Latest news and updates about special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Bromley.
National Supported Internship Day - 27 March
Supported internships are a work-based study programme for 16 to 24 years old who have SEND and an Education, Health and Care Plan. Supported Internships can help kickstart a young person’s career or put them on the path to employment.
Working in partnership with the NDTI, DFN Project SEARCH are launching their National Supported Internship Day (NSID) on 27 March 2023 to raise awareness of the impact of supported internships can have on the lives of young people.
If you are a young person, parent/carer or employer and interested in becoming more involved and support this important initiative visit the dfn project website.
Increasing supported internships in Bromley
We are excited to announce the start of the new national Internships Work project from the Department of Education in partnership with the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTI).
Funded by the Department for Education the project aims to double the current supported internship provision in England supporting more young people with additional needs to have greater choice and control over their future, opening up opportunities that prepare them for adult life and independent living.
Internships Work aims to enable 4500 young adults, aged 16-25 with additional needs across the whole of England to benefit from a supported internship per year by 2025.
The project includes
Support to local authorities
Helping Bromley council to establish and develop SEND employment forums as well as administrating and monitoring section 14 grants to support this programme.
Engaging and supporting employers
DFN Project SEARCH will lead on engaging employers and support them to offer high quality work placements by providing information, advice and training that enable growth in internships and job opportunities.
Establishing a Quality Framework (SIQF)
BASE will lead on establishing a sustainable process to improve the quality of supportediInternship provision, using a nationally recognised quality assurance framework.
Investment in training
BASE will also lead on delivering job coach and systematic instruction training to over 700 job coaches.
Further information
The project is currently in its early stages of development, but as we progress we’ll add more information to the Bromley Local Offer.
New parent carer forum - want to get involved?
Would you like to be a part of the new parent carer forum? Would you like to find out more?
You are invited to join a meeting on 28 March at 7pm via Zoom. This meeting is being hosted by the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF) London Region and will be an initial meeting for parent/carers to discuss the setting up of a new parent carer forum for Bromley.
If you would like to attend the Zoom meeting please register your interest at SENDMatters@bromley.gov.uk.
Transformational reform begins for children and young people with SEND
The SEND and alternative provision improvement plan published on Thursday 2 March confirms investment in training for thousands of workers so children can get the help they need earlier, alongside thousands of additional specialist school places for those with the greatest needs - as 33 new special free schools are approved to be built as at the time of publishing.
Read more about the plans ahead for children and young people with SEND.
Funding agreed for two additional Changing Place facilities
Bromley has recently received confirmation that our applied for funding for two additional Changing Places toilets has been successful – this is great news for the borough. This means that we will be able to deliver six new Changing Places during 2024.
Within the borough, we have one registered Changing Places toilet for the public in the Glades Shopping Centre and one in Bromley’s Vue Cinema.
Following engagement with Changing Places users and their families, the intended locations will be spread across the borough and at different venue types, opening a variety of opportunities for Changing Places users of all ages.
Families told us that these toilets will:
- Mean that they will be able to go to the toilet or have continence needs met in privacy and in a dignified way.
- Allow them to take part in leisure activities to support their health and wellbeing.
- Allow them to enjoy social activities of my choosing in the local community in places they would like to visit.
- Enable them to participate in employed or voluntary work for them to maintain and develop their independence.
Suggested location of these facilities included:
- High streets, shopping centres and supermarkets
- Parks and open spaces
- Leisure facilities
For further information or to find a Changing Place please visit https://www.changing-places.org/.
Autism assessment pathway
SEL Integrated Commissioning Board (which replaced the Bromley Clinical Commissioning Group July 2022) are seeking parent and young people’s views on how they can improve the experience of the autism assessment pathway.
Please select the appropriate link to access the survey.
Survey for children and young people
Education, health and care plan (EHCP) eligibility guidance for schools
Following recent discussions and meetings with school colleagues, partners, and parent/carers, the council has published a document outlining our education, health and care plan (EHCP) eligibility guidance for schools.
The London Borough of Bromley works closely with educational settings and other partners to ensure that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities can access the right support at the earliest possible opportunity. Please speak to your school SENCO if you would like further information on SEN support and the graduated approach.
Leisure activities
Find out more about leisure activities clubs and schemes.
Bromley Brighter Beginnings
Bromley Brighter Beginnings, run entirely by volunteer mums, helps families in poverty who cannot afford basic items, such as nappies, baby formula and school clothing. They have a comprehensive local support directory providing lots of information about services within the local area.
To read about some of the great work that they carried out in 2022, please have a look at the Bromley Brighter Beginnings newsletter.
Send Matters newsletter
Our January/February 2023 SEND Matters Newsletter provides parents, carers, young people and professionals with information and updates that inform you of the latest news, developments and services for children, teenagers and young adults (aged from birth to 25 years old) who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Bromley.
In this edition you’ll learn more about how your feedback and views have shaped the development of new services, new project initiatives and new partnerships alongside upcoming events.
View previous editions of SENDMatters newsletters
The Bromley All Age Autism Strategy
We are pleased to share our first Autism Matters newsletter for 2022 which replaces our Bromley All-Age Autism newsletter. Find out more about our Autism Strategy in Bromley
Latest webinars from Bromley Y
Bromley Y have launched a series of new webinar interventions around school avoidance and academic stress for children and young people and parents/carers of Bromley residents and Bromley school or college pupils.
- School avoidance: initial steps to support your child's attendance
- Academic stress: webinar for Y10 -Y13 students
- Wellbeing webinars for young people: series of free, one-off sessions for students of secondary school age to understand more about their mental health and how they can help themselves feel better.
Visit the full calendar of Bromley Y events for more information about calendar
Disability Living Allowance for children
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) have produced two playlists of information videos that explain Disability Living Allowance, the process for applying for it, what happens after you have claimed and what happens when a child turns 16. DWP Disability Living Allowance information videos
These are also available in British Sign Language. DWP Disability Living Allowance videos in British Sign Language.
National Disability Strategy
The government's National Disability Strategy, outlines its plans to make our country better for the 14 million disabled children and adults in the UK.
This ambitious strategy sets out 100 immediate commitments supported by £1.6bn of funding alongside an ambitious agenda for future reform.
Watch the National Disability Strategy overview video
National autism strategy for England
The government has published its autism strategy, which sets out how it plans to support autistic adults and children in England over the next five years.
Read the national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults 2021 to 2026
The national strategy for autistic children, young people and adults 2021 to 2026 (easy