Two engagement sessions for Parents to help shape the future for young people with SEND.

Face to Face - Tuesday 4th February from 1pm - 2.30pm - Civic Centre, Jubilee Room

Online - Wednesday 5th February 7pm - 8pm

For more information - www.livewellsouthend.com/pfa

Ipeco are holding an Open Evening at 4:30pm on Thursday 20th February 2025. Please contact trainingcentre@ipeco.com for more information or to book your place.

To find out more or book your space please contact Amanda Restell directly on: admin@amandarestellacademy.com or 01702 712000

Between 2nd December 2024 to 31st January 2025 the Home to School Travel Assistance Consultation will take place and they are looking for Parents, Carers, Young People and professionals views - to get involved email: consultations@southend.gov.uk

Find Your Voice (FYV) Youth Clubs

Summer's over, and our youth clubs are back in action! Join us for fun, friends, and exciting activities.

On Wednesdays, we have the Southend Town Centre Youth Club at
📍 Location: The Bridge Hub, 6 Warrior Square, Southend-on-Sea, SS1 2JE

The session for
👉 10-13-year-olds runs from 3:30 PM to 5 PM, followed by the
👉 13-17-year-olds from 5:30 PM to 7 PM.

On Thursdays, head over to Leigh on Sea Youth Club at
📍 Location: Leigh Community Centre, 71-73 Elm Rd, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 1SP

👉 6 PM to 8 PM for 11-17-year-olds.

Don't miss out!

If you would like more information about fun activities like this, please sign up for our youth platform at www.fyv-southend.org.uk

What is this for?

We are the team at the Department for Education who are responsible for working on Elective Home Education policy for England. The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will include legislation regarding the introduction of local authority Children Not In School registers, including home educated children. The Bill will also create a new duty for all local authorities to provide support to home educating families who request it. We want to hear from home educating families, as part of our policy development processes, to ensure that we take into account all views.

We are setting up a Children Not In School Implementation Forum and looking for home educating parents to take part in a productive discussion about our implementation considerations. Meetings will be run by policy officials.

Timings and attendance

We hope to arrange 3 to 4 meetings, lasting 1 hour - 1.5 hours each. All meetings will be held virtually. The first meeting will be held in early December (tbc) and future meetings will be spread across the remaining 2 years (approximately) of the implementation process.

Why are we collecting data?

The form below asks for some personal information from you. This is to help us ensure that the broadest range of home educating families is represented on the implementation forum, including families with varying lengths of experience of home education, reasons for home education, children of different age groups, and geographical locations etc. The questions asked in this form are to inform us about the balance of home educating experience across the group selected.

If you are interested in participating but are not selected for the implementation forum, we may be able to offer other opportunities for you to share your views.

If you are a home educating parent or guardian and wish to participate, please register your interest.

Applications must be received by Wednesday 27 November.

Please submit your completed form via email to: elective.homeeducation@education.gov.uk

Please include “CNIS Implementation Forum application” in the subject line of your email to help us ensure that email applications are correctly identified.

Every year, during November (18th -24th), we celebrate World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness (WAAW) week, which is a global campaign to raise awareness and understanding of AMR. Link: World AMR Awareness Week 2024 World Health Organization (WHO)

What is Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)? Antimicrobial resistance occurs when microbes, such as bacteria, fungi or viruses, change in a way that makes the medicines used to treat them ineffective. This means that medication such as antibiotics may not work as well, and infections may be much more difficult to treat. By using antimicrobial medicines appropriately and reducing the chance of infections though vaccination and good hygiene practices we can reduce the spread of drug resistant antimicrobials. In building the resilience of future generations, you can make a positive impact by communicating AMR messages to children and young people.

Southend City council Public Health Team would like the EHE community to get involved with a challenge to design a poster for WAAW.

Take part in our poster design challenge Ask children to develop an eye-catching A4 poster to show others how and why they should protect antibiotics. Areas to focus on could include: • Microbes • Hand Washing • Respiratory Hygiene • Spread of infection • Not using antibiotics for viral infections • Going to the pharmacy before a GP for colds, coughs and sore throats • Getting vaccinated to prevent getting ill

Please scan and email posters to WAAW@southend.gov.uk Or alternatively please post artwork to WAAW Public Health, Southend-on-Sea City Council, Floor 6, Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, SS2 6ER by Friday December 13th 2024 This is not a competition so posters will appear in a virtual gallery on www.livewellsouthend.com or in print in local community spaces

Home Educators can also find FREE educational resources for eBugs - Home

The Blokhouse Studio invite you to their annual Festive Market at the Blokhouse Studio, Unit 18-20, Grainger Rd Ind Estate, SS2 5DD on Saturday 30th November 12-6pm

Southend SEND Independent Forum invite parent carers of children and young people with SEND who are at their start of the SEND journey and who are looking for answers and support to our upcoming seminar.

We will aim to answer questions such as:

• Who are the key people involved in early identification of SEND?
• Who can I expect to talk to?
• What is a SENCo?
• What is the SEN Register? What is SEN Support?
• What should my child’s class teacher be doing?
• What is the role of the GP, and do they need to be involved?

We have a panel of professionals from the Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) Team, Health and Education Services who will talk about SEND identification and support in schools; when an education health and care needs assessment (EHCNA) is needed; and bust some common myths.

There will also be an opportunity for people to participate in a co-production session to develop a useful route map/flow chart of the Early Identification process.

Book now: Early Identification of SEND and the support available Tickets, Mon 9 Dec 2024 at 09:15 | Eventbrite

A Journey from Home Education to Now - TT

The journey from being home educated, transitioning into a structured learning environment in college, to finally starting a degree at university whilst entering the workforce, is both unique and transformative. While many people follow the traditional educational pathway, I opted for a very different educational route, which was both challenging and gratifying.

Home education provided me a flexible learning environment where I was able to focus on exploring my interests and it allowed me to learn in a way that felt natural and engaging, compared to the rigid timetables and standardized curricula the traditional school route provided. This cultivated independence from a young age, from researching topics independently, solving problems without the external guidance, and it gave me the freedom and relaxed environment I felt was needed to flourish. The transition from home education to a more structured setting happened through a special program tailored for home educated students in their pathway into college, at South Essex College. This course was called ‘Pathways to College’. This made the transition into mainstream learning less daunting as I was around other students who had a similar learning environment to myself, and it gave me the tools I needed to collaborate in group projects, manage deadlines, and engage in classroom discussions with peers. It gave me a taste of what was to come in my following years heading into college and showed me I could adapt to a more structured environment without losing the self-directed mindset I had developed at home.

After completing the Pathways to College course, I transitioned fully into a formal college setting. This was my first time since being home educated, stepping into an environment with others who took the traditional learning route. The set timetable, exams, and performance graded workload became an easier matter since I acquired the skills in the Pathways to College course. College was also where I began to interact with a wider variety of students. Being part of a bigger learning community brought a new dimension to my education. Group work, presentations, and class discussions were now regular features, and I had to learn how to communicate my ideas effectively while also listening to and understanding other perspectives. A key takeaway from college was my newfound ability to balance my independence with working with others.

The step into university brought freedom, both educationally, as well as in day-to-day life. I was able to specialise in the subjects that I was passionate about, and adapt my learning to fit with my future career in law. The independent study, time management and long-term projects felt natural to me as I had been doing it from the start of my educational journey. Interacting with people from many different walks of life became easier since doing so in college. These experiences taught me not only about my chosen field of study and work, but also about myself as a person.

I am currently still studying at university, aspiring to complete my degree in law and criminology. Alongside this, I have started a job within the probation service, and would not be in the position I am today if not for the experiences I cultivated in life. I found my background has given me the resilience and flexibility to thrive and progress further, which I plan to continue to do. Although my journey from home education, to college, and finally university is not the typical journey one takes, I wouldn’t change a thing. Each step has shaped who I am today and it has allowed me to continue to progress into a successful career. For anyone considering home education, or currently on a similar path, my experience is proof that a non-traditional approach to education can lead to success. The key is learning how to adapt, grow and take lessons from each stage of life with you when moving forward.