---
title: AP & SEND Briefing 4th December 2024
description: Alternative Provision & SEND Briefing 4th November 2024
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# AP & SEND Briefing 4th December 2024

by [Sarah Logan](https://nextstepseducation.org/blog/author/sarah-logan) on December 5, 2024

[AP & SEND Briefing](https://nextstepseducation.org/blog/tag/ap-send-briefing)

Welcome to our mid-week round-up of Alternative Provision and SEND news across the South West and beyond.

Below you'll find summaries and links of what's been in the news recently, the latest thinking and some of the great training links we think you'll find useful. Grab a coffee and take 10 minutes to get updated and through the midweek hump.

**Can you See Us? Report Challenges Public Perceptions of Young People**

If you had to describe 16-24 year olds in five words, which 5 words would you choose? The #iwill movement, an organisation created to champion the power of youth, garnered the perceptions of young people from over 1,000 over 16s for their recent report.

The key findings revealed that older age groups (25+) are less likely to view young people positively, describing them as 'naive', 'sensitive', 'entitled', 'lazy' and 'rude'. There are low levels of understanding of young people's needs, and older people's attitudes can suggest that they 'think they know best'.

Read the [Can You See Us? report](https://www.iwill.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/iwill_Understanding_Public_Perceptions_of_Young_People_Report_v1-1.pdf?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Ei64B1Ptnkar_V24mp9v0a35k79TJQ0ydO_Lmegku18wQYQbWdeuTf2rClGjeNGSjZDqO) for yourself.

**Children's Commissioner: Waiting times for assessment and support for autism, ADHD and other neurodevelopmental conditions**

This one is going to take more than ten minutes and a cuppa - set aside some quiet time and maybe something stronger to drink. From the outset of Rachel de Souza's forward, the report makes for some grim reading with personal stories from families caught in the waiting time trap. For example, almost a quarter of children waited over 4 years between being referred to community health services and being diagnosed with ADHD and almost a sixth of children waiting 4 years to be diagnosed as autistic. At the end of 2023, around 434,400 children were waiting to receive their first contact with a support service. Many children continue to miss key developmental milestones with gaps between themselves and their neurotypical peers widening.

[Read the report](https://assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wpuploads/2024/10/CCo-report-on-ND-waiting-times_final.pdf?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Ei64B1Ptnkar_V24mp9v0a35k79TJQ0ydO_Lmegku18wQYQbWdeuTf2rClGjeNGSjZDqO)

**And Finally... Lego Represents Hidden Disabilities**

Lego has introduced characters with sunflower lanyards and noise-reducing headphones in a bid to support wider acknowledgement of hidden disabilities, hoping that people will 'embrace diversity, value inclusivity and remove stigma'.

You can read more about Lego's venture into diversity (that also includes characters with Downs, vitiligo and amputations) [here.](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/dec/03/lego-introduces-characters-wearing-hidden-disability-sunflower-lanyard?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Ei64B1Ptnkar_V24mp9v0a35k79TJQ0ydO_Lmegku18wQYQbWdeuTf2rClGjeNGSjZDqO)

**Quality Assurance Take-Up**

After our email of a couple of weeks ago outlining Ofsted's questions to us on recent inspection visits to partner schools we've had a take-up of Quality Assurance visits. If you would like to add your school to the list we welcome either visits in person at our Bideford tuition centre or via a phone call or Teams meeting if that's more convenient. As a reminder, we can help you cover all bases and tick all the boxes as part of our Next Steps Education service, including:

- Letter of assurance

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- Live attendance updates and termly data (bespoke to your needs)

- Review meetings attendance (plus CIN, TAF, EHCP, CP etc)

Give us a call or drop us an email to set up a QA visit for your school.

**FIND OUT SOME MORE...**

1. Take a look at our website’s [**about us**](https://hubspot.nextstepseducation.org/about-us?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Ei64B1Ptnkar_V24mp9v0a35k79TJQ0ydO_Lmegku18wQYQbWdeuTf2rClGjeNGSjZDqO) page where you can learn more about how we can work together with you and your community.

2. Find and follow us on [**LinkedIn**](https://www.linkedin.com/company/next-steps-education/?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Ei64B1Ptnkar_V24mp9v0a35k79TJQ0ydO_Lmegku18wQYQbWdeuTf2rClGjeNGSjZDqO)

3. [**Book a meeting**](https://hubspot.nextstepseducation.org/alternative-provision-for-schools?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Ei64B1Ptnkar_V24mp9v0a35k79TJQ0ydO_Lmegku18wQYQbWdeuTf2rClGjeNGSjZDqO) with us

Until next time, take care,

Sarah

Director, Next Steps Education

**PS. Found this briefing useful?** [**Sign up to get our regular AP & SEND updates in your inbox every week.**](https://nextstepseducation.org/ap-and-send-briefing?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Ei64B1Ptnkar_V24mp9v0a35k79TJQ0ydO_Lmegku18wQYQbWdeuTf2rClGjeNGSjZDqO)

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[Share this blog post on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://nextstepseducation.org/blog/ap-send-briefing-4th-december-2024) [Share this blog post on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://nextstepseducation.org/blog/ap-send-briefing-4th-december-2024)

![Sarah Logan](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/254a03a35e6956d57d19a9a243af8d82)

#### Sarah Logan

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Sarah set up Next Steps in 2020 after 17 years of teaching within 4 local authorities and a range of school communities. She now works to level the playing field in education, aiming to give every child an equal chance at success.

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