Engagement
See the key activity since January 2024 information. Also:
Community engagement
The SEND Local Offer team attend and hold community events to:
- gain feedback about the experiences of SEND families so this can be fed back to management
- raise awareness of the SEND Local Offer
- answer questions and provide advice and guidance about SEND services and processes
- advise on how people can keep up to date with news and developments via the e-newsletter and our social media channels
A key element of our community engagement activities are our monthly SEND Surgeries. We also deliver regular Your Local Offer, Your Way sessions and attend SEND parent carer sessions at schools.
Children and young people engagement
The Local Offer team have supported the work of the SEND Youth Participation worker through promotion of Southend SEND Youth Voice meetings. This included introducing her to contacts in the local area.
8 schools/colleges were visited in 2024 and sessions conducted with young people about what information they wanted on the SEND Local Offer. We also gathered further feedback for the young person's annual review guide.
Events attended/delivered by the SEND Local Offer Team in 2024
A total of 72 engagement events were attended or delivered (excluding SEND surgeries and Your Local Offer Your Way sessions).
- SSIF coffee mornings – 11
- SEND parent carer sessions/open events at schools – 11
- Other parent carer sessions - 9
- Play and development sessions – 2
- Conferences/community events including SSIF seminars – 9
- Other engagement sessions – 17
- Networking events – 8
- SENCo sessions – 5
The Southend SEND Network
The Southend SEND Network was launched in October 2023. It is a collaboration between SSIF and the SEND Local Offer Team on behalf of the Southend SEND Area Partnership. The primary purpose of the network is to reach and engage more families, so that the local community is better informed, opportunities for co-production are strengthened, and the voice of local families, groups and stakeholders are captured, fed back, and heard across the Partnership. Local organisations, groups and charities that support children and young people with SEND and/or their families in Southend-on-Sea can become members, as can Individual parent carers.
At the end of 2024, 42 organisations and 12 parent carers were members of the network. 41 organisations have nominated a SEND Champion to act as their key link person. 2 network meetings were held in 2024.