You said, we're listening

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their views. We have received feedback from our:

The findings can be found in the following documents:

We would love more families to get involved in shaping and informing our services. You can do this by contacting:

We are continuing to action your feedback and will update this page regularly. Updates will also be shared with families through our SEND and Alternative Provision Partnership newsletter and Facebook page. 

2024/2025

You said - Staff at the local authority sometimes lack compassion and empathy. Everything feels like a fight.

We're listening - Colleagues at the council took part in an ‘effective communications and challenging conversations’ session with Collis Mediation. This included:

  • EHCP coordinators
  • The virtual school's team

The session ran for a full day and was delivered by Dominic Collis and Nicola Cleaver, with Nicola being a SEND parent herself. 

From the learning we will be embedding an effective and compassionate communications policy, to ensure all parents and carers are met with compassion, empathy and respect. The policy will clearly set out how we will communicate with parents/carers.

The first priority in our Cumberland Local Area SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy is ‘working together and building trust’. We are committed to ensuring children, young people and their families in Cumberland feel listened to and respected by all professionals.   

You said - Communication from the local authority is poor. I was not informed that a member of staff from the council had left. 

We're listening - Going forward, when new education, health and care plans (EHCPs) are issued, we will ask parents/carers to please subscribe to our SEND and Alternative Provision Partnership newsletter. This will inform parent/carers if colleagues from the council are leaving.

If the member of staff is an EHCP co-ordinator, we will include details on when and how parents/carers will be contacted to inform them of who their new Coordinator is, and how they can get in touch. 

You said - My child’s EHCP took too long, and I had no clarification on when I would hear from the local authority.  

We're listening - We are currently producing an EHCP timeline, which will allow parents/carers to track their child/young person’s EHCP application process.

Parents/carers will be able to:

  • have a better understanding of when they can expect to hear from the local authority
  • know how to get in touch
  • know what the next steps will be 

New agency EHCP co-ordinators have been hired to address the backlog of EHCP applications and annual reviews. The co-ordinators will be working to ensure we keep to EHCP timescales. 

You said – Children’s Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) is difficult to access, with long waiting lists and barriers to access support.

We're listening - The Partnership are arranging conversations with CAMHS to:

  • understand the issues the service is currently facing
  • how we can best support the service.

The North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) have recently appointed a new Designated Clinical Officer (DCO), Diane Watson. Diane will support commissioned health services in Cumberland for children/young people with SEND. The Partnership will be working closely with Diane. 

More information on local and national mental health services can be found in the crisis support section on our SEND Local Offer.

A reminder to always call 999 if someone is in immediate or life-threatening danger.  

You said - Professionals in education and the local authority are sometimes not as knowledgeable on SEND as they should be. As parents/carers, we feel the responsibility is on us to research our own rights. We sometimes question ourselves when we are told the wrong information.  

We're listening - We are currently writing a SEND professionals survey to be completed by our colleagues. This survey is being designed to help us spot the gaps in knowledge and understanding, so we can offer support and training to staff.

We have also recently hired a SEND Strategic Lead. Interviews took place in late April, and the person appointed has a wealth of experience, knowledge, and best practice. We look forward to introducing them to you once they are in post. We will keep you informed of their work streams. 

You said - My child’s mainstream school are not always supportive and lack understanding.   

We're listening - We are continuing work to promote our ordinarily available guidance for schools and education. The guidance lays out what should be ‘ordinarily available’ for school aged children. 

The guidance outlines support that schools and education settings should offer to children who have identified with having special educational needs (SEN) or may have SEN. This includes guidance on:

  • reasonable adjustments
  • tools and suggestions for how teachers and education professionals can support children with different needs

The guidance outlines the responsibilities of schools and education settings to publish their SEN policy and the support they offer. 

We will be continuing work to embed our guidance with schools. This will ensure:

  • understanding of statutory duties
  • raising awareness with parents/carers to ensure mutual understanding of the duties of education settings

The SEND Strategic Lead will lead on some of this work. We will continue to ask for parent/carer feedback to ensure improvements are being made.    

You said - We are unaware of the social care offer, and it is confusing to know what services are available for my child. 

We're listening - We have appointed a new interim Designated Social Care Officer (DSCO, sometimes referred to as a ‘Disco’), Alison Mills-Clarke. Alison has practised social care for over 24 years and brings a wealth of experience working with children and their families. 

Part of Alison’s role will include overseeing a review of our short breaks offer. Short breaks includes social care provision such as:

  • universal short breaks
  • targeted short breaks
  • specialist short breaks and direct payments

We will be consulting with children/young people and their families to find out more about:

  • how our services should support them
  • how we can make this offer more accessible
  • how we can ensure families can be made aware of the support available to them
  • how they can access this  

You said - The targeted short breaks service is not inclusive and does not cater to children with higher or more complex needs. Many providers do not offer personal care. We also want activities that are specifically for teenagers/young people, so that they have the option to attend activities with peers of their age.  

We're listening - We have commissioned new targeted short breaks providers and in the process of commissioning more. As part of this, we have commissioned Carlisle Mencap and West House, both of whom are able to offer personal care to children who attend their sessions.  

West House are also offering some activities on a 1 to 1 basis, so children with more complex needs can attend these sessions.  

We have commissioned People First, who are offering activities for young people aged 14 to 18 years. These activities are available in:

  • Carlisle
  • Maryport
  • Whitehaven
  • Workington

Some sessions will focus on independence and offer young people the opportunity to explore their local community in small groups (maximum 6 per session, 1 staff member to every 2 child/young person).  

Learn more about targeted short breaks  

You said - Transitioning to adulthood is a confusing time. There is lack of information and support.  

We're listening – Cumberland Council have recently produced a Moving on – transition guide. The guide was co-produced with children/young people with SEND in Cumberland. 

This document outlines:

  • what transitioning to adulthood is
  • guidance on mental capacity
  • what a transition worker is and what they do
  • what should take place and when

We are continuing to promote this guide with children/young people and their parent/carers

We are reviewing the information related to transitioning to adulthood available alongside our adult social care and housing team.  

 

Archived feedback