ESPCF Newsletters

Part two of our winter edition is available now. Lots of news and information to share, including:

• Our report on the difficulties faced by families with SEND children or young people when they are trying to access mental health and social care support via the Single Point of Advice (SPoA) service.
• News about East Sussex’s involvement in trialling the potential reforms set out in the government’s National SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan.
• The first in our series of ‘key theme questions’ in preparation for the Ofsted inspection – this one is asking about CAMHS communication.
• News on workstreams including: access to early years settings for SEND children; emotionally-based school avoidance; annual health checks for young people with learning disabilities; request for parent carer input on which SEND people and groups should we be speaking to ahead of the Ofsted inspection.
• A summary of our recent meeting with directors from East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust after hearing from parent carers about their concerns around changes being made at the short stay paediatric unit at Eastbourne District General Hospital.

Please do have a read and share with East Sussex SEND families.

Our winter 2023 newsletter is well worth a read. Highlights include:

• News about an updated PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) position statement
• Your feedback on the neurodevelopmental pathway, including the main themes to emerge and our recommendations for change
• Progress of the CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) parent carer group
• Final chance to complete our annual survey
• How to submit your views to the government’s review of elected home education guidance
• Annual health checks – do you know about them?

And more! Delve in.

Our summer newsletter is out now and it’s the easiest way to keep in touch with what we’re doing. This edition is packed with news and updates including:

• home to school transport
• school workstreams on transition from primary to secondary, and a parent carer school charter
• all the feedback from our recent events (early years, post-16, neurodevelopmental pathway, specialist facilities in mainstream schools)
• the impact of the parent carer voice
• developing a new ESPCF website and how you can help
• the results of our poll asking if we are doing a good job
• improving the SEND patient experience at MRI appointments

Don’t forget that our temperature check is still live. Tell us how things are going in terms of education, health, and social care for your child or young person – the link is in the newsletter.

There’s also news about sensory theatre in Sussex, helping future doctors learn about autism, how to get involved in Family Hubs which are replacing Children’s Centres, and new webinars from CAMHS to help support your child with their mental health.