Residents urged to have their say on the Joint Commissioning Strategy for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 2023-2028

Residents urged to have their say on the Joint Commissioning Strategy for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 2023-2028

Families and individuals who work with children and young people in Stoke-on-Trent are being urged to have their say on a new draft strategy which aims to help children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) to be the best they can be.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent NHS Integrated Care Board (which oversees NHS services in the area) are seeking the views of residents on its proposed nine priorities within the new draft strategy. 

The draft strategy identifies a set of shared principles and priorities that will set a road map for all joint planning and commissioning decisions for SEND and has been developed with children, young people and adults with SEND, parents and carers, partners and stakeholders.

The proposed priorities in the draft Joint Commissioning Strategy for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 2023-2028 are:

1. Understanding the needs of the local SEND population and current/future service demand and capacity.
2. Meeting the needs of our neurodiverse population.
3. Developing a joint graduated approach that meets the speech, language and communication needs of our SEND population.
4. Improving access to therapy and integrated equipment provision
5. Nursing provision for children and young people with SEND.
6. Improve communication between agencies, professionals, children and young people and families.
7. Ensuring the workforce is skilled, knowledgeable and feels supported and equipped to support children and young people with SEND.
8. Children and young people with SEND are supported with their social and emotional mental health.
9. Improve the early identification of SEND needs, in the early years, as well as intervening when issues start to arise.

The engagement period will run for four weeks to Tuesday, January 31. It will be aimed at children and young people with SEND and their families in Stoke-on-Trent, as well as partners across education, social care and health.

Councillor Janine Bridges, cabinet member for education and the economy, said: “Children are our number one priority and this strategy will provide a roadmap on how collectively we will jointly commission and work towards this vision, ensuring high quality, joined up services across education, health and social care.

“We are building upon our strengths, working closely with our community to understand and listen to what matters most to them, to ensure that we are able to meet the needs of young people with SEND and their families.”

Dr Paul Edmondson-Jones, Chief Medical Officer for the Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent NHS Integrated Care Board, said: “Services work best when they are tailored for the needs of local communities. That is why it is important that we hear from as many young people and their families as possible.”

Engagement will take the form of an online survey and virtual and in person engagement sessions. For more information on these sessions and to have your say visit: www.stoke.gov.uk/JCSforSEND

Feedback gathered from this engagement will be considered and reflected within the final Joint Commissioning Strategy for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities 2023-2028.