SEND reforms

We are happy to share that Stoke-on-Trent’s SEND Reform Plan has now been sent in to the Department for Education.

This is an important step to help improve support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, known as SEND.

How the plan was developed

We made this plan with partners and families. It includes views from people across the local area.

The plan has been shaped by:

• Parents and carers, including the Parent Carer Forum
• Children and young people
• Schools, nurseries and colleges
• Health partners, including the Integrated Care Board
• Children’s social care and other council services

The plan shows that education, health and care services all need to work together in a clearer way.

Senior leaders from the council and health services have also checked and agreed the plan.

What the plan aims to achieve

We want to build a stronger and more welcoming system for children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND. We want them to get the right help, do well and feel included.

The main things we want to improve are:

• Help children and young people earlier, before problems get bigger
• Help more children to learn in local mainstream schools and settings, with expert support when needed
• Make education, health and care services work better together
• Help families feel more confident in local SEND support
• Create more local places, so more children can learn closer to home

This includes work to:

• Give schools more specialist support through our “Experts at Hand” model
• Create more local SEND places in early years, schools and post-16 settings
• Help local groups of schools and services work together through SEND communities

These changes should help children and young people get better support. They should also help make the SEND system stronger for the future.

What this means for families

Over time, families should start to see:

• Quicker help when concerns first come up
• Better support in local schools and settings
• Less need for children to go to school or placements outside the area
• Clearer information and a better Local Offer
• Better support when children and young people move between stages, such as starting a new school or moving into adulthood

What happens next

Now the plan has been sent in, we will focus on putting it into action.

We are already starting work to:

• Work on the first year of the plan, with clear goals
• Keep working with families and partners as the plan grows
• Start and grow new support, including Experts at Hand
• Improve the Local Offer, so information is clear, easy to use and helpful

The plan will change and grow over time. Families will keep helping to shape how we make things better.

Working together

We know that real change will take time. This plan gives us a clear way forward to improve SEND services in Stoke-on-Trent.

We will keep working with families, listening to what you tell us, and improving support for children and young people.