Your Voice Matters: Children and Young People SEND Review

Barnardo's - Your Voice Matters Report

Your Voice Matters

Barnardo’s are the UK’s biggest children’s charity.

We have been listening to the voices of children and young people in Sutton to hear what they have to say about support for special educational needs or disability (SEND).

This is so that children and young people can influence people who make decisions about you. To ‘influence’ means to tell someone what you think to help them to decide what to do next .

Barnardo’s have been making sure your voices have been heard ‘loud and clear’.

Barnardo’s spoke to 61 children and young people in Sutton, ages 6 to 22.

We asked about your experiences, so Sutton Council know:

• what is going well

• what needs to get better for you

• what you think ‘good’ support is

We asked what matters to you, so Sutton Council know:

• what helps you most

• what you want them to focus on getting right for you

Just so you know...

Green Hands mean experiences were good.

Yellow and Red Hands mean experiences could have been better or were not good enough.

Scores from yellow and red hands have been added together because they both mean that things need to get better.

Having A Say

This is how children and young people scored opportunities to have a say and to have their views taken seriously.

Green Hands: 14

Yellow and Red Hands: 24

Most children and young people we spoke to said that it is important that adults take your views seriously and that adults listen to what you have to say when decisions are being made about you.

The United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) - Article 12 – says that you have a right to express your wishes and feelings, and have your views taken seriously.

This means that adults have a responsibility to listen to you and show they have thought about what you have to say when they are making decisions about you.

Barnardo’s have asked Sutton Council to give you more opportunities to have your say. We believe this is very important and we are working with Sutton Council to think about how all adults helping children and young people will do this in future.

"People aren’t always interested in what I have to say.”

Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Support

This is how children and young people scored support for their emotional wellbeing and mental health.

Green Hands: 26

Yellow and Red Hands: 27

Most children and young people we spoke to said that it is important to have someone to talk to face to face when you need help and that you don’t have to wait too long for help. Also, that help for your emotional wellbeing / mental health support is free or does not cost too much.

Barnardo’s know how important these things are. Your emotional and mental health can change quickly, just like your physical health can. It is important you get help when you need it.

Barnardo’s have told Sutton Council that some of the children and young people we spoke to said that they had to wait too long for support. Also, that you don’t want to keep re-telling your story. We hope this will be passed to all the places you might get help.

“It’s really important, you know, that having someone to talk to is really, really, important. The most important. Without it I wouldn’t cope.”

Transport

This is how children and young people scored transport - public transport, school transport and assisted transport.

Green Hands: 19

Yellow and Red Hands: 30

Most children and young people we spoke to said that it is important that transport feels safe, that transport is on time, and that transport is free or does not cost too much.

You might use transport to get to all sorts of places, not just school. As children and young people with SEND, there are lots of reasons why you might feel less comfortable or safe using transport. Barnardo’s also know how important good transport is to your independence as you get older.

Barnardo’s have told Sutton Council that some children and young people sometimes see fights on the bus, which makes them feel unsafe. We also told Sutton Council that children and young people sometimes get detentions for being late when it was the bus that made them late – we don’t think that is fair. We hope that this will help them to make transport better for you.

“If it’s not on time, it messes everything up. It makes me anxious. I know the day will be hard.”

Activities

This is how children and young people scored activities they access outside of school.

Green Hands: 40

Yellow and Red Hands: 11

Most children and young people we spoke to said that it is important to have activities that are local, creative and social.

Most children and young people we spoke to felt that activities are good, which Barnardo’s are pleased about.

We have told Sutton Council that you asked for more creative activities where you can express yourself, feel confident and make friends.

We also told Sutton Council that some children and young people said there is not enough information about activities to help you make your own choices.

“I didn’t know what a PA was, no one explained it to me, having a PA might be helpful to me.”

Support from Adults Visiting School

This is how children and young people scored the support from adults who visit school – those are the people who don’t work at your school but help you at school, like Speech and Language, Occupational Therapist, Counselling etc.

Green Hands: 31

Yellow and Red Hands: 15

Most children and young people we spoke to said that it is important that they have a say about what support they need, and that it helps adults understand them better.

Barnardo’s know how important it is that you feel understood. In fact, this came up more than once in our activities so we have told Sutton Council that school (and life) can be harder if you don’t feel understood – it can mean that your needs don’t get met because adults don’t fully understand them.

Lots of children and young people were positive about the support from adults who visit them in their school – Barnardo’s were really pleased about this. We want this to get even better so Barnardo’s have told Sutton Council how we think they could do this.

“I’m sad when I miss football. It has a big impact on the rest of my day because it makes it hard to cope with things when I am upset. It’s not just missing something I like; it messes it all up. I have a bad day.”

Support from Adults in School

This is how children and young people scored assessments of their needs – that is the way that adults thought about them as a person and their needs when decisions were being made about support.

Green Hands: 31

Yellow and Red Hands: 19

Most children and young people we spoke to said that it is important to get the right help at the right time and that they have a say about what support they need.

Barnardo’s know how important it is that schools have a way to hear what you have to say. This will help you to tell adults when you need help and what you need help with – to get the right help at the right time. Otherwise, how will adults know if support is helpful for you?

Lots of children and young people were positive about the support from adults who work in their school – Barnardo’s were really pleased about this. We want this to get even better so Barnardo’s have told Sutton Council how we think they could do this.

“I was supposed to get support but never got it. I started misbehaving to get noticed, it was the only thing they listened to.”

Transitions

This is how children and young people scored support for transitions – big or small – and how adults help you to manage changes in your day or from primary to secondary.

Green Hands: 19

Yellow and Red Hands: 36

Most children and young people we spoke to said that it is important that they know about change before it happens and that they have the right support to cope with worries about change.

Basically, what Barnardo’s heard is that you want to know what transitions or change will be happening and you want the right help to feel ok and not be too worried.

Lots of children and young people told Barnardo’s that support was not good enough to help to feel less worried. This could be about a change in your day or a big transition like primary to secondary school. There were lots and lots of reasons that change could be more difficult.

Barnardo’s have shared all these reasons with Sutton Council to help schools find ways to make this better for you.

“Having someone I can talk to 1:1 is very important. I need it, I need it. It helps me understand and be ok to work it out then”

Assessments

This is how children and young people scored assessments of their needs – that is the way that adults thought about them as a person and their needs when decisions were being made about support.

Green Hands: 19

Yellow and Red Hands: 36

Most children and young people we spoke to said that it is important that adults know how to help (without needing to keep being told). They also said they want to feel valued.

Barnardo’s understand that when you need to keep telling adults in school what help you need, it can be difficult and frustrating. Most children and young people we spoke to said that the way school decides what their needs and strengths are did not help them feel understood. We know how important this is to you.

Barnardo’s have asked Sutton Council and adults in school (called SENCOs) to listen to you about what information you want to be shared, and to your ideas about better ways to tell all adults in school about you. We have also asked them to focus on your strengths. We hope this will help you to feel more valued.

“There isn’t a way that works that tells all my teachers what I need, so I always have to keep telling them, it’s annoying.”

Information

This is how children and young people scored the information they were given about support.

Green Hands: 14

Yellow and Red Hands: 34

Most children and young people we spoke to said that it is important that they have a say in the design of information, and that it is easy to understand and easy to find.

Barnardo’s believe that if you have good information then you have more power. It is harder for you to have an opinion or to have a say without having the right amount of information.

Lots of children and young people told Barnardo’s that information in Sutton was not good enough to help you decide what would be helpful.

Barnardo’s have asked Sutton Council to give you more opportunities to design the information you get and decide where it is shared. We believe this is very important.

“Their website (CAMHS) is like it is made for doctors and tells doctors how to help you. It should have what young people say and be for young people.”

Your Voice Matters

Barnardo’s have listened to what children and young people with SEND have to say about lots of different ways that they are supported.

We have shared what we heard with Sutton Council and with people who make decisions about children and young people with SEND, including schools.

We have asked Sutton Council to think about what they have learned from children and young people. This means that Barnardo’s are asking them to use what we have told them when they are making decisions in the future.

Barnardo’s are working with Sutton Council to help them decide what is most important to make better first… the things you said help you most and what you said you want them to focus on getting right for you.

THANK YOU!

Your Voice Matters!