Cllr. Dave Thomas: My thanks to the deVeys for Fair Play Day

Some of you may remember that in November last year, a report from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission identified significant weaknesses in services for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and said that collectively the council, education and NHS partners must do better. Collectively, we accepted the findings of the report and from that point on, together we took immediate action and most importantly – we listened. 
One of the things we have done is put on additional events and I’m delighted that our Children’s Services department, in collaboration with SEND Family Voice and the DeVey family (Anderton and Rowland Funfairs), is bringing back Fair Play Day for 2023.
This popular free family summer event is for Torbay families who have children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, young carers and cared for plus care experienced children and young people and their families. The event is scheduled to take place on Wednesday August 17 form 10:30am to 12:30pm at Torre Abbey.
This really is a great opportunity for children with special needs and disabilities to appreciate all the fun of the fair in a setting that suits them. Parents and carers can expect lower level music and slower speed fairground rides as well as a sensory tent and an area for children and young people who appreciate floor time and sensory experiences, to also have fun.
I have previously been invited to Fair Play Day (many years ago) and it’s an absolute delight to see so many of our young people being able to enjoy the rides at slightly slower speeds, although I do remember one or two of them screaming to go faster – interestingly just after they told me that my ride was going to be slow!! I really do want to put on record my personal thanks to the Devey family - thank you all.
We will be using this time to ensure there will also be advice on hand for families who need further support. Organisations already agreed to attend include our SEND team, Family Hubs, SEND Family Voice Torbay, SENDIASS Torbay, together with Tissues and Issues.
Anyone who registers will get a special wristband on the day which gives them access to the fair, at zero cost. You will also be asked for proof of postcode at the event as it is for Torbay children and young people with SEND, young carers and cared for or care experienced children and young people and their families. For this you could bring along a utility or council tax bill or your driving licence.
I am particularly pleased that visitors to Fair Play Day this year will be able to see the new SEND ‘bus’ for the first time. This is a specially-branded vehicle that will be touring all our schools and colleges in September as part of our Graduated Response roadshow. Make sure you pop over and get a ‘sneaky peak’ of this new facility.
Before you come over to see the bus, you may be asking yourself ‘what is Graduated Response?’, as you may not have heard this before. This is our joint response to how children and young people have their needs met in the right place, at the right time. with the right support, Within Torbay, we’ve created a set of documents which explains how help will be provided for children in different areas, including speech, language and communication and social, emotional and mental health needs.
We’ll be telling parents and carers more about this towards the end of the summer, so watch this space.
Finally, If you’re a parent or carer of a child with special educational needs or a disability, I really do encourage you to sign up to our termly SEND newsletter. It’s full of the latest updates on our improvement journey in this area, it also has information about online events and helps to signpost you to some useful resources. You can also find all the previous newsletters and how to sign up at www.torbay.gov.uk/send-newsletters.