Kids First

Tuesday 30 January 2024, 10am to 11.15am (Zoom meeting)

With Carolyn Castle, Strategic Lead for Family Hubs and Beatrice Marett, Family Hub Participation and Engagement Manager

The Merton Family Hub is a place where families and young people aged 0-19 and up to 25 for those with special educational needs and disabilities, can access the support, help and advice they need. Listening to the needs of the local community is so important in planning the way in which Merton will deliver services as part of a Family Hub. If you would like to learn more about the Merton Family Hub and get involved by helping Merton shape the way in which family services are set up and accessed, please do come along to this event. Carolyn and Beatrice will be giving a brief presentation on the Merton Family Hub and will then be inviting you to share your experiences on accessing and using family services, as well as asking for your ideas on how to shape the way in which future family services are set up and delivered in Merton. This is a great opportunity to hear more about this new service and to influence future plans. Register now to secure your place!

Thursday 18 January 2024, 10-12pm (in person meeting)

With Georgie Tyrell, SEN Team Manager & EHCP Co-Ordinators, and Fran Turko and Shazia Khan from Merton’s Information, Advice and Support Service (MIASS)

Don’t miss this opportunity for year 5 parents to come and hear what the process for the transition of children with EHCPs from primary to secondary school will look like for a September 2025 start date (parents of children with EHCPs in other primary school years also welcome). Georgie will be giving an overview of the process and introducing you to some of the team of EHCP Co-Ordinators. Fran and Shazia will give a short presentation on the legal framework, some top tips and what to expect from schools. Book now to secure a place at this popular annual session!
Chaucer Centre, Combi Room, Canterbury Road, Morden, SM4 6PX 

Thursday 23 November, 10am to 12pm (Zoom meeting)

With Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, Assistant Director of Education and Early Help, Tom Proctor, Interim Assistant Director, Strategy, Commissioning & Transformation, Karla Finikin, Head of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Integrated Service and Toby Podger-Taylor, Participation & Engagement Worker 

A great opportunity to hear the latest information from senior officers in Merton and ask your questions! Including an update on Merton’s SEND Strategy refresh, the latest on a new SEND provision in Merton from September 2026, information about SEND feedback forms parent carers can complete following an EHC Needs Assessment and Annual Review, news on an Annual Review easy read guide for parents and another guide for parents about engaging with schools where there are concerns about your child’s progress, a short statistical presentation about the transition from primary to secondary school for SEND students (number of preferred placements offered, types of provision offered, in/out of borough, etc), the SEND Youth Advisory Forum and an update on the Safety Valve Programme and more! Don’t miss it!

Register now to secure your place!

Thursday 9 November, 10am to 12pm (in person meeting) at Chaucer Centre, Combi Room, Canterbury Road, Morden, SM4 6PX

With Georgie Tyrrell, Merton’s SEN Manager, Primary Team, Greg Bramwell, SEND Tribunal Manager and Tom Connor, Principal Educational Psychologist

An education, health and care plan (EHCP) is for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support (SEN Support). EHC plans identify educational, health and social needs, and set out the additional support to meet those needs. Join this information session to find out more about who can apply for an EHCP, the EHC needs assessment, the different sections within a plan and the information an EHCP contains, delivering the support set out in the plan, reviewing the plan, timescales and right of appeal. Plus, opportunities to ask your questions! Book now to secure your place!

Thursday 2 November, 10-11:30am in person at The Chaucer Centre, Room D and Thursday 9 November, 12:30-2pm (Teams meeting)

Merton have arranged two ‘Bringing Back the Strategy’ engagement workshops in October. These workshops will be an opportunity for you to view a first draft of Merton’s refreshed SEND Strategy and feedback your thoughts on the content. The Strategy outlines Merton’s plans for how they are going to achieve positive outcomes for children and young people with SEND and their families. Please attend 1 of the workshops if you can and provide feedback on the draft strategy before the final version is agreed. All the information regarding the workshops is provided in the two Eventbrite links below.

Eventbrite booking form – online workshop

Eventbrite booking form – face-to-face workshop