Co-producing Shropshire’s Response to the SEND Green Paper Consultation
07/07/2022
PACC marked Co-production Week 2022 by jointly hosting and delivering a SEND Green Paper Event with Shropshire Council. We welcomed representatives from specialist and mainstream schools, alternative provision, social care, the SEND team and parent carers to discuss the key themes in the Green Paper and what they might mean for Shropshire.
The event was opened by Nic Brindley the CEO from the YES Trust, who are opening the new specialist setting in Shrewsbury, the Keystone Academy. Nic looked at the case for change, talking about:
- The continuing poorer outcomes for SEND children
- The ongoing difficulties navigating the system
- Getting value for money from the system
- Improved accountability and consistency, especially around assessments and meeting needs
The discussions during the day explored how we meet the needs of an increasing SEND population locally, reducing reliance on what is an expensive independent sector, while maintaining quality of support, what is a good outcome for a SEND child and have we got the correct outcome measures in place and how do we balance achieving consistency and accountability through standardisation, while still maintaining the flexibility within the system to deliver the personalised approach needed.
There was a clear message from the parent carers in the room that the current focus on GCSE’s as the only recognised measure of success must change and that there needed to be an increased focus on developing vocational and life skills. The importance of supporting young people to lead healthy lives and enabling them to contribute positively to society were also highlighted as being important outcomes for SEND children and young people. Parent carers also wanted to see the system working more closely together, placing the young person at the heart of all decision making, rather than getting lost in it.
PACC will be working with Shropshire Council to provide a system wide response to the SEND Green Paper Consultation which closes on the 22nd July 2022
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/send-review-right-support-right-place-right-time
Co-production is where those who use services work in equal partnership with the system that provides services, ensuring the knowledge and experience of communities is used to develop more effective services and to achieve better outcomes.
< Back to News List
