The Dudley SEND Dialogue event

For all headteachers and senior leaders in Dudley

Be part of the conversation

Following the SEND local area inspection May 2019, you will be aware that we have established a SEND improvement programme which at its core will endeavour to improve outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Nationally the number of children and young people requiring SEND support has increased, particularly since the Children and Families Act 2014 placed new duties on local health, social care and education services. Dudley is no different and as a system we have identified a significant shortfall in the funding that the government provides to the local authority and schools to support our children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. As a sector we are lobbying national government, but it is clear that that we need to manage our finite resources appropriately and now more than ever, ensure the right support is provided at the right time.

In practice this means starting as early as possible to ensure that children are supported within mainstream schools and that we strive to support our children and young people in achieving their highest aspirations. We will work to identify the right provision for every young person and this will be underpinned by robust and transparent decision making processes.

Dudley intends to overcome these challenges by embarking on a Dudley-wide SEND conversation with the aim of developing a clear set of actions which support the delivery of a new SEND strategy.

In order to facilitate this work effectively and maximise the value of these conversations we have commissioned an independent external organisation called SEND4Change to work with us. This organisation specialises in developing arrangements for children and young people with SEND and they will be sharing their knowledge and experience with us as we begin to move this agenda forward.

The aim of the event

How do we as a partnership satisfy ourselves that all settings are accessible and inclusive for the children within our community?

We also want to explore how we can strive to achieve the best possible outcomes and raise aspirations for children and young with SEND in Dudley.

We want to work with our schools in order to address the SEND challenge in regards to realising improvements against a backdrop of DSG financial pressures.

It is intended to establish a number of focus groups based on the outcomes of these initial discussions which will consider the strengths and challenges of Dudley’s current SEND offer. The event will help to identify key lines of enquiry to be pursued by members of the focus groups.