Have your say on our Draft Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Strategy

Our consultation on our draft Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Strategy is now live. Children with SEND come from a variety of backgrounds, have a huge range of different needs and require different types and kinds of provision to maximise their potential.

The SEND Strategy is a plan for improving provision for children with SEND for the next five years. It will be delivered in partnership by the council, schools, health and other services.

Heather Codling, West Berkshire's Executive Member for Children, Education and Young People's Services says, 

"The Strategy provides the framework we need to make sure we're providing timely support, adjustments and interventions to help children with additional needs to thrive in childhood and to be well prepared for adulthood.

"We want to canvass as much opinion as possible on our draft Strategy, in particular our proposed Priority Areas and their associated projects. We'd also like to know if it is clear and easy to understand. It's by hearing from local people that we can understand if we're planning on taking the right action, focussing on the right areas, and if there is anything we've missed."

If you'd like to comment on our draft strategy, please complete our survey  (which should take about 10 minutes) by midnight on Sunday, 29 October 2023, 
In addition to the survey, we'll be holding a virtual question and answer (Q&A) session with representatives from the West Berkshire SEND Strategic Partnership Board. Details to be confirmed shortly. A summary of questions and answers from the session will be shared at https://www.westberks.gov.uk/draftsendstrategy after the meeting.

If you have any questions about the consultation or would like a copy of the draft strategy and consultation documents in an alternative or physical format, please contact us either by email SENConsultations@westberks.gov.uk, phone (01635) 519713 or write to SEN and Disabled Children's Service, West Berkshire Council, Market Street Offices, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 5LD.

All submissions must reach us by midnight on Sunday, 29 October 2023. All the feedback we receive will be considered, analysed and used to inform the final version of the strategy which will be submitted to the Portfolio Holder for Education for their consideration. Once approved, the final strategy will be published on our Strategies, Policies and Plans, and the Local Offer webpages.

Read the FULL Draft SEND Strategy 2023-2028 here.

An EASY-READ version is available here.