Education East Sussex SEND Services
Overview
Education East Sussex is a division within East Sussex County Council's Children's Services. They work together with schools and families to deliver excellence and inclusion in education.
Education East Sussex is a combination of previous divisions known as:
- ISEND (Inclusion, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities); and
- SLES (Schools Standards, Learning and Effectiveness Service).
Within this division are services that support children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This page lists these services.
Please note, some of the services below signpost to our directory, on 1Space. These services are contactable via the public. The directory provides their full service information and contact details.
Accessing the services
Access to most of the services on this page is via Education Front Door referrals on Czone. Referrals are usually made by professionals who support children. For example, the Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in schools and nurseries:
Assessment and Planning (A&P)
The Assessment and Planning (A&P) team manages the assessment and planning process for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND:
Interim Provision Service (IPS)
The Interim Provision Service (IPS) is an interim teaching service for children and young people:
- between 5-25 years old
- with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), and
- who are not on roll of a school and are awaiting an educational placement
Access to teaching support is only via referral from an Assessment and Planning Officer (APO) in the Assessment and Planning (A&P) Team. Schools, parents and other services or professionals are unable to refer or request support from IPS.
SEND Placement Support Service (SEND PSS)
The SEND PSS supports the successful placement of learners in their local mainstream school.
Access to SEND PSS support is only via an internal referral from the Assessment and Planning (A&P) Team for a focused piece of work. Schools, parents and other services or professionals are unable to refer or request support from SEND PSS.
SEND Post 16 & INMS team
The SEND Post 16 & INMS (independent and non-maintained schools) team work with other teams within the Local Authority. Their main role is to support providers in post 16 and INMS to deliver high quality, inclusive provision. This aims to meet the need of all young people in their setting, along with high quality transition. Quality Assurance and close working with providers to support continual improvements helps to achieve this.
The team also oversee the High Needs Funding applications for post 16 provisions. This ensures young people get the funding they need to access learning and meet their aspirations.
Children's Disability Service (CDS)
The Children’s Disability Service (CDS) helps children who have severe and enduring cognitive delay and severe learning disability, low functional abilities and who may also have physical disabilities. We assess children up to 16 years old, and their families, for social care support:
Please note, CDS is a part of Children's Social Care.
Early Intervention Service (EIS)
EIS and Early Intervention (EI) workers will work alongside families and other agencies in a team around the child approach. They aim to identify what support will work best. Families will be offered information advice and guidance about appropriate mainstream, universal, or targeted resources in the community which may meet their child’s needs.
Where necessary, the EI worker will directly support families to access services or funding. This may be from charities and other sources. This helps to ensure that disabled children and their family receive timely, coordinated support.
Access to EIS is only via referral from the Children's Disability Service.
Positive Behaviour Support (PBS)
PBS is a small team of specialist Positive Behaviour Support practitioners. They form part of the Children’s Disability Service social care team. Positive Behaviour Support is a recognised approach to working with behaviours that challenge. PBS works in a person-centred way to promote wellbeing and ensure the environment suits children’s needs.
Access to PBS is only via referral from the Children's Disability Service.
Communication, Learning, Autism Support Service (CLASS)
Communication, Learning and Autism Support Service (CLASS) offers support, advice and training. Supported is aimed at mainstream schools and academies. We work with other services to support children and young people to access full-time education.
Our staff hold specialist qualifications in speech, language and communication needs (SLCN, including autism) and specific learning difficulties:
CLASS+ and Spectrum are a part of CLASS.
CLASS+
CLASS+ works across East Sussex to support families/carers of Autistic children and young people. This includes those on the diagnosis pathway.
We provide advice and support that:
- Enables families/carers to develop their knowledge and understanding of Autism
- Helps families/carers develop their confidence around how to best to support their neurodiverse child
- Allows families/carers to build on their child’s strengths, confidence, and self-esteem
This team is part of the CLASS service.
CLASS+ run sessions throughout East Sussex, called ‘CLASS+ Coffee & Chat Sessions’. These sessions allow parents and carers the opportunity to listen, share questions, ideas and experiences with other parents. These sessions support parents and carers who have an Autistic child, or a child who is on the Autism pathway.
Early Years' Service (EYS)
The Early Years’ Service (EYS) supports pre-school aged children with SEND.
This may include complex needs. It also includes pre-school aged children who have English as an Additional Language where those needs create a barrier to learning and inclusion.
Parents and carers can also download the Early Years' Service referral form as a Word document.
Education Support, Behaviour and Attendance Service (ESBAS)
Please note, ESBAS is no longer in service.
The main East Sussex County Council website has information on school attendance and behaviour:
You can also see our Team Around the School and Setting (TASS) heading to find out how we're supporting schools with attendance and inclusion.
Educational Psychology Service (EPS)
The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) focuses primarily on the learning, social and emotional development of problems encountered by children & young people aged 0-25 years, within their educational setting.
The work of an educational psychologist can either be:
- Directly with a child
- With a group of children
- Indirectly through their work with parents/carers, teachers and other professionals
Indirect work often involves research, training, consultation and discussion. This helps to clarify the precise nature and requirements of any psychological intervention proposed. This is either at the individual or systems level. Direct work can involve delivering a psychological intervention to an individual child or group. It usually involves some form of assessment.
Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing (MHEW) in Education Team
The Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing in Education Team is part of the Educational Psychology Service. The MHEW Advisers combine qualifications and experience from:
- Teaching
- School leadership
- Coaching
- Mentoring
- Mediation
- Youth and family support work
The team supports primary, secondary and post-16 settings. They help to develop whole organisation practice relating to MHEW, including;
- Raising awareness of MHEW issues in schools and colleges
- Training, developing and delivering CPD programmes for schools. This helps them to identify children and young people with mental health concerns and put in place appropriate, sustainable support
- Guidance on issues relating to MHEW
- Resources and toolkits
- Events and conferences
- Supervision for MH Leads and other school staff
- Sharing best practice and supporting schools and colleges to put in place recommendations. This can come from research and legislation
English as an Additional Language Service (EALS)
We are a team of specialist English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers and Bilingual Support Officers (BSO). We work with pupils who have English as an additional language. We help them access the curriculum and fully integrate in to school life. We work with pupils from the Foundation Stage, KS1-4 and post-16.
We have BSOs speaking many of the languages spoken in East Sussex. This includes Arabic, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, Turkish and Portuguese:
Sensory Needs Service (SNS)
The Sensory Needs Service (SNS) provides support to deaf and Vision Impaired (VI) children and young people (aged 0 -25), and their families . We also provide guidance to education settings and other professionals supporting children with sensory needs.
The SNS support and promote the inclusion of children and young people with VI and deafness in a range of settings. We also have four Deaf Support Facilities (DSF) in East Sussex. These support our highest need pupils:
Sibling Service (Sibs)
The Sibling Service (Sibs) provide short breaks and activity days for children aged 6 to 17 who have a brother or sister with a disability:
Spectrum
Spectrum is a free, county-wide service that helps Autistic children and young people ‘aged 5–18’ to:
- Join in activities in their local community
- Develop their independence
- Build confidence in developing key life skills
Spectrum provides practical support packages. These packages enable Autistic young people to achieve the best outcomes for their future and get the same opportunities as their peers:
- Find out more about Spectrum on 1Space
- View Spectrum service terms and conditions
- View the Spectrum referral form | East Sussex County Council
This team is part of the CLASS service.
Teaching and Learning Provision (TLP)
The Teaching and Learning Provision (TLP) provides educational support for children and young people (aged 5 to 16) who are unable to attend school full-time. This can be because of illness, physical or mental health:
You can also read the TLP Medical Needs Service Policy (August 2022) PDF.
Elective Home Education (EHE)
The Elective Home Education (EHE) service fulfils the statutory duties within the Education Act 1996 for families that choose to electively home educate their children. The EHE service provide advice and support to families. This enables home educators to provide the best possible education for their child. It also satisfies the Local Authority’s duty to establish that a child is in receipt of a suitable education:
Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) support
The TLP also supports Gypsy Roma Traveller (GRT) children. They help them to achieve their academic potential in school. They have created a website, called The Stopping Place, which outlines the support available:
- Find out more by visiting The Stopping Place
Team Around the School and Setting (TASS)
The Team Around the School and Setting (TASS) supports East Sussex schools with:
- improving attendance
- increasing inclusive practice
- improving outcomes
Access to TASS support is via schools only. This is for a focused piece of work on whole school practice or specific cohorts of concern. Parents are unable to refer or request support from this service.
Attendance Support Team (AST)
The Attendance Support Team (AST) is part of the new Team Around the School and Setting (TASS). The Attendance Support Team track attendance data in schools in East Sussex. This helps to identify issues and barriers to attendance early on.
The team will support schools to manage any concerns. They help the school plan individual or group approaches to improve attendance.
The AST work in area-based teams to provide in-school support and advice in:
- Lewes, Coastal and Wealden
- Hastings and Rother
- Eastbourne and Hailsham
The Children's Commissioner for England website has resources for families. This includes a downloadable 'Guide for parents on school attendance'.
Access to AST support is via schools only. This is for a focused piece of work around whole school improvement and specific cohorts. Parents are unable to refer or request support from this service.
Attendance below 50%
The Level 2 Keywork Team works with the AST to improve school attendance. The team is part of the Early Help Service. The Early Help level 2 team support schools with individual referrals and offer a whole family approach. This aims to address need and overcome barriers. The AST and level 2 team work together to improve school attendance.
They offer support to families with children whose attendance has dropped below 50% for two terms in a row (current and previous).
The team takes a whole family approach. They work with parents, carers and children within the family. The intervention is voluntary.
Please note, this team is a part of Children's Social Care. Referrals are made via school with parent or carer consent.
Inclusion Team
The Inclusion Team is part of the new Team Around the School and Setting (TASS). Their role is to:
- Work in partnership with other teams from Children's Services.
- Work with the senior leadership team and teachers to develop practice.
- Analyse data to identify training needs and development. This is as part of the school improvement plan.
- Support whole school understanding of inclusion and the links to attendance and exclusion.
- Provide and align in-person or virtual training with school priorities and emerging need.
- Provide advice and coaching for staff.
The Inclusion Team work in area-based teams to provide in-school support and advice in:
- Lewes, Coastal and Wealden
- Hastings and Rother
- Eastbourne and Hailsham
Access to Inclusion support (TASS) is via schools only. This is for a focused piece of work around whole school improvement, specific cohorts or individuals of concern. Parents are unable to refer or request support from this service.
Glossary of East Sussex SEND Terms
We explain some of the terms used on this website on our page, Glossary of East Sussex SEND Terms.