Merseyside Send Support Network

13/11/2025

13/11/2025

13/11/2025

SNJ has a series of SEND system Flow Charts from navigating SEN Support, applying for and conducting an EHC Needs Assessment, appealing a decision and EHCP Annual Reviews. Free to download
https://www.specialneedsjungle.com/flow-chart/

13/11/2025

Today we celebrate the power of kindness – the little actions that make a big difference. For children and young people, kindness can boost confidence, support emotional wellbeing, and help them feel valued and included.

We see kindness in action every day; whether it’s a child supporting a peer in school, or our staff going the extra mile for each other 💙

We gave each of our staff members a small gift to show them a little kindness when they came into work this morning.

Kindness matters, and today is a great reminder to celebrate it and share it with children, families, and colleagues 💚

13/11/2025

This week we are thinking about speech sounds!

have a great section on their website about speech sounds, including FAQs and top tips. You can view their information here: www.speechandlanguage.org.uk/help-for-families/resource-library-for-families/speech-sounds

13/11/2025

The Early Years SEND Partnership is made up of six different Partners, all with different expertise in SEN and Disability. The Partnership offers free training and seminars to all early years’ practitioners and parents and carers of young disabled children and those with SEN.

Check out our shared calendar to find what’s available and book on:
https://buff.ly/oL1jPiO

13/11/2025

13/11/2025

When Genuine Absence Is Marked as “Unauthorised”

There’s something deeply wrong when a parent asks for help, explains their child’s struggles, reaches out for support again and again only to be met with silence, or worse, punishment.

When a child is genuinely unable to attend school, because their mental health has deteriorated, because sensory overwhelm has reached breaking point, because every day has become a battle just to survive - that’s not “defiance.”
That’s distress.
It’s a child on the verge of a crisis.

And when a child is living with a genuine long-term illness, physical or mental, it’s not “non-attendance” — it’s reality.

It’s hospital appointments, flare-ups, exhaustion, and recovery.
Its uncertainty and adjustments could make all the difference .
It’s doing the best they can, not because they don’t want to go to school, but because their body or brain simply won’t let them right now.

Yet far too often, these absences — genuine, documented, and communicated — are still marked as unauthorised.
Even when families provide medical evidence.
Even when they’ve asked for flexible education options or reasonable adjustments. Even when schools know the child is unwell.

Even when the GP can see your child is In crisis a lot of the time, they will not provide medical evidence to sign the child of even when verbally they’ll say
“Your child neeeds time to recover!”
- some may and they’re amazing!

This goes against everything schools are told to do.
Against inclusion.
Against safeguarding.
Against compassion.
Against the duty of care they are supposed to uphold.

You can’t claim to prioritise wellbeing while punishing children for being unwell.
You can’t talk about attendance targets without talking about health.
And you can’t claim to care about children’s best interests while invalidating genuine illness.

It’s not ok to weaponise attendance codes when support has been denied.
It’s not ok to penalise families for medical needs beyond their control.
And it’s not ok to carry on this way, pretending the system is fair — when it clearly isn’t.

Marking genuine absence as “unauthorised” isn’t just inaccurate- it’s inhumane.
It tells children their pain isn’t real.
It tells parents their truth doesn’t matter.
And it tells us that data still matters more than dignity.

Something has to change.
Because families shouldn’t be punished for illness, distress, or barriers they’ve already tried everything to overcome.

Department of education do you care enough to speak up for these families?

Bridgett Phillipson do you care in any way to STOP harping on about attendance and listen to the issues at the heart of this problem families are facing?!

Just our experience, again not all schools-
But in our experience it’s been this way.

All my love.
Michaela ❤️🫂❤️
the Tea on Autism and ADHD

13/11/2025

13/11/2025

“Wait until children are ready” calls for change!

Thanks to new research, the Institute of Health Visiting, in collaboration with ERIC, has released an updated advice sheet on toilet training.

Here’s what’s different:

🟡Toilet training advice is now leaning away from promoting a ‘wait until children are ready’ message due to updated research.

🟡The strong evidence is that almost all children can learn to use the potty or toilet between 18 to 30 months, with waiting longer making it a harder process.

Want to read the more?

Visit the ERIC website: https://eric.org.uk/news/eric-collaborates-with-institute-of-health-visitors-on-new-potty-training-guidance-for-families/

We appreciate that if your child has additional needs, they may need some additional support on their potty training journey. Visit the ERIC website for further advice and support.