Local area SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy

Summary

The strategy is owned by the Local Area Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) Alternative Provision Board. The strategy reflects the views of parents and carers raised in response to our annual SEND survey.

Working together and building trust - priority 1

We want:

• to work with children, young people and their families to develop trust
• to work with you to ensure the planning and delivery of services reflects your views
• to clearly communicate with children, young people and their families

High quality local provision and services - priority 2

We want:

• all children and young people to be able to access education that meets their needs
• a comprehensive post 16 offer for young people with SEND
• to reduce waiting times in health services and ensure there is a robust and well-rounded social care offer

Improving outcomes - priority 3

We want:

• to improve early identification of need, so children and young people are having their needs met at an earlier stage
• to improve access to health visiting services
• to increase the understanding of SEND for practitioners across education, health and social care, to support with identifying needs earlier
• to produce high quality education, health and care plans (EHCPs) that are on time
• deliver effective annual reviews to support children and young people to achieve the best possible outcomes

Preparing for and moving into adulthood - priority 4

We recognise that preparing for the next stages in life can be a nervous time for any young person.

We want:

• to improve support for young people preparing for adulthood
• to effectively communicate the living and housing options available for young people
• to promote independence
• to build on the success of the high numbers of young people aged 16 to 25 years in:
  • education
  • training
  • employment
  • to develop a plan to identify and support young people eligible for continuing health care from year 9 onwards

A supportive, effective alternative provision - priority 5

We want:

• to work with local area partners to put in place a consistent and fair approach to alternative provision, which includes:
  • mainstream education
  • SEND provision and services
  • early help
  • social care
  • local health services
  • to work with education providers to support quality teaching to meet the needs of children and young people  
  • to develop a graduated approach where the use of:
    • alternative provision is seen firstly as a temporary arrangement
    • where the goal is always to reintegrate the young person back into the school community  

Valuing our children and young people and achieving best value in Cumberland - priority 6

We will always put the needs of children at the centre of everything we do.

We want:

• to deliver the best value possible for our children and young people with SEND and their families
• to support settings with lower exclusivity to become more inclusive
• to ensure every child and young person can access a positive learning environment
• to reduce and remove barriers to accessing information, advice and support for families and practitioners

The full strategy details the local area’s priorities, and includes:

• what the Partnership want to change or improve
• what this will look like for families
• how we will make the changes needed

The strategy details key actions the Partnership will take over the next 4 years to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND and their families. While not a fully exhaustive list, our strategy clearly sets the Partnership’s ambition to develop and implement the improvements needed. The Local Area Partnership have a detailed action plan to deliver the strategic priorities and will measure our success and impact made based on:

• what this will look like for families within the strategy
• results of further SEND annual surveys
• engagement activities
• co-production groups

Over the next 4 years, all our work streams will be clearly linked to this strategy. The Local Area Partnership will keep colleagues, professionals, children, young people, and parents/carers up to date on the changes and improvements we put into place through our communications channels, and on the you said, we listening web page.