Meet the SEND Team

27 March 2024

Q: What happens if my child’s needs are progressively getting worse and rapidly to the point it has impacted their health, wellbeing, and the child's ability to they can’t attend school?  What can I do as a parent after observations within class have shown no concerns due to masking?  That they’re showing inconsistencies day to day?

A: This is becoming more frequent and requires us as professionals working together with you as family.

Start with the school and ask if they have experience of emotional based school avoidance or school refusal, they can ask their SEND advisory link teacher for help.  If appropriate, school may consider referring your child to Early Help who are fabulous.  In your community you can approach the Family Hubs whose offer has changed to support young people up to the age of 25. You may also want to contact the Parent Carer Forum and link up with other parents who have or are experiencing similar concerns to you.  There is help and support out there, don't forget to check the Local Offer as we regularly update with new information.

Q: What happens if I send my child to a mainstream school, and they can't support their needs and there is no room in a specialist school what happens then?

A: The law is very clear that every child is entitled to go to their mainstream school and that schools need to be making reasonable adjustments to meet a child’s individual needs.

What is also clear is that some children require more support than a mainstream school can offer. What we must do is make clear evidence-based decisions.   When we consult with schools, we try hard to develop provisions that are local to meet need.

If that is not possible and the child needs highly complex support, then we may look at other provisions further away

Whenever possible we want children to be supported in their local schools this is part of our SEND Strategy, and we are doing some amazing work to make sure that will happen. We have an expansion at Highfurlong and we’re working with our special schools to develop inclusive provision in mainstream schools. 

Q: CAMHS have said that they will not work with our child with school-based anxiety so where would you direct a parent to go to support the child with feeling related to school?

A: CAMHS does not sit under the local authority, it is a health service so I cannot comment on what they are commissioned to do or what they have said.  I think this question needs a more specific response so please email send@blackpool.gov.uk for the attention of Charlotte Baron. In the short term you can access the Options for Young People team via the Local Offer.

Q: My child’s school has funding to support him, and I am not seeing that funding being used to support my son. I feel it is being used to support other children. It is causing great distress and causing him to have daily meltdowns after school, I have tried to speak to the school regarding the issue and have gotten nowhere. 

A: The school will have a complaints policy and their SEND policy on their website. In the first instance speak to the class teacher or SENCO if that isn’t successful you can speak to SENDIASS. After that it would be a case of escalating through the complaints process.

If you would like to discuss a specific complaint, please email send@blackpool.gov.uk for the attention of Charlotte Baron and we will bring it to the attention of the school.

Q: How do you know where a child is on the graduated approach? Mine has had several terms/years of APDR but we've only ever had a single meeting with their teacher back in 2019 where we initially talked about our, and school concerns. We also find his APDR just has educational targets, nothing to address his sensory or social needs.

A: For each year group, schools must provide at least 1 opportunity per year for parents or carers to discuss their child's progress with a teacher.  This is set out in Regulation 6 of The Education (Pupil Information) (England) Regulations 2005.

The majority of schools have three fixed points of contact for all children in a school year, this is usually two parent’s evening opportunities and an end of year report. If you check the school’s SEND policy, there will be a procedure for getting in touch with the SENCo or discussing your concerns with the class teacher. If you don’t get the information you need, that is how you can use SENDIASS for independent advice and guidance.

Q: What route would I go down I’ve been trying to get a meeting with the school SENCO for weeks no luck.

A: If you check the school’s SEND policy, there will be a procedure for getting in touch with the SENCo or discussing your concerns with the class teacher.  If you follow the procedure, you should be able to ask the SEND Governor for your school for support. If you don’t get the information you need, please consider contacting SENDIASS for independent advice and guidance.