Children & Young People Projects
Email this pageTake a look at some of the participation projects we have done with children and young people. Past, present and in the pipeline!
Posters and Leaflet Designs
Back in 2016, SEND IASS undertook a project to have posters and leaflets designed by children and young people who had SEND. The aim of the posters and leaflets was to raise awareness of SEND IASS and the importance of children and young people having a voice. We hoped to encourage children and young people to contact us for information, advice and support, as well as the parents/carers who regularly contact the service.
The two settings approached were Langham Oaks School, which provides places for boys between the ages of 10 – 16 with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs (SEMH) and the Level Best Arts Café which provides work experience for young people and adults with learning difficulties.
Here are the leaflets and posters that used the designs that they produced: Young People Leaflet Child Leaflet CYP Posters
You can watch this short film where some of the boys from Langham Oaks talk about how they came up with their designs Video
Children and Young Person’s film
Following on from the success of the posters and leaflets designs, we went on to work with two students undertaking a film studies degree, to create a film about how SEND IASS works with CYP. The filming again involved pupils and young people from Langham Oaks and the Level Best Café and took place at Firstsite in Colchester. You can watch the film they created here Video
Good Practice Seekers (GPS) Project.
This project was first started back in 2019, as a piece of partnership work between the SEND IASS, the Multi School Council and the Essex Youth Service. The GPS work continues to evolve, with new CYP and schools requesting to be a part of this work.
The project aims to enable children and young people who have SEND to make a positive impact on the experience of children and young people within their schools. At the core of the project is children and young people being enabled to make a difference.
A group of young people from the Multi Schools Council were trained and supported by colleagues from the Youth Service, the MSC lead Kierran Pearce and members of the SEND IASS to undertake visits to schools to speak with children, young people who have SEND and with senior leaders within the settings.
The purpose of the visits is for children and young people who have SEND to be given the opportunity to speak to the GPSs about aspects of their experiences within their school and to offer suggestions about how they might like some things improved or changed. This information is shared with Senior leaders, actions agreed and a review/return visit date set.
You can read the report on the first GPS project here Good Practice Seekers Project 2020
Following the success of this work, Kierran, Clare and two of the MSC ambassadors from the project were invited to speak at the virtual Head teachers conference in the summer of 2021, to talk about their involvement in the project and to encourage further involvement from schools. This resulted in the second GPS project taking place, which involved a special school. You can read the report of this second project here: Good Practice Seekers Project Report 2022
Children and Young People Ambassadors
SEND IASS are really excited about this new piece of work! Our SEND IAS Promotion and Development Worker is going to be working in partnership with one of the newly appointed SEND Youth Voice workers to develop this project which will involve children and young people from North East Essex Co-Operative Academy (NEECA)
We will be working with the children and young people from NEECA on establishing ambassadors for SEND IASS. The CYP ambassadors will play a vital role in championing the importance of having a voice, being listened to, understanding their rights and being enabled to participate meaningfully in meetings and discussions held about their education and care. The ambassadors will spread this message directly to children and young people who have SEND.
Watch this space to hear how this work develops!
Drop-in sessions for Children and Young People
Another new area of work we are going to be setting up from Spring 2023, are drop- in sessions for children and young people. Members of the SEND IAS Service will work in partnership with the SEND Youth Voice Workers to look at where and when to hold these sessions. These will include approaching schools and some of the existing SEND youth group sessions that exist across Essex, run by the Youth Service.
Watch this space for more news on this development!
Together is Better Conference 2018
This annual conference brings together the voluntary and statutory sectors, with the aim of sharing and discussing new initiatives and ideas relevant to services and groups that support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their parents/carers. To learn more about this project Together is Better Conference 2018