What we do - Have your say! - Consultations

SEND, Inclusion and Alternative Provision Strategy - Parent Carer Focus Group Sessions

We are inviting parent carers of children and young people with SEND to join our online focus groups. The sessions will provide an opportunity to explore and discuss in more detail the emerging priorities within the SEND Inclusion and Alternative Provision Strategy (SENDIAP) for Wiltshire, as a result of engagement opportunities that have taken place so far.

The sessions are focused on the topics or themes that have come from parent carers. There will be key representatives from services and providers to listen and respond to your views and suggestions during each of the sessions.

The focus group sessions are all online, with some sessions held during the day and some at the end of the day. All sessions will also have a representative from Wiltshire Parent Carer Council team to support the process.

Please see below for more details on the sessions.



You are invited to join as many sessions that are of interest.

To request a place at one or more of these sessions, please click [HERE].

Help Improve Online Information about SEND Provision in Wiltshire

The WPCC is working with Wiltshire Council to help facilitate the first session of the Local Offer Reference Group. The Local Offer Reference Group is an opportunity to have conversations about the information on the Wiltshire Local Offer website. This first session will look at: -

• what people should expect to find on the Wiltshire Local Offer website,
• how easy it is to find information,
• hearing suggestions to help make improvements in a way that reflects your needs or those you support.

The session takes place on Thursday 22nd February 2024, from 10am to 12pm, at Wiltshire Council County Hall, Trowbridge.

The WPCC will reimburse parent carers’ travel expenses when attending this session. A guide will meet attendees in the atrium/reception area at 10am.

You can read more about the Local Offer Reference Group by visiting: https://localoffer.wiltshire.gov.uk/LORG

You can find more about what the Local Offer is if you wish to read up before attending, by visiting: https://localoffer.wiltshire.gov.uk/article/6206/What-is-Local-Offer-about or watching this short [VIDEO].

There are plans to produce a virtual/online version of the session, including access to the same questions and information for people to engage after the session should they wish, or if they cannot not attend.

All feedback gathered via these opportunities will be anonymous; views and suggestions will be published as part of the Annual Reporting, detailing the work to improve and develop the Local Offer resource.

To request a place to attend, please click [HERE]. PLEASE NOTE: Places are limited to 30 people and will be offered on a first come, first served basis, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Helping Families to Understand the Duty on Health Bodies Regarding Children Aged Under 5

The WPCC has been working in partnership with our neighbouring parent carer forums in B&NES and Swindon, as well as our local authorities and health representatives regarding legislation in the Children and Families Act 2014.

Section 23 of the Children and Families Act requires health bodies to identify and notify the Local Authority about children they think may need some additional arrangements or support. We want to try to demystify this legislation and explain briefly what it is and what it means to families of young children with SEND.

We have produced some simple slides that we hope gives a little information on the legislation and what it means to families. The slides then ask some questions to help us understand if a leaflet explaining the requirements would be helpful to families and if so, what information would be helpful.

To interact with the questions in the slides, you will need to respond on a device, e.g. smart phone, tablet, PC or laptop.

There are two options to participate: -

1. A set of slides and interactive questions to read and work through at your own pace: [HERE]

2. A short recorded presentation that talks through the slides and the information presented on them, still with interactive questions built in: [PRESENTATION]

Thank you for making time to help us with this piece of work. The slides and questions will be available for two weeks.

What do you think about Wiltshire’s Short Breaks Scheme?

In response to conversations the WPCC has been having with Wiltshire Council commissioners about the Short Breaks Scheme, we are running some sessions in June to give parent carers an opportunity to come and talk about the Scheme.

We know the Short Breaks Scheme works for some people, but also there are challenges for some families and we want to talk about this. For instance: -

• What’s good about the Scheme?
• Is the Payment Option working?
• Could changes be made to the Scheme to enable more children and young people to access it?
• Is there anything that could be done differently?

The sessions will take place on the following dates: -

• Friday 9th June - Calne Town Hall, The Strand, Calne SN11 0EN
• Thursday 15th June - Harnham Community Sports & Social Club, Parsonage Green, Salisbury SP2 8LA
• Friday 16th June - Marlborough Town Hall, High Street, Marlborough SN8 1AA

All sessions will run from 10am until 2pm, parent carers will be able to claim travel expenses, refreshments and a simple buffet lunch will be provided.

Further details are on the flyer – Short Breaks Scheme – June 2023. To book without looking at the flyer, click [BOOK].

Are you a Parent or Carer of an Early Years aged Child with Special Needs or a Disability?

The Wiltshire Parent Carer Council is inviting parent carers of early years children to join us for an informal chat over coffee and cake. We would love to meet you and hear about your current early years experiences.

What’s working well?
Are there any barriers?
What does transition from early years into school feel like for you?

We are working with Wiltshire Council and your feedback will help to inform some of the specialist services for early years children in Wiltshire.

The sessions will take place as follows: -

• Monday 19th June – Harnham Community Sports & Social Club, Parsonage Green, Salisbury SP2 8LA - 12.00pm to 2.00pm
• Friday 23rd June – Town Hall, The Strand, Calne SN11 0EN - 10.30am to 12.30pm
• Tuesday 27th June – Town Hall, High Street, Marlborough SN8 1AA - 10.30am to 12.30pm

Parent carers will be able to claim travel expenses, refreshments will be provided. Venue details are on the booking form.

Further details are on the flyer – Early Years Engagement Sessions – June 2023. To book without looking at the flyer, click [BOOK].



The Wiltshire Parent Carer Council is inviting parent carers of early years children to join us for an informal chat over coffee and cake. We would love to meet you and hear about your current early years experiences.

What’s working well?
Are there any barriers?
What does transition from early years into school feel like for you?

We are working with Wiltshire Council and your feedback will help to inform some of the specialist services for early years children in Wiltshire.

The sessions will take place as follows: -

• Monday 19th June – Harnham Community Sports & Social Club, Parsonage Green, Salisbury SP2 8LA - 12.00pm to 2.00pm
• Friday 23rd June – Town Hall, The Strand, Calne SN11 0EN - 10.30am to 12.30pm
• Tuesday 27th June – Town Hall, High Street, Marlborough SN8 1AA - 10.30am to 12.30pm

Parent carers will be able to claim travel expenses, refreshments will be provided. Venue details are on the booking form.

Further details are on the flyer – Early Years Engagement Sessions – June 2023. To book without looking at the flyer, click [BOOK].


Can’t make any of these sessions?
Join an online session on

Thursday 13th July, 10.00 am – 11.30 am to talk about your experiences of Portage

or

Thursday 13th July, 1.00 pm – 2.30 pm to talk about your experiences of Portage and/or District Specialist Centres.

If you would like to attend one of these online sessions, please email CandF.Commissioning@wiltshire.gov.uk with your name and the session/s you would like to join, and you will be sent the appropriate joining link.

Have Your Say! New Moving On Service

Following an analysis of the current services and feedback received from parents and carers, it’s clear that the current transition process into adult services is not working.

In order to try to address this, a new service called the Moving On Service will be established to work with people aged 18-25 who are eligible for support from Wiltshire Council social care.

As part of the development, Wiltshire Council is undertaking to engage with parent carers to explore and discuss the proposal in partnership with Wiltshire Parent Carer Council and Carer Support Wiltshire.

Three daytime face-to-face sessions and an evening virtual/online session will be held.

There will also be an online consultation page hosted by Wiltshire Council.

The dates of the sessions are: -

Tuesday 9th May 2023
11:00am to 1:00pm
Harnham Community Sports & Social Club, Salsibury SP2 8LA

Friday 12th May 2023
11:00am to 1:00pm
Devizes Town Hall (Cheese Hall), SN10 1BN

Monday 15th May 2023
11:00am to 1:00pm
Monkton Park, County Hall, Monkton Hill, Chippenham SN15 1ER

Monday 15th May 2023
6:00pm to 8:00pm
Online Session – link will be sent to everyone who books this session


BOOK NOW
To book a place to attend one of these sessions, please click [BOOK]


You can read more information about this new service [HERE]

Would you like to be part of an EHCP Annual Review Working Group?

Wiltshire Council SEND Assessment Team would like to set up a working group to work in co-production with Wiltshire Parent Carer Council on new forms and information regarding the EHCP Annual Review process.

The focus of this small working group of parent carers will be to consider how parent/carers are asked for their views as a contribution to the Annual Review and the information about the process on the Wiltshire SEND Local Offer webpages.

The group will meet three times online and we are planning these sessions for:
Wed 3rd May, Wed 7th June, and Wed 5th July 2023.

You would need to be available on these dates between 10.30am-12pm.

WPCC would like you to register your interest by clicking on the following [link] if you would like to be a part of this group.

We will be asking what type of education setting and year group your child/young person with SEN is in to help us get parent carers whose children/ young people are a range of different ages and in different types of settings.

The link above will close when we have received enough interest. We will be in touch towards the end of March to let you know more.

Important Opportunity to Have Your Say on Services and Support for People with Additional Needs in Wiltshire

The WPCC is organising a series of sessions to enable parent carers to have a say about services and providers in Wiltshire who support people with additional needs in Wiltshire.

There will be three sessions providing a mix of face to face and online evening sessions, which we will hope will enable as many people as possible to participate.

The sessions will be taking place as follows: -

6th February 2023 from 10.30am to 12.30pm in Devizes
7th February 2023 from 7.00pm to 9.00pm online
9th February 2023 from 7.00pm to 9.00pm online

For more information about these sessions including: -
how to book a place,
why we are running these sessions,
what to expect from the sessions,

please see our short virtual booklet: [Good Lives Alliance Engagement Sessions].

The Good Lives Alliance is predominantly for people aged 18 years and over, although on occasion, it may be appropriate for some young adults age 16 and over.

Parent Carer Sessions to Review the Autism Assessment Process for Children and Young People

In partnership with HCRG Care Group, the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) is facilitating opportunities for parent carers to join us for a discussion to share ideas and comments about the autism assessment process for children and young people. Through these sessions, we will be asking: -

• what works
• what could be even better during the assessment process

These sessions are open to parent carers only, whose children are currently on the diagnostic pathway, waiting for an assessment, or have recently received a diagnosis.

All sessions will run from 10am to 12.30pm and take place on the following dates: -

• Devizes – 16th January 2023
• Amesbury – 26th January 2023
• Calne – 27th January

Refreshments will be provided and Wiltshire parent carers will be able to claim travel expenses and any childcare costs to enable them to attend.

Booking is essential, to attend one of these sessions, please click [HERE] to book your place. Please see flyer (Autism Initiatives Sessions – January 2023) for more information.

Important Opportunity to Have a Say on the SEND System and Alternative Provision in England

The government has started a 13-week consultation process on the proposals within the [SEND Green Paper], which closes on 22nd July 2022.

The SEND Green paper is a document that suggests changes to the SEND system and Alternative Provision in England. The government hopes these changes will improve things for children, young people and their families.

The SEND Green Paper is 106 pages long. In an effort to make it a bit easier to take in, the WPCC is organising three face-to-face sessions. We hope that in these sessions, we will be able to present the key parts of the Green Paper and then facilitate a discussion to enable parent carers to contribute their views in a way that we hope will be a little easier than the Government’s formal consultation survey.

The SEND green paper is important because it gives you a chance to tell the Government what you think about the changes they want to make.

This might be our only opportunity for many years to come to have a say and help influence future national SEND provision.

Having previously asked you to hold dates in anticipation of these events, we are now in a position to confirm details of the sessions, having secured venues and organised catering.


The three sessions will take place on: -
• 17th June in Calne (booking closes 13th June)
• 20th June in Amesbury (booking closes 16th June)
• 1st July in Devizes (booking closes 26th June)

All sessions will run from 10am to 2pm.

Further details and how to book are in the flyer SEND Review Discussion Sessions – June 2022 or simply click [HERE] to see a virtual copy of the flyer.

We sincerely hope you can join us and add your voice to this important national consultation.

The WPCC Team



[Click here to take you straight to the booking link]

Have you Experienced Challenges When Trying to Book Barnardo’s Activity Club Sessions?

Having received feedback from some parent carers about some challenges they have experienced when booking sessions for children who are eligible to attend Barnardo’s Short Breaks Activity Clubs, the WPCC in partnership with Barnardo’s, is offering parent carers the opportunity to join a virtual session to discuss and explore possible solutions in an effort to make it easier to book activity club hours.

The session will also enable parent carers an opportunity to discuss the possibility of cashless payments for attending activity clubs.

This session is only applicable to parent carers who have chosen the Activity Club or COMBO option in this year’s Short Breaks Scheme.

The session takes place online on Monday 13th June at 11.00am.

For more details, please see the attachment Barnardo’s Activity Clubs – Booking Process – Coproduction Session

A new EHCP template for Wiltshire – can you help?

Wiltshire SEND Services and the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council are working in partnership to review and redesign a new Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) template, to replace the current ‘My Plan’.

Although we know there is a proposal for a national EHCP template as part of the recent SEND Review green paper, it may be some way off before this is ready. Therefore, in response to your feedback, we have decided to work together to update our own version now.

We are holding an EHCP Workshop at County Hall in Trowbridge on Tuesday 10th May from 10 am until 12.30 pm. Along with parent carers, there will be representation from a range of schools and settings, plus services from education, health, and social care, so that we can do this in complete co-production.

The workshop will be very hands-on, with activities to do together around tables, to guide us in creating a new template that is user friendly and in response to your ideas and comments.

If you are a parent carer who would like to take part in this workshop, please [click here] to register your interest (there are a set number of spaces so please register as soon as possible). Parent carers will be able to claim back their travel/ parking expenses for attending this event.

Can you Help us Update the ‘My Support Plan’ Template Used in Schools and Settings?

The Wiltshire Council SEND Team is currently reviewing and redesigning the ‘My Support Plan’ template that is used in most schools and settings in Wiltshire, to plan the extra support and provision for a child or young person at the ‘SEND Support’ stage in school.

It is a plan that should be shared and updated with the parent or carer on a regular basis as part of the review process if the child is at ‘SEND Support’.

The ‘My Support Plan’ is not the same as an EHCP (Education Health and Care Plan) but can form part of the evidence that a school submits as part of a request for an EHC statutory assessment for an EHCP.

We are looking for a small group of parent carers who already have experience of the ‘My Support Plan’, to help review the template and have their say on how the new design can be more readable and user friendly. This will mean joining a group online for one meeting on Tuesday 5th April at 10am to 11.30 am. We will look at the current plan template and capture your ideas for improvement.

If you are interested in being part of this group, please click [HERE]. If you have any questions about the session, please email participation@wiltspcc.co.uk.

Wiltshire Parent Carer Council - Whole Life Pathway Project

This is an opportunity for parent carers of children/ young people with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND) to join us in a project to help inform the development of day opportunities for young people with SEND and to improve transition arrangements. We also welcome parent carers who have young people older than 25 to take part in this piece of work.

The project will be looking for your ideas and opinions on how to develop a single social care pathway for children, young people and adults with disabilities. We aim to find out what works well for young person, what their aspirations are and how a pathway can be developed to help and support them into adult life.

For further information please [click here] or scan the QR code in the following poster. Participants can also enter the prize draw for a chance to win £100.

Remaining session dates
There is a mix of virtual and face-to-face sessions available. The dates are as follows:-

Face-to-face sessions
- Monday 24th January - Marlborough Town Hall, Marlborough
- Friday 28th January - SP2 Community Centre, Salisbury
- Monday 31st January - Malmesbury Town Hall, Malmesbury
- Friday 4th February - Trowbridge Town Hall, Trowbridge

Virtual (online) sessions
- Wednesday 19th January, 7.00pm – 8.30pm.
- Friday 21st January, 10.00am – 12.00pm.
- Tuesday 25th January, 7.00pm – 8.30pm.
- Tuesday 1st February, 7.00pm – 8.30pm.

To book straight on to a session [click here] or scan the QR Code on the poster to find our more information on how to participate and how you could win £100 in the prize draw.

If you're unable to make one of our sessions, please feel free to give us your views by emailing: wholelife@wpcc.co.uk

What would you like from Children’s Community Healthcare Services when the service is recommissioned?

In partnership with colleagues from the B&NES, Swindon and Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BSW CCG), the WPCC is going to be running a series of engagement events for parent carers in October 2021 (see dates and venue details below).

Why are we running these sessions?
The contract with the provider for the current Children’s Community Healthcare Services (Virgin Care) comes to an end in March 2023 and so the CCG is preparing to go out to tender for this service. We want to make sure the views of parent carers help to develop the specifications for the new contract.

What is going out to tender?
Going out to tender is essentially the bidding process where potential providers explain how they would deliver a service which is described by a service specification. It is a competitive process that is open to as many interested providers as possible. The successful bidder is awarded a contract to deliver the service for a set number of years.

What can I expect from the engagement sessions?
For those of you who had children receiving community healthcare services before 2016, you will be aware that children and young people in Wiltshire were accessing community healthcare from multiple different providers; part of the engagement sessions will enable you to share your experiences of moving to one children’s community healthcare service across Wiltshire. We will share with you the priorities that Wiltshire parent carers helped to develop in 2016 and we would like to invite you to help us review them and see if they are still relevant today, so that you can help to shape what services will look like in the future.

The sessions will each run from 10.00am to 2.00pm to allow us enough time for discussion and will be repeated on three dates at different locations in the county. Refreshments and lunch will be provided. Parent carers will be able to claim travel, parking and childcare costs incurred by attending one of these sessions from the WPCC.

Dates & locations: -
• Thursday 7th October 2021: Evergreen Cafe, Archers Way, Amesbury, Salisbury SP4 7YT, 10:00am to 2.00pm
• Thursday 14th October 2021: Springfield Community Campus, Beechfield Road, Corsham, SN13 9DN, 10:00am to 2.00pm
• Friday 15th October 2021: Nursteed Community Centre, Nursteed Road, Wiltshire, SN10 3AF, 10:00am to 2.00pm

[CLICK TO BOOK YOUR PLACE NOW]

Don’t Miss Out - Review of Wiltshire Community Integrated Therapy Services for Children

In 2016, Wiltshire launched its Community Integrated Therapies Services, which is provided by Virgin Care Services.

The Wiltshire Community Integrated Therapies Service is made up of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy professionals. Children referred into the service may access support from both professions, or just one, depending on their needs. The decision to integrate Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy teams was made because it was recognised that the work they do is closely related and the development of joint care plans, where both professions are involved, would mean that children and young people could be supported in meeting their therapy goals in a joined-up way.

Our Clinical Commissioning Group (BSW CCG) wants you to help them to understand how this new approach is working. In partnership with the WPCC, the CCG is running an online engagement session on Friday 24th September from 11.00am to 1.00pm. To book your place, please email: bswccg.wiltshirechildrenservices@nhs.net.

The BSW CCG plans to use the feedback of parents, carers and professionals across Wiltshire to inform future developments of the service. To find out more about what the BSW CCG does, click [CCG].

New EHCP Decision Making Processes in Wiltshire & Webinar

The SEND Service is reviewing the processes in place in Wiltshire to request an EHC Statutory Needs Assessment. They are also reviewing and redesigning the processes in place for making decisions about EHCPs.

The SEND Service is keen to development of these new processes in partnership with everyone who uses the service, this is to make sure that the systems in place are efficient, fair, compliant, transparent and user-friendly.

As part of this work, new digital forms and paperwork for requesting an EHC needs assessment will be designed and shared. The SEND Service is also reviewing the decision-making groups and panels that are in place regarding EHCPs. The information and guidance online about these processes will also be updated.

The aim is to have all the new processes in place and all digital information available, for the start of the Autumn Term 2021.

The SEND Service is working with the Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) to ensure that the views of families are listened to, responded to and inform these developments.

WEBINAR ALERT - SAVE THE DATE!
The WPCC will be hosting an interactive Webinar with project Leaders to share the plans and to listen to your ideas and comments. This will be held on Thursday 29 April 2021. Times are likely to be from 10.30am until 12.30pm. Please hold the date; more information on how to book your place will be available soon.

This consultation has now closed. Please see our update on the EHCP request process on our [Results page]

Developing Local Community Information to Help Communities

FACT is a programme that stands for Families and Children’s Transformation programme. There are several different work streams within the FACT programme; one of these is working with the Calne community to develop an information platform to make it easier for people to find information about everything that is available in their community. Some work has already taken place with people living in Calne to begin informing this work, and the WPCC is working to support the development of this project.

The work taking place in Calne is to support a pilot project to develop community based information to support everyone living in the community. The hope is that learning from the pilot project will help to develop similar community based information across the county.

Can you help inform this pilot project? You are the experts in what your community has and what your community needs. You can help to understand how communities can be brought even closer and help design something that works for your community.

To begin this pilot project, people living in Wiltshire were consulted about accessing local community information. Initial feedback indicated that there is a need for central, easily accessible by all (professionals and community members), and a list of resources available in the community that is kept up to date. This list would include anything from local groups you may want to attend, through to all types of activities and support that is available in our communities for those of us that may need it. We’d love YOU to help design it.

Anyone can help this project, no matter where you live in Wiltshire. Please help move this pilot project forward by participating in a short survey: [SURVEY]

The survey closes at 5pm on Sunday 8th March 2020.

Transitions to Adulthood Webinar – Recording Now Available

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Transitions to Adulthood webinar on 15th January; it was a very constructive session, and we grateful appreciate all the insightful comments we received on the draft Multi Agency Preparing for Adulthood and Transition policy and procedure.

The draft policy and procedure is out for consultation, and comments are welcomed until 24th January 2020. To help parent carers access and understand the draft policy, the WPCC is ran a webinar on Wednesday 15th January 2020. This webinar aimed to describe and explain the contents of the policy and invite feedback that will inform the final version.

If you were unable to join us, a recording of the webinar is now available and can be found [HERE] on the WPCC website. You can also click [WEBINAR] to go straight to the recording. We invite as many parent carers as possible to watch and listen to the webinar and comment on the draft policy. Information about how to comment on the policy is included in the webinar.

If you would like to look at the full Draft Multi Agency Preparing for Adulthood and Transition policy and procedure, you can find it here: POLICY

Comments on the policy can be submitted by downloading and completing and a FEEDBACK FORM and sending by email to FACT@wiltshire.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can simply email any comments to FACT@wiltshire.gov.uk if you prefer.