North Yorkshire’s Local Area SEND reform plan has been approved by the Department for Education, which is focussed on earlier support, stronger inclusion and improved access to local services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
The Local Area SEND Partnership was required by the DfE to prepare and submit the plan. It was developed by bringing together views from parents, carers and young people and schools, health and council services.
The plan is North Yorkshire’s response to the Government’s SEND reforms. It sets out clear actions reflecting the county’s needs, priorities and geography, recognising that improving support for children with SEND is a shared responsibility across partner organisations.
It also sets out a three-year programme of system changes and the intention of the plan, underpinned by national reform, is to provide earlier access to support so that more children can thrive in local schools and settings.
The reform plan focuses on:
• Stronger inclusion in mainstream education.
• Expanding specialist help and advice to local schools.
• Strengthening the local area partnership.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for children and families, Cllr Janet Sanderson, said: “This is good news for children and young people in North Yorkshire. It is an important milestone in developing the offer of support for children, delivering that support earlier and building greater confidence in our local offer.
“Our ambition is to work collaboratively to ensure more children with additional needs can achieve and thrive in local mainstream schools, rooted in their own communities alongside their friends.
“We know that change to the education system for children and young people with additional needs may be concerning for some families. The partnership is committed to coproducing change with children, young people, parents and carers. The approval of the plan is one important step in that journey.”
A key element of the programme will be the delivery of the county’s “Experts at Hand” model providing schools with faster access to specialist advice and support from professionals including educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and specialist teachers.
Cllr Sanderson added: “The aim is to identify needs earlier and support more children in our local schools and settings.
“We are strengthening access to specialist practitioners including educational psychologists and therapists as well as embedding the use of our Inclusive Mainstream Toolkit that has been coproduced with our Parent Carer Forum.”
Other exciting developments include rapidly expanding specialist bases in mainstream schools and broadening the alternative provision offer to provide better outreach support and places for primary-aged children.
North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director for children and young people’s services, El Mayhew, said: “This plan is about building on what is already working well in the county while responding to what children, young people and families have told us they need.
“We want every child to have the chance to grow, achieve and pursue their ambitions close to home, in a place that supports and celebrates them. Delivering this ambition will require sustained commitment across education, health, care and the wider partnership.
“We will continue to work with families as we await further detail from the Department for Education on the next stages of national reform.”