Kent Tonight Special: SEN Empowering and Upskilling

KentOnline / KMTV

We have been out in the community, learning the challenges faced by young people with additional needs and exploring the programmes available to them in Kent.

Transcript

00:00Good evening and welcome to this special edition of Kent Tonight. Empowering and upskilling,

00:27SCN provision in Kent. I'm Lucy Atchison and today we're shedding light on an often overlooked

00:32part of our community, children and young people with special educational needs and

00:36disabilities. For youth with disabilities, having the right support and access to inclusive

00:41environments is crucial. In this programme, we'll be highlighting some remarkable initiatives

00:46that are ensuring young people of all abilities have the chance to flourish. From accessible

00:51outdoor play to programmes focused on developing essential life skills, we'll introduce you

00:55to the dedicated individuals who are working to create empowering opportunities for these

00:59young people. But first, our team reached out to the public to gauge the community's

01:04awareness and understanding of the provision available for people in Kent. I think the

01:10awareness in the public generally is certainly better than it ever has been before, but to

01:17be aware of how much money it actually costs to improve the lives of children with SCN,

01:26that is something that's perhaps not understood quite so well. I think a lot of the taxes

01:31are swallowed up with the administration and red tape, and I think it doesn't like the

01:36actual support, the actual practical support doesn't actually reach the people who really

01:41need it. I wasn't diagnosed until like many, many years afterwards, and it was nothing

01:47to do with schools. Like I think they either brush it under the rug, or it's stigmatised

01:52in a way that makes people totally unaware if they have anything, or identify what they're

01:58struggling with. But most of us, it's a lack of education and exposure. Giving an SCN student

02:04just a piece of paper, the worksheet, or just a text is not going to work for them. Like

02:09schools these days are jam-packed. A lot of parents are trying to get their children

02:14into special needs schools, and it's pretty difficult. We need to integrate in a way that

02:21celebrates the differences. To find out more about the provision available for people with

02:26special needs in Kent, Ima Morrow went to visit Boar Place. Do they like being patted?

02:32Yeah, they like being stroked. It's feeding time here at Boar Place in Edenbridge. Doling

02:38out the hay and water today are these students from a local school for children with special

02:42educational needs, or SEN. The aim is to build their confidence and self-esteem outside the

02:47classroom so they can thrive within it. There's a few in there. Do you want to cut that one?

02:51No. Go on, you can do it. No. Shall we do it together? Yeah. OK. The SEN schools, they

02:56come once a week. You get a real opportunity to get to know the young people, get to know

03:01a bit about them and what they like, what they don't like, and to build their confidence

03:05throughout. One in five children in England has a special educational need and demand

03:10for assessments and diagnoses is growing. As councils around the country grapple with

03:14severe funding shortfalls, children with SEN and their families have had to look further

03:18for support. Places like this one can be transformational for these children to thrive in a classroom

03:23setting. We're a space where it's OK to make a mistake if the tomatoes don't grow very

03:27well or they don't ripen. We make green tomato chutney and again it's still a product at

03:31the end of the process. Abi Caliandro has seen first hand how beneficial the programmes

03:36at Bore Place can be for SEN children, but she's also aware of the challenges they face

03:40when they leave the grounds. We very much see that outdoor element provides an opportunity

03:46for them to exert some of the energies and the frustrations they might find in the classroom.

03:51Having worked with a number of these children, a lot of them can be picked up at half past

03:55six in the morning and that because the taxi will pick up four or five other children on

03:59the way to school and then by the time that young person gets into an educational establishment

04:05they've been sat in a taxi for two hours and obviously already have some barriers and some

04:11frustrations that they feel they need to get rid of. There's an element where curriculum

04:17can be met in an outside setting. There's a lot of students that enjoy that kinesthetic,

04:23hands-on, that practical learning. I remember two weeks ago we made pizza. Pizza? And did

04:29you put the veg that you've picked on? Yeah, it was like one big baguette. And last week

04:35we made bubble and squeak. Oh it was the best! It was definitely a fun meal to try. And for

04:43some children, the experiences they have at Bore Place may stay with them for the rest

04:47of their lives. Dairy farmer? I'd love to be a dairy farmer in my life. Of course! I've

04:51got to tell you Christopher, it definitely does. But the need for suitable provision

04:57doesn't end when these young people turn 18. Ben Morris visited Rivermead Outreach

05:01Community Challenge, or ROC, to learn what opportunities are available to young adults.

05:07Rivermead Outreach Community Challenge, or ROC Ready, is a scheme that teaches young

05:12adults aged 18 to 25 skills that can be used in their daily lives, such as cooking and

05:19managing household environments. The programme is an opportunity to make the transition

05:24from childhood to adulthood as through the process, and allows individuals to learn in

05:29an encouraging space. It also provides opportunities to learn about employability skills and offers

05:36a work experience programme. I spoke to Holly and Max, the organisers of the scheme, about

05:42why ROC Ready is vital for these young people. We identified that there was a gap in what

05:50was available for people 18 to 25 with SEND, and that is the opportunity to develop their

05:56employability skills and their life skills, so we just wanted to start a provision that

06:00gave that to them. The biggest issue with staffing is just the numbers, and it's not

06:03that we say we don't have enough staff, we have loads of staff and we've got amazing

06:07staff and I couldn't sing their praises enough. However, there's never enough staff to cater

06:12for all the young people and children in Medway with special educational needs. This

06:17is Poppy and Nicholas, who have been coming to ROC Ready since it started in September.

06:23Yeah, I really want to work with animals. My dream job is to be an animal scientist.

06:29I want to work with all types of animals, so I want to go to their habitats and learn

06:37about them, really. My favourite part about coming into ROC is having plenty of fun, making

06:45friends with new people, doing good activities and watching plenty of good films. At the

06:51end of the course, the young people are awarded an Asden Award, which is specifically designed

06:57for people with special needs. Now, this is a nationally recognised accreditation and

07:03can be an equivalent to a GCSE. Today's challenge, baking cookies. This programme

07:09proves to show that with the right care and support, individuals with additional needs

07:15can live independent and fulfilling lives within the community and beyond. Ben Morris, KMTB.

07:24Well done, Isabel. Well done, Sai.

07:28I'm now joined by local councillor Tracey Coombs. Tracey, thank you for being here with

07:33us. We've heard from staff at ROC that demand for their services is increasing and their

07:38ability to meet this demand relies heavily on the availability of trained teaching staff.

07:43What plans are in place to increase the number of trained staff to support SEN children and

07:47young people in Medway?

07:49Hello. The ROC programme is a fantastic programme and I know that parents and young people really

07:57appreciate it. The number of trained teaching staff is something for schools and for providers

08:05to organise. As Medway Council, we are not involved in actually training the staff for

08:12these provisions. I'm happy to say, though, that the new Education Secretary, Bridget

08:17Philipson, has announced that we will be training an additional 6,500 new teachers coming up,

08:23so that should help to improve the number of trained people that are available.

08:28With more children and young people being diagnosed with special educational needs each

08:32year, how can you reassure charities like Boar Place that they'll continue to receive

08:36the funding necessary to sustain their vital programmes over the years?

08:40It's really difficult because for many years, the funding received in local councils from

08:45the Department for Education for ASCEND has really not been sufficient to meet demand.

08:51We work closely with the voluntary sector, we work very closely to help people source

08:57grants and other funding, but as a council, we could do so much more if we had more money

09:02from the Department for Education. So what we can do is to signpost, to help people to

09:08identify other sources of funding, but certainly the level of funding for children and young

09:14people with ASCEND, we could do so much more if we had more of that from central government.

09:19Can I ask, Tracey, are you personally trying to put pressure on the government to give

09:24you more funding to ensure that these activities can be expanded?

09:29We now have three Labour MPs in Medway, so we have a much better opportunity to lobby

09:35our ministers in government. I know that our MP for Gillingham and Raynham will be putting

09:41pressure on the government, and we have written as a council to Bridget Philipson to ask for

09:48a variety of different measures. There are actually quite a few things that we feel that

09:52she could be doing more of, and more funding is just one of them, but certainly we are

09:57writing to ministers and we feel that our MPs are backing up those requests.

10:03On the topic of funding and accessibility, the south-east of England has the smallest

10:07employment gap between disabled and able-bodied people, which is fantastic, but local community

10:13groups tell us that this means that pockets of deprived areas in the region may miss out

10:17on funding as a result. So how are you ensuring that SEN children from low-income families

10:22in Kent have the same access to inclusive activities as those from more affluent backgrounds?

10:27We have a brilliant programme of activities over the summer which are free to children

10:32with special educational needs and disabilities. We are working really closely with our Parent

10:37and Carers Forum, who have got great contacts in these communities and who make sure that

10:42these opportunities are publicised and that people are aware of how they can apply for

10:46them and how they can secure places. Our child-friendly Medway team also run lots of events, including

10:53cinema screenings, pantomimes and so on, and they include ones that are specifically for

10:58children with disabilities, so we are trying to get ourselves out into the communities as well.

11:04That's all we have time for. Tracey Coombs, thank you so much for your time.

11:07If you want to know anything more about SEN provisions in the county, head to the Kent

11:11County Council or Medway Council websites, and if you have been affected by anything

11:15in this Kent Tonight Special, please get in touch. Don't forget, you can always keep

11:19up to date with the latest news across your county by logging on to kmtv.co.uk. You can

11:25keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook and following us on X. We also

11:30have a series of special programmes like Invicta Sport and Made in Kent. But from me, for now,

11:35thank you for watching this Kent Tonight Special, have a very good evening and see you soon.

11:39Goodbye.

11:45www.kent.gov.uk

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended