News

Newletter and mailings: https://www.pinpoint-cambs.org.uk/monthly-newletter-mailing-list/

Update on SEN Support

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Getting professional advice earlier at SEN Support

We’re delighted that the SEND Service (0-25) (Educational Psychology and Specialist Teachers) has been listening to your concerns that teachers get the right early advice to best support our children and young people at the SEN Support stage. They have shared those concerns with schools and settings and are now trailing a new way of using their time.

SEND Service (0-25)  will be offering every LA and maintained school hours which can be used flexibly and creatively to specifically to look at how individuals and groups can be better supported earlier.  This includes free training to schools on a range of topics including Dyslexia and Autism. If you receive a letter home asking for you to give your permission to discuss your child with a professional, then this is why.

It won’t reduce the time available to do work associated with assessment requests, ECHPs or Annual Reviews.

This proactive support may mean we ensure children’s needs are met earlier and preventative interventions are in place, rather than reactive to things getting worse before additional advice is available.

We have a very useful guidance copy of what SEN Support should look like, we will be sending a copy via our newsletter next month. If you haven’t yet signed up to our newsletter or haven’t received an email from us recently, then now is the time. Link below!

We’d like your feedback on your experiences with these changes now in place, feel free to email info@pinpoint-cambs or comment on our FB post.

Monthly Newletter/ Mailing list

 

Pinpoint AGM Agenda

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Pinpoint AGM  – Annual General Meeting

Agenda  

1pm, 1 November 2019 

Bluntisham Village Hall, Bluntisham, PE28 3LR 

  1. Welcome and introductions – Fay Dutton 
  2. Apologies:  
  3. Minutes of 2018 AGM 
  4. Annual Report 2018/19  
  5. Treasurer’s Report 2018/19 
  6. Trustee elections: 
  7. Election of Margaret Sare as new trustee 
  8. Resignations during the year – Linda Green,  

Election of Officers:
– Chair or joint chairs
– Vice-chair
– Company Secretary
– Treasurer 

10. Staff changes to date 

11. Welcome to Linda Green and Laura Potter 

12. Other staff changes

13. Going Forward 

14. Pinpoint meetings and 

15. Pinpoint Annual Conference Thursday 5 March 2020 at Burgess Hall, St Ives 

16. Close 

 There will be an opportunity to meet the Trustees over refreshments after the meeting. 

Launch of new EHCP guidance now available

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Education Health Care Plan Guidance Launch

Following an 18-month process involving parents and professionals together looking at the old threshold guidance for EHCP assessments, we are delighted to announce that the new document has now been launched as a direct response from what you have told us and is ready to be used by professionals and parents seeking guidance in this area.

This new document should help dispel several unhelpful myths as it makes clear the legal duty on the local authority to respond to request for any child that may have additional needs and require further assessment.

The document is not intended to provide a list of ‘evidence’ required for requesting an Education Health Care Plan Assessment ( EHCPA) but rather provides insight to the types of information that maybe helpful in evidencing a child’s additional needs.

The majority of feedback from parents has been incorporated within the new document, it no longer refers to ‘thresholds’ making guidance much clearer children’s needs can be complex and overlapping rather than a sole academic delay that needs one specific type of support, but a joined up approach by different agencies.

The LA have committed to keeping this document under review to ensure it does everything we hope and expect.

Pinpoint would like to thank you for your engagement in this project and we look forward to hearing your feedback.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/residents/children-and-families/local-offer/education-health-and-care-plan-ehcp/

Could you be a Pinpoint Champion?

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Pinpoint are recruiting for Champions and are holding a couple of informal information drop in sessions.

Could you be a Pinpoint Champion?? To find out more why not drop in and have a cuppa and a chat about what is involved?

  • Pinpoint Champion informal drop in information session Godmanchester – Queen Elizabeth School Hall PE29 2NB – Thursday 12th September 10am until 2pm
  • Pinpoint Champion informal drop in information session Huntingdon – Maple Centre 6 Oak Drive PE29 7HN – Thursday 19th September 10am until 2pm

For more information, contact linda@pinpoint-cambs.org.uk

Summer Holidays

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Pinpoint are winding down for the summer holidays. We wish you all a restful break and look forward to working with you again in the Autumn term.

August evening and daytime Pinpoint workshops ( exploring the Local Offer together)

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Throughout August we will be running some evening and daytime workshops where we will be exploring the Councils ‘Local Offer’ together. Ideally these needs to be booked in advance, however feel free to just pop in if no time to book! Dates, venues and times are as follows:

WHITTLESEY 

12th August – Whittlesey Library , 31 – 35 Market St, Whittlesey, Peterborough PE7 1BA

Pinpoint drop-in – Exploring the Local Offer 10.30-1.30

BOTTISHAM 

14th  August  – Bottisham Village College  Lode Road, Bottisham, Cambridge CB25 9DL
Pinpoint drop-in – Exploring the Local Offer 10.30-1.30

WISBECH 

15th August  – Queen Mary Centre  Queens Road, Wisbech PE13 2PE
Pinpoint drop-in – Exploring the Local Offer 10.30-1.30

CHATTERIS 

26th August –  King Edward Community Centre, Cranes Yard Railway Lane, Chatteris PE16 6NF

Pinpoint drop-in – Exploring the Local Offer 5pm-8pm

LITTLEPORT 

28th August – Family gathering with Highfield Ely and Littleport at Pocket Park, Ely 11-2

MARCH 

29th March Community Centre  34 Station Road, March PE15 8LE

Pinpoint drop-in – Exploring the Local Offer 5.30 pm-8.30 pm  

All sessions are free, we provide refreshments as well! To book one or more of the above sessions, email esther@pinpoint-cambs.org.uk   or simply drop in!                            

If there is subject that you think would make a perfect future workshop that you would attend, let Esther know: esther@pinpoint-cambs.org.uk

19/20 Financial Assessment Charge Letters

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Is your child/YP in receipt of a ‘Financial Assessment Letter’.  Have you received a letter like this and believe it is not correct or have questions about the calculations or content?

Based on the level on of support you receive, your income, capital or savings contributions must be calculated and contributions made towards the cost of your care. These calculations are means tested. You may have received a letter to let you know about the annually uplifted client contribution and what do to, these letters are sent to service users or their financial / legal representatives or someone who has the authority to deal on your behalf if you are over 18 and lack mental capacity.

We are aware that in some instance’s letters may have been issued where calculations are not correct. We would urge you to not sit and worry but call financial assessment department (number on the letter) for more information and to speak with a representative.

Update from The Social and Education Transport Team

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Transport for September

The Social and Education Transport Team would like to pass on this message that they will be working all summer, due to the amount of peak work and organisation of efficient routes, some parents may not be informed of their new operators until later in the holiday.

Meet and greets will take place, this can be arranged by parent/carers or transport providers.

The team would also like to inform parents that the companies themselves must recruit and put their staff through CCC DBS clearance and acquire suitable vehicles, which is why there is sometimes a delay in being able to share information as quickly as parents would like during the holidays.

If at all concerned please contact your transport provider and/or the Social and Education Transport Team, details below.

Main SEND officers are:

Pam Baugh, pam.baugh@cambridgeshire.gov.ik

Hayley Lines, hayley.lines@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

Helen Treeby, helen.treeby@cambridgeshire.gov.uk, Helen covers SEND CRC & HRC campus

Susan Warburton, susan.warburton@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.  Susan deals with SEND post 16 payments and Parental Transport Budgets

Lillian Grainger, Lillian.grainger@cambridgeshire.gov.uk, Lillian deals with LAC clients

The main office numbers are:

01223 715596

01223 715601

01223 715600

Parents/carers may also email the team edtransport@cambridgeshire.gov.uk

There is a new safeguarding leaflet for transport providers, this will be shared separately very soon.

Concerns around transport can be directed to SENTAS –   SEN Transport Advocacy Service  http://sentas.co.uk/

Thank you Morrisons!

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Pinpoint Charity receives £5,000 from Morrisons Foundation

The Morrisons Foundation has donated £5,000 to Pinpoint a local charity that helps parents who have children with additional needs and disabilities in Cambridgeshire.

The support from Morrisons Foundation will enable play and activity sessions to be arranged for younger service users for a 12 month period.  The additional activity sessions will provide some much needed support for parents of children with special needs, where they can get advice and information from the staff at the charity whilst their children have a great time playing with other youngsters in a safe environment.
Sarah Conboy, CEO of Pinpoint was thrilled to receive the donation, “Thanks to this great support from the Morrisons Foundation, not only can we offer more opportunities for children to play, but we can take the time to speak to parents to offer our support on how they can help their youngsters to achieve their potential.”

“This very generous donation will make a significant positive difference in helping us support more parent carers and help them to find the right services for their children earlier.  It can be a real challenge to know who to ask for what help and we will use this money to help get information to families when they need it.  On behalf of all those Morrisons will help us reach through this money, a huge ‘thank you’”.

Denise Gable, Community Champion at the Morrisons store in St. Ives presented the donation to the charity, “I’m really pleased that we were able to help such a great local charity.  Knowing that our support will make a genuine difference to children with additional needs and disabilities and their parents really does make me proud. Helping local charities is at the heart of what the Foundation is all about and I’m so happy that we can provide this grant.”

The Morrisons Foundation was set up by Morrisons supermarket in 2015 and awards grants for charity projects which help improve people’s lives.  Since launching over £26 million has been donated to hundreds of charities across England, Scotland and Wales.

Local charities are encouraged to visit www.morrisonsfoundation.com to find out how to apply for a grant

New Dyslexia Guidance

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We are delighted to announce Cambridgeshire Dyslexia Guidance has been updated

Thank you to all who responded to the Local Authorities Dyslexia survey. As a result of this the Cambridgeshire Dyslexia Guidance has now been updated. The main changes include: separating the guidance from the research document, writing a ‘quick guide’ for parents and  improving links to the most up-to-date websites.  We are delighted that the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) continues to  commend the Cambridgeshire  literacy difficulties/dyslexia guidance.

This document has been written to provide guidance to professionals and parents on the most current approaches to support the successful inclusion and attainment of children and young people with dyslexia. The document forms part of the wider Cambridgeshire Local Offer which covers information on the local provision for Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Disability. It is a working document and will be reviewed biennially, or sooner if there is significant new research.

To view this new guidance, click on the link:  www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/localofferpathway