One minute guide: Everyone’s included: our Leeds strategy to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND

What is ‘Everyone’s included’

Leeds published ‘Everyone’s Included: the Leeds SEND (special educational needs and disability) and Inclusion Strategy’ in January 2023. It sets out our shared plans to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND, and those with additional needs due to their circumstances, including children who are: looked after (by the local authority); in need (of support from a social worker); living with financial disadvantage; and who have experienced trauma. Our plans focus on improving outcomes for these children and reducing any inequalities they may face in relation to their learning, health and wellbeing.

Why we have a strategy

It is the statutory duty of the Council under the Children and Families Act (2014) to co-produce this strategy with partners, including children and young people with SEND, their families, and partners across education, health, social care and the voluntary and community sector. It is also the statutory duty of the Council to set out arrangements for supporting young people with SEND to prepare for adulthood.

Our strategy also aligns with a national improvement plan for SEND, announced in March 2023. The national improvement plan responds to the national SEND review Right support, right place, right time, which reported in summer 2022. Our local strategy lines up with the with the findings of this review, for example, the need for consistent, high quality early support, as well as investment in more high-quality specialist and alternative learning places, and the need to make pathways to support more joined-up and less complicated for families.

How the strategy was developed

As noted above, it is a statutory requirement for the local authority to co-produce this strategy with a range of partners, including children and families. The ‘Everyone’s Included’ name of the strategy was suggested by members of our SEND Youth Forum, who wanted to share the message that ‘everyone’s included’ in making our city a child-friendly and inclusive place.

The strategy was developed through a range of co-production activities, from the initial scoping in 2019 through to publication in 2022. These included:

  • an early survey of families to identify their key priorities, with follow-up focus groups to explore themes in more detail
  • online workshops for partners (over 500 people), with tailored/ bespoke activities for specific groups and discussion items at meetings, including head teacher forums, the Early Help Board and the Leeds Health SEND Steering Group
  • activities for the Leeds SEND Youth Forum, which was established during the co-production period
  • support from the Voice and Influence team to maintain an active forum for parent/ carer participation during the development and implementation phases. A new forum is being established to contribute to the strategy’s implementation, governance and evaluation

What does the strategy say?

The SEND and Inclusion Strategy contributes to the outcomes and ambitions of Leeds as set out in the Children and Young People’s Plan , the 3As plan (Attend, Attain, Achieve) and the Health and Wellbeing strategy. The SEND and Inclusion Strategy sets out the ‘3Is’ - broad outcomes for an inclusive, child-friendly Leeds:

  • inclusion—children and young people are supported to live, learn, have fun and be included in their local communities, with their peers, wherever possible. They can access high-quality support to reach their full potential
  • integrated practices and pathways—partners across different services work together, with shared values, a shared language and shared practices. They provide integrated pathways to identify, assess and meet needs holistically
  • individualisation—children and young people’s individual needs, circumstances, goals and identities are respected. Support plans reflect the individual, and services are personalised as much as possible

The strategy identifies six shared priorities for action:

  1. Promote and support early identification, holistic assessment of needs and quality planning to meet needs from the earliest time.
  2. Continue to build a skilled, confident, resilient workforce which is able to meet children and young people’s educational, social and emotional needs.
  3. Embed high-quality, meaningful plans for children and young people, recognising individual needs, circumstances and identities.
  4. Increase our focus on children and young people whose circumstances may make them more vulnerable to inequalities in their outcomes.
  5. Develop a continuum of high-quality provision (learning places and support services) to meet diverse needs, enhance choice and improve outcomes.
  6. Integrate practices and pathways; working together, across services and with families, to identify, assess and meet needs.

As well as six shared values and behaviours which underpin the work:

  • we respond to and reduce the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic
  • we work with families as partners and enable their voice and influence
  • we support children from their earliest years. We support young people to prepare for adulthood from the earliest time
  • we personalise support and services as much as possible to recognise unique needs, circumstances, identities and goals
  • we work together across agencies to identify the services we need, plan how to deliver them and use money wisely (joint commissioning)
  • we use quality data to understand local needs and improve outcomes

The Leeds area SEND Partnership Board includes partners across education, health, and social care services, as well as representatives for children and young people and their families. The Board will hold services to account for delivering the actions in this strategy, using a shared outcomes framework developed across education, health and care services, to help measure the difference it is making. It will set out ‘indicators’ of success for this strategy, covering improved health, wellbeing and participation outcomes for children and young people in Leeds.

Further information

The full strategy is available. If you have any questions please contact us via LLO@leeds.gov.uk.

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