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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 14th June 2021 
Give people the chance to learn from a mistake…
We often say, where children are concerned, that if they make a mistake, we should usually not make a big deal out of it, but rather realise that this was an accident and let them learn from it (or us use it as a way to teach them how they can learn from it). We also know not to do something for them, otherwise they will never learn. Yet how many times do we do this in our personal lives with adults? Too often we are too quick to judge and condemn someone when they just make a mistake. We say to ourselves or others, things like: "They should have known better" or "They are always like that". We sometimes even imagine that they have done it deliberately and not even think that it could have just been a mistake. How often do we really try to put ourselves in their shoes and see things from their perspective? They may have said or done something which they genuinely thought would work and now, not only do they have to face the consequences and disappointment arising out of their actions, but they now also have you judging them for not being good enough! Not only is that twice the amount of hurt or shame, it also means that you will have potentially taken away from them a valuable learning opportunity, as people usually become instinctively defensive when they feel like they are being criticised and, not only then try to justify their actions to you or themselves, but also become more entrenched in believing what they did or said was reasonable and find even harder to then admit that it was a mistake, to you or themselves. And it probably was also a mistake that you would have wanted to learn from, if you had been in their place. So, next time something like this happens to someone around you (adult or child), try not to be too quick to judge them and give them the chance to correct their mistake. It is what you would want somebody to do for you if the roles were reversed.
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. 
THINGS USUALLY COME IN THREES (MORE GOVERNMENT GUIDANCE)
Things usually come in threes, don't they? Well, it's time for more Government guidance/information and this time it is three things at once! I received an email this week from the SEND Division at the Department of Education (DfE), entitled: 'Summer Schools, Transition to employment toolkit & new NSPCC/DfE helpline', which said: "Dear colleagues, There are three things that we would like to draw your attention to this [week]: Summer schools: updated funding allocations and guidance As part of the wider recovery package to support children and young people with their mental health and wellbeing and to support recovery from the impact of missed face-to-face learning, £200m of funding is available for secondary schools to deliver summer schools this year. Over 80% of eligible mainstream schools have now signed up to the programme. To maximise the funding available for special schools and alternative provision settings, we have now calculated their funding allocations on the basis of 50% of their year 11 cohort being offered a two-week summer school, in recognition that these settings generally have few year 7 pupils. For any special schools or alternative provision settings whose year 7 cohort is larger than their year 11 cohort, those schools’ initial funding allocations will stand. Today, we published a form at https://form.education.gov.uk/service/summer-schools-programme, asking schools to confirm their arrangements for their summer school by 30 June. Schools that did not complete the initial sign-up form can still join the programme by completing the June confirmation form. Subject to overall take-up, schools may be able to claim funding to cover additional places and can request this in the June confirmation form. Those schools will be notified quickly of any additional funding, but should plan to deliver their summer school within their published maximum allocation in the meantime. The guidance on summer schools reflects the change to SEND/alternative provision funding. It also confirms the conditions of funding, has an expanded section on academic, enrichment and mental health resources and provides a link to the DfE summer schools webinar which includes input from headteachers and other experts. If you have any questions, please contact us at learning.recovery@education.gov.uk. Transition to employment toolkit launched by Ambitious about Autism and the Autism Education Trust Ambitious about Autism and The Autism Education Trust have today launched a new employment toolkit to support autistic young people into the job market. The Transition to employment toolkit is free to download and aims to prevent autistic young people falling out of education, employment or training when they leave school. The toolkit is not just for young autistic people to use, but also for careers professionals and employers, to help them better understand the needs and skills of young autistic people and support them into further education or work. Sections of the toolkit can be easily downloaded and edited and are designed to be used flexibly. Launch of new NSPCC/DfE helpline for children and young people subjected to unwanted sexual behaviour in an education setting A new UK wide dedicated helpline has been set up by the NSPCC and the Department for Education to support those who may have been subjected to unwanted sexual behaviour or abuse whilst in an education setting. The helpline is equipped to cover personal incidents or concerns for others, and for both recent and historical events. DfE has set-up two social media resource packs on Dropbox containing assets to promote the helpline, one to target children and young people, and another for adults. We ask that education settings, along with wider sector organisations, use these resources on their own channels, and also cascade to their community networks. All amplification would be extremely valued, and ultimately help reach someone who vitally needs this support. Many thanks, Special Educational Needs and Disability Division" 
THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TRIBUNAL HEARINGS (REPORT)
I know that this will not interest/affect everybody, but if it does interest/affect you, I wanted to bring it to your attention, as it is very interesting. The Legal Education Foundation has just produced a report this week entitled: “Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on tribunals: The experience of tribunal judges“ which was commissioned by the Senior President of Tribunals to understand the impact of COVID-19, identify opportunities for improvement and guide future developments. (If you don't know, The Legal Education Foundation is an independent grantmaking foundation that focuses on the role of legal education in helping people understand and use the law as a tool for change, as they know there are many people who cannot obtain justice in relation to everyday problems). The report examines the impact of remote hearings under COVID -19 and sets out 35 recommendations to guide their use as the tribunals move toward recovery and their website says: "The grant-giving charity The Legal Education Foundation has today published research that sheds light on the experience of tribunal judges as they adapted to the use of remote hearings in the early months of the pandemic. The report: “Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on tribunals: The experience of tribunal judges“ was commissioned by the Senior President of Tribunals to understand the impact of COVID-19, identify opportunities for improvement and guide future developments. ... The survey on which the report is based captured the experiences of over 1500 tribunal judicial office holders who were asked to reflect on the remote hearings they had taken part in between March and July 2020. The 35 recommendations presented in the report set out immediate practical and longer- term steps to improve the experience of judicial office holders and to ensure that remote hearings are deployed in a manner that secures safe, effective and efficient access to justice. ... The research gathered the views of judicial office holders on a range of topics including: i.) their satisfaction with the support and guidance they were offered; ii.) their views on the technology that was used, iii.) their perceptions of the impact of remote hearings on the practical and emotional barriers to participation experienced by appellants; iv.) the effect of proceeding remotely on their ability to identify and make adjustments for vulnerable appellants; v.) the influence of remote hearings on the structure of hearings and vi.) any changes to their decision-making process that had occurred in response to proceeding with hearings remotely. The survey also explores the impact of remote hearings on the well-being and morale of judicial office holders. ... The report’s recommendations include:
You can read the full report here. 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
Again, here are other news articles that I found this week: Is sleep a ‘magic pill’ for teen wellness in a mental health crisis? Girls asked for nudes by up to 11 boys a night, Ofsted finds Unions call for return of masks to secondary classrooms in England After a year at home, children with disabilities deserve priority vaccination ‘Tutors change daily’: headteachers call for schools to control England Covid catchup money
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 7th June 2021 
Be prepared to change your mind…
Sometimes you think that you understand something, but then somebody comes along and presents a different view of the same thing. Human temptation is normally to think that you are right, so that the other person must therefore be wrong. But you must resist this temptation and be prepared to look at things again from a different perspective. You will then usually find, as counter-intuitive as it seems, that both you and the other person may be right. This happened to me this week. In my update last week (below) entitled: 'Don't let is sound like criticism', I presented an argument that we should always be careful not to say something to someone else that sounds like criticism. However, although I thought that I had given it a lot of thought to it before I wrote it, I soon received an email from a reader pointing out to me that criticism can also be constructive and that, in fact, my accompanying cartoon made him think that it is the recipient of criticism who is more at fault than the critic. Of course, this is also correct (although I mainly chose the cartoon because I thought it was funny!) Like the famous quote says: 'When the facts change, I change my mind, what do you do?'
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. 
'CATCH-UP' FUNDING/VACCINATIONS FOR CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE
You'd have thought that with a shorter week because of the Bank Holiday and it also being half-term last week, that there wouldn't be too much for me to report for you this week? Wrong! There has been so much in the news in the past few days that I have again dedicated the first section of this SEN Update to a number of new articles about the issues of 'catch-up' funding/school recovery plans and also the issue of providing a Covid-19 vaccine now to children and young people. Rather than me telling you what has been happening, I will just provide the relevant links here below (I think the headline titles also speak for themselves): 'Catch-up' funding/school recovery plans: What students really want from school catch-up Teaching unions criticise plan to extend school day in England Pupils in England to be offered 100m hours of tuition in Covid catch-up plan Covid catch-up plan for England pupils ‘pitiful compared with other countries School catch-up tsar resigns over lack of funding Are school catch-up plans scuppered by resignation? Providing a Covid-19 vaccine to children and young people: India Covid variant spreading in England’s schools, data shows UK approves Pfizer jab for 12 to 15-year-olds The pros and cons of giving Covid vaccines to UK children School leaders say pupils should be vaccinated as matter of priority 
LONELY IN LOCKDOWN REPORT BY SIBS
I usually use these weekly updates to highlight for you the main things that I have found In the news in the past week, which may affect children and young people with SEN. However, once in a while, I see something else which is related that I also want to highlight for you, which I save to bring to you later. Well, today is one of those weeks, as today I want to highlight the organisation: 'Sibs', which provides a voice and support for siblings of children and young people with SEN, Sibs recently issued a report entitled: 'Lonely Lockdown. Life for siblings of disabled children in the UK', whose title I think also speaks for itself. It highlights the impact the latest lockdown has had on the health and wellbeing of siblings of disabled children. The relevant page on Sib's website says: 'Children and young people growing up with a disabled brother or sister often get less attention from parents and have more worries and responsibilities than their peers. Lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic has created further isolation and challenges for this group of children and young people. Our last survey in May 2020 told us that life had been tough for siblings, and ten months on, we wanted to understand how this latest lockdown had impacted on siblings' health and wellbeing. Many siblings have also become young carers for the first time. "Lonely Lockdown" is a collaboration with UCL family researcher Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou. Sincere thanks to all parents who took the time to share their views with us. Key statistics revealed:
To read the full Lonely Lockdown report go here: Interesting. 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
And here are the other news articles that I found of interest this week: A sacrificed generation’: psychological scars of Covid on young may have lasting impact Covid: Pupils fell behind again in second lockdown Labour flags concern over outsourcing of England catch-up tuition Tory group demands rethink on recovery plan for English schools Covid has eroded progress by disadvantaged pupils in England, finds study
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.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 1st June 2021 
Don't let it sound like criticism...
It's very easy to criticise, isn't it? Sometimes, even if we really mean well when we say something, the other person who we are speaking to, may feel as though they or another person you have referred to, are still being criticised, directly or indirectly. I have actually noticed that a lot of criticism is delivered in an unconscious way much of the time. The person speaking does not think that they are being critical, but the person that they are speaking to, hears it that way, rightly or wrongly. In fact, I could spend a lot of time here discussing the intricacies of interpretation (I am a solicitor, aren't I!), but the simple truth is that, no matter that you may say something with no intention of meaning it to sound critical, another person may not take it that way and believe that you are criticising them or another. They may even take it worse than if they thought that you had criticised them directly, as they may then think even worse of you, because they may feel that you have tried to criticise in an indirect (at best) or underhand (at worst) way. As such, in my humble opinion, you should always first think before saying anything and, if you do choose to say something, you should then choose your words very carefully, knowing that they may be misinterpreted or misconstrued. And remember the wise saying: "If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn..."
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. 
YOU'RE SOMETIMES TOO YOUNG
For some years now there has been ongoing debate about whether summer-born children should be allowed to delay the year of their admission to primary/infants school. This week, the Department for Education released a report entitled: 'Delayed school admissions for summer born pupils (2020)', which comprised of surveys of local authorities and of parents and carers of summer-born children requesting delayed admission to reception. The report's summary states: "This report provides findings from 2 surveys designed to understand:
This research provides an update to research published in 2018 and 2019, providing trends in the number of requests received since 2016. Guidance on school admissions for summer born pupils is available." You can read the full report here. 
PARENT'S SURVEY
Although I drew attention last week to a news article about it, this week I want to highlight another report, the parent's survey conducted by the 'Disabled Children’s Partnership', entitled: 'No End In Sight'. The summary on their website says: "On 14 May, we published the findings of the third survey of our “Parent Panel” on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their families. Our report reveals that, despite the easing of lockdown restrictions, a high proportion of disabled children and their families are still experiencing severe levels of social isolation. Although there has been some improvement for families in terms of accessing support via school or the health service, the difference between current and pre-pandemic levels of support is vast. More than half of families are unable to access therapies vital for their disability. Sixty percent are experiencing delays and challenges with accessing the health service appointments they need. These figures in isolation are concerning, but to an even greater extent alarming when considered in context. A large proportion of families with disabled children have multiple diagnosis culminating in multiple appointments with a variety of services. Lack of support and its impact on parents’ mental wellbeing has been well documented in our two previous survey reports. This survey confirms that anxiety, stress and mental wellbeing levels experienced by our panel are significantly worse than the general population. Consecutive surveys demonstrate that this is an ongoing problem for families rather than a short-term response to the events of the pandemic. The lack of access to multiple services across education and health has been detrimental to the mental health of parents as carers, with their disabled children and wider family persistently isolated. Disabled children and their families are at risk of developing additional long-term health problems, ultimately culminating in adverse outcomes for their future goals and aspirations." You can read the full report here. 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
And here are the other news articles that I found of interest this week: Abuse helpline takes hundreds of calls, says NSPCC Teachers 'struggle to deal with classroom sexual abuse' DfE had no plan for dealing with a pandemic, says critical report by MPs Ministers urged to release data on Covid variants in English schools Longer school hours won’t plug Covid learning gaps, says Cambridge academic
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.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 24th May 2021 
Give yourself time to panic…
That probably seems a bit of a strange thing for me to say, but please bear with me and hopefully things will make sense to you when I have finished! We are all human and things do not always go the way we have planned them to. This may be because of a genuine mistake that we or someone else has made, that could or should have been foreseen, or it may be because of a genuine accident, that nobody could have foreseen. But it is no good at these times for someone (even yourself) to tell you not to panic - that is a completely unnatural reaction or instinct for most people. So, unless you are very experienced and have been through the same or a similar situation before; or are that character in a movie or TV show you saw once, that is always very cool in a crisis, you will panic. (N.B. please note that this is not usually real life and just comes from somebody's imagination as a scriptwriter). But, although we usually panic when something goes wrong, it is about how we then deal with that panic that is important. As I say, there is no good saying don't panic, as we respond with 'fight', 'flight' or 'freeze'. Human nature usually dictates that when we panic, we try to do something quickly to try and stop things before they get any worse. But that often actually makes things harder to come back from than they were before (remember the phrase: 'Be careful what you wish for'). In my view, the best way of handing a crisis is just to accept that you are going to panic and therefore be realistic and give yourself the time to panic. As a result, this additional time (it doesn't have to be for very long) will then give you the space to calm yourself, to look at things as objectively as possible and then to work out the best thing for you to do to resolve the situation as best you can. In fact, that extra time may even be enough time for the crisis to resolve itself naturally. Also, remember to narrow your vision, so that you only focus and concentrate on the thing or things that you need to do and, if you determine that things are going to take more time to sort out, explain what is happening to other people so that they know what you are going through and how long it may take. You may be surprised at how understanding people may be. It's always better also if you can share your crisis with somebody else since, as many people often say, a problem shared is a problem halved. To sum it up, when something bad or unforeseen happens to you, give yourself time to panic and to focus on the problem, then work out what you need to do, then do 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. 
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Things were a bit quieter again on the SEN front in the news this week, although there was a bit of discussion/criticism of a few things, which gives food for thought. Although I will direct you as usual below to some other stories in the news online that I found of interest, I thought that I would first also highlight a few of these things here, which I think are also worth taking the time to read: Ofqual: bias against disadvantaged and SEN pupils ‘common’ in assessments Give struggling pupils four years to retake GCSEs, says catch-up tsar Focus on preschools during Covid recovery, UK ministers urged Teachers' grades biased to more 'agreeable' pupils Gavin Williamson to face legal challenges over claims children denied Right to Education during lockdown 
THE AUTISM SHOW
One of the things I used to do when writing these SEN Updates termly/half-termly, was to try and look ahead to forthcoming SEN events. Although, during the past year or so, most 'in-person' events have gone 'online' (usually successfully), with all the Covid-19 related news, I think that I may have overlooked a few things. If so, please accept my genuine apologies. But, in this week's update, I thought that I would draw your attention again to the forthcoming 'The Autism Show' webinar week that is taking place on 14th – 19th June 2021, which says on their website: 'Welcome to The Autism Show: Webinar Week An online learning series: In partnership with the National Autistic Society. The Autism Show has gone digital again to offer you over 30 hours of new online learning, designed to make a positive difference to the autistic children and adults you care for, support or teach. Over six days in June, you will have the opportunity to watch a huge range of webinars live streamed from across the UK and beyond. Our webinars will provide you with the latest autism news and views, practical strategies and approaches, and direct insights from adults on the spectrum. You’ll be able to learn from the experiences of other attendees and have the opportunity to quiz the speakers for personalised advice via the in-webinar chat box. Your ticket also includes 30 day access to stream recordings of all the week’s webinars, so you don’t need to worry about missing any and can watch when it’s most convenient to you. Plus, you can watch a whole host of additional pre-recorded webinars from a selection of autism specialist suppliers. In this, our 11th year, we are particularly excited by our world renowned speaker line-up which includes Dr Temple Grandin, Dr Peter Vermeulen, Carol Gray and Dr Wenn Lawson.' You can find out more and book tickets here: The Autism Show. 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
And here are the other news articles that I found of interest: Why Ofsted is wrong about TA support for SEND pupils SEND education in crisis as Ofsted and Observer highlight provision and budget shortfalls of over £0.5 billion Ofsted: 9 in 10 parents say their child’s school handled Covid well ASCL comments on Ofsted Parents Survey for 2021 No 10 ‘tried to block’ data on spread of new Covid variant in English schools
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.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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Douglas Silas,
Specialist SEN Solicitor 17th May 2021 
Don’t offer your advice unless you’re specifically asked for it…
Unfortunately, how often does someone tell us about a problem that they are having, or we find ourselves discussing something that has caught our attention in the news, do we start to offer our perspective or advice, without being asked for it. This often makes a difficult situation much worse than it has to be; for example, because the other person was just wanting to get something off their chest and confide in us, or because the difficult situation that we have identified is actually a very complicated one and our simplistic and often ill-thought out answer is way off the mark, as it only sees things from one perspective. Things are not always what they seem, or just because you haven't seen something, doesn't mean that it hasn't happened. Or you can be interpreted as taking sides if there is an argument, which might well curry favour with the person you seem to be siding with, but may then lose you all credibility with the person on the other side of the argument, or other people who are watching from the sidelines. There will be a perception of 'bias'. I see this all the time I'm afraid, from my position as a lawyer, as there is often not just one 'right' and one 'wrong' in a given situation, but many people on opposite asides of an issue can be both right and wrong on many things (and sometimes even the same thing) at the same time! But, what I really want to highlight for you today, is the need for you not to feel that you have to offer your advice in every situation, unless you are specifically asked for it. Even then, you need to still first look at things from as many different perspectives as you can, before saying anything. In fact, the less you say sometimes, the better, as the more you say, the more it can be interpreted differently to how you meant it, especially if what you say is taken out of context, or another meaning projected onto it. So, as I say, be careful and only offer your advice if you are specifically asked for 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. 
SEND REPORTS
I am going to cheat a little this week, by slipping two things into the first section of this update! One is new, but one is about a month old, but is still worth highlighting. The new thing is a press release issued by Ofsted, entitled: 'Some pupils with SEND missing out on specialist support': "A new research report shows that some pupils with SEND in mainstream schools are not getting enough help to support their learning and development. Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools are not getting enough help to support their learning and development, even when external services are involved, according to a new research report by Ofsted. Read the Supporting SEND report. Published today, the study finds that specialist support from multi-agency services often complements the support offered by schools. Although families and school staff value this external support, it is not always timely or implemented appropriately. Many of the schools and families participating in the research had experienced long wait times and high levels of bureaucracy in the education, health and care (EHC) plan process. In some instances, families were commissioning or paying for additional services themselves. This suggests that the playing field is not level for pupils from poorer backgrounds. Through different case studies, the research identifies important issues that influence how in-school support, therapies and other multi-agency services are provided for pupils with SEND. The findings include the following." The other (not so new) thing that I want to refer to is the report entitled: "Forgotten. Left behind. Overlooked." where the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) recently reported on experiences of young people with SEND. The best summary I have found is on nasen's website, which reads: "The All Party Parliamentary group for SEND have issued their report into the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on educational transitions for young people with SEND. The group collated input from oral evidence meetings and written evidence around young people’s mental health and wellbeing and learning. It is quite challenging reading and has shone a spotlight on some of the inequalities within the education system and how Covid-19 amplified these and left young people with SEND feeling like an ‘afterthought’. The key findings are:
You can read the full report for yourself here. 
UPDATED COVID-19 GUIDANCE
I received another email this week from the SEND Division at the Department of Education (DfE), entitled: 'Updated Guidance for SEND and Specialist Settings', which said: "Dear colleagues, Guidance updates Following the Prime Minister’s statement yesterday regarding the further easing of lockdown restrictions from the 17 May, we have updated our SEND and specialist settings - additional operational guidance: COVID-19. This guidance should be read alongside the main pieces of guidance for schools and post-16: Schools COVID-19 operational guidance and Further education COVID-19 operational guidance, which have also been updated to reflect the upcoming changes. Also updated yesterday was the guidance for Early years and childcare providers, Out of school settings and higher education providers The key changes within the SEND guidance are:
Please see the guidance on the COVID-19 response – Spring 2021 (Roadmap) for additional information. PPE Portal All Special Schools in England are eligible to access the personal protective equipment (PPE) portal provided by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The PPE portal allows eligible providers to order free PPE on a weekly basis for their Coronavirus (COVID-19) PPE requirements. Since January 2020, all special schools will have received an email asking them to register with the PPE portal. Those who have not registered will shortly receive another email invitation from ppeportal.queries@unipart.com. This email invitation will be sent to the email address which your setting used to register with the DfE 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 or would like to change your registered email address, please contact the Customer Service team at 0800 876 6802 who will be able to help support you in registering with the portal. All other settings should refer to the safe working in education, childcare and children’s social care settings guidance to understand how they can access PPE to meet their Covid needs. Many thanks Special Educational Needs and Disability Division" 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
And here are the other news articles that I found of interest: Pupils in England ‘waiting up to five years for special needs plan’ Helping pupils in England catch up on lost learning will cost £13.5bn – report Councils in England facing funding gaps plan to cut special needs support
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 10th May 2021 
You can’t be good at everything...
Try as we might, we can never be good at everything we put our hand to. There will always be people who are better or worse than us at things and, so too, there will always be things that we are better or worse at than others. We just have to accept this fact, as to do otherwise will just infuriate us, since we will constantly be trying our best to achieve something all the time, but will then find, to our disappointment (and sometimes anger or despair), that somebody has got there before or after us. You will therefore always drive yourself crazy if you think like this - there is no clearer path to madness. So, through a process in life of 'hit and miss' we gradually need to work out what our strengths and weaknesses are and then play to our strengths and minimise our weaknesses. This doesn't mean that we should not still enjoy doing the things we may not be so good at, especially if they bring us pleasure, but we should recognise that we will probably not excel at them and then concentrate our time on things that we can do better. And the irony of all of this is often that, when other people tell us we cannot do something just because they may have seen us try and fail, perhaps a few times, it is sometimes the moment when we then become more determined to prove them wrong and usually ultimately succeed at the things they said we could never do! And a further irony is that we can then use the principles that we learn through these trials and tribulations of achieving this, to be successful at something else!! Yet, despite this, the initial principle usually remains the same - you cannot be good at everything and it is easier if we eventually accept this.
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. 
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK
Thankfully, there was a fair bit of information I saw that I thought I would bring to people's attention this week. In fact, ironically, there was more this week than I could highlight in my first two sections, so I have put more links in the third section under 'Latest News Online'. In this first section, I want to highlight mental health again. I saw that it is 'Mental Health Awareness' this week. We are all very aware of the impact the pandemic this past year or so has had on the mental health of our children and young people. I then realised that, after looking, I had overlooked noting that 'Children's Mental Health Awareness' week was at the beginning of February! However, after some further research, I came across the website for the 'Mental Health Foundation' and there found a number of useful bits of information about 'Mental Health Awareness Week 2021', which the year's theme is 'Connect with Nature'. I found my way to a webpage where you can download a 'Connect with Nature School Pack', which says: "Connecting with nature in a great way you can help young people improve and maintain their mental health and wellbeing. Our ‘Mental Health in the Pandemic’ study found that going for walks outside was one of our top coping strategies and 45% of us said that being in green spaces was vital for looking after our mental health. The Mental Health Foundation’s Peer Education Project is a Secondary School-based project that gives older pupils the tools to deliver mental health lessons to younger pupils. The project has worked with pupils and staff from participating Secondary Schools to create the Connect with Nature School Pack, which is available for all schools across the UK. This school pack will provide the materials and resources needed to support pupils to connect with nature in a meaningful way. The pack is designed to be used in secondary schools, but it has lots of useful information for primary schools too. It is available in English and Welsh. The pack includes:
Hope this helps. 
AREA SEND INSPECTIONS AND OUTCOMES
This week Ofsted also published their official statistics on 'Main findings: area SEND inspections and outcomes in England as at 31 March 2021'. Obviously, you can click on the link if you want to read everything for yourself (there are a number of charts), but they also provide a helpful summary of things, which says: "This is the main findings report for the area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspections and outcomes in England 2021 release. The following are also available:
This release contains:
lmpact of COVID-19 (coronavirus) On 17 March 2020, all routine Ofsted inspections were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, we suspended area SEND inspections and re-visits to local areas that had been required to produce a written statement of action (WSoA). We have included all reports published by 31 March 2021 in this release. Between October 2020 and March 2021, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out a series of interim area SEND visits, visiting 10 local areas across the country. Participating local areas will remain anonymous, but learning has been shared in several thematic national reports. Main findings Since 2016, Ofsted and the CQC have carried out joint inspections of SEND arrangements in 116 of the 151 local areas across England. Just over half (59 out of 116) of the areas inspected have been required to produce and submit a WSoA to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI). This is an indication of significant weaknesses in the local areas’ SEND arrangements. The proportion of local areas required to produce a WSoA varies across the country. At a regional level, the proportion of local areas with a WSoA ranges from 1 in 4 in London, to more than 4 out of 5 in the East of England. Inspection outcomes have not varied much in the last 3 years. Relatively similar proportions of local areas have been required to produce a WSoA each year, from just over half to under two thirds. Twenty-one local areas have received a re-visit. Inspectors determined that 9 local areas were making sufficient progress in addressing all the significant weaknesses identified during their initial inspection." 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
And here are the news articles that I found of interest: Call for masks to remain compulsory in England’s schools Popularity at school linked to age position in class – study Secondary school pupils no longer advised to wear masks in class, Williamson confirms Autism more common in children in England than previously thought – study Pupils should keep wearing masks into the summer, Sage told ministers Covid: Poor pupils fall further behind in maths Infection rates dropping in schools: What does the latest data show
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 4th May 2021 
You can't finish something until you start it...
We too often (and too easily) fantasise in our minds about how good something is going to be after we finish it, that we sometimes actually forget to start it in the first place! We then find when we eventually do, that it is by then too late to do everything that we wanted to, or in the way that we wanted to do it, so we then find ourselves with our backs up against the wall, trying to meet a deadline. Actually, I'm not against deadlines - in fact, I think that deadlines are good things. Setting yourself self-imposed deadlines is also important if you really want to get something done. I remember reading once a quote from somebody successful saying that they did not need more time, they needed a deadline! In fact, setting yourself a deadline is especially good where you tell another person (or other people) publicly about it. This is because you are then ultimately accountable to them and so will do whatever you can not to let them down. People say that it's very easy to let yourself down, but it's much harder to let another person down. To meet deadlines properly, you always need to start something as early as possible, workout properly what you have to do, create a timeline and then try and stick to it. You then constantly need to prioritise and re-prioritise, as things usually never go the way you planned. So always build in a little extra time for yourself to do things. Finally, you should always break big tasks down into lots of little ones and do them (successfully) one at a time. You will be amazed later to then look back and see how much you have achieved by doing things in this way, expending much less effort than you had at first thought the overall job would take. But like so many things - you will have to first try to do things in this way and be prepared to fail a few times but be willing to learn from your mistakes, before you will see that it actually works 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. 
YOU CAN END UP IN A DIFFERENT PLACE TO WHERE YOU STARTED
When I started writing this first section, I was intending to share with you an article I had seen on the Council for Disabled Children's website. However, whilst then trying to find the original source of the writing, I found myself reading a number of things on the Department for Education's 'blog' called: 'The Education Hub', with recently published articles entitled: We're making school uniforms more affordable - here's what you need to know Everything you need to know about summer schools What you need to know about Primary School National Offer Day So, I have first provided the above links to the articles, which you may find useful. 
BUT YOU CAN AWAYS GO BACK AGAIN
As I say, I was at first going to share with you an article I had seen on the Council for Disabled Children's website, entitled: 'Minister Ford Publishes Blog on Her Visit to Special Schools and the Impact of the Pandemic on Children and Families',. It reports on the writings from Vicky Ford MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, about her visits to Special Schools during the pandemic. But just because it didn't make it to the first section, I'm still including it here, so you can still read it for yourself if you want to. 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
There was actually quite a lot of news of interest this week. Here are the news articles that I found useful: Lockdowns hurt child speech and language skills - report Autistic teens face 'barbaric' treatment, parents tell MPs NSPCC child abuse helpline has record call numbers in pandemic Labour says catch-up scheme ‘failing’ as tuition reaches only 1% of pupils in England Ministers urged to ‘come clean’ over pupil funding changes in England Schools struggling to access tutoring programme for disadvantaged children
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 26th April 2021 
Don't draw attention to a mistake…
That's another thing I like to say to people regularly. It's so normal for people to want to tell someone something that they have done wrong when they do not actually need to. Or they may feel it necessary to highlight when they have not got something quite right, or at least to their liking, but which the other person would not have noticed otherwise. Heaven forbid, if you interpret this as me suggesting that you should not tell the truth. That couldn't be farther from the truth itself of what I am saying (and be careful, as this probably says more about you then me)! But a lot of information does not need to be shared a lot of the time. In fact, it can actually be distracting and irrelevant most of the time. This principle applies to so many things, from what happens in the playground to what happens in the boardroom! Let me give you a very basic (and you may feel a bit of a trivial) example. You are speaking with someone face-to-face (either in person or over videoconference) one afternoon, after having lunch where you spilt a little something on your top. Don't then start the conversation by apologising for the stain, as the other person will then notice it, even though they may not have noticed it before; and they will keep noticing it when you are speaking with them. It is as though they will be unconsciously and magnetically drawn to it, even though they may not have noticed it before, if you had not brought it to their attention, and will just then serve as a distraction to what you are saying. Of course, if you do notice a small stain on somebody's top, they also would become distracted by it if you bring their attention to it, as they may have not noticed it before, but will then become distracted by it if you point it out to them. And the paradox to this is that, if somebody is compromised by having something on their face, for example (let's stay with the lunch theme analogy and say it is a bit of sauce or topping), then you should probably quietly point it out to them (not in earshot of others, so as not to embarrass them), otherwise they will feel mortified later to discover it for themselves looking in the mirror and realise that lots of people may have seen it and, like you, did not tell them about it. A hard one, isn't it? I guess that it will always depend on the specific circumstances and your relationship to the other person, as if you do point it out with the best of intentions, they may then think that you are belittling them. So, my best advice is to just always try and put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself, if it was you in their place, what would you want another person to do? Not a perfect answer, I know, but something to think about!
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. 
THE BIG ASK
Do you remember at around the time last year, when the first Covid-19 'lockdown' was still within its first few weeks? I recall that you couldn't move then for being bombarded with so much information on the internet, from Government guidance/new legislation, to many news stories in the media (both bad and good), to many educational and other resources being made available for free. Well, here we are a year on and, although it is clear that things have yet got back to 'normal' (whatever that is) and we may actually never do, there does not seem to be as much on the web that I consider important or interesting enough to share with you in these (now weekly) SEN Updates. One thing that did catch my eye though this week is the launch of 'The Big Ask' survey by the new Children's Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza. If you go to the Children's Commissioner website, you are greeted by a welcome from her that reads: "Hi, my name is Rachel de Souza and I’m the Children’s Commissioner for England. My job is to speak up for children in England, stand up for their rights, and make sure that the people in power listen to what children need and want. It’s time to give something big back to young people like you after COVID — and we need your help to do it. This is the largest ever survey of children and young people in England. We’ll use what you tell us to show the government what you think, and what children need to live happier lives. This survey will only take you 5-10 minutes." The webpage then provides options for the following age groups:
There are also 'Easy read versions' of the survey available for the following age groups:
There is also a survey for 'Adults' (where the webpage says: "If you are aged 18+ and are a care leaver, parent, or you work with children please complete our adult survey to share your views.") Then, under a section entitled: 'Why you should take part', it says: "This is your chance to have your say on the things that matter to you. You can tell us what your life is like, what you want in the future, and anything you think is holding you back." Finally, there is a free 'Resources' section for teachers, youth groups and parents to help children complete the survey and a section on 'FAQs' as well. Important I think for as many children/young people to complete. 
SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN WITH SEND
This week there was also a Westminster Hall debate on support for children with SEND led by Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP. You can watch it here 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
And here are the news articles that I found of interest this week: Big Ask: Children in England asked their hopes for post-Covid future Children ‘left behind’ in Covid-19 vaccination programme – JCVI expert Blended learning: How to make your resources accessible
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 19th April 2021 
Just because you can do something, doesn't mean that you should do it...
People say that this is sometimes better referred to as knowing the difference between the theory and the practice, or knowing when it is better to think something only and not say it. This latter principle is a favourite of mine and you will often hear me telling people that, although they can think something when speaking to someone, they should not always say it out loud, as if it is the wrong thing to say, it is now out there and they can never take it back, no matter how hard they try. This is especially true these days, when what you say can be so quickly amplified by social media - it can really have devastating and life-changing consequences for someone in just a short while. Too often, we just want to demonstrate to the world how clever we are because we can do or say this or that. But as I also often say, there is a difference between being clever and being wise. The clever person will want other people to know how clever they are, but the wise person will keep silent or not do anything, as they know that speaking or doing a lot is often not very wise in the long run. So, when you find yourself about to say or do something, stop yourself for just a second and internally ask yourself if you are only saying or doing it because you can and are really just trying to show other people how clever you are and the wisest thing is actually not to say it or do it. If you then don't say it or do it, just because you can, you may have just saved yourself from a difficult situation afterwards! 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. 
NOTHING REALLY HAPPENS SOMETIMES
This is, for most people involved with schools/colleges (either directly or indirectly), the first day back after the break (yes, I know that many of you, like me, only really had the Bank Holiday weekend off!) Again (this is the third week), there has not been much to report on and the only thing that I think that is worth my bringing to your attention (aside from the new stories below) is the fact that the charity/organisation, IPSEA has dated its webpage entitled: 'IPSEA update on COVID-19 and SEN provision' that contains summaries of the current government advice. 
LATEST NEWS ONLINE
And here are the news articles that I found of interest this week: Covid: Colleges face losing tens of millions of pounds Government urged to scrap plans to assess youngest primary kids
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 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 
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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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.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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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.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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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?
Created with Quiz Maker
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.
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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?
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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.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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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.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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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.
How useful do you find my SEN Updates?
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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
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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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