The ‘Learn to Move’ training aims to enable staff in mainstream primary schools to provide tailored support for children with motor skill difficulties and it sounds like you feel your son should benefit.
This training is provided to schools every year, which they can sign up to. If you have specific questions about your son’s therapy needs at school, we recommend you initially discuss with the school SENCO and your son’s occupational therapist.
If you need further advice, please contact Letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk and we can arrange a further conversation with you.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We understand that a change of therapist may be difficult, and the therapy teams will support with the change as much as possible. The reason for this is because speech and language therapy, may be delivered in a different way to best meet your child’s needs in the specialist settings.
When children change settings, the way it is funded also changes which for you has clearly led to a gap in continuity of care. We apologise if this has been your experience, We are working with partners to improve this.
The Dorset Education Board are working on this as a priority.
We suggest that the first place to start is always with the child or young person’s current setting. Is there pastoral support in place, or do they offer a programme of support for more able students? Are there local clubs, such as science or language, that the young person could join? Some schools and colleges offer mentors to work with young people, it is worth checking to see if this is available.
We, as Dorset Council, are working with Weymouth College and Kingston Maurward College, building on the success of the Outreach programme offered by Weymouth College, to extend this to more young people. In addition, our Education Challenge Leads are working with schools to develop their curriculum and to be creative and flexible in their approach.
Dorset Marvels is a programme we have been supporting with young people in learning centres and a couple of our secondary schools. Currently it is young people in receipt of free school meals who are eligible. Young people on the programme are provided one-to-one mentoring and support, including additional careers guidance throughout year 11 and for the first term of year 12.
If you’d like a further conversation about this and your personal circumstances, please contact Letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
Dorset Education Board is focusing on academically able children and young people and engagement with education.
We are working with our Further Education providers Yeovil College, Weymouth College and Kingston Maurward College, building on the success of the Outreach programme offered by Weymouth College, to extend this to more young people. In addition, our Education Challenge Leads are working with schools to develop their curriculum and to be creative and flexible in their approach.
We know there is a need for our mainstream secondary sector to make adjustments for young people who are Neurodiverse. Our focus is to create better provision in our mainstream schools to meet the needs of these children. We are seeing some progress through the Autism in Schools project.
We are also working with leaders in Further Education to understand what a flexible approach to post-16 options for high achievers might look like.
We are in discussion with our Learning Centres to plan programmes that might be suitable for students who have not been in mainstream education.
If you’d like a further conversation about this, please contact Letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
There is a dedicated team at the council that helps give advice to young people who are not in employment, education or training. The team will be more than happy to discuss what might be available, you can contact them at EETSupport@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk or 01305 221783.
You can also find more information at: Education and employment options
Our Short Breaks provision offers children and young people the chance to socialise and make new friends in a supported environment. There are a wide range of activities on offer - sports, performing and visual arts, forest schools and trips out. Here is a link for further information: Short breaks for disabled children and young people - Dorset Council
If your child is eligible for benefit-related free school meals you could also sign up for a Holiday Activity and Food Programme which will enable your child to access holiday activities free of charge. Support for children with additional needs is also available at the majority of venues. An example of the types of activity can be found here, this will be updated shortly to cover the summer holidays: Easter in Dorset - Dorset Council
An employers’ liability insurance should cover them for being able to offer a work-experience. Some employers also have a work-experience policy.
There is information for parents and carers on the Dorset Careers Hub website. Further information may be available here; Careers Advice and Guidance for Young People Educated at Home - CSW Group Ltd.
A national pilot is looking at extending Supported Internships to young people without Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP).
For updates, please visit our website on Education, training, and work.
If you’d like a further conversation about this please contact Letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
Weymouth College & SWRAC are currently offering Supported Internship programmes. Kingston Maurward College have a pre-internship programme and are planning to offer Supported Internships in the future as a study programme.
For a further conversation, please contact andrew.holland@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
If a child is not in school, you may need to link with some of our local training providers for a Supported Internship. A Supported Internship is a training programme for 16–25-year-olds with an EHCP. For further information please visit Dorset Council Local offer website Training for work
If you’d like a further conversation about this please contact Letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
A supported internship programme is a full-time study programme which incorporates a 32-week work placement. It would be challenging to complete a supported internship alongside their current course.
A Supported Internship programme ideally ends with the Young Person gaining paid employment. For example, a student might complete a Supported Internship programme and then go onto complete an apprenticeship. We’re pleased say that we have seen a movement towards offering inclusive apprenticeships.
This will depend on whether you are an employer or a training provider. Please contact Andrew Holland via email andrew.holland@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk for a further discussion.
Yes – they can and should be discussing a range of options from year 9.
This is something we are currently working on, and hope to have a full list of available providers at Training for work - Dorset Council soon. We will send out wide communication when that is available.
Information about how to find apprenticeships can be found from the gov.uk website Find an apprenticeship - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). There is also further information and resources at Amazing Apprenticeships The link below explains about apprenticeships for young people with SEND who may have previously been unable to access an apprenticeship due to having to meet Level 2 in English and maths Inclusive Apprenticeships | British Association for Supported Employment (base-uk.org)
Learning Centres have the same responsibilities to provide careers information, advice and guidance as mainstream school and are supported by the Dorset Careers Hub. They have recently undertaken an exercise to ensure this includes consideration of young people with SEND. Each Learning Centre has a designated lead for careers and should be able to provide the name of who to contact. This careers lead can also contact the Dorset Careers Hub if they need any additional help. If you feel the Learning Centre is not giving you enough advice, please contact us by email Letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
We know that a small number of children and young people might need some additional support in their education and learning. Sometimes they are offered good alternative provision for a short-term period. During this if they maintain contact with their peers and home school, they can often be successfully supported to return to their home school or onto their next setting helping them to feel more confident and able to thrive at their original setting.
For some young people, who are in alternative provision over a longer period it can be harder to support them returning to their home school. We always encourage alternative provision to be short-term and focused on specific learning goals for the child. We encourage parents and carers to work with their child or young person’s usual setting first – it may be that they can provide additional support or mentoring.
There is also information on the Dorset Local Offer here:
Exclusions and alternative provision - Dorset Council
There are lots of options for students who attend Weymouth College. These can range from a Personal travel Budget for the family to arrange their own transport to sharing transport with other college students. The range of options are available on the website Types of SEND travel assistance - Dorset Council . Please be aware that if you are interested in applying for SEND Assistance the deadline is 31 May 2024. Find out more at: Travel assistance for young people over 16 with SEND - Dorset Council
The deadline to apply for transport for new journeys starting in September is 31 May each year. Find out more at Types of SEND travel assistance - Dorset Council
This all depends on whether the work placement is an integral part of the course. Please contact the transport team for individual conversations. Email: sentravelteam@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk or call: 01305 225023
Each young person will have a unique reason why they are reluctant. We believe it’s crucial to identify a young person’s strengths as well as areas where they need help. A focus on skill development for daily life is an essential part of learning for all children. Simple tasks like making their bed, bringing down laundry, or helping with shopping can contribute to this area of learning.
To foster skill development, there should be a shared understanding of needs and best ways to support the young person across family, educators, and any other people who help the young person. This ensures consistent encouragement, by all involved.
We recognise that everyone’s path to independence is unique. Ultimately, our ambition is for young people to live Gloriously Ordinary Lives.
We explore all options regarding accommodation and support for people depending on their level of need. Planning can start from year 9 as part of the EHCP review.
The school, parents or the young person can refer to Dorset Council teams, to ask for an assessment to look at what their likely needs are into adulthood.
Some young people may require an education provision that includes a residential element, with varying degrees of support.
We will always undertake an assessment or review on an individual basis to understand whether a residential option is right for that young person. Places at these types of setting are usually very limited, and students will come from across the country.
We have a process of consulting with these settings just as we do with any other setting – sometimes the setting may advise that they aren’t the right place for the young person, sometimes they don’t have any space in that particular year group. A final decision as to whether the setting is appropriate will be undertaken by a multi-agency panel which includes senior staff from NHS Dorset, Education, and Childrens Services and Adult social care.
If you’d like a further conversation about this please contact Letstalksend@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
When a young person relocates from Dorset to attend university and requires ongoing support, they can request a review of this support before they leave. We advise you get in touch with the teams you’re working with to do this.
Universities are actively committed to providing support for students with additional needs, you can out more about this at UCAS offers valuable information on this topic through their Disabled Students | Advice And Financial Support section1.
The team do their absolute best to find a wide variety of activities, to suit as many children as possible. At every school holiday period (excluding half terms), new activity providers are added to the Holiday Activities and Food programme. These are based on feedback given to us by families about what would suit them best.
We’re really keen to hear what your son might have enjoyed more, you can get in touch with us at holidayactivities@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
A list of activities for young people can be found on the Help and Kindness website.
You can also find a list of available activities at Dorset Youth's Homepage.
Dorset Council remains committed to securing better funding for our education settings. As a local authority, we take our responsibilities regarding public funds seriously and regularly monitor our spending, with robust oversight and governance in place.
One of our key priorities is to enhance post-16 provision and this is a particular focus of the Dorset Education Board. We want to expand the availability of supported internships and apprenticeships, creating more employment opportunities for our children and young people. We have already begun this work and will provide updates in the next few months.