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High Needs Review and Strategic Plan for SEND – Consultation for Response

We have been asked to share with you a consultation on the High Needs Review and Strategic Plan for SEND and the below information is written in a letter to parent carers that we’ve been asked to share.  This affects all families who have a child with SEND, so please take time to review and make comments/responses – you can make a response direct to council or you can share your thoughts with us and we will collate them and share them for you.

“Dear Colleagues and Parents

Consultation on the High Need Review and Strategic Plan for SEND

Today we are launching a new consultation which is focused around developments for specialist (high need) provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Nationally, there is recognition that the population of children with SEND is growing and in March 2017 the DfE committed funding across local authorities to review their specialist provision and services. With a known increase in demand, particularly surrounding placement requests for specialist provision, particular emphasis was drawn on ensuring sufficient good school places in the local area for those with SEND.

At this time, the DfE also announced capital funding for local authorities to invest in new places and/or improvements for pupils with education, health and care (EHC) plans. The local authority has developed a concise plan, available on the local offer at www.telfordsend.org.uk/ to show how it intends to invest this funding focusing currently on the relocation of Haughton Special School. The publication of the High Need Review and Strategic Plan for SEND, is our next step that will help to determine our longer term strategy which aims to secure sufficient specialist provision well into the future.

We are very pleased to be consulting with you regarding our proposals and feel that we are on the next step of our journey to redesign specialist provision within Telford and Wrekin. We have an opportunity to do something differently given a recommendation within the review that we broaden our provision to include resource base provision within mainstream schools, which in turn, will provide parents with greater choice when considering placements for those children with high needs. I am proud that Telford and Wrekin is an inclusive borough and our proposed approach will strengthen this position further.

I hope that you find the High Need Review and Strategic Plan for SEND informative and ask that you submit comments about the proposals using the proforma at the end of the document by no later than 23rd July 2018. These should be returned to SENDandInclusion@telford.gov.uk with the title of ‘High Need Review and Strategic Plan of SEND’. We are very keen to hear from all educational settings and partners from across care and health services, and our parents and young people with SEND.

Best wishes

Heather Loveridge

Assistant Director: Education & Corporate Parenting

Telford & Wrekin Council

Addenbrooke House

Ironmasters Way

Telford

TF3 4NT

All the information has been shared on the Local Offer via this link http://www.telfordsend.org.uk/localofferservices/info/1/home/4/consultation_and_engagement (look for High Needs SEND Review) and we will be discussing at Family Groups over the next few weeks.

Thank you for reading our latest bulletin.

Kerrie Seagrave

Project Administrator on behalf of PODS Parent Carer Forum.

We hope you enjoyed reading our latest e-bulletin - we hope you continue to find it useful. If you have any suggestions to make it better feel free to let me know.