Consultation and engagement
Local Offer consultation and engagement
We all need to work in partnership to ensure that the changes we are implementing in Telford and Wrekin will make a real difference in the lives of all the children and young people with SEND.
With such a wide range of people and organisations involved it may be a real challenge to ensure everyone has an opportunity to participate but we are doing our best to give you different means to engage and have your say in shaping the reforms.
Please find our current and historical consultations below.
2023
SEND & Alternative Provision Consultation Workshops
Telford & Wrekin Local Area SEND Partnership invited representatives including: parents, carers, children, young people, partner services and professionals to attend workshops that would share ideas and develop an exciting new SEND & Alternative Provision Strategy for the local area.
Bringing together all partners, workshops were held in December 2022 and January 2023 to provide an opportunity for partners to share their vision and shape the future of SEND & Alternative Provision. The aim of the workshops included sharing innovative ideas on how the local area partnership can provide one seamless system that meets the needs of children and young people across mainstream school, alternative provision and specialist placements.
Discussion areas covered:
- Localised provision
- Making sure that the needs of children and young people are met early
- Children, young people and their families having the opportunity to participate in decision making about their individual plans and support
- Leading improvements and working together with families
- A preventative AP Offer
- Providing a system that makes sense
- Inspiring aspirational outcomes for young people
- Being data informed and intelligence rich, listening to the lived experience of children, young people and families.
- Having a preventative Alternative Provision offer
Making sure that children and young people are valued, visible and included in their community.
2022
The SEND Review - Green Paper for discussion and consultation
Have your say on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) system in England.
Share your views on the government's proposals for the SEND and alternative provision system by midnight on Friday 1 July 2022. Click the link below for more information.
2021
Short Breaks Consultation 2021
The Short Breaks Statement consultation period has run from 18 October 2021 to 10 December 2021. As of 5pm on 10 December 2021, the survey is closed and all feedback has been logged. Thank you to all who have made their voice heard throughout this process, your responses are so valuable in co-producing the new Short Breaks Statement. Please click the link below to find the consultation results, draft statement and more...
https://www.telfordsend.org.uk/info/1/home/116/short_breaks_consultation_2021
We hope to release an updated Short Breaks Statement in the Winter of 2022, which will respond to the development suggestions and feedback you have given.
2019
Travel Assistance Consultation
I would like to bring to your attention our Travel Assistance Policy consultation that launched yesterday. We think that your school will have an interest in it.
Following unanimous agreement of the Telford & Wrekin Council’s Cabinet on Thursday 12 September, we are consulting on the impact of proposed changes to our Travel Assistance Policies.
These proposals will affect new applicants for travel assistance to attend maintained educational establishments up to the age of 16 or Year 11.
It will also affect people who receive travel assistance support but undergo a significant change in circumstances, for example a house move or change of eligible needs.
The consultation has ended
Accessibility Strategy
The Council is required under the Equality Act 2010 to have an accessibility strategy in which it promotes better access for disabled pupils at school. The Council has published this draft strategy which requires consultation with key stakeholders, including schools, parents, children and young people and council services. Consultation will include representation from disabled people.
Consultation is now closed with the Accessibility Strategy published here
2018
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Early Years SEN Inclusion Fund Consultation 2018
The Local Authority (LA) consulted with its partners to propose a number of changes to the way in which the Early Years Inclusion Fund is allocated to Early Years Providers.
Please click here to view the proposed changes
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 here, 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.
2017
Proposed changes to the way in which Telford & Wrekin Local Authority undertake a new Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA)
View consultation feedback May 2017
The following surveys have been creating to gather feedback regarding the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment and Education, Health and Care Plan Transfer Review process's:
Transfer Review process survey
If you have had an Education, Health and Care Plan since September 2014, then please let us know your experience during the two process's.
Below you will find the proposed changes to the way in which Telford & Wrekin Local Authority undertake a new education health and care needs assessment. Consultation closed as of 31 March 2017
2016
Following parent feedback from Parent carer forums, IS and IASS we need to make changes to our parent / carer /young person request form.
As part of a SEND parent / carer consultation group we have been working on adapting the Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) form to meet the needs of our parents and carers.
To provide your feedback regarding the form please contact POD’s, or IASS.
Consultation closed as of 15 August.
Personal Budgets - Bridge School parent /carer meeting Feb 2016
SEND Reforms – Parent feedback – Market Stall Event Feb 2016.
Personal Budgets Updates – March 2016
SEND Reforms – Personal Budgets conference Q&A session – March 2016
SEND Strategy Consultation – POD’s Parent carer group – May 2016
Local Offer – the NEW Look – May 2016
Parent request form consultation – June 2016
Local Offer- The New Look Launch – POD’s AGM – June 2016
2015
Local Offer website Youth Forum - 20 May 2015
Local Offer / SENDirect - PODS AGM - 24 June 2015
Local Offer website - Forum for Young People with Disabilities (FYPD) - 10 July 2015
Local Offer feedback is always ongoing - You Said, We Did page.
Continual ongoing discussions with our parent carer forums POD’s, IASS and IS through the SEND task and finish groups.
We have also started a new group specifically looking at suggested changes from parent carer forums. This started in June 2016 and meets approx every 8 weeks. To get involved please contact POD’s
We are very keen to hear the views of young people and their parent and carers. Please provide us with your comments by contacting our team.
Parent and Carer Local Offer consultation
The Local Offer process for Telford and Wrekin started in September 2013 with an initial focus group that included PODS Parent Carer Forum, parent groups and IASS
We developed an initial survey to gather feedback on the following:
- what is most important information to see in Local Offer - assessment/referral process, support and involvement for parent carers, leisure activities
- where most likely to see information - website and leaflets
- where best to put Local Offer information - online, schools, GP surgeries.
We continued to work together, meeting on a monthly basis developing the Local Offer collaboratively to include headings under age ranges and education, health, social care and leisure. In addition a section that covers information relating to all age ranges was also included. Throughout the process we have included the voice of parent carers and gathered their views through participation, feedback and involvement at family groups, events, conferences and workshops.
The new SEND logo was transposed from a national presentation and we felt that it demonstrated the SEND process with the family/child in the centre.
Since September 2014, we now meet quarterly. The changes and migration of the website have been managed internally by the Local Authority and we are continually providing feedback and suggestions for additions and improvements, alongside direct contact from parent carers via the feedback button. Information that has been shared with us from parent carers is also added to the website and this has enabled the Local Offer to grow.
We continue to share the Local Offer information links and details of how this can be accessed, showcasing via our
iPads at events and family groups. Information is also shared via social media, newsletters and at our SEND Workshops.
The wider SEND Reforms, including the Local Offer are now reported upon to the SEND Steering Group (Chaired by PODS Parent Carer Forum) and in turn report directly to Aiming High for SEND (0-25) Strategic Group.
Information about Parent/Carer support