask" - which will gather children's views on the impact of the pandemic, and what they think are the barriers to children's ambitions 'Once in a generation' The online survey, to be sent to all schools and also children in youth custody, children's homes and mental health units, will provide information for a "once-in-a-generation" review of how children's lives might be improved. It takes its "spirit and the ambition" from William Beveridge's 1942 report, which laid the foundations for the post-war welfare state, identifying the five great challenges as "want, disease, ignorance, squalor and idleness". "Our response to the trauma of the Second World War was to create a blueprint for a social service system and a National Health Service that improved our lives. We have the chance to do the same again now for children," says the children's commissioner. Dame Rachel, who ran schools in Norfolk and Suffolk, wants a 10-year plan to emerge from her review - with the promise of tackling a political system which can "often short-change children". For more immediate challenges, on whether free school meals should run across the summer holidays, she told the BBC: "I absolutely want to see free school meals extended. "And I'm very concerned about suggestions of dropping Universal Credit. If it was dropped down again, I'd like to see services provided in its place, but I'd rather it wasn't dropped." A former teacher, head teacher and chief executive of a school academy trust, Dame Rachel promised to be an "independent voice, there to fight to protect and promote the rights of children". If government was "doing something wrong", she said, "I will be fearless in exposing that and challenging them". 840 million missed days in school The review will consider how children will recover from so much disrupted education - calculating that collectively pupils in England have lost 840 million days of in-person schooling since the start of the pandemic, representing about 19 weeks each. It will address the "social fault lines" and inequalities that have been exacerbated by the pandemic, between generations, the wealthy and the disadvantaged, by ethnicity and geography. This includes how the gulf between rich and poor and young and old has widened, with older, higher earners increasing their savings in the lockdown, while poorer families and younger people have faced job losses and increasingly fragile finances. Today's young people are the first post-war generation to be less well-off than their parents, says the report launching the children's commissioner's review. Catch-up funding "As we emerge from the Covid pandemic, this is the moment for something big, for children to recognise the sacrifices they have made," said Dame Rachel. "I have seen first-hand the effect of this crisis on young people's hopes and dreams, and sometimes our answers simply have not been good enough." Labour's Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green said: "Over the last decade the Conservatives have overseen record numbers of children being pushed into poverty, a worsening mental health crisis and an 18-month gap in learning between disadvantaged children and their peers at GCSE." A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We know that children and families have faced unprecedented challenges during the pandemic. "We've expanded frontline charity support and provided new resources for schools and teachers to support children and young people's mental health. "Our £1.7bn investment in recovery support will help tackle the impact of any lost learning and we are investing an additional £79m to increase the number of mental health support teams working with schools and colleges."' There was also a video, which you may find of interest to watch... 
A NEW WAY FOR SEN?
The second bit of news that I want to share with you is an article written for TES by Heba Al-Jayoosie, who is assistant head (Inclusion) at Mayflower Primary School in London, entitled: 'Covid has opened teachers’ eyes to SEND possibilities'. I would usually just suggest you click the link to read it if you want to, but since it is so insightful, I thought I would quote from it here fully, as follows: 'The pandemic has been hard for everyone but, for many pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND), and their families, the past year has been particularly challenging. Many of these families already felt marginalised and the sudden shift to remote learning exacerbated difficulties for some.But there were also pupils with SEND who adapted really well to the change, with schools demonstrating creativity and flexibility in meeting their unique needs. So, what has the past year taught us about effective SEND education? And how could this help us to change provision for good? Working collaboratively with families has always been crucial and the pandemic has highlighted just how important school-home collaboration is. In trying to plan any kind of provision for pupils with SEND during lockdown, schools needed to know each individual’s strengths and challenges, as well as the context of their family. SEND support This meant answering countless questions: is school or home more conducive to learning? What about the wellbeing of the child? What can the child do independently? How can we use the parent/carer strengths? What resources are needed? These are questions that continue to matter at all times, not just in the midst of a pandemic. And the solutions that schools devised during lockdown show how we can use such questions to tailor our support. Some children had home programmes that their families were able to help deliver and many schools were able to lend resources, including gym equipment. Interventions such as reading recovery, speech and language or occupational therapy are an essential part of provision for many, and teletherapy offered a successful way of delivering some of these remotely. Those who may have struggled with sensory overload in a regular class enjoyed learning from the comfort of home. The ability to take part in class discussions using the chat function helped many to make extended contributions (much more so than they may have made in class). Many teachers also planned specific online times for social connection, and the clear rules and codes of conduct were reassuring for some SEND students, particularly in comparison with a busy playground. Asynchronous online teaching also brought benefits, enabling students to repeat lessons as needed, as well as working to flexible deadlines, giving them more control of their day. While it might not be easy to replicate all of these benefits in the future, it certainly shows what can be achieved if we take a more flexible approach. Perhaps, for instance, a blended model combining in- and out-of- school learning will really become a feasible option for some pupils. The pandemic has forced us to rethink how we do things for pupils with SEND – and has given us fresh insight into what matters most for these pupils and their families. We’ve seen benefits and disadvantages, but there can be no denying that it has opened our eyes to what is possible. I hope that the biggest takeaway from this past year is that we can be more flexible than we used to be. As much as we all want things to return to normal, I’m hopeful that “normal” can become something better than it was before.' 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
In terms of other news articles, here are the others I found of interest: - School attendance back at high levels in England - Schools Covid catch-up programme 'not reaching disadvantaged pupils' - Teachers face 'epidemic of demotivated children' - Families facing special education needs 'postcode lottery' - Pupils in England less likely to get special needs support in poorer areas
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get a digital copy of the magazine: Autism Eye which is very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with Autism. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas 
P.S I understand that there are many educational items, news articles, or other useful resources on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that you think that others may find useful, so that I can direct people to them.
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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 15th March 2021 
Too often, I find that we wish for something, but when our fantasy becomes reality and we eventually get it, it then actually does not make us as happy as we thought it would.
In fact, sometimes when we get something that we previously wished for, it can actually make us unhappier than we were before (as our expectations have then been boosted unrealistically, so we then have farther then to come down)! We regularly let ourselves drift into fantasies in our minds, imagining that doing this or that, or getting this or that, will somehow magically take us away from our everyday realities. I am all for visualisation of success, but am always very clear to always point out to anyone who asks me that visualisation alone is not sufficient and you always need to also put in good old fashioned hard work behind the scenes constantly (and often for many months and years) perfecting a skill privately, before the rest of the world sees you succeed publicly; and even then you need to again concentrate on the next thing to achieve. Like I heard someone say once, everybody wants to succeed, but not everybody (often very few people in reality) are prepared to do what it takes to succeed! Unfortunately, our society seems to be fixated on so many things that aren't real - whether it is an everyday fear of missing out (FOMO), just because we think that other people are doing better than us in life (which is usually not the case in reality, as they are usually just good at giving others that impression, by hiding away their difficulties), or because we try to believe what we see on-screen or in the movies, where everything always seems to work out for the best in the end. But that is just fantasy, not reality. So, whilst I always encourage people to pursue their dreams, I need to warn you to also recognise when those dreams are just fantasy and will leave you ultimately disappointed. But please do not think that I am trying to burst anyone's bubble. The greatest achievements that have been made over many years and centuries have been by people who have usually been told by others that they cannot do this or that, but have ignored them, worked hard and usually failed many times, but have never given up. As I also heard someone say once, remember the person who gave up? No, no-one else does either! In this week's SEN Update you will find information about:
I know how busy everyone always is, so please feel free just to read the sections that are of interest to you or read everything; the choice is always yours.
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
PART-TIME TIMETABLES
It's been bit of a slow week this week on the internet, with most people now focused on schools and colleges going back and so many parents and professionals trying to try and get back to some semblance of reality. As one of my friends also said to me, at this time last year, we were heading into our last week before the first 'lockdown'. Who could have known that the world could change so much? Anyway, rather than bombarding you with Government guidance again this week, I want to share with you a very good (previous) factsheet that I found, which is still quite relevant, that has been shared by the IASS (Information. Advice and Support Service network), entitled: ''Part-time timetables', which they described/tweeted as follows: "Here’s a factsheet about part-time timetables. It includes information relating to school attendance, reasons for giving a part-time timetable and examples of case law: http://bit.ly/PTFactsheet" I hope this is helpful. 
SEN MAGAZINE
This week I also want to highlight for you the good work that is done (and has been done for many years) by SEN magazine and direct you to their website: senmagazine.co.uk where you will find lots of interesting news, articles and information about SEN issues. Whilst you are there, you can also download a free trial of their magazine and sign up to their monthly SENExtra newsletter. 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
As I say, it's been bit of a slow week this week, so I've only found a few news articles of interest: First day back at school has 'gone well', say heads Me and my neurodiverse family: ‘It’s chaotic, frenetic and hilarious’ Allow school trips in summer term, UK outdoor education centres say
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get a digital copy of the magazine: Autism Eye which is very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with Autism. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas 
P.S I understand that there are always many educational/news items or other useful resources now on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that you think that other people may find useful, so that I can direct people to it.
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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 8th March 2021 
I often hear people saying that you can't do the wrong thing, if you try to do the right thing...
But this begs the question as to what the 'right' thing is, because what might feel 'right' to you, may feel 'wrong' to somebody else. Over the years, I have come to see that (apart from clearly 'wrong' acts, which greatly harm someone else), there is usually no one objective 'truth' in most situations, as two or more people usually just have their own 'truth', which then compete against each other, even where they may see exactly the same thing as one another. I guess we just have to always try and look as carefully as possible at any given situation, including through other people's eyes, before we determine what seems to us the right thing for us to do. We should also try to consider as many different perspectives as we can, before reaching any conclusion and acting accordingly. Hard I know isn't it? We are always in such a hurry in life and are therefore very quick to make assumptions or draw on our unconscious biases. Yet, when somebody does something differently to the way we would do it, or just has a different view from us, we are always very slow to let ourselves wonder if their way of doing things, or their view may actually be more 'right' than ours. So, always try to do what seems to be the right thing to do, but only after trying to see things from other people's perspective first. You don't have to always agree with them, but at least you will know in yourself (or you can later tell them) that you first looked at things also from their perspective, before you did anything. In this week's SEN Update you will find information about:
I know how busy everyone always is, so please feel free just to read the sections that are of interest to you or read everything; the choice is always yours.
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
BACK FOR GOOD?
I was very taken by this and had a big smile on my face when watching it! I can do not better than to quote Sky News when it said: "A group of teachers have filmed a parody video ahead of the return of students to classrooms on Monday. Four teachers from The King's School in Rochester banded together for a lockdown version of the 1995 Take That hit Back For Good. It's sung by school principal Ben Charles, head of the preparatory school Tom Morgan, and Catherine Openshaw, headmistress of the nursery and pre-preparatory school. Chaplain Father Padfield also features in the video, which has been viewed over 1,000 times on YouTube. However, the usual lyrics have been changed to reflect the current pandemic. The trio sing: "Whatever we said, whatever we did, we've been through it, we just want you back for good." 
LATEST GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS (AGAIN!)
Every Sunday afternoon now, I sit down at my computer to review the week's SEN/Education news, in order to prepare my SEN update, to go out on Monday morning. Although this week I am doing the same, this week feels a little bit different with many schools reopening physically on a part/full-time basis, after being closed and then open and then being open and then closed, albeit that there has been a lot of remote learning in-between for many children/young people. As I have said now many times, it feels a bit like the 'hokey-cokey' ("in, out, in out..."). Also, when I sit down, I have grown used to now first checking my emails from Friday evening, to see first if there is any latest news again from the Department for Education's (DfE's) SEND Division and, sure enough, there was once more. This week there was another letter from Vicky Ford MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, which said: "Letter to parents and carers of children and young people with SEND, their families and those who support them. On Monday 22 February, the Prime Minister announced that all children and young people should attendtheir educational setting from the 8 March. Alongside this, the government published a document setting out the roadmap out of the current lockdown for England: COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021 - GOV.UK(www.gov.uk) and the Secretary of State wrote to all parents, carers and guardians (https://dfemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/02/23/an-open-letter-from-education-secretary-gavin-williamson-to-parents-carers-and-guardians/). I am writing to you today to highlight key information and support which is provided for children and young people with SEND as they return to full attendance at schools and colleges. I want to start by thanking you all, as well as schools and colleges for your tremendous efforts in supporting the education, health andwellbeing of our children and young people during this current national lockdown. Over the past three months, I have undertaken a number of ‘virtual’ visits to special schools to hear from staff, children and young people with SEND about their experiences during the pandemic. It is abundantly clear that schools are absolutely committed to working with children, their families and specialist supportservices to ensure the continued delivery of high-quality education and support. In the next few weeks I will be writing a blog on the Council for Disabled Children’s website to review my experiences, so pleasekeep an eye out for that. Attendance at Education Settings From 8 March school attendance is mandatory again for all pupils and I strongly encourage you toensure that your children attend. I know that some of you will be feeling anxious about your children returning. If you have concerns you should discuss these with your school or college. Our guidance makes clear that schools and colleges should identify pupils and students who are reluctant or anxious about attending or who are at risk of disengagement and develop plans for re-engaging them. I know settings are working to ensure the smooth transition for all pupils and students back to the routines of in-school and in college learning. We have published a checklist to support staff in this which includes how to plan, communicate, be consistent, and how to support, monitor and improve, including for children with SEND. The link to the check list is here for your interest Checklist for school leaders to support fullopening: (publishing.service.gov.uk) It is possible that a small number of pupils and students will still be unable to attend school or college in line with public health advice to self-isolate because they: have symptoms or have had a positive test result; live with someone who has symptoms or has tested positive and are a household contact; are a close contact of someone who has coronavirus (COVID-19); or have been asked to shield by their GP or health professional. In the above circumstances schools and colleges are required to provide remote education for pupils and students. I recognise that some pupils and students with SEND may not be able to access remote education without adult support and so we expect schools and colleges to work with parents and carers on this. Further details on delivering remote education for children and young people with SEND is set out in Remote Education Good Practice If your child has been advised to shield because they are clinically extremely vulnerable, they shouldstay at home as much as possible until further notice and not attend their school or college. The current advice to shield will be reviewed soon and applies across the whole of England until at least the 31March. Public Health Advice I want to reassure you in regard to wider reopening that the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health has made clear that the overwhelming majority of children and young people with COVID-19 have either no symptoms or very mild illness. As new evidence or data emerges, we will update our advice accordingly to ensure that all our settingshave the right safety measures in place, which is known as the ‘system of controls’. We have developed the ‘system of controls’ measures with PHE for each of our settings. All settings must cover all elements ofthe ‘system of controls’, but the way the measures are implemented will differ based on their individual circumstances. The ‘system of controls’ measures outlined in our guidance (Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) create an environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced. Set out below are some of the key elements, which I have covered in detail to reassure you of the measures being undertaken. Testing As you will be aware schools and colleges have been delivering rapid asymptomatic testing since the beginning of January. Rapid testing remains an important part of the government’s plan to suppress the virus, in education and childcare settings and across society and we are further expanding it. This sort of testing means that people who have COVID-19 but do not have any symptoms, who might otherwise continue to attend educational settings, can be identified and self-isolate. This helps to break chains oftransmission. I recognise that testing children and young people with more complex SEND can be distressing and challenging so we have given specialist settings greater flexibility to make reasonable adjustments when delivering testing. Mainstream schools and colleges should retain minimal testing capacity on site so they can offer testing to pupils and students who are unable to test themselves at home. Specialist settings should work with pupils and their families to agree the most appropriate way of them participating in twice-weekly testing. Please see the guidance for further information - Special schools and other specialist settings: coronavirus (COVID-19) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). To help you to support your child or young person to self-swab at home, this NHS video demonstrate how to carry out a testand a detailed How to Guide for home testing, is available. In addition, if you are a member of a household, childcare bubble or support bubble of staff or a pupil you can get a twice-weekly test. I would encourage you and your family to consider seriously taking up the regular testing on offer, as this is a way that you can help keep Covid out of our schools and protect all those in your school community. You can find out more on how to access this at Rapid lateral flow testing for households and bubbles of school pupils and staff - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Furthermore, testing technology is developing all the time. We are continuing to explore other approaches to testing for children and young people who are unable to have a throat and/or nasal swab, such as saliva- basedtesting. Participation in the testing programme is voluntary. I want to provide reassurance that no child or young person should be tested unless informed consent has been given and the child and young person is willing to be tested. We’ve also made it clear to our schools and colleges that children and young people must still be able to attend even if they do not wish to be tested or are not able to be tested. However, I strongly encourage you and your children to take part if this is possible to help break the chains of transmission and manage the virus. These arrangements do not replace the current testing policy for those with symptoms. Anyone with symptoms (even if they recently had a negative test result via a rapid lateral flow device (LFD) test), should still self-isolate immediately according to stay-at-home government guidelines. Face Coverings Face coverings are really important, but we recognise that there are some SEND specific issues. We have published updated guidance for schools which includes a section on face coverings, which takes effect from 8 March. Further information can be found in Face coverings in education - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), guidance for specialist settings and guidance for further education.There is separate guidance for early years and childcare providers and guidance for higher education. We have made it clear that some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings. This applies to those who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical impairment or disability, illness or mental health difficulties. This also applies to those who speak to or provide help to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate. We have emphasised in our guidance that schools and colleges have duties to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children and youngpeople, to support them to access education successfully. Vaccinations The vaccine programme has made fantastic progress. As of 3 March 20,703,615 people have received their first dose. Phase 1 will capture all those over 50 years of age, and all those 16 years of age and over who are clinically extremely vulnerable or have certain underlying health conditions. This captures almost all preventable deaths from COVID-19 and will include thousands of staff in the education, childcare and children’s social care workforce as well as unpaid eligible carers who are in group 6. Moving forward, we aim to offer every adult aged 18 and over a first dose of the vaccine by 31 July. I strongly advise that people promptly take up the offer of vaccination when it is offered. This is the most effective way we can reduce the spread of this terrible virus. Education Recovery I recognise the impact of the pandemic on you and on children and young people. It is vital that we support children and young people to get back on track as soon as possible. As part of the announcements on education recovery made on 24 February, the new one-off £302 million Recovery Premium for state primary and secondary schools will build on the Pupil Premium to further support pupils who need it most,including those with SEND, in the 21/22 academic year. Additional weighting will be provided to eligible pupils in specialist settings, including special schools,alternative provision and hospital schools. Eligible pupils attending special units within mainstream schools will also attract the higher funding rate. In addition, mainstream schools, special schools and alternative provision (AP) will be able to access funding to provide summer schools, which will be able to target provision based on pupils’ needs, and theNational Tutoring Programme (NTP). Summer schools will not be mandatory, and it is up to individual schools to decide whether or not this is the best way to help support children and young people in their own community. Young people with SEND aged 19 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care plan will be eligible for support via the 16 to 19 Tuition Fund, where they meet the fund criteria. Sir Kevan Collins has been appointed Education Recovery Commissioner to engage with parents, teachers, and education providers to review how evidence- based interventions can be used to address the impact the pandemic has had on learning. Sir Kevan will be advising the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister on a longer-term plan. Therapies On the issue of specialist support including therapies, we know that their delivery is an important part of what education settings offer to children with SEND. Guidance from NHS England to local commissioning bodies and health providers specifies that community health services that support children and young people with SEND (including therapy services) should continue to be prioritised. The redeployment ofAllied Health Professionals should therefore be avoided wherever possible. Our guidance for education settings confirms that specialists, therapists, clinicians, and other support staff for pupils with SEND can provide interventions as usual where this is reasonably necessary, including where this requires them to move between settings. In all circumstances, we encourage education settings to work collaboratively with local health services and families to ensure support can continue,even if this means some differences in delivery. Mental Health and Wellbeing I know that many of you have been very concerned about the mental health and wellbeing of your children throughout the pandemic. This is also something I am very focused on which is why we have worked with partners across the SEND sector to deliver training to the education workforce on supporting children and young people with SEND with their mental health and wellbeing. This includes funding the Whole School SEND consortium to deliver webinars on themes of wellbeing for pupils and staff, and funding the Autism Education Trust to develop a guidance and advice hub which includes guidance and tools on anxiety and wellbeing. We have also worked closely through Whole School SEND with the Association of Educational Psychologists (EPs) to produce a handbook for schools and education settings following critical incidents. A link to the handbook and related webinars is here: www.sendgateway.org.uk/resources/recovery-re-introduction-and-renewal-safe-and-successful-returns-school. To coincide with Children’s Mental HealthWeek (1 February), we published a blog, signposting schools to the range of mental health resources available to support children, young people, parents and staff. We have recently announced a £79 million boost to children and young people’s mental health support, including Mental Health Support Teams. Children and young people will benefit from significantly expanded mental health services as schools and colleges return, and the support teams – which provide early intervention on mental health and emotional wellbeing issues in schools and colleges – will grow from the 59 set up by last March to around 400 by April 2023. This national lockdown has been challenging for so many of us, but particularly for children and young people with SEND and their families. As we move to the next phase and recovery, engagement with you the families will remain a key part of our plans and I thank you for your continued engagement. Yours sincerely, Vicky Ford MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families" 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
Finally, in terms of news, here's a few news articles that I found of interest: Special needs pupils in England living in dread of returning to the classroom Back to school: 'I'm ready for a coffee in peace' Covid: Parents worry about lost learning as schools reopen Enough of the ‘lost generation’. Instead, let’s reimagine school for our children Pupil wellbeing must be priority, teachers say as classrooms in England reopen
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas 
P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that other people may find useful, so that I can direct people to it.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 1st March 2021 
Too many people seem to not complete one thing before starting another...
Unfortunately, we have become overly fixated on the idea of multitasking, especially as smartphones/the internet have taken over more and more of our lives and constantly distract us. Once, we would start something and then finish it, before moving on to doing something else. However, too often I see people now (including myself) trying to start something else, before first completing the thing that we are doing. It doesn't take a genius to also work out that if you go on like this, you just end up with lots of things increasingly started but not yet completed. We are very good though at rationalising everything and convincing ourselves and others that we will be able to finish something off when we have more time - but the trouble is that we never then seem to be able to find more time! It's very dangerous also when we start to think like this, as the logical conclusion is that we just start amassing more and more jobs to finish, which then weigh us further and further down emotionally. We then feel more and more guilty about not doing them. This is especially the case if the things we need to finish off can be seen and then are staring us in the face to make us feel guilty. As people like to say: "out of sight, out of mind", but it really should be: "in sight, in mind!". So, it's really simple - just try and complete one thing before starting something else - you may find that doing things this way will then start to make life a bit easier for you.
In this week's SEN Update you will find information about:
I know how busy everyone always is, so please feel free just to read the sections that are of interest to you or read everything; the choice is always yours.
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
I'm starting to expect this now most weeks and have also noticed that it now seems to be getting later on a Friday (I hope this doesn't carry on like this, as most people will have already switched off for the weekend and may not see this information till the start of the next week).
At 6.45pm this time (I can't even call that late on Friday afternoon, as it is more like Friday evening), I received the latest email bulletin from the Department for Education's (DfE's) SEND Division, this week entitled: "***SEND Newsflash*** Announcements & publications during w/c 22 February ", which said: "Dear colleagues, It has been a busy week, and there is a lot to take in! We thought it would be helpful to draw together the various announcements and publications into one bumper newsflash for ease of reference:
- Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak - Guidance for higher education providers - Coronavirus (COVID-19) contingency framework for education and childcare settings
- we published an Evidence summary: COVID-19 - children, young people and education settings - the Secretary of State wrote to education leaders setting out in more detail the plans to fully re-open schools. He also thanked leaders for their continued work and support during the latest lockdown. Leaders of special, special post-16 providers, and alternative provision schools were thanked in particular, for remaining fully open to children and young people with SEND.
- awarding qualifications in summer 2021 - making alternative arrangements for the award of VTQs and other general qualifications in 2021 Testing in specialist settings We have worked hard to give specialist settings additional flexibility on testing as attendance increases. For specialist settings this means:
A step-by-step guide to testing and frequently asked questions are available on the schools google drive. We will be publishing updated guidance on testing in specialist settings in the next week, the guidance will be published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings/mass-asymptomatic-testing-in-specialist-settings Many thanks Special Educational Needs and Disability Division" There is more, so I have split this into two parts this week... 
...the email attached two things.
The first was entitled: "Message to education leaders from the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson" and said: "I would like to thank you for the huge effort that you have put in to provide remote and on-site education for pupils and students during these national restrictions, andindeed all of your hard work throughout the pandemic. I would particularly pay tribute to those leaders of special and alternative provision schools, and special post-16 providers, which have remained fully open to vulnerable children and young people throughout the latest lockdown. I recognise that this has been a verychallenging time. I am continually impressed with, and immensely grateful for, the tremendous work in ensuring that schools and colleges have been able to ensure children and young people continue to receive the best education possible. I am writing to set out in greater detail the easing of restrictions on face-to-faceteaching announced today. When the Prime Minister announced this lockdown, he was clear he would review the situation in mid-February and that the outcome of this review would be dependent upon the most vulnerable people being offered the first dose of the vaccine by 15 February, meaning they should have developed some immunity from the virus by about three weeks later, that is by 8 March. I am pleased to say that, thanks to the efforts of the NHS, volunteers and scientists, the Government has achieved this target and, following an in-depth analysis of the virus prevalence data, and the data on NHS capacity, both suggestthat infection rates have fallen across all ages, including in children and young people. Today, the Prime Minister set out the next phase of the Government’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19), including where restrictions on attendance at education settings can be lifted. The decision to ease restrictions is made on the balance of risk to public health and educational considerations. Return All schools, colleges and further education settings should allow full attendance from 8 March. Wraparound childcare, including childminders should also allow attendance for eligible children. School attendance will be mandatory for all pupils, with secondary schools and colleges able to phase return over the week of 8 March to allow students to be offered testing on return. The usual rules and duties around school attendance are in place from 8 March (including mandatory attendance). All schools should communicate expectations about regular attendance to pupils and parents. Schools should identify pupils at risk of disengagement and develop plans to re-engage them. Early years settings will continue to be open to all children, as they havethroughout the period of national restrictions. In further education settings, we expect that every 16 to 19 student (or 19 to 25 with an EHCP) will undertake the majority of their planned hours on site. For adults, as is best practice, further education providers should determine the appropriate balance of on-site and remote education and training, based on the type ofprogramme and the student’s ability to engage with the programme remotely. Higher education providers should recommence in-person teaching and learning from 8 March for students on practical or practice-based (including creative arts)courses who need access to specialist equipment and facilities. The Government will review, by the end of the Easter holidays, the options for timing of the return of remaining students. This review will take account of the latest data and will be a key part of the wider roadmap steps. Students and providers will be given a week’s notice ahead of anyfurther return. Based on the recent ONS data, the risks to education, childcare and HE staff aresimilar to those for most other occupations. Although the public health picture is improving, it remains crucial that steps are taken to reduce and mitigate any risks within education and childcare settings. DfE has worked closely with PHE to develop and refresh the system of controls to reduce the risk of transmission in education and childcare settings, based onscientific rationale. Rapid testingSince January, education leaders across schools, colleges and universities have been involved in a fantastic national effort to test their staff and students. Over 4 million tests have already been completed under your collective leadership and I would like to thank you for all the work you have done to set up the programme so far. Rapid testing will continue to remain a vital part of the Government’s plan to supress this virus, in education and childcare settings and across society. This sort of testing means that asymptomatic people who might otherwise continue to attend educational settings are identified and self-isolate. Twice-weekly asymptomatic testing is already available for secondary school, most college, primary school, special school, special post-16, school-based nursery and maintained nursery school workforce, including support staff such as teaching assistants and those supporting with wraparound childcare. Secondary schools and colleges have also been able to offer testing on return for their students, and we are now asking those leaders to put this in place for all students across the week of the 8 March as they return. Today, we have also announced the further expansion of this asymptomatic testing programme to include offering regular twice weekly testing of secondary school andcollege students at home, home based testing for secondary staff. Home testing willalso be available for Independent Training Providers and Adult and Community Learning Providers by the end of March. Rapid testing is already in place for those arriving or staying at university. We ask HE providers to offer two tests to all students eligible to attend their university or HE institution upon their return, and twice weekly asymptomatic testing to all students eligible to attend on-site, as well as providing testing for staff. All staff at private, voluntary and independent nurseries will have access to tests to use twice weekly at home, building on the testing already available to maintained nursery schools and school-based nurseries. Childminders can continue to accesscommunity testing, and the Department continues to work with colleagues across Government to review the testing approach available for childminders. Safety measures The return to on-site provision for all education, childcare and children’s social care settings will be supported by a range of actions designed to minimise the spread of coronavirus (COVID- 19). I know how hard you have all worked to implement thesemeasures and this continues to be vital. We have worked closely with PHE to develop and refresh the system of controls to reduce the risk of transmission in education and childcare settings, based on scientific rationale. The system of controls supports you to assess risk and implement measures to mitigate risk, including ventilating occupied spaces, introducing enhanced cleaning and retaining bubbles of students. We ask pupils, students and staff to continue to do everything they can to adhere to these measures, because it is vital that they are implemented well and consistently. In addition to the system of controls, where pupils in year 7 and above are educated, we recommend that face coverings should be worn by staff and pupils where social distancing cannot easily be maintained when moving around the premises outside of classrooms or teaching spaces, such as in corridors andcommunal areas. In the same settings for a limited period, we recommend the use of face coverings in classrooms and other teaching spaces, unless wearing a face covering would impact on the ability to take part in exercise or strenuous activity, for example in PE lessons, or for those who are exempt from wearing a face covering as set out in Government guidance. In primary schools and early years settings, face coverings should be worn by staff and adult visitors where social distancing between adults is not possible. Children in primary schools do not need to wear a face covering. Education recovery and qualifications I know you are completely aware that missing face-to-face education has severeimpacts for children and young people, with clear evidence that time out of face-to-face education is detrimental for cognitive and academic development, learning,health and wellbeing. That’s why the Government has been clear that restricting attendance in education settings was a last resort, and why education is being prioritised as we begin to ease restrictions. We will be setting out further measures for immediate support to children, early years settings, schools, colleges and local authorities later this week. I and Ofqual will also be setting out very soon further details of the alternative arrangements to exams. This follows the consultation which received over 100,000 responses, including from so many of you and your students. I am very pleased that we are able to return children and young people across England to their classrooms and colleges, to allow them to spend time with their friends and teachers and get back into the rhythms of the school or college year. Iwould like to thank you again for all the hard work you have done and continue to doto ensure that children and young people can return to face-to-face learning as smoothly as possible. The Rt Hon Gavin Williamson CBE MP Secretary of State for Education" The second attachment was entitled: 'Briefing Note for SEND stakeholders – Covid Recovery' and, in the interest of trying to keep this week's update shorter (it is already quite long as it is), although I'll include it here, please skip over it if it is of no interest to you...
The 'Briefing' said as follows:
"Briefing Note for SEND stakeholders – Covid Recovery As you will have seen, on 24 February, the government announced an additional £700m for a range of additional measures to give early years settings, schools, providers of 16-19 education – including specialist settings - and local authorities the tools they need to target support for all students. This builds on the £1 billion catch-up package announced in June 2020, and forms part of the wider response to help pupils make up their lost learning. Details of the package are set-out below. Recovery Premium A new one-off £302 million Recovery Premium for state primary and secondary schools will build on the Pupil Premium, to further support pupils who need it most. Schools have flexibility in how they choose to spend the premium. Primary schools will receive around £6,000 additional funding, and secondaries around £22,000 additional funding – bolstering summer provision for students. This funding can be used to lay onadditional clubs or activities or for other evidence-based approaches for supporting the mostdisadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and disability (SEND), fromSeptember. The one-off Recovery Premium will be allocated to schools based on the same methodology as the pupil premium, including an additional weighting to specialist settings, recognising the significantly higher per pupil costs they face. Pupil premium eligible pupils in mainstream schools will attract £145 to their school and pupil premium eligible pupils in special schools, AP, hospital schools and special units in mainstream schools will attract £290 over the 2021/22 academic year. The Recovery Premium will be paid as a grant to all state-funded primary, secondary and special schoolsin England over the 2021/22 academic year. The timing of the payments will be confirmed shortly. Tutoring The announcement also confirmed £200 million (from the £300 million to expand successful tutoringprogrammes, announced by the Prime Minister in January), which will fund: An expansion of the National Tutoring Programme for primary and secondary schools, to allow more pupils to benefit from the power of regular tutoring which has been shown to boost catch-up learning by as much as 3-5 months. This will increase access to high-quality tuition for disadvantaged pupils, helping to accelerate their academic progress and tackling the attainmentgap between them and their peers. As with the current programme, we are committed to being as inclusive as possible by supplying suitable provision for supporting SEND pupils within all schools, including Special Schools. An extension of the 16-19 Tuition Fund for a further year to support more students in English, maths, and other vocational and academic subjects. Providers are asked to have regard to the needs of students with SEND when prioritising students that would benefit most for small group tuition. In line with usual 16-19 funding, children with SEND aged 19-24 who have an education, health and care plan will be eligible for the Tuition Fund where they meet the criteria. Adults are able to pause their learning where it has been significantly impacted by coronavirus and, in agreement with their provider, pick up from where they left off at a later date. Support for early language development in the early years, supporting a critical stage of childdevelopment. Summer Schools £200 million (including the final £100 million from the Prime Minister’s announcement) will be available to all secondary schools, including specialist settings, to deliver face-to-face summer schools. Schools will be able to target provision based on pupils’ needs but the government is suggesting they may want to initially target initially incoming year 7 pupils. This is alongside wider support funded through our Holiday Activities and Food Programme across the country. A range of high-quality online resources will be available for all teachers and pupils, starting from thesummer term and throughout summer holidays, will be provided by Oak National Academy, to help givepupils the confidence they are ready for the next academic year. The funding available for the summer schools programme supports a 2-week scheme for pupils most in need. The size and shape of the summer schools will be decided by school leaders who know best what a most effective summer school will look like for their pupils. We expect that most schools will want to offer a mix of academic, enrichment and pastoral activity to appeal to pupils and deliver the range of benefits that the evidence shows summer schools can deliver. Teachers will not be forced to do anything. Schools will need to determine how best to use the fundingand staff the scheme to ensure that the extra time is used effectively: teachers are best placed to deliver high quality educational content. Guidance will be published shortly. Next Steps Sir Kevan Collins has been appointed Education Recovery Commissioner to engage with parents, teachers, and education providers to review how evidence-based interventions can be used to address the impact the pandemic has had on learning. Sir Kevan will be advising the Secretary of State and thePrime Minister on a longer-term plan." 
Finally, in terms of news, here's a few news articles that I found of interest:
Covid tests and masks: School prepares for return to class Summer catch-up schools planned for pupils in England Doctors fear new child mental health crisis in UK, made worse by Covid Vulnerable children 'forgotten' in Covid vaccine rollout, say UK charities
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas 
P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that other people may find useful, so that I can direct people to it.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
Created with Quiz Maker
Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 22nd February 2021 
I hope that many parents and teachers (or those who are both currently) managed to get a bit of a rest over this last week, if it was half-term break for you (I know that not everyone was off at the same time).
There always seems so much still to do though, so it's good therefore for us to stop once in a while and think about what we are doing, before we do it. We are usually so busy though trying to get through all the tasks on our lists everyday, that we often forget to first ask ourselves if the task we are doing is really necessary or not. And the reality is that few people ever really get to the end of their task list each day, which means that the remaining tasks are then just added onto our task list for tomorrow, which we will never get through again, so that the remaining tasks are then just added to our task list for the day after - it is a never ending cycle which will eventually just overwhelm us! So, try and stop for a minute first and think about what you are doing and the decide if it really needs to be done, or even if it can be done in a different way. Sometimes, when you stop and think about something you are going to do, you will be surprised to find that you may not have to do it, either now, later or at all. Go on, try it - you may find that you do not really have to do so much...
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
I hope many parents and teachers have had a chance in the last week or so to take it a bit easier over the half-term break
I saw a tweet this week (again) from 'Contact' which I thought may be helpful to share here, which said: "Dreading the return to home schooling after this week's half-term break? We can help. With so many children struggling to adapt to #remotelearning, our Listening Ear team have put together some top tips to help you out. Check them out below" It then gave a link to a page called: 'Top tips for home schooling', which some parents may find useful. Hope this helps.
There were also a couple of interesting things I saw this week in respect of children and SEND provision.
The first was the final speech in post by Anne Longfield, Children’s Commissioner for England, entitled: 'Building back better', which said it was: '...a challenge to the Prime Minister to show he is serious about children by putting them at the heart of his post-Covid plans' and that warned: '...that the Prime Minister’s promise to ‘level up’ will be ‘just a slogan unless it focuses on children’. In the speech, Anne Longfield reflects on her six years as Children’s Commissioner and looks ahead to the challenges to childhood brought about by the pandemic. You can read the speech for yourself here, or you can watch a video of an interview with her about it here. --- The second thing that I saw was the report by Special Needs Jungle entitled: 'Provision denied', which said 'Children with SEND have had their needs and education “pushed to one side, for the convenience of the majority.”' and summarised itself as follows:
'Special Needs Jungle survey shows a widespread failure to restore disabled children’s SEND provision when children returned to school in the Autumn Term 2020.
45 recommendations sourced from parents' comments to put things right for disabled learners' educational support in 2021'
You can read it/about it again for yourself here.
Finally, in terms of news, it was a bit slow (I guess that some education journalists are parents too or also need a break!)
But still, here's a few news articles that I found of interest: Covid: Testing means 'staggered' school return, say heads Special needs pupils in England 'pushed to one side' in Covid crisis 'Reckless' if all pupils back 8 March, say teachers' unions
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas 
P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that other people may find useful, so that I can direct people to it.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
Created with Quiz Maker
Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 15th February 2021 
They say that weeks go by quickly when you are busy (or enjoying yourself), but they go by slowly when you are not busy (or not enjoying yourself).
Actually, I have found that often, in reality, we are usually unrealistic about how long it actually takes us to do something, so we are then often chasing our tails trying to complete everything that we need to do, when we just have not given ourselves enough time in the first place to do everything! And these all end up compounding each other, so that at the end of the day or week, we are just exhausted and feel under-productive, as we focus on the things we haven't done, rather than the things that we have done. So, when you think you can do something in an hour, try and give yourself two hours to do it in your diary. If you then do it in an hour, you will still have another hour to spare to do other things; but if it takes you longer than an hour, you still have time left to do it. Simple isn't it? Go on, try it - you will be surprised at how less hurried and stressed you may feel...
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
Feel free to skip this bit if none of it is of interest to you.
On Friday afternoon (why do they always leave their emails until Friday afternoons), I received the latest email from the SEND Division at the Department for Education (DfE), this week entitled: 'a) SEND funding 2021-22; b) HNFF Consultation; c) Supported Internships Access to Work funding', which said: "Dear colleagues, We would like to signpost the following items:
Special Educational Needs and Disability Division" I won't say anything else, as if any of this interests you, you can click the relevant link/s and read things for yourself; and if you are not interested, you won't! 
This week I want to draw your attention to theIASS (Information, Advice and Support Services) Network.
I can do no better than to quote from their website, which says: "We are the Information, Advice and Support Services Network (IASSN)As part of the Children and Families Act 2014 it is a legal requirement that all local authorities ensure children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) & their parents have access to an impartial Information, Advice and Support (IAS) service. The IASSN are funded by the Department for Education (DfE) to support this. We do this by:
We do not provide direct advice or support to children, young people and parents. However, we can help you find your local IAS Service or you can have look at our resources section for other sources of support. The IASS Network is based within the Council for Disabled Children in the National Children's Bureau. Please note that CDC, NCB, the IASSN and all SENDIAS services, have been, like everyone, affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. Due to the wide ranging impact of this pandemic, CDC have developed a webpage dedicated to support, information and guidance regarding Coronavirus. This can be accessed here: https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/news-opinion/news/covid-19-support-and-guidance" You may also find it useful to subscribe to their newsletter, which contains news, resources and events relating to SEND. which you can do here. 
In terms of news, here's a few things I found of interest:
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas 
P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that other people may find useful, so that I can direct people to it.
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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 8th February 2021 
This week I am going to try to go a bit lighter and not give you as much to read if possible, so you don't let yourself get distracted.
Unfortunately, these days, just as we read and delete one email or social media account, another three or more enter our inbox or feed! In fact, we seem these days to be constantly bombarded by notifications, social media posts or news (whether that be on the TV/the radio, in print or online), all competing to distract us as best they can from what we are doing. So we need to take back control of our life and not let other things control us. For me, I have switched off notifications, use an email filtering service (its called 'Sanebox' if you are interested) and now only read, listen to or catch up with the news at the weekend (I have found that if something is important, it will somehow filter up to me through other people, or it will have by then resolved itself!) Ultimately, the trick is not to let yourself get distracted or become too emotionally attached to things. So feel free to only quickly scan this email and, if there is not something of interest to you, just delete it (yes, I said that, you have my permission!) If you really think that it may be relevant to you or others, then either deal with it immediately, or put it into a 'news' or 'later' folder to look at later when you have time. But the most important thing though is to get it out of your inbox/feed and get on with your life - you have more important things to do. And don't worry, I will write another update next week!
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page 
The first thing I want to point you to this week is a free online book library that is available, which I found through a news article a few weeks ago on the BBC's website, entitled: 'Virtual library gives children in England free book access' , which stated:
'Children in England will be able to access books online free during school closures via a virtual library. Internet classroom Oak National Academy created the library after schools moved to remote learning for the majority of pupils until February half-term. Formed with The National Literacy Trust, the library will provide a book a week from its author of the week. The aim is to increase young readers' access to e-books and audiobooks, particularly the most disadvantaged. Oak National Academy is funded by the Department for Education....' 
There are also a number of good resources out there, such as from Contact, including:
- Their 'Listening Ear' service which provides free 1-1 support for parents via telephone appointment. Their advisers can help with emotional support, strategies for reducing your child's anxiety & challenging behaviour and much more. Book here: https://bit.ly/3gd2aYH - 'The helpful podcast for families with disabled children' (search for this in your podcast app), which they say covers disability benefits, special education, health and diagnosis, and accessing social care and is another way for you to access their invaluable and trusted information. - Their 'Education and Learning' information pages, which you can find here 
There were again lots of thought-provoking new articles this week in the media - here's a few if you are interested:
Over a million pupils in England's schools as demand rises Coronavirus doctor's diary: We're getting self-harming 10-year-olds in A&E 'I'm stressed. I shout. Can I do better?': experts advise on pandemic parenting Covid: The devastating toll of the pandemic on children (only brought to my attention this week)
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas 
P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that other people may find useful, so that I can direct people to it.
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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 1st February 2021 
Typical!
After the last couple of weeks, with a lot of guidance and other information being sent out by the Department for Education (DfE), which I shared with you here, as I made my way through this past week, it had seemed a bit quieter now on that front, so I therefore thought that my update this week could be a bit lighter. However, just as I was packing up from work on Friday afternoon for the weekend (I finish earlier on Fridays), I received another very detailed email sent out by the DfE, this time entitled: '**SEND NEWSFLASH** UK disability survey; details of disability and access ambassadors; schools' SEND publication requirements & update on access to work funding' (do they pick their timings deliberately?) So, rather than my telling you everything that it says here (which would then not allow me much room for anything else really), I am only going to refer to one main part of it below in my first section of this update, which I think will be useful to most people.
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
The main part of the DfE's email, which I thought would help most people by my repeating here, states as follows:
'Duties on and expectations of schools over publishing material online We have updated our summaries of the material that schools must or should publish online, including in relation to: · SEN Information Reports, which need to be updated at least annually · details of how a school complies with the public sector equality duty, with information which needs to be updated every year · a school’s equality objectives, which need to be updated at least once every four years · contact details of SENCos Schools will also typically wish to publish the Accessibility Plan, that they have to update at least once every three years. Information as to that Plan needs to be included in their SEN Information Report. There are no changes to the law and our guidance on publishing of the above, but in the updates of our summaries we have sought to bring together all the relevant material in one place and to set it out clearly. We invite Heads, SENCOs and governors/trustees to consider whether the above material on their websites remains up to date. The relevant links to our summaries of the requirements and expectations of schools are: - for maintained schools, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-maintained-schools-must-publish-online - for academies/free schools, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/what-academies-free-schools-and-colleges-should-publish-online 
The other bit of Government information that I was already intending to bring you this week was from OFSTED and entitled: 'Remote education research (research and analysis)', whose introduction states:
'Since March 2020, the need for and the expectations placed on remote education have changed considerably. From the middle of March and for most of the summer term, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic led to school buildings in England being closed for most pupils. There was no requirement to provide remote education during this period, although some guidance was published. Schools were open to all pupils from September 2020 but, given the need for class and year group bubbles and self-isolating pupils, the Department for Education established a continuity directive for mandatory remote education. School buildings were again closed to most pupils in January 2021. From that point, remote education has been a requirement, so that pupils can continue with their learning. At the beginning of January, we published guidance on ‘What is working well in remote education’. As England entered a third national lockdown, that short paper was intended to provide the sector with some immediate advice and reassurance on useful remote education approaches that had been distilled from our recent research activities. Remote education matters. Until mass vaccination is achieved, local lockdowns, class and year group bubbles and individuals self-isolating are likely to remain part of daily life. This will have a continuing impact on schools’ capabilities in delivering a broad and balanced curriculum to all pupils. Schools are likely to continue to rely on remote solutions to provide coverage and mitigate against learning loss. Furthermore, evidence from our interim visits suggests that given the amount of time and resources that school leaders have placed into developing their remote solutions over the past 10 months, it is likely that schools will incorporate aspects of remote education into their teaching after the pandemic. Understanding what successful remote education is has been a priority for Ofsted during the pandemic. Education providers have of course been learning ‘on the job’, and many will now be well advanced in their own understanding. This paper sets out what we have learned through our research and visits and we hope providers find it helpful.' It's contents are set out then as follows: 
Also, there were lots of thought-provoking new articles this week in the media - here's a few if you are interested:
- 'Knackered and confused.' That's just the parents - Opening schools a national priority, says government - Boris Johnson hopes schools in England will reopen from 8 March - Covid-hit pupils 'should be allowed to repeat a year' - Behind closed bedroom doors, a teenage mental health crisis is brewing - Nursery staff are being treated like cannon fodder so 'higher-value' work can go on - COVID-19: PM's letter praising families for efforts during pandemic criticised as 'kick in the teeth'
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas 
P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that other people may find useful, so that I can direct people to it.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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Douglas Silas, Specialist SEN Solicitor 25/1/2021  Hope that you have had a good week and have settled into a routine of sorts. Routine and consistency is always the key to everything, but the trick is to create positive habits and try and avoid developing negative habits - easy to say, but very hard to do sometimes! I am going to try and keep this update a little lighter this week, but I do want to try and bring your attention to a few things in case you need them. I hope that this helps again. Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above, or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page.  The first thing that I want to draw your attention to today is the fact that my friends at IPSEA (Independent Providers of Special Education Advice) last week updated their information page on their website about how the COVID-19 measures will affect children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, to deal with all the latest Government guidance. Rather than me telling you what it says, you can read it for yourself here: 'IPSEA update on COVID-19 and SEN provision'. IPSEA have also added to their templates page, a model letter for making a complaint when a school is not using their best endeavours and/or refusing attendance for a vulnerable child during the National Lockdown, which you can find here: 'Model letters'  This next section will not apply to everyone, so please feel free to skip it if it means nothing to you. Again, I received another email from the Special Education Needs Division at the Department for Education (DfE), which this time stated: "Dear colleagues, We would like to draw your attention to a new PPE Portal for Special Schools and Specialist post-16 institutions, and to the joint DfE/Ofqual consultations on the arrangements for awarding grades for GCSE, AS, A levels, and for vocational and technical qualifications this summer (deadline 11.45pm on 29 January). PPE Portal On 19 January Special Schools and Special Post-16 Institutions (SPIs) across England received an email invitation to register with the Department of Health and Social Care’s (DHSC’s) PPE Portal. Using the PPE Portal Special Schools and SPIs can place a weekly order of PPE (free of charge) to meet their Coronavirus (COVID-19) PPE needs. Residential Special Schools and Residential Post-16 Institutions will have already received an email invitation in August 2020. This source of PPE (via the PPE portal) is solely for Coronavirus (COVID-19) requirements as outlined in the our guidance: Safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care settings, including the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and should not be repurposed for any other use. As per this guidance, Coronavirus (COVID-19) PPE requirements are limited to PPE use in the following scenarios: (i)when dealing with a child or individual who is symptomatic (and a distance of two metres cannot be maintained), and (ii)when performing aerosol generating procedures (AGPs). DHSC advise that schools are still required to supply their own PPE (from their usual supply channels) for any other purpose. Special schools and special post-16 institutions should have received the email invitation from: ppe.dedicated.supply.channel@notifications.service.gov.uk. It has been sent to the email address which your setting has registered with the Get Information About Schools database. This is the only email address which is eligible to register. Please ensure that you have checked your junk folder. If you have not received the email invitation, please contact the Customer Service team at 0800 876 6802 who will be able to help support you in registering with the portal. Please wait until close of play on Wednesday, 27 January before enquiring about not receiving an email invitation. To confirm the eligibility of the setting you will need to provide the setting’s URN (you can check the URN at https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/)." It also stated: "Consultation on arrangements for awarding grades in summer 2021 Last Friday, the Department for Education and Ofqual launched joint consultations on arrangements for awarding grades for GCSE, AS and A levels this summer and on awarding arrangements for a range of vocational and technical qualifications. We are interested in your views on the consultation proposals, in particular, the equality impact assessment of the proposals. The deadline for responses to both consultations 11:45pm on 29 January 2021."
Finally, there was some news of interest, as follows: - 'School attendance in England higher than first lockdown' - 'One in four UK young people have felt 'unable to cope' in pandemic'. - 'Covid: Gavin Williamson hopes England's schools will reopen by Easter' Where can I find further information? Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas  P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that other people may find useful, so that I can direct people to it.
Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 18/1/2021 
So, we just seem to be settling in again; although it appears that whilst a lot of people are once more working from home if they can, many more children and young people this time seem to be (sometimes only timidly) going back to school or college, if they are allowed to.
I must admit though that I was pleasantly surprised to hear from some people after my first (now) weekly SEN Update last week, thanking me for keeping them updated. So I write now this week again, this time knowing that there are many people being helped by my doing weekly updates again, in now in what is our third 'lockdown'. As I provided you with a lot of information/signposting last week, this week I was going to focus on just a few things. However, there is still a lot of information or news out there that I want to bring to your attention, so this week's update is a bit longer than I expected! Again though, I hope that this helps people.
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
The first thing that I want to draw your attention to is a letter sent out a few days ago on the afternoon of Thursday 14/1/2021 by the Department for Education's (DfE's) Special Educational Needs and Disability Division, entitled 'SEND NEWSFLASH - Special & alternative schools guidance & open ministerial letter', which stated:
'Dear colleagues, We would like to draw your attention to the additional guidance published today for special schools, specialist post-16 providers, and alternative schools (including hospital schools) during the national lockdown period. It should be read alongside the main guidance document: Restricting attendance during the national lockdown: schools and the Further education guidance for restricting attendance during the national lockdown, which covers the main operational issues. Please also find attached an open letter from Vicky Ford MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families to children and young people with SEND, their families, and those who work to support them. Regards, Special Educational Needs and Disability Division.' The open letter from Vicky Ford MP then stated: "To all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), their parents/carers and families, and others who support them. As you will be aware, on Monday 4th January, the Prime Minister announced a national lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), which is expected to last until at least mid-February. Unfortunately, this means we have to return to restrictions on attendance at schools and colleges. I know that these restrictions are a source of anxiety for many children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families. As the Minister for Children and Families, I am committed to ensuring that appropriate education and support is available for all children and young people during the national lockdown, whether they are attending their education setting or at home. I am grateful to the families who provide care to their children and the professionals who work tirelessly to support them. I am pleased to assure you that children and young people with an EHC plan should be allowed to continue attending their education setting if their parent wants them to (or, for post-16 provision, if the young person wants to attend), as they are classed as vulnerable for the purpose of determining which children and young people should be allowed to attend school or college during this period. The definition of vulnerable also includes others at the education setting and local authority’s discretion, including pupils and students who need to attend to receive support or manage risks to their mental health. We know that many children and young people with SEND have faced challenges during the pandemic and I am committed to ensuring that we support their attendance wherever possible. Where, for any reason, it is not possible for a child or young person with SEND – including both those with an EHC plan and those who are supported through SEN Support – to attend their education setting during this period, they should receive remote education and support. The legal duty on schools and colleges to use their best endeavours to meet the special educational needs of their pupils and students, including those supported through SEN Support, remains unchanged, whether they are attending school or college or at home for any period. Attendance at education settings In the face of the rapidly rising numbers of cases of COVID-19 across the country and intense pressure on the NHS, it is essential that we reduce opportunities for mixing and transmission. For this reason, only vulnerable children and young people (including those with EHC plans) and children of critical workers should attend their school or college. Guidance on who should be allowed to access a school place can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision. This is not a decision that we have taken lightly. I am aware of the challenge that this will present to children and young people, their parents and teachers. We will review this position regularly to ensure that all children and young people can return to face-to-face education as soon as possible. I want to reassure you that the decision that attendance should be limited does not suggest that schools and colleges have become significantly less safe for children and young people. The risk of children and young people becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, including the new variant, continues to be very low, with the overwhelming majority experiencing no symptoms or very mild illness only. For children and young people who continue to attend their education setting, and their teachers, the system of protective measures means that any risks are well managed and controlled. Details on the system of protective measures that schools should put in place are included in guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak. All pupils and students not receiving face-to-face education for whatever reason should be provided with suitable remote education. Education settings should work collaboratively with families, putting in place reasonable adjustments as necessary, so that pupils with SEND can successfully access remote education alongside their peers. We have also published a list of high quality online educational resources to support home learning. This includes resources that are suitable for pupils and students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) of all ages, from early years to those in further and higher education settings. The list of resources can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education#special-educational-needs-and-disabilities-send. In addition, where a child or young person has an EHC plan, it remains the duty of the local authority and health commissioning body to secure or arrange the provision specified in the plan under section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014. However, I know that there may be times where it becomes more difficult to do so than usual. In these circumstances, education settings, local authorities and health partners (where applicable) should discuss with families to co-produce alternative arrangements for delivering provision. These decisions should be considered on a case-by-case basis which takes account of the needs of and circumstances specific to the child or young person, avoiding a one size fits all approach. At this stage, we do not intend to use the powers under the Coronavirus Act 2020 to modify the section 42 duty, but we will keep this position under review based on the evidence. Special schools and special post-16 institutions should continue to welcome and encourage pupils and students to attend full-time (or as per their usual timetable) where the parent or carer wishes for their child to be able to attend (or for post-16 settings, where the young person wishes to attend). However, I know that there may be circumstances where it is not possible for specialist settings to provide their usual interventions and provision at adequate staffing ratios, or with staff with vital specialist training. In these cases, settings should seek to resume as close as possible to full-time provision as soon as possible, discuss these decisions with families in advance to agree an approach that would be in the child or young person’s best interests, and then keep this under review. Guidance for special schools and specialist settings is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings. Some children and young people and their families may be understandably apprehensive about attending school or college, even where they may benefit from the routine and support available through continued attendance. In the first instance, I strongly encourage parents or young people to discuss any concerns with the education setting, to see whether any reassurance could be provided or adjustments made to support attendance. Education settings, working with other local partners where appropriate, should consider carefully the concerns of the parent or young person and work collaboratively with families so that, where appropriate, the child or young person can be supported to attend. The decision for a child or young person with an EHC plan to stay away from their education setting is ultimately a matter of choice rightly for parents and young people. If a parent wishes for their child to be absent or a young person chooses not to attend, they should inform the education setting of this so it can be properly recorded. Given the exceptional circumstances, the Departmental guidance is clear that it expects leaves of absences to be granted. Absence will not be penalised. Children who are clinically extremely vulnerable The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published updated guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19. As our knowledge of COVID-19 has grown, we now know that very few children and young people are at highest risk of severe illness. Doctors have therefore been reviewing all children and young people who were initially identified as clinically extremely vulnerable to confirm whether they are still thought to be at the highest risk of becoming seriously ill and discussing this with families. Those aged 18 or over who have been identified as clinically extremely vulnerable should have received a letter informing them of the updated guidance. Where parents have discussed this with their child’s doctors and doctors have confirmed that a child or young person is still considered clinically extremely vulnerable (or, for those aged 18 and over, they have received a shielding letter), they are advised not to attend their education setting during the national lockdown. Education settings should work with local authorities and health partners to ensure that remote education and support is put in place for any pupils or students who are not attending their education setting. Mass testing in specialist schools and special post-16 institutions The Government is delivering a programme of rapid asymptomatic testing in the first half of the Spring term for children and young people in year 7 and above (or equivalent) and school staff, which will be delivered in mainstream and special schools with secondary-aged pupils, special post-16 institutions, Pupil Referral Units and other Alternative Provision schools. This will help to identify asymptomatic positive cases and break the chains of transmission of coronavirus. This is particularly important in special schools and specialist colleges, where the education and care provided often involves close proximity between children or young people and staff and social distancing can be harder to observe. Testing is voluntary, so no child or young person will be tested unless informed consent has been given by the appropriate person (usually the parent or young person). As such, no children or young people will be prevented from receiving face-to-face education if for any reason they are not tested. The test involves a swab of the throat and/or nose. Although the majority of secondary-aged children and young people will be able to self-swab, we recognise that the self-swabbing may cause significant concerns for some children and young people with SEND. Where self-swabbing is not possible, special schools and special post-16 institutions are likely to have staff who have undertaken a variety of training to support health needs and who could administer swabs where appropriate. In exceptional circumstances, settings may want to work with parents to agree to a parent coming in to support their child to self-swab or to swab their child. Detailed guidance on mass asymptomatic testing in specialist settings is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings/mass-asymptomatic-testing-in-specialist-settings. Resources and information for staff have been made available to schools and colleges as they set up their programme. More information for young people and their families, including visuals and easy-read format written materials, will be made available shortly. Health services and respite for children and young people with SEND During the national lockdown, there continues to be an exception to the restrictions on leaving your home and on gatherings set out in Regulations for provision in an EHC plan. This means that children and young people can continue to receive appropriate support from health and social care services where it is reasonably necessary for the purposes of provision specified in an EHC plan. Specialists, therapists, clinicians and other support staff can provide interventions as usual, including where this requires them to move between settings. In addition, there is also an exception to the restrictions on leaving your home and on gatherings set out in the Regulations where this is reasonably necessary for the purpose of respite care for a vulnerable or disabled person. This means that parents and carers may continue to access respite care to support them in caring for their disabled children during the national lockdown, including both services which care for children away from home and care which is delivered in the family home. Guidance for parents on early years providers, schools and colleges, which sets out that respite provision for families of disabled children can continue to operate, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/what-parents-and-carers-need-to-know-about-early-years-providers-schools-and-colleges-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak. I know that there are many positive examples of local authorities having worked with families to agree flexible solutions for delivering support – for example, increasing the use of direct payments – and I would encourage this collaborative working to continue. Parents of disabled children under 5 who require continuous care can also continue to form a support bubble with one other household, and parents of all children under 14 can continue to form a childcare bubble. Guidance on making a support bubble with another household can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/making-a-support-bubble-with-another-household. Building on the support that we have secured to date to ensure that health services for children and young people with SEND (for example, therapies and community children’s nursing) continue to be prioritised, on 10 December, the Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (England) circulated a letter highlighting the importance of the continuation of services delivered by Allied Health Professionals (which includes therapies) for children and young people with SEND. The letter emphasised that services should continue to be prioritised and that the redeployment of Allied Health Professionals should be avoided wherever possible. This enables the provision of therapy services for children and young people with SEND to continue or to be restored where there has been disruption. I know that this national lockdown will be challenging for children and young people with SEND and their families. I am incredibly grateful for the continued dedication and diligence of those who work to support them, whilst recognising that there may be circumstances in which it is more difficult than usual to do so. Co-production and effective communication between all partners continue to be key to ensuring that children, young people and their families can access high quality education and specialist professional care, working together to coproduce alternative methods of delivering this where appropriate. Yours sincerely, Vicky Ford MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families" There's not really anything I can add to this, is there?.
As ever, there was a lot of other news this week.
Since I know everyone may not have time to read everything in my updates, I will just signpost you to the articles that I found most interesting and let you go and read them if they are of interest to you: - BBC News - 'Covid-19: Early years staff 'should have vaccine priority'; - Sky News - 'COVID-19: Poorest families hit hardest by pandemic and will find it hardest to recover - report'; and also: - The Guardian - ''We feel forgotten': special needs teachers on helping England's vulnerable children'; - BBC News - 'Covid-19: Special school staff want jab priority'. 
But I now that many parents don't just want to read the news, they want practical help!
I was therefore really pleased then when I saw a tweet from the Scope organisation which read: "We want all disabled children and their families to get a good night’s sleep. Our sleep team has lots of useful knowledge and tips to share. Listen now to our first podcast series - transcripts also available. https://scope.org.uk/advice-and-support/sleep-podcast/…
Where can I find further information?
Again, aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would also remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN
Keep safe until next week.
With best wishes Douglas 
P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that other people may find useful, so that I can direct people to it.
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by Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN solicitor 11/1/2021 
So we’re back into another ‘lockdown’ again!
It feels like March 2020 again doesn’t it? Although this time we should probably feel better prepared than the first time. But it’s back to homeschooling and online learning for children and young people, with many exhausted parents trying to teach their children once more (some whilst still working) . I recall a popular joke going round last Spring/Summer about homeschooling with a child reported as saying: ‘My teacher this year is not very good, I hope that I don’t have them next year!’ Makes you think, doesn't it? Anyway, as I realise that there are many people again out there with difficulties or limited time (and I know parents of children and young people with SEN often have it doubly or triply hard), I have decided to once more try and do my bit to support everyone. So I am starting up my weekly updates once more, to try and help parents and professionals or save them precious time from having to look for things themselves, by signposting them to news or information that I find. I hope that this helps people again.
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
The first thing I want to clarify here is what the new 'lockdown' rules actually mean for pupils.
The best summary that I have found is on the website of the Council for Disabled Children (CDC) on a page entitled: 'Changes to national restrictions and temporary school closures' (updated on 5/1/2021), which states as follows: "On Monday 4th January 2021 the Prime Minister announced that England will move into new national lockdown restrictions, in response to data on the increased transmissibility of the new variant of coronavirus, in order to bring the virus under control whilst the vaccine programme is rolled out. The details set out below are based on the current guidance however, we are aware this is a rapidly changing situation and we will update this page as we receive further information. CDC is working across its networks including SENDIASS and the DCO/DMO forum to ensure information about the current situation is clear to both professionals and families across a range of agencies. If you have additional questions relating to the guidance or the new restrictions please contact us at cdcquestions@ncb.org.uk. What has changed for Clinically Extremely Vulnerable children?
What has changed for schools and colleges?
Who can continue to attend school and college? The Government states that: “the problem is not that schools are unsafe for children – children are still very unlikely to be severely affected by even the new variant of Covid. The problem is that schools may nonetheless act as vectors for transmission, causing the virus to spread between households.” Children and young people can continue to attend school or college if they:
In practice, to ensure high quality education for children and young people who need to continue to attend school or college, this may require creative approaches from settings including consideration of staffing rotas and blended remote and face to face learning based on the individual needs of children, young people and their families." 
I would also like to remind you that the Government still has a page up on its website entitled: 'Supporting your children's education during coronavirus (COVID-19)', which is still useful (although it was last updated in July 2020), which states as follows:
"This page and information for teachers will be updated regularly to include further resources and reflect the latest information and developments. While staying at home due to coronavirus, parents and carers may be worried about their children’s development and the effect of missing school or nursery. No one expects parents to act as teachers, or to provide the activities and feedback that a school or nursery would. Parents and carers should do their best to help children and support their learning while dealing with other demands. Get specific advice on how education can continue at home for children:
Alongside any work your children receive from school, you can try using online educational resources covering various subjects and age groups. Educational programmes to help children learn at home are available from the BBC. Have regular conversations about staying safe online and tell your child to speak to you if they come across something worrying online. Mental health and wellbeing The change of routine and staying at home may make this a difficult time for some children. Public Health England has published advice on how to support your children’s wellbeing during the coronavirus outbreak. Guidance is also available to help you look after your own mental health. Advice on helping children continue their education during coronavirus Help children aged 2 to 4 to learn at home during coronavirus (COVID-19) Information on making child development a part of everyday life and play. Help primary school children continue their education during coronavirus (COVID-19)How to provide support and feedback and structure the day. Help secondary school children continue their education during coronavirus (COVID-19)How to help your child organise their time. Help children with SEND continue their education during coronavirus (COVID-19)Resources designed to support special educational needs and disabilities. 
And, although I know that it isn't strictly focused on SEN, as I know that parents and professionals also have or are involved with other children and young people, I want to also signpost you to another page on the Government's website entitled: 'Guidance and support', which further signposts you to additional information, which states as follows:
"Pupil wellbeing and safety
Testing in schools, colleges and universities
Home learning during coronavirus
Exams and managing a school or early years setting - Exams and assessments - Managing a school or early years setting
- Recording attendance - Childcare, holiday clubs, and after school care - Working safely Funding and support for education and childcare
University students and higher education
Where can I find further information?
Aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites:
- IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN
Keep safe until next week.
With best wishes Douglas 
P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web, so I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that you find that other people may find useful, so that I can direct people to it.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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by Douglas Silas
Specialist SEN solicitor 
Can you believe that we are already now coming towards the end of this very strange and difficult year for everybody of 2020. I think we have also all now gradually become a bit desensitised to the incredible changes that we have seen throughout this year.
We are also now constantly being bombarded with (sometimes irrelevant) information from every which way that we turn. Keeping up with things takes up more and more of our valuable time, so we now have to be very careful, otherwise we may not have any quality time left to spend time with our family, to focus properly on work or to do the other tasks that we need or want to do. So, I have now decided to try and keep these updates more focused on providing just the information that I think that people need to know about what is happening in the world of SEN. (I will still try to recount a personal story at the end though, as some people tell me that this is what they really read my updates for!) In this update, you will find sections entitled:
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss one, you can get my SEN Updates personally by completing your email details above,
or by following me on one of the social media platforms I use (i.e. Twitter/Facebook). You can also share this SEN Update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them) by using one of the icons, usually to the right or at the bottom of this page.
CURRENT GUIDANCE ON SEN & COVID-19
I always try to provide up-to-date SEN news in my updates. The only difficulty with this is that my updates are only prepared once every half term, so there is always a lot of information out there for people to go through! As I do not want to overload people with information, I am going to try to focus in this section on the main current guidance (x 2) about SEN and Covid-19, which was provided by the DfE (Department of Education) at the end of last week, entitled: • ‘Guidance for full opening: schools’ [updated on 5/11/2020] and • ‘What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges in the autumn term’ [updated on 6/11/2020]. As both of these sets of guidance are very long and detailed, I would encourage you to read them for yourselves directly if they concern or are of interest to you, by clicking on one of the links above. However, let me quickly give you an overview here. ‘Guidance for full opening: schools’ [updated on 5/11/2020] Focuses on how the DfE expects schools to now operate and includes: • school operations • curriculum, behaviour and pastoral support • assessment and accountability • contingency planning to provide continuity of education in the case of a local outbreak Introduction, then set out in 5 sections, as follows: Section 1: Public health advice to minimise coronavirus (COVID-19) risks, which covers: • Risk assessment • The system of controls: protective measures • Prevention • Response to any infection This section then expands ‘Prevention’, to cover: 1. Minimise contact with individuals who are unwell by ensuring that those who have coronavirus (COVID-19) symptoms, or who have someone in their household who does, do not attend school 2. Where recommended, use of face coverings in schools 3. Clean hands thoroughly more often than usual 4. Ensure good respiratory hygiene by promoting the ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’ approach 5. Introduce enhanced cleaning, including cleaning frequently touched surfaces often using standard products, such as detergents 6. Minimise contact between individuals and maintain social distancing wherever possible a. How to group children b. Measures within the classroom c. Measures elsewhere d. Measures for arriving at and leaving school e. Other considerations 7. Where necessary, wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) 8. Keeping occupied spaces well ventilated 9. Engage with the NHS Test and Trace process 10. Manage confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) amongst the school community 11. Contain any outbreak by following local health protection team advice It also covers ‘Alternative Provision’. Section 2: School operations: • Transport • Dedicated school transport, including statutory provision • Wider public transport • Pupils travelling from abroad • Attendance • Self-isolation and shielding • Pupils and families who are anxious about attending school • Action for all schools and local authorities • School workforce • Staff who are clinically extremely vulnerable • Staff who are clinically vulnerable • Staff who are pregnant • Staff who may otherwise be at increased risk from coronavirus (COVID-19) • Employer health and safety and equalities duties • Supporting staff • Staff deployment • Deploying support staff and accommodating visiting specialists • Recruitment • Supply teachers and other temporary or peripatetic teachers • Expectation and deployment of ITT trainees • Performance management and appraisal • Staff taking leave • Other support • Safeguarding • Catering • Estates • Educational visits • School uniform • Wraparound provision and extra-curricular activity Section 3: Curriculum, behaviour and pastoral support: • Curriculum expectations • Education is not optional • The curriculum remains broad and ambitious • Specific points for early years foundation stage (EYFS) to key stage 3 • Specific points for key stages 4 and 5 • Music, dance and drama in school • Minimising contact between individuals • Performances • Peripatetic teachers • Music teaching in schools and colleges, including singing, and playing wind and brass instruments in groups • Playing outdoors • Playing indoors • Singing, wind and brass playing • Social distancing • Seating positions • Microphones • Handling equipment and instruments • Handwashing • Avoiding sharing instruments • Handling scores, parts and scripts • Suppliers • Pick up and drop off points • Individual lessons and performance in groups • Social distancing • Avoid sharing instruments • Physical activity in schools • Catch-up support • Behaviour expectations • Pupil wellbeing and support • Hospital schools Section 4: Assessment and accountability: • Inspection • Primary assessment Section 5: Contingency planning for remote education: • Process in the event of local outbreaks • Contingency plans • Remote education expectations • Special educational needs • Vulnerable children • Delivering remote education safely • Remote education support Annex A: Health and safety risk assessment: • Sharing your risk assessment • Monitoring and review of risk controls • Roles and responsibilities • Wider guidance on the risk assessment process • Consulting employees (general) • Resolving issues and raising concerns • Approach to risk estimation and management Annex B: education, health and care (EHC) plans: • SEND legislation • Risk assessments for children and young people with education, health and care plans (EHC) ‘What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges in the autumn term’ [updated on 6/11/2020] Covers matters similar to the above but now from a parent’s perspective and also includes things like attendance/assessments/admissions/uniform/mental health & well-being/local restrictions etc. I hope that this helps you. 
THIS UPDATE’S FOCUS IS ON…
IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Educational Advice) If you received my weekly updates during March to July, focused on the Covid-19 ‘lockdown’, you may recall that I not only highlighted information that I found in the news, but also as much useful information that I could find on other helpful education/disability websites. I have therefore decided to try and now make the second section of these updates focus on organisations like these, to try and signpost people to information/resources that they are able to provide to people. In this update, I want to draw your attention to IPSEA (Independent Provider of Special Educational Advice) and some of the information that they provide on their website and tell you a little bit about what they do. I have been dealing with SEN cases personally as a solicitor for nearly 25 years now. Throughout this time, whether as a ‘baby’ lawyer, or the more experienced lawyer that I hope that I have now become, I have always been involved with IPSEA in one way or another. I have also been extremely lucky during that time to watch IPSEAblossom into the very effective organisation it is now, which consistently provides help to both parents (mainly) and professionals involved with SEN. Their website is updated regularly, including for the past seven months or so about Covid-19, school re-opening and SEN provision. Under their page entitled ‘Who we are’, they say the following: “Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (known as IPSEA) is a registered charity (number 327691) operating in England. IPSEA offers free and independent legally based information, advice and support to help get the right education for children and young people with all kinds of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We also provide training on the SEND legal framework to parents and carers, professionals and other organisations. Why families need IPSEA By law, children with SEND are entitled to educational support that meets their individual needs. Since IPSEA was formed in 1983, we have helped to improve educational support for thousands of children with all kinds of SEND. We do this by providing free and independent legally-based information, advice and casework support. Our unique range of services has been developed to ensure that families understand their children’s legal rights and entitlements and that they are empowered to enforce those rights to secure the right education for their child. How we help IPSEA has a suite of free downloadable legal guides and resources available to parents and carers. These guides are complemented by a free Advice Line which provides legally based information and next step advice on any educational issue that is a result of a child's SEND. IPSEA’s Tribunal Helpline gives next step advice on appeals and disability discrimination claims to the SEND Tribunal and is also the gateway to our Tribunal Support Service where a referral can be made for more extensive casework support from a volunteer, including representation at the hearing. Our advice services are delivered by a national network of around 200 highly-trained volunteers, supervised and supported by IPSEA’s Legal Team members. IPSEA provides legal training for parents, school staff, parent carer forums, support groups and other organisations in order to increase their knowledge and understanding of the SEN legal framework. The proceeds raised from our training courses helps fund IPSEA’s core services (Advice Line, Tribunal Helpline and Tribunal Support Service). We also work to challenge unlawful SEND policy and influence policy development at both a local and national level. Our policy work is informed by information and evidence captured through our training and advice services, and has been instrumental in shaping law and policy in the field of special educational needs and disability. IPSEA also provides information about the range of services that they have developed and on their page entitled ‘Our Services’ they say as follows: “Our unique range of services has been developed to ensure that families, and those advising them, understand children and young people’s legal rights and entitlements to education provision. Advice Line Our Advice Line provides legally based information and next step advice on any educational issue that is the result of a child’s special educational needs or disability Tribunal Helpline Our volunteers give next step advice on appeals and disability discrimination claims to the SEND Tribunal Tribunal Support Service We make referrals for more extensive support from a volunteer, including representation at Tribunal hearings Information Service Our Information Service is for general legal enquiries and will signpost you to fact sheets and resources on our website” If parents need help about SEN, IPSEA provide other information and also some model letters about which they say: “You can download and amend our model letters to use for your own purposes. You should read the relevant section of the site about each topic first to ensure you understand how and when to use these letters. EHC needs assessments · To request an Education, Health and Care needs assessment (Model letter 1) · To request a re-assessment (Model letter 2) · Complaining when the LA does not respond to a request for an EHC needs assessment within the 6 week time limit (Model letter 9) · Complaining when an EHC needs assessment is not being carried out properly (Model letter 7) · Complaining when the LA has not issued the draft or final EHC Plan following assessment (Model letter 10) Amending EHC plans · To respond to the draft EHC plan sent by the LA (Model letter 3) · Complaining when the LA will not consider the school or college you want named in your EHC plan (Model letter 14) · Objecting to the amendments the LA is proposing to an existing EHC plan (Model letter 4) · Complaining when the local authority does not send out the final amended EHC plan in time (Model letter 15) IPSEA also provides a range of training to both parents and professionals (see their page entitled: ‘Learn about and book training’) and they also provide two very informative pages, entitled ‘News’ (which is constantly updated) and ‘IPSEA Blogs’. As I say, IPSEA is a very effective organisation for those parents and professionals who need to know about SEN. I hope that this also helps you.
FORTHCOMING SEN EVENTS
In my last SEN Update (at the beginning of the Autumn Term 2020-21), I said that the main SEN events that were due to take place around this time (many of which had been previously due to take place earlier this year) have had to be put off until next year now. I know that the Autism Show ran a webinar week recently, but it will not be up and running in person again until next June/July 2021. In terms of more forthcoming SEN events, I would draw your attention to the following:
I do realise that further changes in the Covid-19 pandemic rules may again affect whether these events actually can go ahead in person or not, so I would encourage you to keep abreast directly of what is happening with them, if one of these events interests you. 
I CAN’T MOVE I’M AFRAID…
Having been working from home on a full-time basis for the last seven months or so, I am no longer galivanting around the place in my wheelchair in London (where I live), or going on my little ‘adventures’ around the world (where I go on my charity bike rides). Although I can still go to events/places ‘virtually’, over these recent months I have been reflecting on some of the situations that I have found myself in over the years, some of which have been quite amusing sometimes. So, I want to share some of these stories with you here. In this update, I want to first tell you about what happened to me when I was supposed to be going to a very prominent event, where an eminent person was due to be giving a lecture. The event was held in a very prestigious place in the midst of winter. As I knew that it would be a sought-after event, I had booked places well ahead of time and took some of my team with me. I was really looking forward to it and put a lot of planning into making sure that I could be there. How different things would have been now if the lecture had been given virtually, so that I would be able to enjoy it from the comfort of my own home. As I cannot use public transport in my electric wheelchair, we all took a large people-carrier cab up to the venue (which can also transport my wheelchair for me). We were all very excited to be going to the event and I had planned for us to arrive at the venue in good time, in order to get ahead of the curve and get good seats near the front, where I would be able to properly see the speaker (I am afraid that I also have a visual impairment, so I need to sit as close as possible to the front of a seated event, in order to see the speaker properly). However, although we arrived in good time, when we got there and the cab driver took my wheelchair out of the cab for me to sit in, after I sat in it and only moved forward just a few inches, one of my front castors (the small wheels on the front of a wheelchair) came off, so I suddenly came to a complete halt and was almost tipped out forwards from the wheelchair. The castor had obviously been coming off slowly and had probably chosen this time to come off completely, so as to cause me the maximum difficulty! At the same time, the doorman of the venue, who could see that something was wrong, came down to ask me if he could help me with anything (the venue had a number of steps up to the entrance, so I had anticipated that I would be taken to a side entrance to get in, as I usually have to). When he saw the predicament that I had been placed into, he kindly brought out a chair for me to sit on. However, as it was quite a stately venue, the only chair that he could find to bring me was a very proper and ornate high-backed one, that looked a bit like a throne! Although it was very comfortable for me to sit upon, I now felt a little bit strange and self-conscious sitting on it at the front of this venue, watching people go inside, like I was some sort of king observing his subjects. Try as we may, we could just not get the castor back onto the wheelchair safely and, as time was now going by quickly and I could see lots of people arriving and going into the venue, I told the other members of my team that they should go in now and enjoy the lecture without me, which they reluctantly did, after my insistence. I then called for another cab to pick me up and take me home, but was then told that it would now be a 30 minutes or so wait, as it was the rush hour at the end of the working day. So, I waited on my ‘throne’ outside at the front of the venue, with my lopsided wheelchair besides me, getting colder and colder. Remember it was mid-winter and I had thought that I was traveling to and from the venue in a warm cab, so I was not really dressed up as warmly as I should have been. Every once in a while (although, to my increasing embarrassment, it seemed constantly), people going into the venue would ask me if I was alright and whether they could help me go in (they could see my wheelchair besides me, so had realised that I was physically disabled). I just kept smiling though as much as I could (it really was not easy) and just told them that I was fine, even though I was clearly demonstrably not! Finally, just before the cab arrived and helped to end this awful chapter in my life, although I had managed to by then to keep smiling and give out my standard response that I was fine to well-meaning strangers asking if they could help me go in, I could now no longer hide my frustration. So, when now it seemed the hundredth person asked me if I was alright and if I wanted to go into the venue, I heard myself now say through shivering and chattering teeth: “I would if I could, but I can’t move, I’m afraid!”.
With best wishes
Douglas
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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by Douglas Silas
Specialist SEN solicitor 
The first thing I usually say to you in my first SEN Update, at this time of year, is welcome back again after the summer break.
But this year I am only going to say welcome back again after the break! This is because I am very conscious this year that some people have been really on a ‘break’ since the end of March this year because of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 situation and I know that the year so far has been an extremely different and difficult one for everybody. It is also like we have accelerated our move into the digital world through this time! I sure that the current situation is going to continue for a while in one form or another and we are all going to have to adapt to the new ways we have had to find to do things. For my part, I am going to continue sending my SEN Updates out (but now in the second week of every new term/half-term on a Monday morning now, as opposed to a Friday, as I did with my weekly updates during the initial ‘lockdown’. I know how important it is to have a reliable/routine source of information available from someone you know that you can trust to tell you how it is! In this, my first SEN Update for the academic year 2020-21, you will find sections entitled:
As I always say, I know how busy everyone always is, so please feel free just to read the sections that are of interest to you or read everything; the choice is always yours.
Don’t forget, to ensure that you never miss out on one, you can get my SEN updates personally by completing your email details above, or by following me on one of the Social Media platforms that I use, which you will find on the right of this page.
You can also share this update with others (please only do so if it may be relevant to them), by using one of the icons usually to the right or at the bottom of this page. 
GOVERNMENT UPDATES (EXTERNAL CHANGES)
You may have already seen the SEN Update that I sent out a week or so before schools went back called ‘Getting Back to School’, which referred to lots of Government guidance issued for those of you who needed it. Although there was a lot of guidance before, as things seem to be moving quite fast still, I would like to bring your attention to a few further things that have been sent out since by the Department for Education (DfE) here. These are very long and detailed sections, so please feel free to skip one or both of them if they do not concern you.
First, I would like to draw your attention to the Secretary of State’s announcement on 2/7/2020 about ‘Changes to the law and education, health and care needs assessments and plans due to Coronavirus (Covid-19)’ which was first issued on 30/4/2020 and updated on 26/8/2020, which you can find by clicking on the link which then refers to a couple of further links, which provide more detailed information.
The advice itself is entitled ‘Education, health and care needs assessments and plans: Guidance on temporary legislative changes relating to Coronavirus (Covid-19)’ and says as follows: ‘Purpose of this guidance On 1 May 2020 some aspects of the law on education, health and care (EHC) needs assessments and plans changed temporarily to give local authorities, health commissioning bodies1 , education settings and other bodies who contribute to these processes more flexibility in responding to the demands placed on them by coronavirus (COVID-19). These changes were: a) The Special Educational Needs and Disability (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (the ‘Amendment Regulations’). This instrument temporarily amends 4 sets of Regulations that specify timescales that apply to local authorities, health commissioning bodies and others: principally for various processes relating to EHC needs assessments and plans. Where it is not reasonably practicable or is impractical to meet that time limit for a reason relating to the incidence or transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19), the specific time limit (such as to issue a plan to someone eligible for one within 20 weeks of the initial request) in the regulations being amended will not apply. Instead, the local authority or other body to whom that time limit applies will have to complete the process as soon as reasonably practicable or in line with any other timing requirement in any of the regulations being amended (see Annex A: details of the amendments to the existing Regulations). These changes will come to an end on 25 September 2020, after which all the usual statutory timescales will come back into force. b) From 1 May to 31 July 2020, section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 (duty to secure special educational and health care provision in accordance with EHC plan) was modified by a notice from the Secretary of State for Education issued under the Coronavirus Act 2020. During this period, local authorities and health commissioning bodies were required to use their ‘reasonable endeavours’ to discharge this duty. To help ensure that children and young people receive the support they need to return to school, we will not be issuing further notices to modify this duty unless the evidence changes. This guidance provides a summary of the legislative changes described in paragraph (a) above and sets out the key implications for all those who play a part in the processes relating to EHC needs assessments and plans. It is intended to help those with statutory duties relating to SEND to understand how the temporary changes to the law affect them and how to discharge any duties that have been amended. It also sets out our expectations over how EHC needs assessment and plan processes should be managed if there are likely to be cases still in progress when the Amendment Regulations expire on 25 September where the coronavirus exception has been used. This guidance is non-statutory. All decisions must be made on the facts of the case and the interpretation of legislation is ultimately a matter for the Courts. The target audience for this guidance is: · families and parent carer forums · SEND Information, Advice and Support Services (SENDIASS) · local authorities (both their SEND and social care services, at a strategic and operational level) · health commissioning bodies (again, at both strategic and operational level) · early years providers, schools, colleges and other education settings · others who contribute advice and information to EHC needs assessments, such as educational psychologists and other health care professionals · mediation advisers This guidance also confirms which key elements of the processes over EHC needs assessments and plans are unchanged. Notably this includes that a local authority must: · still consider requests for a new EHC needs assessment · still secure all of the required advice and information in order to be able to issue a plan · have regard to the views and wishes of a child, the child’s parent or a young person when carrying out its SEND functions under the Children and Families Act 2014 (‘the 2014 Act’) Given that the changes to legislation are temporary, we will not be updating the statutory guidance, the SEND code of practice: 0 to 25 years. We recommend that anyone referring to the SEND code of practice about EHC needs assessment and plan processes that are operational between now and 25 September also reads this guidance. It is also important to refer to the Amendment Regulations for the full detail of the changes. This document is part of delivering on our ongoing commitment to ensuring that children and young people with complex needs are supported effectively during this national health emergency. As such, it sits alongside the autumn term guidance for: · early years and childcare providers · mainstream schools · special schools and other specialist settings · further education (FE) colleges and providers The autumn term guidance provides information on steps these settings will need to take to ensure children and young people with SEND can return to full-time provision.’
I also referred previously to the ‘Guidance for full opening: special schools and other specialist settings’ in my previous email, but this guidance was updated last week on 8/9/2020 and the email I received the next day from the DfE said as follows:
‘We would like to draw your attention to an updated version of the Guidance for full opening: special schools and other specialist settings to reflect the actions special schools and other specialist settings need to take to support full opening from the start of the autumn term. The main updates are listed at the start of the document and include:
• changes to SEND legislation • use of face coverings in settings • the framework for supporting transport to and from settings • pupils who are shielding or self-isolating • actions for all schools and local authorities with regards to recording attendance and absence • employer health and safety and equalities duties • support available for schools with regard to supply teachers • performance management and appraisal for teachers • health and safety • music, dance and drama in school • wraparound provision and extra-curricular activity • physical activity in schools • new resources available for pupil wellbeing and support • behaviour expectations • primary assessment • additional resources available for delivering remote education • health and safety risk assessments for those with an EHC plan AGPs The government is committed to a full return to school for all pupils. There are a small number of children with complex needs that require AGPs to be undertaken where risks need to be carefully managed in the context of the pandemic and we are aware of the concerns being raised around this issue. Schools, health and local authority partners need to work together on how the current guidance applies in their setting and to the specific children they are working with in order to enable them to return to school safely. We have heard examples of good practice locally and are working with PHE and NHSE to establish whether any changes to the guidance or further information about practice principles are needed. It is important that schools communicate clearly with parents on progress towards supporting children who need AGPs to return to school safely.’
There have also been further developments in terms of education, so I would also draw your attention to a letter sent out by Vicky Ford, the parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Children and Families, addressed to children and young people with special educational needs (SEND), their families and carers and those who work to support them. The email that I received, which I was asked to share as widely as possible, said:
‘The letter provides advice and guidance on several issues, including behaviour, risk assessments, face coverings, specialist and visiting practitioners, mental health and well-being, aerosol generating procedures and hospital schools, as well as linking to some of the support available to help’, The letter itself states: ‘As minister with responsibility for special educational needs, I wanted to write to you about support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to return to school. Return to school I am extremely grateful to those working in schools and colleges for the preparations they have made to ensure all children and young people can get back into the classroom, with many returning for the first time since March. I recognise that for children and young people with SEND, and their families and carers and those who work tirelessly to support them, this is a particularly challenging and anxious time. Returning to education is vital for the education of all children and for their wellbeing – time out of school is detrimental for children’s development, particularly for disadvantaged and vulnerable children. All children and young people value the structure and routine of regular attendance as well as the support and strong positive relationships provided by their school or college. It is critical that all children can one again benefit from a full time five day a week on-site education. I do recognise, though, that the return to school may be more difficult for some children and young people, particularly those who have had to shield, received their education remotely without full access to specialist support, or been exposed to a range of adversity and trauma including bereavement, anxiety and in some cases increased welfare and safeguarding risks. Schools and colleges should work with children and young people with SEND and their families and carers so that they receive the education, therapeutic/specialist support, and reasonable adjustments that they need. The prolonged period of absence from schools and colleges may contribute to disengagement with education upon return to school, resulting in anxiety which could lead to increased incidence of poor behaviour. School leaders should be mindful that disruptive behaviour might be the result of unmet educational or other needs and consider whether a multiagency assessment is necessary. The Whole School SEND (WSS) Consortium have produced a handbook to support educational professionals to successfully re-engage pupils with learning after a period of disruption. They have also produced a COVID-19 SEND Review Guide to help schools reflect on their provision before September and a leaflet to support families and carers ask questions to schools to support successful returns. These resources are available on the SEND Gateway and webinars are hosted on WSS’s YouTube page shortly after being delivered. Details of future training sessions are held on the events page of the SEND Gateway. You can opt to join Whole School SEND’s community of practice when you sign up for an event to receive notifications about future training and resources as they are published. Behaviour policies To assist all school leaders and staff in welcoming back all pupils, we have developed a tool for mainstream schools to support the re-engagement of pupils. To further support schools, our full opening guidance advises that schools and specialist settings should update their behaviour policy to reflect the new protective measures, as well as any new rules and routines. In the event that a pupil’s behaviour warrants disciplinary action, the normal rules apply and the disciplinary powers, including exclusion, that schools currently have remain in place. Permanent exclusion should only be used as a last resort and must be lawful, reasonable, and fair. Where a child with a social worker is at risk of exclusion, their social worker should be informed and involved in relevant conversations. Any disciplinary exclusion of a pupil, even for short periods of time, must be consistent with the relevant legislation. Headteachers should, as far as possible, avoid permanently excluding any pupil with an Education, Health and Care Plan. Pre-empting that a pupil may commit a disciplinary offence, and thus not allowing a pupil to attend school is an unlawful exclusion. Ofsted will continue to consider exclusions, including the rates, patterns and reasons for exclusion and to look for any evidence of off-rolling. Off-rolling is never acceptable. Ofsted is clear that schools placing pressure on parents to remove their child from the school (including to home educate their child) is a form of off-rolling. Elective Home Education should always be a positive choice taken following a discussion between parents the school, and the local authority about how the needs of the child might best be met. This is particularly important where vulnerable children, children in need, and those at greater risk of harm are involved. Risk assessments It may be necessary to undertake individual risk assessments to understand the level of additional support a child or young person may need. These can help reassure pupils, families and carers, and staff that it is safe for the pupil to be welcomed back to school. Risk assessments should inform a plan of action which focuses on supporting attendance and engagement and identifies what additional support children and young people need to make a successful return to their full time education. Such an assessment would also be useful if children and young people have to self-isolate or if a local outbreak of Covid-19 requires a school or college to return to more limited attendance. Face coverings To provide further reassurance, we have also updated our guidance on face coverings. Schools and colleges will have the discretion to require face coverings in indoor communal areas where social distancing cannot be safely managed, if they believe that it is right in their particular circumstances. In areas of national government intervention where the transmission of the virus is high, in education settings where Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn by adults (staff and visitors) and pupils when moving around indoors, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing is difficult to maintain. However, we have been clear that some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings, including people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment or disability or people who are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate. The same exemptions will apply in education settings, including for staff providing specialist interventions and therapies, and we would expect teachers and other staff to be sensitive to those needs. More information on face coverings can be found here. Specialist and visiting practitioners Settings should minimise the number of visitors where possible, however, visiting specialists such as therapists, clinicians, peripatetic teachers and other support staff for pupils with SEND should provide interventions as usual, including moving between settings as required. Visitors may also include NHS staff, such as those delivering vaccinations as part of the national childhood immunisation programme, which are essential for children’s health and wellbeing. Such specialists will be aware of the PPE most appropriate for their role. Mental health and wellbeing There will be some children and young people with SEND who will return to school with additional social, emotional and mental health needs. NHS mental health services remain open and have adapted to provide ongoing support to children and young people who need it. NHS mental health trusts are ensuring ongoing access to 24/7 crisis lines to support people of all ages. The Wellbeing for Education Return programme will provide £8 million of funding, training, and resources for local authorities to equip education staff with resources, training and ongoing advice and support to promote children and young people’s wellbeing and mental health. This will link to and include resources sensitive to and supportive of children and young people with SEND. Aerosol generating procedures There are a small number of children with complex needs that require aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) to be undertaken. Schools, health and local authority partners need to work together on how the current guidance applies in their setting and to the specific children they are working with in order to enable them to return to school safely. We have heard examples of good practice locally and are working with PHE and NHS England to establish whether any changes to the guidance or further information about practice principles are needed. It is important that schools communicate clearly with parents on progress towards supporting children who need AGPs to return to school safely. Hospital schools There may be other reasons where any child or young person may be absent from school, including those with SEND. Where children and young people are receiving hospital education on hospital sites then should continue to be supported, including through remote learning support as necessary, to minimise the impact of their hospital stay on their education. Once again, we would like to thank you for the hard work that you have done to prepare for the full return of children and young people for the new school year. Yours sincerely, Vicky Ford MP Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families’
I hope that this helps people.
MY UPDATES (INTERNAL CHANGES)
I have also made a few internal changes to things to try and help people. You may have noticed that our website now has a more clear and simplistic approach, which I hope you will find much easier to navigate and find information on that you may need. For example, I have put all of these SEN Updates into an easily navigable page simply called ‘SEN Updates’ and have also tried to categorise my updates so that you can search for topics more easily if you need to. You can now also sign up to get one of my (free) email courses entitled: ‘A Guide to SEN’, ‘How to Win a SEN Tribunal Appeal’ or to just get these regular ‘SEN Updates’ on every page and I have also made it easier to find our video cartoons/SEN FAQs which help explain things to people. Additionally, I have updated my Guide to the SEND Code of Practice for the academic year 2020-21, which is available (again free) to read on theKindle bookstore. I hope that this also helps people.
FORTHCOMING SEN EVENTS
In my updates, I always like to try to draw people’s attention to some forthcoming SEN events which I think may be of interest to them. I actually talked about this in my Update on 13/7/2020 called ‘Dates For Your Diary’. Unfortunately, many of the things that I usually refer to are not available at the moment, because of the restrictions currently in place, and some have now been put back again, so I will just highlight the same things as follows:
IT ALL SEEMS TO HAVE GONE VIRTUAL NOW! As I am physically disabled and quite vulnerable myself as a wheelchair-user, I have to be very careful because, so personally have not even ventured out of my front door more than once in the past six months (don’t worry, I know that this thing will eventually pass). But I and many people have very quickly got very used to doing things virtually and have even actually enjoyed being able to work from home and to have more time now to be able to see more of my family. Although some restrictions have been lifted (although some have also recently been put back in place), ‘holidays’ this year for many people were very different from how they have been in previous years. I knew that I would not be able to leave my home, but I still took a week’s holiday in August with my wife, Erica, and we visited many places around the globe ‘virtually’. We actually visited many places that I would never be able to go to in real life, because of my accessibility requirements and we also visited lots of places that we could never do in just a week’s holiday. For example, we visited the Taj Mahal in India one day, to the Great Barrier Reef and a lot of Australian cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra the next; then to Tokyo in Japan, to the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the Colorado Plains, Death Valley in America; then to the Pyramids in Egypt. In fact, we even saw the Northern Lights in Norway, the Colosseum in Rome, Mexico, Alaska and there were other places too. Phew! I cannot believe now that we saw so much in just a week! And whilst doing this virtually, my mind was taken back to the time that we physically visited Amsterdam a couple of years ago. We had booked tickets to visit the Anne Frank museum. When we got there though, it was explained to us that, as a wheelchair user, I would not be able to do the tour, as it required a lot of climbing up quite steep steps. However, I was told that I could do the tour ‘virtually’ through a virtual reality headset being put on me in the cafeteria. This was the first time that I had ever used a virtual reality headset and I found the whole experience quite amazing. It must have been very funny for people to watch me in the cafeteria constantly turning my head around from right to left, to see everything that I wanted. When Erica returned after having done the physical tour, we compared our experiences. I was then very amused to find that I had actually visited a lot of places virtually, that she had been unable to on the tour physically because they had been sectioned off to protect them. You see, sometimes doing something virtually, can actually be better than doing it for real itself! As I said in the title of this update, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’. With best wishes Douglas
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I have decided to write/send this quick SEN Update about a week before schools go back for the new academic year this year (I will send my normal SEN Update for the Autumn Term in the week after schools go back). This is because I know that this year there is a lot of confusion and complexity about getting children and young people back into school after the Covid-19/Coronavirus situation. I thought I would firstly try and make things a little easier for people by preparing this video below...
I am also sending you links to some information and guidance that you may benefit from, as follows:
You may also find it helpful to look at:
And if that were not enough(!), I am also putting a link here to some further guidance produced over the summer, as follows:
I hope that this helps people. With good wishes, Douglas
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by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor.  Here is my update for this week. It’s been a bit of a slow week again for SEN news I am afraid. Things seem to be really slowing down for summer now. However, although this now will be my last update on SEN and Covid-19 (don’t worry, I am going to restart my SEN Updates again as usual from September), I have still managed to find some useful resources/information for you again this week. I hope that this helps people again. 1. What has happened this week?  The first thing that I want to bring your attention to is the website of Well Child, the charity for sick children. They have a lot of advice and resources available to or parents and carers of children with serious health conditions , including help accessing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) and supplies, plus information for companies and stay-at-home fundraising suggestions. I was very taken by their page called the ‘COVID-19 Direct Response Service’, which states: “In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are offering a Direct Response Service to get the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and support with supplies that parents and carers need”… READ MORE  The next thing that I want to draw you attention to is the webinar this week on 23 July 2020 entitled: ‘Returning To School In September’ being put on by 39 Essex Street chambers, where leading lawyers, Polly Sweeney, Steve Broach and Alice Irving will be delivering a webinar on the legal rights of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities returning to School in September and which says it will cover issues such as: ‘The latest government guidance and what is expected of families from September’; ‘What support and provision children and young people with SEND will be entitled to receive’; ‘Do children and young people with SEND have to return to School’; ‘Children and young people who have been shielding’; ‘In what circumstances parents can be fined for non-attendance’… READ MORE  The last thing that I want to refer you to here is actually not a resource or useful information at all, but just a news piece that I found on the BBC’s website which I thought may be of interest to you, entitled: ‘'No plan B' for exams if schools disrupted in autumn’, which said… READ MORE 2. What does all of this mean? I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens now in September/the Autumn. I don’t think anybody could have predicted what has happened in the last 4/5 months or so and it would be foolish for me to try and predict now what is going to happen in the next 4/5 months. However, I am going to leave you on an as positive note as I can if I may before I also break for the summer, by sharing a link to a video with you that I was sent a few months ago called: ‘The Great Realisation’. I apologise if you have already seen it, but it is so good that it is worth watching twice. I hope that you find it as uplifting as I have done… 3. Where can I find further information? Aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites:
- IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk. by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor Here is my update for this week. It’s been a bit of a slow week for SEN news I am afraid. So, as I know that people sometimes rely on my SEN updates to keep abreast of forthcoming SEN events and, as nearly all of them in the past few months and those in the next few months have had to be rearranged, I thought it may be helpful for me to give you some information about these this week. I hope that this helps people again 1. What has happened this week?  As you may recall, the Naidex exhibition which focuses on disability and which was due to be held at Birmingham NEC in March, is now due to be taking place on 9-10 November 2020. Their website states: “Naidex is Europe’s largest and most inclusive event for the independent living community. Naidex is for all! We welcome everyone who is living with health conditions or impairments, as well as anyone caring for or supplying to this community.” READ MORE  The next thing that I want to draw you attention to it The Autism Show, which was due to take place at Excel in London, the NEC in Birmingham and at EventCity in Manchester, in June 2020. It is now due to be taking place at the same venues, but in a slightly different order this time on 20-21 November at EventCity in Manchester on 4-5 December at Excel in London and at the NEC in Birmingham on 11-12 December 2020. Their website states: “If you’re looking for information and direction pre or post diagnosis, are facing daily challenges, or approaching significant transition points, then The Autism Show can help you.” READ MORE  The third thing that I want to highlight this week is the TES SEN show, whose London show usually takes place in October every year and who were, for the first time, going to also hold a North show in April in Manchester. However, they have only rescheduled (as far as I can see) to again only hold a London show at the Business Design Centre on 8-9 January 2021 Their website states: “Visit the UK's leading special educational needs (SEN) show on 8 - 9 January 2021 and discover the tools, resources and support to empower young learners with SEN.” READ MORE 2. What does all of this mean? I know that a lot of people are nervous still about going to exhibitions again and I am sure that the organisers of all these events have put in place as many facilities and precautions as possible, to make everything as safes as can be. In fact, the Naidex website actually states: “We have been working closely with all event industry stakeholders developing an industry-wide ‘All Secure Standard’ alongside the UK government that will allow organised industry gatherings take place again. Through the four key cornerstones we will ensure our visitors, exhibitors, and colleagues, are protected whilst making events high-quality and productive experiences.” However, please do not feel under any pressure to go to these events if you do not feel able or ready to. Your health and the health of your loved ones around you always comes first… 3. Where can I find further information?
Aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk. by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor Here is my update for this week. There has been a lot of Government guidance issued this week, so just in case you missed any, I am going to set them out again below. I hope that this helps people again. 1. What has happened this week?  The first bit of guidance that I want to draw you attention to is the one entitled: ‘Guidance for full opening: schools’. It said that it is guidance that applies to all schools in England and is to apply from the start of the autumn term and that it has been published before the start of the new academic year to help people prepare and says… READ MORE  The next bit of guidance that I want to refer to is the one entitled: ‘Guidance for full opening: special schools and other specialist settings’, which said that it is the Government’s plan that all children and young people, in all year groups and setting types, will return to education settings full time from the beginning of the autumn term. The guidance says that it is intended to support special schools, special post-16 institutions (SPIs) and other specialist education settings, such as hospital schools, to prepare for this and says… READ MORE  The third bit of guidance that I want to highlight is the one entitled: ‘Actions for early years and childcare providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak’, which was first issued in March, but was updated this week. It says that it is guidance for providers registered with Ofsted and childminders registered with childminder agencies for children of all ages and says… READ MORE  The final bit of guidance that I want to bring to you attention to is the one entitled: ‘Guidance for further education and skills providers’, which was also first issued in March, but also updated this week. It says that it is guidance for further education (FE) providers on maintaining education and skills training, changes to funding arrangements, data collections and assessment and says… READ MORE 2. What does all of this mean? The best summary that I have found of everything is on the Council for Disabled Children’s website entitled: ‘Department for Education publishes new guidance for schools and other educational settings in September’, which says: ‘Today the Department for Education has published detailed guidance to support schools and colleges to fully reopen in September and early years and childcare providers from 20 July. At a press conference this afternoon, the Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson announced:
This means all children are expected back in school, full time from September and all provision for SEND should be in place. Risk assessments for children and young people with education, health and care plans will remain in place. The government published ‘Guidance for full opening: special schools and other specialist settings’. Below is an extract: “Following the partial closure of educational and childcare settings from 20 March 2020, we asked local authorities to consider the needs of all children and young people with an EHC plan and to carry out a risk assessment. Local authorities were asked to work with education settings and parents or carers to determine whether children and young people would be able to have their needs met at home and be safer there than attending an education setting. Risk assessments may prove useful now and over the autumn term, in identifying what additional support children and young people with EHC plans need to make a successful return to full education. Risk assessments may also prove useful if children and young people have to self-isolate, or if a local outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) requires a setting to return to more limited attendance, or temporarily close. Whether individual risk assessments are used to help plan for the autumn term or not, education settings should, in the spirit of coproduction, contact parents and involve them in planning for their child’s return to their setting from September. They should also contact and involve young people over 16 who have EHC plans. That might include visits to the setting, social stories, and other approaches that specialist settings normally use to enable a child or young person with SEND, who has spent some time out of education, to return to full provision.” The usual rules on school attendance will apply, including:
The only pupils who are exempt are those who are unable to attend school because they are complying with clinical and/or public health advice. In that case, schools will be expected to be able to immediately offer access to remote education. Schools are also required to ‘monitor engagement with this activity’. In regards to the temporary changes to SEND legislation where local authorities and health commissioners were required to use ‘reasonable endeavours’ to secure or arrange provisions for a child’s EHC this is expected to cease on July 31st and the absolute duty to provide back in place.’ I should probably also amplify on the last point, as the relevant guidance fully states: ‘Temporary changes to SEND legislation Since May, as a result of the outbreak, it has been necessary to modify Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014 so that local authorities and health commissioners must use their ‘reasonable endeavours’ to secure or arrange the specified special educational/ health care provision in EHC plans. We are committed to removing these flexibilities as soon as possible so that children and young people can receive the support they need to return to school. As such, unless the evidence changes, we will not be issuing further national notices to modify the EHC duties, but will consider whether any such flexibilities may be required locally to respond to outbreaks. We will also continue to monitor the need for the temporary changes to the law on EHC needs assessments and plans that give local authorities and others who contribute to the relevant processes more flexibility in responding to the demands placed on them by coronavirus (COVID-19). These changes are currently in force until 25 September. We remain committed to listening to and working with local authorities, parent carer representatives and specialist SEND organisations, to ensure that the lifting of the temporary changes is managed in a way that supports the needs of children and young people with SEND. All education settings have a statutory duty under equalities legislation to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children. Many children and young people will have found lockdown exceptionally difficult socially and emotionally. Settings should consider any challenging behaviours or social or emotional challenges arising as a response to the lockdown and offer additional support and phased returns where needed.’ 3. Where can I find further information?
Aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk. by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor Here is my update for this week. I know that so much in Education/SEN news has revolved around and focused on the issue of school closures in the past few months. So, I have decided to try to get back to some degree of normality in this update and try to talk about other things, as well as schools hopefully reopening once more. I hope that this helps people again. (I also thought it would be easier this week to link you directly to the website pages I am referring to below, as they have useful links on them) 1. What has happened this week?  I know that many parents have become increasingly concerned about the fact that their children and young people with SEN have not been getting sufficient special educational provision in the past few months, whether or not they have been still able to go to school. I can therefore do no better than to highlight the very useful page on IPSEA’s website entitled: ‘Children and young people with EHC plans who are not getting enough special educational provision during the COVID-19 pandemic’, which also provides model letters which parents can use/adapt, which says: READ MORE  In fact, IPSEA have been very helpful in keeping people updated through the Covid-19 pandemic and have regularly updated a page entitled: ‘IPSEA update on COVID-19, school closures and SEN provision’, which this week was updated to say: READ MORE  In other news, the BBC’s website raised some concerns about the financial difficulties and practicalities of reopening nurseries, with an article entitled: ‘Nurseries warn of 'mass closures' as lockdown lifts’, which said: READ MORE  The BBC also reported on the arguments about ‘Social `Distancing’ in schools, in an article entitled: ‘Heads angry as government downplays school 2m rule’, which said: READ MORE 2. What does all of this mean? It seems clear now that our educational system generally for children and young people is going to probably take a very long time to get back on its feet properly. My personal concern is that it will probably take even longer and require much more effort to achieve with respect to children and young people with SEN. Like I said in my update last week when talking about the Government’s pledge to now put in £1b of extra funding to help pupils ‘catch up’, extra money for education is always a good thing, but the devil is always in the detail. For now, we really need to try and think ahead and plan as much as possible for as any different and varying scenarios as we can. It’s not easy, I know… 3. Where can I find further information?
Aside from clicking on the relevant links for more information, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk. by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor Here is my update for this week. Again this week I am setting out only part of the text of this week’s update for those of you reading this update by email, to try to make it a bit easier for people to read things and then only need to click on links which are of interest to them. (Again, anyone receiving this update through Social Media will be reading the full update as normal after clicking on the link). I hope that this helps people again. 1. What has happened this week?  It’s no surprise if you have already guessed again from the title of this week’s update, what the issue was again this week in SEN news –schools going back again! The beginning of the week saw an article on the BBC’s website entitled: ‘Coronavirus: A third of pupils 'not engaging with work', which said: “The vast majority of teachers (90%) say their pupils are doing less or much less work than they would normally at this time of the year, a study finds. The report by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) says head teachers believe around a third of pupils are not engaging with set work. Limited or no access to technology was a problem for around a quarter (23%) of pupils, school leaders told the NFER. The government says it has committed over £100m to help home learning. The NFER report is based on findings from a survey of 1,233 school leaders and 1,821 teachers in England's state schools, carried out between 7 and 17 May. It raises particular concern about the impact of school closures, due to Covid 19, on the learning of pupils from the most disadvantaged areas, saying pupil engagement is lower in schools with the highest levels of deprivation. Secondary schools with the highest number of children eligible for free school meals reported that 48% of pupils were engaged with learning activities, compared with 66% and 77% of pupils at schools in the middle and lowest brackets. Teachers told researchers the following pupils were finding it particularly difficult to engage in remote learning, compared to their peers: - those with limited access to technology and/or study space - vulnerable children - those with special educational needs and disabilities - and young carers. Teachers say just over half (55%) of their pupils' parents are engaged with their children's home learning, according to the report. But teachers from the most deprived schools report a lower parental engagement, at 41%, than those from the least deprived schools, at 62%. NFER chief executive Carole Willis said: "There are considerable differences in the levels of pupil engagement in remote learning, particularly amongst the most disadvantaged pupils." There is a risk that the attainment gap will widen as a result of the pandemic, she added, calling for a "comprehensive and long-term plan to address this issue". Josh Hillman, director of education at the Nuffield Foundation, which funded the research, said: "The shift to remote learning during lockdown has made the implications of children and young people's unequal access to IT equipment and connectivity even more stark." Geoff Barton, general secretary of the heads' union ASCL, backed a national plan "to help these children to catch up". "This analysis shows that children who already face the greatest challenges have suffered the worst impact to their learning during the lockdown, and that the digital divide is largely to blame." A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We will do whatever we can to make sure no child, whatever their background, falls behind as a result of coronavirus. "We are also considering, with a range of partner organisations, what more is required to support all pupils who have been affected by school closures." The NFER study comes as a research paper from University College London's Institute of Education finds pupils across the UK are studying for an average of 2.5 hours a day during lockdown. This figure is about half that indicated by a previous survey by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, suggesting that learning losses could be much greater than previously thought. The UCL research, which examined data from a UK household longitudinal study covering 4,559 children, says one fifth of pupils (around two million children in the UK) did no schoolwork or less than an hour a day at home, while 17% put in more than four hours a day. It finds that the variability in the amount of schoolwork being done at home is adding to existing regional and socioeconomic inequalities, with pupils in London, the South East of England and Northern Ireland receiving more offline schoolwork, such as assignments, worksheets and watching videos, than elsewhere in the UK. In the South East, for example, 28% of children were receiving four or more pieces of offline schoolwork per day, compared with the countrywide average of 20%. The report also says children eligible for free school meals "appear to be additionally disadvantaged during lockdown", with 15% receiving four or more pieces of offline schoolwork compared with 21% of children not eligible for free meals. Prof Francis Green, who led the research, said it "painted a gloomy picture of lost schooling and low amounts of schoolwork at home". "The closure of schools, and their only-partial re-opening, constitute a potential threat to the educational development of a generation of children. "Everyone is losing out in this generation, some much more than others. "Better home schoolwork provision, and better still an early safe return to school for as many as possible, should now become a top priority for government."  By mid-week though, the BBC’s website published another article entitled: ‘£1bn catch-up tutoring fund for England's pupils’, which said: “A £1bn fund to help England's children catch up on what they have missed while schools have been closed has been announced by the prime minister. The most disadvantaged pupils will have access to tutors through a £350m programme over the year from September. Primary and secondary schools will be given £650m to spend on one-to-one or group tuition for any pupils they think need it. Head teachers welcomed the funds, but said more details were needed. Labour said ministers should convene a taskforce - involving trade unions and scientific and health experts - to help all pupils return to school safely as soon as possible. Shadow education secretary Rebecca Long Bailey said the plans "lack detail and appear to be a tiny fraction of the support" needed and called for a "detailed national education plan to get children's education and health back on track". However, Boris Johnson said the fund would help head teachers provide what pupils need. He thanked teachers, childcare workers and support staff for their efforts during the pandemic, and said he was "determined to do everything" he could to get all children back in school from September. Boris Johnson: “We have got to start thinking of a world in which we are less apprehensive." "We will bring forward plans on how this will happen as soon as possible," he said. And during a visit to a school on Friday, Mr Johnson suggested there may be change in the rules on social distancing, with more guidance due "very, very shortly", adding: "Watch this space." It comes as the Covid-19 alert level has been downgraded, bringing with it a possible relaxation of the rules that have kept many pupils out of school. The Scottish Government said it is also looking at social distancing rules in schools, after Northern Ireland decided to reduce its two-metre rule to one metre. Nicola Sturgeon has said she wanted schools to open safely as soon as possible. The announcement comes a week after Mr Johnson said the government was planning "a huge amount of catch up for pupils over the summer". But the announcement did not include any specific push towards catch-up activities running through the summer break except an expectation that usual summer clubs would be running. Instead there is a strong push for head teachers to target catch-up help via tutoring from September. However, schools minister Nick Gibb told the BBC there was lee-way for heads to set up summer schemes if they so wished. But he said: "If you want children to catch up, it can't just be done over the month of August - it has to be longer term over the academic year". Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests the £650m pot represents about £80 extra for each student. That is a rise of about 1% but would leave total spending still 3% below 2010 levels in real terms. Early years providers and colleges for 16 to 19-year-olds are not included in the plans. Bill Watkin, chief executive of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, said it would be "entirely unjustifiable" to exclude sixth form students from the package. Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said the government's decision not to include pre-schoolers "beggars belief". But Mr Gibb said that older age groups had "fared better with remote education than other age groups" which is why the government was focused on helping younger pupils. Schools were shut across the UK on 20 March. Apart from the children of key workers, most children have not been to school since then and will not enter a classroom until after the summer holidays. Children in nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 have begun returning to primary schools in England, and some Year 10 and 12 pupils returned to secondary schools and colleges this week. Schools in Wales are reopening at the end of June, with only a third of pupils in class at any time, while in Scotland, schools are preparing to reopen on 11 August. Social distancing in schools has been halved to 1m (just over 3ft) in Northern Ireland, where ministers are aiming for a full reopening of schools on 24 August. However, head teachers have warned that parts of the Northern Ireland plan are "unrealistic and undeliverable". Plans for the subsidised National Tutoring Programme have been developed with a group of social mobility organisations and academics led by the charity Education Endowment Fund (EEF). The EEF has said that until now, access to tutoring has been the preserve of wealthy families - but this would no longer be the case as schools would be able to seek subsidised tutoring. However, individual schools would be expected to pay 25% of the tutoring costs in the first year, or from their share of the £650m in extra funding being made available to them as part of this package. The tutors themselves will be provided by organisations approved by the National Tutoring Programme. Many of them will be students or graduates trained by tutoring groups. Their modelling suggests between 550,000 and 650,000 courses, featuring three pupils to one tutor, would run for an hour a week over 15 weeks. "Tutoring is the catch-up approach supported by the strongest evidence," said the EEF's chief executive, Prof Becky Francis. She said the programme hoped to reach more than a million pupils, calling it a tremendous opportunity to create long-lasting change. Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Geoff Barton welcomed the investment, saying it would help support the work schools are already undertaking on pupil catch-up. But he noted that the investment was expected to be spent on tutoring, rather than being left to head teachers to decide. "As ever, we suspect the devil will be in the detail and we await further information," he said. He was also concerned that there was no investment for sixth forms. David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, criticised the decision not to include colleges for 16 to 19-year-olds in the plans. He said teenage college students deserved as much catch-up support as every other age group and it was "indefensible" to overlook them. National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Paul Whiteman said he was pleased ministers had listened to calls for a longer-term response, rather than short-term fixes. "This is a considerable sum of money," said Mr Whiteman, but he also warned there were many details still to be worked through.”  By the end of the week though, another article appeared entitled: ‘Coronavirus: All children in England 'back to school in September', which said: “All pupils in all year groups in England will go back to school full-time in September, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced. At the daily coronavirus briefing, he said the government was "signed up... to bring every child back, in every year group, in every school". Guidance on safety measures will be published in the next fortnight. It comes after the prime minister announced a £1bn fund to help England's pupils catch up with learning. Mr Williamson also said class size limits - or "bubbles" - imposed to curb the spread of the virus could be increased to allow every child to return to school. Under current rules imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, class sizes are limited to a maximum of 15 pupils, but the education secretary said ministers were looking at "expanding those bubbles to include the whole class". Class sizes vary in England, but this could be around 30 pupils. Teachers' unions say the proposals have not been thought through. "There is no social distancing if you've got 30 children in one classroom," Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), told the BBC. "But then you're going to ask them to abide by social distancing when they go out, I think that won't work and that will mean children aren't looking at social distancing at all." Schools closed to everyone except vulnerable children and those with a parent identified as a key worker on 20 March, in response to the pandemic. As the lockdown measures started easing at the beginning of this month, children in nursery, reception, Year 1 and Year 6 were encouraged to return to primary schools in England, albeit in smaller class sizes. Some Year 10 and 12 pupils - selected because they are sitting GCSEs and A-levels respectively next summer - returned to secondary schools and colleges this week. Ministers now want all pupils in England to return to classrooms full-time in the autumn, ending a near six-month absence for many pupils. "We have already been very clear that we want to see all children in all classes returning full-time to school in September. That's what we are working towards," Mr Williamson told reporters. It is a promise that many parents will have been waiting to hear. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has committed to all school pupils in all year groups going back full-time in September. The part-time, online, often not-really-anytime lessons will be over. But the much trickier question will be how to deliver this. Even if social distancing is reduced - and class size "bubbles" of 15 pupils can be increased - there will still be massive logistical challenges. Head teachers have warned any social distancing, even 1m, will require additional classrooms and teachers. And they have been exasperated at time ticking away without any clear plan - with heads' leader Geoff Barton complaining schools are working in an "information black hole". When the government had to U-turn on bringing back all primary pupils it was because nobody listened to similar warnings about lack of space. But a September deadline is now in place - and there will be high political stakes if there is another failure to deliver. The education secretary said signs that the spread of coronavirus was reducing meant that ministers could now look at "making sure that every child returns to school". He said he understood "there is anxiety still among parents" about their children going back to school, but stressed: "I want to assure you that the well-being of your children is the absolute top priority for every single one of us." The government will publish guidance for schools within the next two weeks on how to bring children back "so that schools have the maximum amount of time to prepare for the next phase", Mr Williamson said. However, there was no confirmation of whether the government's 2m social distancing rule was going to be relaxed in schools. Mr Williamson reiterated that a review of the measure is under way, and added that could not provide an exact date for a decision. Current Department for Education (DfE) guidance states that primary school classes should be split in half and contain no fewer than 15 pupils, desks should be spaced as far apart as possible and lunch, break, drop-off and pick-up times should be staggered. Schools should also consider introducing one-way circulation, or placing a divider down the middle of the corridor, to keep young people apart, it adds. Mr Williamson was speaking after the coronavirus alert level for the UK was downgraded from four to three, paving the way for a "gradual relaxation of restrictions". At level four, transmission of the virus was thought to be "high or rising exponentially"; at three, it is thought be "in general circulation". Earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "determined to do everything" he could to get all children back in school from September. "We will bring forward plans on how this will happen as soon as possible," he said. The prime minister's pledge prompted teachers' unions to call for further clarity on the proposals. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said schools and colleges were trying to prepare for September amid an "information black hole" from the government. Mr Barton said school and college leaders were preparing for two scenarios for the autumn - using rotas to stagger the return of pupils or bringing students back full-time - amid an "absence of information". Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "The desire to bring everyone back is correct but we need to know what the government is thinking and the scenarios they are planning for. "This will give school communities what they need to get through this term and plan for the new academic year in September." Mr Courtney, of the NEU, said earlier: "The prime minister's hopes are not enough." "If the requirements of social distancing - in order to stop a second peak - are reduced even to 1m, then most schools could not have 30 children in a classroom," he added.”  And so you also know, the Government issued guidance this week entitled: ‘What parents and carers need to know about early years providers, schools and colleges during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak’, which says: “This guidance is for parents and carers of children at: - registered childcare providers (including nurseries and childminders) - primary and secondary schools including independent schools, maintained schools, academy trusts, free schools and special schools - colleges Main changes to previous guidance On 18 June, we: - added a new section on flexibility for primary schools to welcome back additional children this term - amended definition of vulnerable children and young people - added further information on safety in schools and the national NHS Test and Trace programmupdated content 30 hours free childcare and/or tax-free childcare - updated content on transport which includes information on using face masks on transport - revised section on school meals, adding more information on the reopening of school kitchens as well as meals in colleges - updated content on exams in 2021” 2. What does this mean? I’m not sure really! Extra money for education is always a good thing, but the devil is always in the detail they say. Let’s hope this is not just a knee-jerk reaction and there is now sufficient time to sort this out carefully and properly. 3. Where can I find further information?
There isn't really much more that I can say again in this update now. However, as I always like to do at the end of my updates, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk. by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor Here is my update for this week. This week I am setting out only part of the text of this week’s update for those of you reading this update by email, to try to make it a bit easier for people to read things and only click on links which are of interest to them. (Again, anyone receiving this update through Social Media will be reading the full update as normal after clicking on the link). I hope that this helps people again. 1. What has happened this week?  It’s no surprise if you have already guessed from the title of this week’s update, what the issue was again this week in SEN news – primary schools going back, then not going back! I can do no better than quote an article from the BBC’s website early in the week entitled: “Plan dropped for all primary pupils back in school”, which said: “The plan for all primary school years in England to go back to school before the end of term is to be dropped by the government. There had been an aim for all primary pupils to spend four weeks in school before the summer break. But it is no longer thought to be feasible and instead schools will be given "flexibility" over whether or not to admit more pupils. Head teachers' leaders said it had never been a practical possibility. It comes after Health Secretary Matt Hancock conceded at Monday's Downing Street briefing that secondary schools in England may not fully reopen until September "at the earliest". Primary pupils in England in Reception, Year 1 and 6 began to return to school last week - and figures published by the Department for England have shown how many attended, based on 4 June. It shows that about three quarters of those who could have returned to school were still at home - reflecting that almost half of schools were not open for extra pupils. - 52% of primary schools opened for extra pupils - 11% of primary pupils were in school - about a quarter of those year groups who could have gone back - 659,000 children were in all schools, including children of key workers, almost 7% who would normally attend, up from 2.6% before half term Prime Minister Boris Johnson will chair a cabinet meeting later to discuss the next steps to ease lockdown restrictions, before Education Secretary Gavin Williamson delivers a statement to the House of Commons on the reopening of schools. There are separate rules for managing the threat of coronavirus in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Children in England began returning to primary schools in a phased process last week, with Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils heading back first. Mr Williamson will give an indication later of how many more pupils in England have returned, but he is also expected to say that primary schools will no longer have to prepare for the return of all pupils, as previously proposed by the government. The "pressure" to get ready will be removed, with heads and governors being free to decide whether they can bring in more classes. Analysis Today's announcement is expected to make formal what head teachers and governors in England have been saying for some time. It's not possible to massively increase the space each class needs to meet social distancing rules, and bring everyone back. There's not enough room. While Number 10 and the education secretary pushed on with the plans, they lost the support of some groups of parents, people working in schools and teaching unions. There are the concerns that having more pupils in schools will contribute to an increase in Covid-19 infections, both among pupils and staff and in their communities, and the inconclusiveness of the scientific evidence on this. Balanced against this are also the very real fears of parents, about how on earth they are going to manage with their youngsters at home for another two or three months - minimum - let alone keep up to date with their educational needs. There are growing voices for the government to start to think more strategically and more creatively. A strategic national plan is being called for, one that realises the scale of the problem and matches the scale of the support the economy has seen. The announcement means that many children in these other year groups will not be back in school until September or even after. Care minister Helen Whately told BBC Breakfast that ministers "don't want to take risks that might increase the infection rates", but recognise that being out of school is "particularly a problem" for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and that the education gap "can widen". Children's commissioner for England Anne Longfield told the programme that the prospect of secondary school pupils not returning until beyond September was "deeply worrying". "It's a disruption we've not seen since the Second World War," she said. She added that "the education divide is broadening" and "almost a decade of catching up on that education gap may well be lost". She also called children's education to be made the number one priority in government, adding that otherwise there was a risk that "childhood is just going to be furloughed for months." Commons Education Committee chairman Robert Halfon called for a national strategic plan to get schools open as soon as possible. He also warned that with schools remaining closed the majority of pupils would lose 40% of their time in class this year. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I think we're a strange country in which we turn a blind eye to mass demonstrations all over in every city, we campaign for pubs and cafes to open and yet we say to open schools before September is too risky when all the evidence... suggests otherwise." Mr Halfon also responded to concerns raised by a teacher on BBC Radio 5 live about schools having to fund supply teachers from their own budgets. "If schools need extra funding in order to make sure their classrooms are social distancing, then government should provide that funding," he said. One mother told the Today programme that she was "unsurprised" but "incredibly disappointed" by the news. "I feel really sad for my son. I've got one son in year two and another one in reception. "My child in reception [has] gone back, albeit only four days a week, every other week. "And my older son, who is just about to turn seven, is desperate to go back, can't understand, thinks it's so unfair - which it is." But another mother, with two children aged eight and six, disagreed. "I'm actually relieved if schools don't go back until September because I think it's too soon. "They don't socially distance at that age. I don't think there's enough protective equipment available in school." Head teachers had warned several weeks ago that it was not a realistic possibility to accommodate all primary year groups at the same time, with social distancing limiting their capacity. Class sizes are now only 15 pupils or less - so if each class occupied two classrooms, school leaders argued that they would have no space for all year groups to return. "The 'ambition' to bring back all primary year groups for a month before the end of the summer term was a case of the government over-promising something that wasn't deliverable," said Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union. "It isn't possible to do that while maintaining small class sizes and social bubbles," he said. Paul Whiteman, of the National Association of Head Teachers, said "we're pleased to see the government will not force the impossible" and that the plan had too many "practical barriers". Ian Robinson, chief executive of the Oak Partnership Trust, which runs primary schools and a special school in Somerset, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the announcement shows ministers "are listening to the profession". Schools have remained open throughout the lockdown for children of key workers and vulnerable children. But last Monday primary schools began the process of inviting back another two million children across three year groups. Secondary pupils in Years 10 and 12 are to begin returning for some sessions in school from 15 June. It is thought that primary pupil numbers have been increasing as parents have become more confident - but there have also been local concerns about different regional rates of infection. Teachers' unions have warned that it is too early to return to school - and some local authorities have delayed a return in their areas. But the Department for Education has argued that children need to get back to lessons - and that safety has been "paramount" in the plans to bring back more pupils. Schools in Wales will reopen from 29 June to all age groups for limited periods during the week, while Scottish schools are to reopen at the start of the autumn term on 11 August, with some continued home-learning. Some Northern Irish pupils preparing for exams and those about to move to post-primary schools will go back in late August, with a phased return for the rest in September.”  A couple of days later, the BBC’s website published another article entitled: “Summer catch-up plan for England's schools pledged”, which said: “An extended catch-up plan for England's schools is to be launched for the summer and beyond, to help pupils get back on track amid school shutdowns. The PM's spokesman said the plans would involve all pupils, not just those from poor backgrounds who are expected to fare worse during closures. It comes after the education secretary ditched plans for all primary pupils to return to school before the break. PM Boris Johnson has been accused of "flailing around" over schools. On Wednesday, Labour leader Keir Starmer called for a national recovery plan for schools, saying the current plan to get pupils back to classrooms were "lying in tatters". Mr Johnson said at Wednesday's daily briefing that the government would be doing "a huge amount of catch up for pupils over the summer". Concerns have been raised about the potential for a lost generation of learners, whose education will have been interrupted for at least six months even if schools return as now planned in September. The PM's spokesman said the aim remained to have all pupils back in school for the start of the academic year, but gave no details about how ministers intended to achieve this. School capacity is severely restricted by guidelines on social distancing and separating out existing classes into smaller groups of up to 15 pupils from much larger class sizes. When the spokesman was asked about increasing this capacity, by creating extra classrooms or using village halls for example, he said the government was "looking at exactly what might be required to get all children back". The Scottish Government, which is bringing pupils back in staggered fashion from August, has said it will be working with local councils to seek out extra community spaces and empty offices to accommodate pupils, where necessary. Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Layla Moran has called for a register to be drawn up in local areas to map out where spaces could be brought into school use. There are few details of how the summer catch-up plans will work. A further announcement is expected next week. It is not clear whether this catch-up work would be offered in school buildings or elsewhere, or whether teachers would be asked to staff the programme. The general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, Paul Whiteman, said the plan was the latest in a long line of eye-catching announcements that would suffer from a lack of input from the teaching profession. He said it was not credible to think academic catch up could be achieved over the summer, and warned that the impact of enforced isolation on young people was little understood but likely to be significant. But he said support was clearly needed for pupils over the summer, and urged the government to fund a locally co-ordinated offer involving youth groups and charities. The Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, warned last week that there were just two weeks left to set such summer learning projects up. And the House of Commons Education Committee chairman, Robert Halfon, has called for a Nightingale Hospital style plan to get schools back to capacity. Meanwhile, the Welsh government has published new guidance on the measures schools should consider when reopening, including outside learning, teaching in small groups, and pupils eating at their desks. Schools in Wales will reopen to all age groups from 29 June, but only a third of pupils will be in classes at any one time. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says Scottish schools will reopen from 11 August, but with some continued home learning. In Northern Ireland, ministers have set a target date for some pupils to go back on 17 August, with a phased return for the rest in September.”  By the end of the week, another article appeared entitled: “How will secondary schools reopen safely?”, which said: “As some Year 10 and Year 12 pupils in England prepare to go back to school on Monday, secondary head teachers are having to overcome an array of challenges. Plans shared with the BBC suggest the arrangements will vary widely. More than 300 schools and colleges told us they were mainly offering between five and 30 hours of face-to-face teaching each week. Some are making the return gradual, starting with pupils who are struggling the most, with many providing individual pastoral sessions to check on mental health. The Sixth Form Colleges Association says schools and colleges should ensure that extending face-to-face teaching does not impact on support for pupils who are still at home. At Ivybridge Community College on the southern slopes of Dartmoor in Devon, principal Rachel Hutchinson has been putting the final touches to plans for welcoming back just over a quarter of the college's 2,500 students. The Year 10 and 12 pupils who will be doing their GCSEs and A-levels next year will return to a very different school from the one they last saw in March. "Safety measures are key," says Mrs Hutchinson. "We're working very much with social distancing measures... looking very much at the timetable and what we can do safely and sensibly." But she's also determined to give them an "effective education". Pupils arrive by school bus, public bus and train, some are dropped off, while others walk or cycle. New mask-wearing and social distancing rules on public transport, plus a ban on sixth-formers car sharing, mean clear communication is key, she says. Each school bus can now carry just seven students, which means that, while bringing back a quarter of the pupils is feasible, larger numbers might be impossible, she says. How much face-to-face teaching will returning pupils get? At Ivybridge, even these smaller numbers of students will have to be part-time to ensure safety. It means only about 100 will be in at any one time, with only 10 in each class. For Year 10s, there will be one full day of teaching each week, with 90 minutes each of maths, English and science. The other subjects will continue to be taught remotely on the days pupils are at home. "They'll still get their full curriculum," says Mrs Hutchinson. The post-16 students will have seminar days to reduce movement around the site. They'll get two full days of each A-level over the five weeks before the end of term, says Mrs Hutchinson. "We think it's very viable, its do-able and it's really important for their education." How will social distancing work? There are 2m distancing markers along all the corridors and a one-way system. Staff in high-vis jackets will monitor every entrance, there are hand-sanitising stations and lots of posters and banners to remind children not to crowd each other. "It's going to be that supermarket feel - when you go to a supermarket for the first time with the trolley queues," she says. With reduced numbers, it's manageable, she says, but increased numbers of students would present a challenge. How will pupils cope with being back after so long? "I'd like to think as a college we've been really strong on our pastoral care," says Mrs Hutchinson. Tutors have had lots of email contact with students, with fun, remote activities like cake-baking to keep pupils engaged with the school community. However, she recognises some will have fallen behind and so there is a recovery programme to help them catch up. She says a key aim of returning to school is to ensure pupils' wellbeing and she will keep a particular eye out for socially disadvantaged children. About 30 children have opted to take up the college's offer of one-to-one tutoring, with support available for families who have suffered bereavement or illness or are anxious, she says. What about staff? One of the most important aspects is "getting it right for my staff", she says. "They are absolutely working round the clock to maintain communication, the pastoral welfare and wellbeing of the children, as well as checking in on the learning." Some have their own health issues, many will be running busy households without childcare and may feel anxious about returning to face-to-face teaching. "It's managing staff welfare and making sure that staff feel safe and are ready to come back to work," she says. And all other pupils at the school? Years 7, 8 and 9 will continue to be taught virtually and pupils in Years 11 and 13, whose exams were cancelled will still get support. "It's keeping an eye on a number of schools really; our virtual school as well as the new school that's going to be returning. "The exciting thing is, for the first time ever, children are saying they miss school," says Mrs Hutchinson. What about September and summer schools? Getting the college back to a "new normal for September," is another challenge. It will be welcoming the new Year 7s, plus a huge group who have not been in school since March. Mrs Hutchinson says that unless the distancing measures are amended, schools will have to run a blend of classroom lessons and virtual learning in September. She believes the idea of schools opening over the summer, when staff have already been flat out since March is "quite controversial". "The summer six weeks are going to be key for us to get ready for September," she argues - and many staff will have to work through to prepare. "So to open for children in as well will be incredibly challenging," she says. She hopes both children and teachers can take their normal summer holidays, ready for a new start, whatever form it will take. Wales will begin opening schools on 29 June, with Scotland and Northern Ireland waiting until August.” 2. What does this mean? It’s a real mess isn’t it… The world is currently changing very rapidly. On the one hand, it seems like we are progressing 10 years in 10 weeks regarding our working practices. However, on the other hand, I am also concerned that we may be regressing 10 years in 10 weeks in our educational practices! I still think though we have to wait and see how things ultimately pan out, as it is still too early to be too definitive about anything. 3. Where can I find further information?
There isn't really much more that I can say again in this update now. However, as I always like to do at the end of my updates, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk. by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor Here is my update for this week. Again, I am setting out the full text of this week’s update for those of you reading this update by email to try to make it a bit easier for people to read things without having to click on any links (again, anyone receiving this update through Social Media will be reading this as normal after clicking on the link). I hope that this helps people again. 1. What has happened this week?  Again the issue about schools returning dominated the media this week in SEN news with the BBC’ website publishing an article at the beginning of the week entitled: “Coronavirus: Primary schools back but mixed picture on turn-out”, which said: “Head teachers are reporting "highly variable" levels of attendance, ranging from 40% to 70%, as primary schools in England bring back more pupils. Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL heads' union, says the return has been "very mixed" - with some schools not yet open and some children staying away. Children in Reception, Years 1 and 6 are the first groups able to return. It comes as lockdown measures are eased in England, including groups of six people being allowed to meet outside. Schools have remained open throughout the coronavirus restrictions for the children of key workers and vulnerable children - but from Monday more than two million more pupils have been invited back. Latest government figures show 39,045 people with the virus have died in the UK, across all settings. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there had been a day-on-day increase of 111 deaths and 1,570 new positive tests. An additional 445 deaths have been added to the overall death toll in the past day. The increase is explained by the retrospective inclusion of some patients whose tests were carried out by commercial partners, rather than the NHS or Public Health England. The head teachers' leader says the "first impression" has been of a very varied local picture - with not all schools either open or bringing back pupils as outlined in the government's plans. Some local authorities have not yet started to bring back more pupils, some schools have limited space, some are still training and not all staff are available, he said. "Caution is the watchword, and everybody is approaching this task with the safety of pupils and staff as their absolute priority," said Mr Barton. A survey from the National Foundation for Educational Research suggested almost 50% of children would be kept at home by parents. Mr Barton's early feedback suggests ranges of between 30% and 60% of pupils not attending school. But he said more key workers' children seemed to be coming in and he expected the overall numbers to increase as "more parents become confident". The biggest teachers' union, the National Education Union, has warned it was not yet safe to open schools - and the union's co-leader, Kevin Courtney, said delaying the wider opening of schools would "make our communities safer". Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said children needed to catch up with missed lessons and at school they "will be with their teachers and friends again". "I'm excited to see my friends and see everyone but not excited for the work," says 11-year-old Sean, returning to school in Mortlake, West London. BBC News education reporter Judith Burns describes the return to school: "You look like you've grown," says teacher Catherine Hughes to a reception pupil who hasn't been in school since March. "Are you excited to be back?" Helen Frostick head of St Mary Magdalen's Catholic primary school in Mortlake, West London asks another. About half of those who could have returned have taken up their places, alongside 15 children of key workers who have continued to come into school throughout the lockdown. The classrooms have been completely reorganised, with desks in rows, facing forwards, instead of pushed together into big tables. The school has split each class into two separate bubbles with one half in on Monday and Tuesday and the other on Thursday and Friday, which allows for a deep clean on Wednesdays. In the Reception class each table is separate, with its own tray of equipment so that the children don't need to get out of their seats so much, says teaching assistant, Clare Gordon. "It really is best for the family," says mum Sophia as she brings her two sons to school. She has managed to do some home schooling with the boys over the past few weeks but it hasn't always been easy. "I was 10% worried but 90% thinking it was the right thing to do," says Julia, who has just dropped off her son. "The main thing is for normality and for his mental health. He needs the interaction with his friends. He's been begging to come back," she says. A survey from the National Foundation for Educational Research suggested approaching half of families would keep their children at home. It expected that: 46% of parents will keep children at home 50% of parents in schools in disadvantaged areas will keep children at home 25% of teachers are likely to be absent because of health issues for themselves or their families. Jane Reid, a parent from York, said it was still not safe for her son to go back to school, saying: "It's a definite no from me. "Plus, the contradictory information is infuriating. I can take him to school, but can't get his hair cut." "How can I send them to school now, knowing it will be impossible for teachers to implement social distancing rules properly?" asked Valerie Brooker from Haslemere in Surrey.  A couple of days later, the BBC’s website published another article entitled: “Summer catch-up plan for England's schools pledged”, which said: “An extended catch-up plan for England's schools is to be launched for the summer and beyond, to help pupils get back on track amid school shutdowns. The PM's spokesman said the plans would involve all pupils, not just those from poor backgrounds who are expected to fare worse during closures. It comes after the education secretary ditched plans for all primary pupils to return to school before the break. PM Boris Johnson has been accused of "flailing around" over schools. On Wednesday, Labour leader Keir Starmer called for a national recovery plan for schools, saying the current plan to get pupils back to classrooms were "lying in tatters". Mr Johnson said at Wednesday's daily briefing that the government would be doing "a huge amount of catch up for pupils over the summer". Concerns have been raised about the potential for a lost generation of learners, whose education will have been interrupted for at least six months even if schools return as now planned in September. The PM's spokesman said the aim remained to have all pupils back in school for the start of the academic year, but gave no details about how ministers intended to achieve this. School capacity is severely restricted by guidelines on social distancing and separating out existing classes into smaller groups of up to 15 pupils from much larger class sizes. When the spokesman was asked about increasing this capacity, by creating extra classrooms or using village halls for example, he said the government was "looking at exactly what might be required to get all children back". The Scottish Government, which is bringing pupils back in staggered fashion from August, has said it will be working with local councils to seek out extra community spaces and empty offices to accommodate pupils, where necessary. Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Layla Moran has called for a register to be drawn up in local areas to map out where spaces could be brought into school use. There are few details of how the summer catch-up plans will work. A further announcement is expected next week. It is not clear whether this catch-up work would be offered in school buildings or elsewhere, or whether teachers would be asked to staff the programme. The general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, Paul Whiteman, said the plan was the latest in a long line of eye-catching announcements that would suffer from a lack of input from the teaching profession. He said it was not credible to think academic catch up could be achieved over the summer, and warned that the impact of enforced isolation on young people was little understood but likely to be significant. But he said support was clearly needed for pupils over the summer, and urged the government to fund a locally co-ordinated offer involving youth groups and charities. The Children's Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, warned last week that there were just two weeks left to set such summer learning projects up. And the House of Commons Education Committee chairman, Robert Halfon, has called for a Nightingale Hospital style plan to get schools back to capacity. Meanwhile, the Welsh government has published new guidance on the measures schools should consider when reopening, including outside learning, teaching in small groups, and pupils eating at their desks. Schools in Wales will reopen to all age groups from 29 June, but only a third of pupils will be in classes at any one time. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says Scottish schools will reopen from 11 August, but with some continued home learning. In Northern Ireland, ministers have set a target date for some pupils to go back on 17 August, with a phased return for the rest in September.”  Later in the week, I saw some more practical guidance came in an article entitled: “Lego used to explain social distancing to children”, which said: “A mother is using Lego to teach her children about social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. Cat Cook said her seven-year-old son - who has severe respiratory problems, and her daughter, four, had been in a "safe little bubble" during lockdown. "They've been living a very sheltered life... without a care in the world." Among the images created are a child and a dog inside a glass jar looking out at an elderly person, and two people sat on separate benches. Ms Cook said the scene inside the jar was inspired after the children's grandparents came over to collect some groceries she had ordered for them. "We left the groceries out on the doorstep for them and were then able to talk and wave at them through the closed windows. "It was the first example they thought of when we started talking about social distancing." Ms Cook, 42, and her family have been in strict lockdown in Surrey since a week before the official order was given by the government in March, with her husband also working remotely from home. She said: "If and when we start going out again, it's important that they understand the importance of social distancing as my son is high risk. "Each picture we created was inspired by my discussions with the children about social distancing and things they'd experienced or seen on the TV, like the spaced-out queues outside supermarkets." She added that talking it through in "a gentle way" had helped give her children a better understanding of what the "new norm" looks like outside their home."  But still concerns were expressed, as another article appeared on the BBC’s website during the week entitled: “Disruption to schools could continue to November, MPs told”, which said: “The partial closure of schools in England could continue into the autumn and into November, the Commons education committee has been told. Primary schools opened more widely to several year groups in some areas this week, 10 weeks after they were closed as part of Covid-19 lockdown measures. Secondaries remain shut and around eight million pupils are out of school. David Laws, chair of education charity EPI, said assumptions all pupils will return in September may be wrong. The committee was hearing evidence on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on education and children's services. Mr Laws, also a former education minister, said: "There's a temptation to think we are in a kind of home learning now and hopefully all back in September. Sadly we may end up with considerable disruption to school in September, October and November." He urged ministers to make plans and give guidance to schools for "a situation where there may be some home learning for a lot of pupils for a very long time". Anne Longfield, the Children's Commissioner for England, highlighted that eight million pupils were currently out of school, despite limited opening of primary schools this week. She said the sheer scale of children not reaching their potential because of this lockdown would be immense. "That could be eight million children all of whom could well be out of school for six months." And she warned as more of society and many parents go back to work, there would be a fall-off in the numbers of those engaging in learning from home. "As things become more interesting, the shops will be open soon and many kids could spend two and half months browsing in Primark and not going to school." She added that head teachers had told her they were kept awake at night by fears about some children never returning to school. The leap that children who had had a negative experience of school would have to make, in order to return to school, would be "vast", she said. The committee was told the Department for Education needed to publish its guidance on how schools would look in September very soon. And plans for catch-up summer schools, which were backed by witnesses, needed to be set out by ministers soon, if they were to happen. The hearing comes as a report suggested school closures could wipe out 10 years of progress in closing the achievement gap between poor and rich pupils. Modest estimates in the government-commissioned report suggest the shutdowns could cause the gap to widen by around a third of what it is now. This could mean poorest primary pupils, who are already nine months behind, slipping back a further three months. The Education Endowment Foundation study said catch-up tuition would help. The charity's research also warned of a risk of high levels of absence after schools formally reopen and that this posed a particular risk for disadvantaged pupils. The rapid evidence assessment drew together evidence on 11 studies from a number of countries on the impact of school closures, focussing on those which looked at learning loss over the summer holiday period. It found the estimated impact on the gap between the poorest group of pupils, and their wealthier peers ranged widely from 75% to 11%. The median estimate was 36%, although the researchers said there was high level uncertainty about this average. The report is published days after a small proportion of the school population returned to lessons. Although effective remote learning would limit the extent to which the gap widens, the report said there would still need to be sustained support for disadvantaged pupils to catch up. Over the past decade, the Department for Education has focused attention and resources on closing the disadvantage gap. It has narrowed from 11.5 months in 2009, at the end of primary school to 9.2 months in 2019. Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the EEF, said: "School closures are likely to have a devastating impact on the poorest children and young people. The attainment gap widens when children are not in school. "There is strong evidence that high quality tuition is a cost-effective way to enable pupils to catch up." His organisation has teamed up with a number of other organisations to run a trial in which 1,600 disadvantaged pupils around England are offered one-to-one and small group tuition. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said being in school was vital for children's wellbeing. He added: "This innovative online tuition pilot is an important part of our plans to put support in place to ensure young people don't fall behind as a result of coronavirus, particularly those facing disadvantages." Russell Hobby, head of teacher training charity Teach First, described the potential loss as "tragic". This should start with intensive catch-up provision when possible, he said, adding more resources need to be targeted towards those pupils who have suffered the most.”
There was some other helpful guidance though which I saw on the website of ‘The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health’ entitled: “Helping parents and teachers deal with apprehension and anxiety when returning to school”, which highlights a video resource produced by a charity called ‘Nip In The Bud’, which said: “The charity Nip in the Bud has produced a short film and fact sheet to help parents and teachers deal with any potential feelings of apprehension and anxiety that children may experience on returning to school. In this film 8 minute film Dr. Jess Richardson, Principal Clinical Psychologist, National & Specialist CAMHS and Maudsley provides important and straightforward advice. There is also an accompanying comprehensive Fact Sheet. Nip in the Bud provides free resources about mental health awareness for primary school teachers and parents. Their short films and fact sheets can be accessed freely on their website. The content for their ‘Information Films’ has been provided by experts from the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and from Great Ormond Street Hospital. In addition their ‘Real Life Experience’ films show interviews with young people and parents who have been affected and who speak frankly and movingly about their experiences. The conditions covered so far are ADHD, Anxiety, Autism, Conduct Disorder, Depression, OCD and PTSD." The Government also issued a press release over the weekend entitled: “Extra mental health support for pupils and teachers”, which said: “New online resources designed by health and education experts will be provided to schools and colleges to boost mental health support for staff and pupils, encouraging them to talk more confidently about the anxieties and concerns they feel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Videos, webinars and teaching materials, produced in partnership with charities, will be made available to schools and colleges, helping to foster conversations about mental health and reassure many young people who are worried about the impact of the virus on their lives. As more pupils return to the classroom as part of the Government’s phased approach to the wider opening of schools, the Department for Education has announced grants worth more than £750,000 for the Diana Award, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the Anne Frank Trust - to help hundreds of schools and colleges build relationships between pupils, boost their resilience, and continue to tackle bullying both in person and online. A new £95,000 pilot project in partnership with the Education Support Partnership will focus on teachers’ and leaders’ mental health, providing online peer-support and telephone supervision from experts to around 250 school leaders. It adds to the support the Government has already put in place to help families and children during the pandemic, with more than £9 million already being invested in mental health charities to help them expand and reach those most in need, and priority given to it within planning guides for a phased return to education. Children and Families Minister Vicky Ford said: There has never been a more important time to speak about mental health and wellbeing – especially for thousands of children, young people and teachers who are adapting to education and different ways of living and learning in these unprecedented times. Schools and colleges are often a safe haven for children and young people, but the challenges we face at this time mean we are all more likely to feel anxious or sad – no matter our age or circumstances. These new resources, created with charities and health experts, will encourage confident conversations between friends, colleagues, pupils and their teachers, and improve our understanding of how to make ourselves and others feel better. Minister for Mental Health Nadine Dories said: The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light on the importance of looking after our mental health. It is very normal during these uncertain and unusual times to be experiencing distress or anxiety, or be feeling low. What’s important is that you get help. We know the impact on our children and young people has been especially tough, which is why as schools return we’re determined to equip teachers and pupils with the tools they need to look after their wellbeing. Mental health must be a priority as we get start to get back to normality and I hope these brilliant new measures alongside our NHS services will help start new conversations and reassure children that it’s ok not to be ok, and that support is available. A new training module for teachers will also be published next week to support them in giving lessons on the Government’s new Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) curriculum, which will make mental health and wellbeing a compulsory part of pupils’ education in primary and secondary school. Developed with clinical experts, the training module will help subject leads and teachers deliver the new curriculum effectively when it becomes compulsory from September, as well as improving their confidence in talking and teaching about mental wellbeing in class, especially as many measures to stop the spread of coronavirus remain in place and many people continue to experience restrictions in their daily lives. While schools have some flexibility over how they introduce the new curriculum within the first year of compulsory teaching, the new module will help schools prepare ahead of time. The Government’s announcement today (Sunday 7 June) builds on the excellent partnership working already seen between schools, colleges and health services in local areas in response to the pandemic. Professor Prathiba Chitsabesan, NHS England Associate National Clinical Director for Children and Young People’s Mental Health, said: The coronavirus outbreak has had an impact on everybody’s lives, so it is understandable that children and young people may be experiencing anxiety, distress or low mood which is a normal response to a significant disruption to their lives. The NHS is here for anyone who needs it, and has adapted to the pandemic through offering flexible options including phone and video consultations. We will continue to work in partnerships with schools and other services to ensure children and their families access the support they need. In addition to the RSHE module, the new resources will include examples of good practice already being used around the country, developed by mental health charity MindEd, to be provided to schools and colleges before the end of the summer term. These are in addition to high quality tools already made available by mental health charities, including the Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families and Place2Be. Professor Peter Fonagy, Chief Executive of the Anna Freud Centre said: We welcome this important announcement. At this time of immense stress children have a right to expect that their teachers are well supported. This directly benefits children and young people not just in their education the quality they receive but also in their own wellbeing and the sense of support they experience. Catherine Roche, CEO of children’s mental health charity Place2Be said: As a charity providing expert mental health support within school communities, at Place2Be we’ve heard first-hand from teachers, parents and children of the huge mental health challenges they are facing as a result of this pandemic. These resources and training courses will be a welcome addition to help support the emotional wellbeing of teachers and pupils in the short and long term. In response to continuing social distancing measures, while many older pupils remain at home to allow for vital year groups to return in a phased way, existing school and college-based mental health programmes have also adapted their work to make sure their services are still accessible for those who need them the most. This includes: The Link Programme, which connect schools and colleges to external specialist mental health services, which will begin offering online workshops nationally to facilitate joined-up working to plan for the recovery phase, and to ensure learning from successful areas already using this approach is shared; and Mental Health Support Teams around the country, which join up schools and colleges with additional trained staff supervised by their local NHS mental health services, will encourage teams to step up their support to more schools and colleges locally, accept referrals through new pathways, and help develop a recovery approach. School Standards Minister Nick Gibb has also written to the members of the Department for Education’s Expert Advisory Group (EAG) on education staff wellbeing, accepting its recommendations including a commitment to develop a wellbeing charter for the teaching sector. The charter will help create an open culture around wellbeing and mental health, breaking down stigma, and will include commitments from the Government to regularly measure staff wellbeing, and to embed this into training, guidance and policy making. The grant to the Education Support Partnership will respond specifically to the mental health needs of school leaders at this challenging time and additional funding of £45,000 to Timewise will provide practical support and resources on flexible working in light of new arrangements for schools responding to coronavirus. Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of Mind, said: Mind was pleased to contribute to the Expert Advisory Group on school staff wellbeing, but what is most important is that concrete action comes out of this when it comes to making sure mental health and wellbeing are prioritised within our education system. Today’s announcement is a welcome first step, and we hope it will be the start of a sincere commitment to address issues like stress, and other mental health problems among school pupils and staff, helping make sure we build a fairer and kinder working and learning environment for everyone. Coronavirus has impacted all of our lives, but some more than others. We cannot underestimate the long-term effects that this pandemic will have, especially on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. Wellbeing and emotional support must be available to anyone who needs it, now so more than ever. As the UK Government asks schools to begin to open to more children, it is crucial that we all come together to support the mental health and physical health of teachers and pupils, not just now but for the years to come. Stuart Rimmer, Principal of East Coast College and Expert Advisory Panel member said: It is a hugely positive step that we are seeing thoughtful and considered announcements to support staff mental health and wellbeing in the school and college sector. Supporting leaders and front line staff is critical, amplified recently by significant additional pressures of COVID-19. Developing support programmes, peer to peer and coaching will help at these critical and complex times. Sinead McBrearty, CEO of Education Support Partnership, said: The mental health and wellbeing of teachers and senior leaders must sit at the heart of our education system. The Expert Advisory Group has brought new voices into the policy-making process, and the resulting recommendations set a direction for supporting and improving the wellbeing of those working in education. Education Support is pleased to have the opportunity to pilot remote services for school leaders. Early testing has shown that online peer support and telephone supervision can help school leaders find ways to process the impact of work-related stress. We hope that the timing of this work will help school leaders in the short term, and inform best practice post-pandemic.” 2. Where can I find further information?
There isn't really much more that I can say again in this update now. However, as I always like to do at the end of my updates, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Remember also, that there are other videos on this website, especially the one at the top of this page which explains the coronavirus and its effect clearly to children. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk. by Douglas Silas, specialist SEN solicitor 1. What has happened this week?  On Monday, there was an article on the BBC's website entitled: "'Virus could be here for year' so schools must open, says education secretary”, which said: "The coronavirus could be with us for a year or more" so children cannot continue to stay out of school for "months and months" longer, says Education Secretary Gavin Williamson. But he told BBC Breakfast he recognised there would be "initial nervousness" among parents about children returning. Teachers' unions have warned it is not safe to open England's primary schools on 1 June. On Sunday, Boris Johnson accepted some schools would not be ready to open. The education secretary said the first steps for returning to school had to begin. "We cannot be in a situation where we go for months and months where children are missing out on education," said Mr Williamson. This has not persuaded teachers' unions - with no sign of a resolution to the stand-off over bringing increasing numbers of children into schools. Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL head teachers' union, said the government had "not done a good job in building confidence in its plans". Ministers were failing to win "trust and confidence", said Patrick Roach, leader of the Nasuwt teachers' union. Mr Williamson told BBC Breakfast that he recognised there would be hesitation among parents. "We do realise there will be an initial nervousness about the return of schools," he said. And he said it was right that there would be no penalties for parents who decided to keep children at home. Asked whether parents should now rely on their "instincts" rather than official guidance, he said he hoped that parents would start to send their children back to school. He said the guidance for returning to school ensured a "maximum amount of safety" - and going back would be important for children's well-being as well as helping them to catch up on lost lessons. Schools have remained open for the children of key workers and vulnerable children - and the government's plan is for all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 to return to school from 1 June. But many local authorities have already indicated that their schools will not be ready to open, or that schools will have their own variations on which pupils will return. Mr Williamson said there was no reason why most schools should not open - but gave no indication of any sanctions for those that did not. The first children returning to secondary school, in Years 10 and 12, will begin on 15 June. School leaders have questioned the feasibility of the next stage of reopening, which would have all primary children back in school together for the last month of term. The Department for Education says this part of the plan is now "under review". In Scotland and Northern Ireland there are plans for a phased return to school for pupils, starting in August. Schools in Wales will not go back on 1 June, but a date has not yet been set.  On Tuesday, the Government then issued guidance called: "Supporting children and young people with SEND as schools and colleges prepare for wider opening”, which stated: “From the week commencing 1 June 2020 at the earliest, we will be asking primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside priority groups (vulnerable children and critical worker children). From the week commencing 15 June 2020 at the earliest, we will ask secondary schools, sixth form and further education colleges to offer some face-to-face support to supplement the remote education of year 10 and year 12 students who are due to take key exams next year, alongside the full time provision they are offering to priority groups. As settings prepare for wider opening, this guidance provides information on provision for children and young people with education, health and care (EHC) plans and others with complex needs, such as children and young people with special educational needs and disability (SEND) who do not have an EHC plan, but for whom the educational setting or local authority has exercised its discretion to do a risk assessment and offer a place at an educational setting1. Throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, educational settings have been asked to ensure that vulnerable children and young people can attend where appropriate, including those children and young people who have an EHC plan, and for whom it is determined, following a risk assessment, that their needs can be as safely or more safely met in the educational environment. As settings prepare for wider opening, they should continue to offer places to vulnerable children and young people and should look to bring back more children and young people with EHC plans in these target year groups. Their return should be informed by their risk assessments, to help educational settings and local authorities ensure that the right support is in place for them to come back. From 1 June we will be asking special schools and hospital schools to work towards a phased return of more children and young people, without a focus on specific year groups and informed by risk assessments. From 15 June, we will be asking specialist post-16 institutions to work towards a phased return of young people, without a focus on specific year groups or proportion of learners and informed by risk assessments….”  By the end of the week, we heard that the Government had also issued an extension of their previous Notice under the Coronavirus Act 2020 to the end of June 2020 to relax legal duties in relation to the laws surrounding SEN and in the past couple of days, Vicky Ford MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families, has issued another letter addressed again to: "To all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), their parents/carers and families, and others who support them", which stated: “I would like to express my sincere thanks for everything you are doing at this challenging time. I also wanted to explain how the wider opening of schools and other educational settings may affect your family. This letter has been distributed through as many of our partner organisations as possible. I would be grateful if you could also circulate it widely. I realise that this is a particularly difficult time for children and young people with SEND and their families, and I’m sure that you have lots of questions. As you will be aware, on 28 May the Prime Minister announced that the Government’s five tests had been met and, based on all the evidence, primary schools and early years’ settings will be opening to more children and young people from the week commencing the 1 June. Secondary schools and colleges will begin to offer some face-to-face support to Year 10 and 12 students and 16-19 learners taking key exams next year. On 26 May, the Department for Education (DfE) published guidance to help colleagues working in local authorities and educational settings to support the needs of children and young people with SEND through the process of wider opening to more children and young people. The full guidance is available at this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-send-risk-assessment-guidance We have produced this guidance with help from SEND sector organisations, including parent carer forums and representatives, to outline pragmatic approaches that local authorities, educational settings, and parents or carers may wish to take to support children and young people with SEND throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. This guidance updates our existing advice to local authorities on risk assessments to determine which children and young people should be attending their education setting. It now also includes advice on how to approach the phased return to face-to-face education for children and young people with SEND. I want to assure you that safety will always be our primary concern. Local authorities and educational settings should work with families to bring children and young people back to face-to-face education to ensure they receive the support that every child or young person deserves. This new guidance sets out that children and young people with SEND in mainstream and Alternative Provision settings who have not been attending and are in eligible year groups should experience the same return to their school/college or contact with their teachers as their peers without SEND in the same year group. We recognise that each individual child with SEND has their own needs, so decisions should be based on each child’s risk assessment with families and schools working together. Special schools, special post-16 institutions and hospital schools should work towards welcoming back as many children and young people as can be safely catered for in their setting based on risk assessments but not using their year group as a primary deciding factor. Educational settings and local authorities should keep risk assessments up to date, to ensure they are able to offer places to pupils and students, whatever year group they are in, where circumstances have changed. I know that there has been a huge amount of change at this time, so if you want more details, you may also wish to read further guidance including: • Actions for education and childcare settings to prepare for wider opening from 1 June 2020 and actions for FE colleges and providers during the coronavirus outbreak, which sets out the overarching aims and principles of wider opening and the next steps for education and childcare providers. • Guidance on implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings. • Guidance on safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care, including the use of PPE in education, childcare and children’s social care settings during the coronavirus outbreak. • Guidance on isolation in residential educational settings. • Guidance on supporting vulnerable children and young people during the coronavirus outbreak. • Guidance on the changes to the law on education, health and care needs assessments and plans due to coronavirus. I realise that whilst the coronavirus pandemic has affected us all, children and young people with SEND and their families have often faced particularly acute challenges. This is why I was happy to announce on 19 May that the Family Fund will receive funding of £37.3 million in 2020-21. The Family Fund provides grants to families on low incomes who have children with disabilities or severe medical conditions, and this funding includes £10 million which has been allocated to help families in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. More details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/37-million-to-support-children-with-complex-needs You can also keep up to date by regularly checking the gov.uk webpages and if you want to speak to an advisor from the DfE, please do call the DfE Coronavirus helpline which we have established for local authorities, providers and parents. The number is 0800 046 8687, and lines are open 8am-6pm (Monday – Friday), and 10am – 4pm (Saturday and Sunday). The Council for Disabled Children has also pulled together a wide set of resources to respond to frequently asked questions: https://councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk/help-resources/resources/covid-19-support-and-guidance. Finally, I would like to express my personal gratitude towards all those in the SEND sector for continuing to care for, teach and support vulnerable children and young people in these difficult times.”  There has already been a bit of a backlash to this which is probably best summarised in another article which I saw earlier today on the BBC's website entitled: " Coronavirus: Drop plan to reopen primaries to all pupils, ministers urged", which states: “The first wave of children is due back from Monday but the government wants all primary pupils in class for the last four weeks of term. This ambition piles pressure on schools "when actually it wouldn't be safe", said Emma Knights, chief executive of the National Governance Association. Ministers say the return of all pupils will depend on updated safety advice. Last week the schools minister Nick Gibb told MPs any decision on whether all pupils should return would be led by the science, and no decision had as yet been made. Many schools have been open to the children of key workers and vulnerable children throughout the lockdown, with all the others attempting to follow the primary curriculum at home. From Monday, the government wants all pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 to return to their classrooms, with no more than 15 pupils per class. This means every class of 30 would have to be spread across two classrooms. Under these rules, if all year groups went back, there would not be enough classrooms in the vast majority of primary schools. Ms Knights has written to the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, "asking him to review and to drop" the expectation that all primary pupils should be back at school for the last four weeks of term. "Unless something dramatic changes very soon in terms of the government's scientific and medical advice, it will simply not be possible for primary schools to invite all pupils back for a whole month of education before the summer holidays," she told the BBC. "Indeed many of them won't be able to invite all pupils back at all before the summer holidays... "It is adding to uncertainty for parents, but also extra pressure on school leaders and governing boards who think that they need to try and do this when actually it wouldn't be safe." Mr Williamson has not as yet responded to the letter. Kerry Hill, head teacher at Eyres Monsell primary school in Leicestershire, told BBC Breakfast that her school would not reopen until the middle of June. She said that even then, it will be closed one day a week to all pupils apart from the children of key workers for deep cleaning. A one-way system will be put in place and any non-essential items that could potentially spread the virus, such as toys and soft furnishings, are being removed. "In our classrooms we can't even fit 15 in and still observe social distancing," she said. "In terms of the logistics, rearranging the entire school and having the available staff to come in and take all of those groups has been incredibly challenging - as well as the logistics of how are we going to do regular cleaning across the day." She added: "It is not just about the safety of minimising risks. We know parents are scared, anxious, and our staff a worried, so we're really trying to put in place measures that help keep that trust and confidence." Just over 2,350 governors shared their plans for the return of pupils with the BBC. Many say, even with the limited numbers due to return in the first phase, they are already having to ask pupils to attend part-time, due to space constraints and the need for deep cleaning to keep the virus at bay. Of the governors who answered a BBC snapshot questionnaire: About four in five said they were able to accept pupils from all the eligible year groups. About a third of the schools are planning rota systems, for example with one half of pupils attending school for two days at the start of the week, and the other half for two days at the end, with a day for deep cleaning in between. There are wide variations in the numbers of parents who have committed to sending their children to school from Monday, with some schools expecting almost everyone, and others just a handful. Of the 2,350 governors asked whether it would be possible to have all pupils back for the last four weeks of term, 1,682 said this was unlikely or very unlikely. "It would be physically impossible to bring all pupils back with reduced class sizes - we do not have the extra classrooms or staff to accommodate them safely," one governor wrote. "It is going to be challenging enough to get Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils back into school, respecting all of the social distancing and also providing spaces for key worker and vulnerable children. This will take up all the classroom space in the school and use up all of the staff who are available," wrote another. However, another expressed frustration at being unable to welcome all children back to school immediately, saying parents "need a break and the children are getting feral". Overall, governors expressed concerns about the pressure placed on themselves and on headteachers by the pandemic. "I can only say that the professionalism of our team has shone through and for everyone's sake we hope the advice is right and that safe and effective learning returns for some and continued remote learning carries on for others," said Nick Horslen, chair of governors at Kings Wood Primary and Nursery School in High Wycombe. "The situation is a long way from ideal but the creativity and determination to help children is the constant priority." Schools in Wales do not have a date for returning and schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland are going back in August. 2. What does this all mean? Again, I'm not going to share any thoughts with you today, as I feel a bit conflicted still because I can see both sides of the argument is sometimes you find that both people can be right! One thing I'm sure of though is that this debate is going to continue probably for some time to come. 3. Where can I find further information?
There isn't really much more that I can say in this update now. However, as I always like to do at the end of my updates, I would again remind you of the very useful resources and information provided on the following websites: - IPSEA - Council for Disabled Children - Contact - Scope - Special Needs Jungle I would also highlight again the fact that you can now get digital copies of the magazines: SEN Magazine and Autism Eye which are both very helpful to any parents or professionals involved with children/young people with SEN. Remember also, that there are other videos on this website, especially the one at the top of this page which explains the coronavirus and its effect clearly to children. Keep safe until next week. With best wishes Douglas P.S I understand that there are a number of educational or other useful resources now on the web - I would be very grateful if you could let me know of any that people are finding useful, so that I can direct others to them. P.P.S. I also want to highlight again the fact that there are currently a lot of scams out there, both online and through texts/WhatsApps. Please be extremely careful and help yourself and others not to become victims. You can learn more at: www.FriendsAgainstScams.org.uk. |
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