Young Voices and young people with SEND

Introduction

What does SEND mean?

'SEND' stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Who can take part in this project?

We are for all young people with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) up to the age of 25 years old who live or study in West Sussex.

People have their own identities and ways to describe themselves, and we respect that. Not all young people who take part in our projects would describe themselves as having 'SEND' (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities). For example, some people might use the word 'neurodivergent' to describe themselves. Link to the Brain CharityContinue reading

Introduction

What does SEND mean?

'SEND' stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Who can take part in this project?

We are for all young people with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) up to the age of 25 years old who live or study in West Sussex.

You do not need to have a diagnosis or Education Health Care Plan to take part.

What about access needs and other ways to take part?

Please contact us if you need any support. We want to remove barriers and are always happy to learn what works and what doesn't.

You don't have to speak or write to have a say

Perhaps you are non-speaking or communicate best through pictures, signing or symbols? We have virtual 'scrap books' and sensory art sessions you might be interested in.

If having a peer 'buddy' would support you to take part in our projects please contact us.

Who do I contact if I need help?

Please email Rachel.Sadler@westsussex.gov.uk

What about parent carers?

The West Sussex Parent Carer Forum can help you with parent carer voice. Link to West Sussex Parent Carer Forum website

Accessibility statement:

If you need this information in an alternative format, please contact us on 0330 222 6678 and rachel.sadler@westsussex.gov.uk. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 0330 222 6678.

We are committed making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. Details about the general accessibility of the Your Voice Engagement Hub can be found by clicking on the 'Accessibility tab' right at the bottom of the page. Please review our Accessibility Statement (opens in new window).

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us at haveyoursay@westsussex.gov.uk.

Non-accessible documents

Some PDF documents may be inaccessible however alternative accessible formats are provided.

Data Protection/Privacy Notice

The Voice and Participation Team collect personal and special category data the processing of which is necessary to enable us to be compliant with the law (general well-being duties), and for reasons of substantial public interest. The data will be processed in accordance with the 2018 Data Protection Act, the General Data Protection Regulations, and any subsequent data protection legislation. The data we collect be securely stored and kept for period of up to 2 years before being appropriately destroyed. The data we will collect will not be used for any other purpose than that stated above without your prior written consent. West Sussex County Council is registered as Data Controller (Reg. No. Z6413427). For further details and information about our Data Controller, please see our privacy policy. Review our West Sussex County Council Data Privacy Policy (opens in new window).

What's on this term

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Young people with SEND, we need you!
We are Young Voices, the county council’s youth forum for SEND children and young people in West Sussex. We work with services as experts by experiences, making sure young people’s voices are heard. We’d love to welcome some new members to help us with our projects.
Come along to one of our regular fun events to find out more and meet us.
Tuesday 22^nd February Lunch, games and chat, Chichester (16 to 25s only)
After school Zoom chat and games (all ages)
Weds 23^rd February Bowling, Worthing
Weds 1^st March Pizza party, Horsham
Thurs 9^th March Bowling, Worthing
Tuesday 21st March Lunch, games and chat, Chichester (16 to 25s only)
After school Zoom chat and games (all ages)
Weds 22^nd March Go Karting, Brighton
Plus lots of fun stuff coming up in the Easter holidays including art and craft, sensory play, noodle making and more!
Our hot topics this term
- Autism acceptance and celebrating neurodiversity
- Moving into adulthood- what’s important to you? what would you like to do in your community? what employment and volunteering are you interested in?
- Family hubs- where to find them and what’s on offer
To find out more or book your place at an event email rachel.sadler@westsussex.gov.uk
or find us online Young Voices webpage
Join in with our quiz!

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Take part in our quiz. Link to our online festive quiz
The quiz is a mix of Christmas fun and ideas for 2023. We hope you enjoy it.
Merry Christmas!
Lunch and learn workshop for practitioners

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We were scheduled to deliver a 'lunch 'n' learn' workshop for practitioners in December 2022 but sadly we had to cancel. Anyone interested in this workshop can view the slides here download the slides as a PDF
Or join us on January 25th at 12pm by emailing rachel.sadler@westsussex.gov.uk
Countdown to Christmas!

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Our very own elf has been working on our online advent calendar for 2022 and this time it's truly epic!
This year's calendar celebrates the amazing work of CLAB, Young Voices, CICC and Youth Cabinet; the whole West Sussex youth voice family. Take a look to see what we've all been up to this year. A door opens each day from 1st to 24th December.
Link to our epic advent calendar
If you love a bit of singing and signing why not check out the Makaton Charity's Christmas countdown? Link to Makaton Christmas count down
As a reminder that there's many different ways to have a good Christmas... link to 'autistic not weird' article
link to elf on the shelf article
link to Mind. org website
To look after your wellbeing in the run up to Christmas take a look at the West Sussex Educational Psychology Service's calendar Link to wellbeing advent calendar
Read Grace's blog for FLARE

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Grace, Young Voices Youth Ambassador, is part of the FLARE the national SEND youth advisory group to the Department for Education.
In her latest FLARE blog Grace has written about her experience teaching professionals about co-production at the Making Participation Work Practitioners Conference in October. Grace outlines the themes her co-developed and co-delivered workshop explored, mainly around the different types of co-production children and young people are engaged in. She also explains the benefits of listening to children and young people directly for practitioners, and professionals can make it easier for them to share their ideas.
Read the blog to find out more about Grace’s ideal vision of co-production and her top tips for children and young people planning on speaking to professionals!
You can read Grace’s blog on the link below
My experience teaching professionals about co-production at the Making Participation Work Practitioners Conference, October 2022 (councilfordisabledchildren.org.uk)
Young NCB advisory group

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Sharing this amazing opportunity on behalf of the National Children's Bureau...
The National Children’s Bureau is looking for children and young people aged 11-18 and aged 11-24 for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, to be part of our Young NCB Advisory Group.

What is the Young NCB Advisory Group?

The YNCB Advisory Group is made up of children & young people (11- 24) who get together to help decide and plan what work Young NCB does, including the issues it deals with and the activities and events it organises. Being a member of the Advisory Group is an excellent way of getting your voice heard and representing the views of other YNCB members.

Link to NCB website
SEND and Inclusion Youth Board

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Calling all 11 to 25 year olds with SEND !
Help us plan a new SEND and inclusion youth board and find out how you can take part. Interactive activities and fun ways to have your say.
Download our leaflet
Register for info and updates

UPDATE change of date- Online open evening Weds 2nd November 4pm until 6pm
Download the agenda and link
or contact rachel.sadler@westsussex.gov.uk
Lunchtime drop in Weds 26th October 12pm until 1.30pm @ Creative Heart community hub and café, Littlehampton. Refreshments provided. No need to book, just pop in and say hello. Parent carers will need to stay on site but can relax in the café once their young person is settled and signed in .
My Independence, My Health, My Life

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Barnardo’s West Sussex Health Project: My Independence, My Health, My Life.
FREE online project providing health and life skills workshops for young people aged 14-25.
There are spaces left for Thursday’s activity day (27th of October) and the Health Skills Group starting Thursday the 3rd of Nov!
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch using the contact details below
Jack Lloyd (he/him)
Barnardo’s Health Skills Mentor
Email: Jack.Lloyd@barnardos.org.uk
Phone: 07872049000
Tues 9:30am-1pm, Wed 9:30am-5pm, Thu 9:30am-5pm, Fri 9:30am-5pm
Barnados website (opens in new link)
World Mental Health Day

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October 10th is World Mental Health Day.
Take a look at the links below for resources and support.
Your Mind Matters website
West Sussex Single Point of Access (SPoA) for emotional wellbeing and mental health support
Allsorts ( support for LGBT+ young people)
Read some mental health top tips from our very own Youth Ambassadors link to download the pdf
Hear Jay, Youth Ambassador, talk about about how emotional and sensory regulation are linked for Autistic people in a video. YouTube link to emotional regulation video
Family Hubs offering drop-in support
There are 12 Family Hubs across West Sussex with drop-in opening times for families and young people needing support.
Our ‘Find it Out’ offer is available to all young people in the county aged between 11 and 19. We also support young people up to 25 who have additional needs or who have experienced care.
Hubs can also help families with a range of other things, including; finding childcare, parenting, health advice, and help on how to access support to financial, legal or housing advice.
Link to website to find your nearest hub
Half term online workshop with Kids

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Sharing on behalf of Kids
Exciting news!!
You can still join our Collective Get Together on-line via Teams
Date – Friday 28^th October 2022
There will be an on-line session in the morning 11am – 12pm and an afternoon session 2pm – 3pm
If you can only join one then that is fine, but please sign up to both if you can make the morning and afternoon.
Below is the invite…
you can scan the QR code which will take you to the link to register or you can click the link here → https://forms.office.com/r/617hmAfQaJ
Hope you can make it!
Best wishes
Heather, Aisia and Tabs