At St Francis, we pride ourselves in offering an environment that is based on the fundamentals of play and how pivotal a 'hands-on', reciprocal approach to leaning can support children in developing essential social and emotional skills. Skills that take the pressure off challenges they may face in more formal learning environments and continuing to break down barriers to accessing their right to enriching and fulfilling educational experiences. Developing key skill such as 'turn taking', sharing and conflict resolution between peers, enables all children to navigate the complexities they face within their social and learning environments. 

Children with special educational needs who require any type of additional support deserve every chance to access the very same play based learning and social environments alongside their peers. For example, additional support is not 'one size fits all' and has to be provided by 'tuned in' adults that are receptive and reactive to the individual needs of the child. At St Francis we believe that SEN children have the fundamental right to manipulate and mould their learning and social environments into safe and nurturing spaces that will mirror who they are as individual learners, where those around them celebrate those idiosyncrasies and encourage and develop a culture of acceptance and inclusion.

We have an open door policy and work with parents/carers to ensure continuity between the home and learning environments. Please feel free to pop in and see us if you have any concerns regarding your child's development and how St Francis can potentially offer the support your child requires. 

https://www.southamptoninclusion.net/outreach

Welcome to the Southampton Inclusion Partnership Outreach Service for SEND.

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The service provides a range of support for children and young people with SEND and behavioural needs in mainstream schools and other settings. Our aim is to provide a high quality support service to enable these children and young people to receive a quality education tailored to their individual needs and to strengthen their inclusion within mainstream settings.

https://www.southampton.gov.uk/children-families/childrens-social-care/report-a-concern-about-a-child/childrens-resource-service/

If you are looking for help
If you are looking for help for your own child or family, or for a family you know in a personal or professional capacity, we would encourage you to contact the service by telephone for a conversation. We will give you information about the local support that is available and offer you advice and guidance.

To make a referral for early help intervention through our Family Help Service, or for statutory Children’s Social Care support, please contact the Children’s Resource Service to have a conversation.

https://www.southamptonsendiass.info/

SENDIASS aims to empower parents/carers, children, and young people to play an active and informed role in making decisions about their education, health, and social care.

https://sotonpcf.org.uk/

We are a voluntary group of parents and carers who have children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) aged 0-25. The forum supports families who live with SEND to experience a better quality of life. Our Vision is for an accepting and empathetic wider community where the daily challenges faced by Parent Carers are recognised and understood, and there is a shared commitment to overcome them. 

The forum welcomes anyone who lives in Southampton and who has a child with SEND, diagnosed or not, aged 0-25. To keep up to date with our regular newsletters click on getting involved in our drop down menu. 

https://www.autismhampshire.org.uk/

https://healthiertogether.westlondon.nhs.uk/health-for-young-people/mental-health-and-wellbeing/support-advice-and-guidance/camhs-child-and-adolescent-mental-health-services

What is camhs?
CAMHS stands for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. CAMHS are the NHS services that assess and treat young people with moderate to severe mental health difficulties. 

The CAMHS support mainly focus on depression and anxiety, but may look at underlying health conditions to support problems with food, self-harm, abuse, violence or anger, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia to name but a few. Regarding abuse, there may be more specialist services who can help and CAMHS will direct you towards these. 

There are local NHS CAMHS services around the UK, with teams made up of nurses, therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, support workers and social workers, as well as other professionals.

https://www.southampton.gov.uk/children-families/activities-and-support-for-families/family-hubs/

Family hubs
A family hub is a place for children and families to enjoy stay and play sessions, find a quiet space to breastfeed babies, get advice on infant feeding, get healthcare support and much more. Staff within the hubs can help you find the information you need from employment to healthcare support. There are seven family hub locations across city each providing a range of sessions and support for local families.

https://www.southampton.gov.uk/schools-learning/send-local-offer/send-services/send-specialist-advice-and-guidance/portage-service/

The SEND & Portage Early Years Specialist Service offers teaching group sessions in the community, home teaching visits and parent training courses for young children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) aged 0-3 years; who are delayed in at least two areas of development.

https://eric.org.uk/ 

ERIC provides support to families in regards to challenges children may face when transitioning our of nappies. 

https://www.southampton.gov.uk/children-families/early-years-and-childcare/childcare-providers/running-a-childcare-business/eyfs/communication-and-language/every-child-a-talker-ecat/

At St Francis we use various ECAT (Every Child's a Talker') tools in which we can identify any communication and language challenges children have and how we can ensure they receive the support they require. Should we identify any challenges your child is experiencing, we will arrange a meeting in which we can discuss next steps and what any support plan will look like for your child and the wider family unit. 

https://www.southampton.gov.uk/schools-learning/send-local-offer/send-services/send-specialist-advice-and-guidance/0-25-service/

The 0-25 service offers additional help for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). This can be due to:

Physical disability
Speech, sight, or hearing problems
Learning, emotional, or behavioural difficulties
Medical or health problems