Our plan to improve special educational needs and disabilities support in Nottinghamshire
We know that changes to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services can feel worrying and confusing for families. There is a lot of information about national reforms and local plans, and it is not always clear how these fit together.
All local areas were asked by the government to create plans to improve how SEND support is provided. We are hoping to receive official sign off before the end of the year.
These are plans to change the way we support children and young people with SEND and their families in the future so that they get the right help at the right time.
Listening to you
We felt strongly that our plans should be based on listening to what local young people, parents and carers and professionals said about their current or past experiences.
We had over 700 responses to our survey. Thank you to every single person who took the time to share their views.
We received:
- 540 responses from parents and carers across Nottinghamshire
- 81 from children and young people
- 148 from professionals across health, education and social care
What you told us
We heard some common themes and our plan includes the actions we will take to make things better in the future.
You told us “support comes too late”
Families said they want help earlier, before small problems become bigger ones.
We plan to:
- Increase the support available earlier, without having to wait for official processes.
- Increase access to specialist advice and support in mainstream schools.
- Hire more specialist staff to work with mainstream schools and educational settings.
- Provide better support for children and young people in their local communities.
You told us “mainstream schools need more support”
Families told us that support can vary between schools and that children do not always receive help early enough.
We plan to:
- Publish clearer guidance about the support children and young people should be able to access in school and educational settings.
- Make support more consistent across schools and educational settings.
- Invest in training and development for staff working with children and young people with SEND.
- Help schools to get specialist advice earlier and more easily.
You told us “children and young people want to feel included”
Children and young people told us they want to feel that they belong, are listened to and can take part in school and community life.
We plan to:
- Support schools and educational settings to better understand the barriers that stop young people taking part, improving attendance and reducing suspensions and exclusions.
- Enable every child to be included and supported.
- Ask children and young people's views before making decisions.
You told us “support should be available closer to home”
Families told us that travelling long distances for education or support can be difficult.
We plan to:
- Offer more suitable provision closer to home, reducing the number of children who are travelling a long way from home for their education.
- Create more support for children and young people within their local area.
- Improve planning of SEND provision so that it’s available where it is most needed.
You told us “communication needs to improve”
Families told us they want clearer information, better communication and a better understanding of what support is available.
We plan to:
- Improve the way we communicate and engage with families.
- Provide better, clearer information, advice and guidance for families.
- Help families to understand what support is available when, and how to access it.
- Improve, regularly review and refine our SEND Local Offer.
You told us “families want their voices to make a difference”
Parents and carers told us they want to know that feedback leads to action.
We plan to:
- Have better opportunities for children, young people and families to help us make decisions.
- Use the views of young people and families when we are making decisions about services.
- Improve and develop ‘You said, we did’ updates.
- Continue to work closely with the Nottinghamshire Parent Carer Forum.
What’s next?
Listening to you
We will continue to listen to children, young people and parents and carers.
Working together
All partners are determined to work together and support our children and families in the best way possible.
Our plan
We expect to receive feedback on our plans from the Department for Education before the end of the year.
Making changes
Work is already underway and is an ongoing process which will continue to be informed by feedback from children, young people and families. We will be looking at how different services and organisations work together as well as setting up new teams of specialists who will support children in schools day-to-day.
Updating you
We will share updates regularly about our progress, opportunities for you to get involved and how your feedback is being used to make decisions through our dedicated newsletter, the Local Offer website and social media channels.
