SEND Consultancy

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All of our support services for families that have a child with SEND and/or SEMH needs are free. Where possible we aim to keep costs down for schools and local authorities in order to allow more support for more children and young people, with our ultimate aim for us to be able to provide all support for schools and services for free. 

We do provide a number of services to schools and local authorities to support them in ensuring their SEND provision, understanding and delivery is the best it can be. This may be something we can deliver, or one of our specialist partners depending on what you need. Below you can find information on our support packages and details of our specialist partners that can help with training. You can book a consultation here

Great Minds Together have a multidisciplinary team that consists of psychologists, counsellors, social workers, speech and language therapists, teachers and teaching assistants, play therapists and skilled mentors who are specifically trained to work with young people to support their social and emotional skills and social and emotional wellbeing. The mentors and wraparound co-ordinators are paid staff, professional volunteers and graduates who work alongside their young person and parents/carers, supporting and encouraging them to best reach their potential, a successful post-16 destination and a positive pathway into the future for all the family.

The team deliver 1:1 intervention’s, bespoke to each individual young person while also providing crucial wraparound support for their families. By assisting and befriending families Great Minds Together are able to build relationships with people who may otherwise struggle to access or engage with services, including those living in areas of high deprivation and poverty and families involved with children’s social care. As well as signposting to statutory, public and community services, 

Great Minds Together mentors and wraparound co-ordinators work closely with services, organisations and community groups in order to coordinate available support for young people, ensuring consistent and appropriate information sharing with the involvement of and consent of the young person, with a plan focused around their individual aspirations.  

The ‘Great Minds intervention programme’ is a multi-model approach which consists of:

• Growth Mindset programme (1:1 intervention)
• Cognitive behavioural based therapies (1:1 intervention)
• CPD certifications for young people that are not likely to achieve academic grades (Visual online learning certifications with mentor support)
• Assistance into work-based learning experiences
• Practical and emotional wraparound support for the young person’s family
• Training and support for key teaching staff and other professionals that work with the young person in order to help them understand how to best support the young person and their family, in order to promote better outcomes.

To discuss how the Great Minds model could help in your setting or local authority book a consultation.

Geraldine Hills is the Director of Inclusive Choice.

Geraldine has over 15 years' experience working alongside corporate businesses and the educational sector helping them meet their statuary duties as laid down by the Equality Act 2010. 

She holds a BA in Learning Disability Studies from the Victoria University of Manchester and is a guest lecturer within the education department.

Geraldine has experience of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal (SENDIST) process, as a parent who successfully won a landmark tribunal for her child with disabilities. 

Geraldine is also a published author and has written many books for schools and families. One of Geraldine's books is completely free and can be found here. It was written especially for parents of SEN children.

Geraldine has designed many training course the latest being “Emotional Resilience”  and “Getting Your Message Across” As the parent of a young person with disabilities Geraldine knows only too well the challenges involved in being the voice for her child, and this is the reason for her writing her latest book Second Chance Day.

Geraldine gives keynote speeches on various subjects such as starting a small company, emotional resilience and what keeps her motivated as well as being available for a number of training days for school's and local authorities on how to better their approach to SEND.

Book a consultation here.

Garry is a National SEND System Leader, accredited by Whole School SEND, and offers a wide ranging, successful track record of recent SEND leadership and improvement experience in different settings.

Garry has shaped SEND provision not only in schools,  but also in Local Authorities across the North of England. Garry has extensive experience in providing and leading CPD courses for individuals, school–to–school, MAT and Local Authorities. He is highly skilled in positive leadership and management of change, and writes extensively as a consultant practitioner for a range of UK educational publications.

Garry has taught for 43 years in high schools and special schools throughout Leeds and Bradford as a:

· Member of 4 school Senior Leadership Teams;

· SENDCo;

· Director of Inclusion;

· Head of History / Head of Humanities; 

· Behaviour Support Coordinator;

Since 2005, Garry has been instrumental in improving SEND provision in a wide range of schools, MATs and Local Authorities across England. His most recent work in this respect was with a North-West Local Authority in 2017/18 as Project Leader to support the LA after their Local Area Review in 2016. The success of his work contributed significantly to a successful and improved outcome for the LA in a further Local Area review in December 2018. 

From 2016 to May 2019 Garry was an Associate Consultant for The National Association for Special Educational Needs (Nasen) and Chair of their DfE 0-11 Advisory Group. 

From 2015 to 2017, Garry worked on a consultant basis with the DfE on effective websites and SEN Information Reports.

Ofsted has described Garry's practice as “beyond outstanding……..inspirational!”

Book a consultation here.

Great Minds Together are always looking to work with other like-minded, solution focussed people,  organisations and groups. If you would like to get involved you can send us an email to: info@greatmindstogether.co.uk and our Director of Partnerships will be in touch.