A system that works for all – New plan to transform special needs support in Hampshire

The Local Area SEND Reform Plan comes in response to reforms announced by Government earlier this year and has been developed by Hampshire County Council, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, parent and carer forums, education settings, and voluntary sector organisations. It outlines how education, health, social care, and parent partnerships propose to work together to build a system where every child gets the right support at the right time, and the voices of parents and young people are heard. 

The three-year plan sets out four core aims, designed to support children and young people with SEND to achieve better outcomes, and instil greater confidence in the system for both families and stakeholders.  

• A consistent offer from ages 0-25 that embeds inclusive practice into the universal support available to children and young people at every stage of the education journey
• A new Experts at Hand service that will enable education settings to access early specialist support from locally based, multi-disciplinary teams including Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, and specialist teachers
• A clear focus on working in direct partnership with children, families and key stakeholders to shape and improve services, and on resolving issues at the earliest possible stage
• Targeted capital investment to increase local provision so that children can attend school in their own communities, alongside their friends and neighbours and without needing to travel long distances

Councillor Juliet Henderson, the County Council’s Cabinet Lead Member for Education, said: “Feeling included and properly supported at every stage of education is something that all children and young people with SEND rightly want and deserve – and shouldn’t be a postcode lottery. That’s why our plan seeks to put inclusion at the very heart of education and make this the golden thread that runs through the system, from a child’s earliest years in education through to adulthood.  

“This has been a truly collaborative effort, and moving forward, we will continue to work together with our partners, parents, carers and young people to make sure inclusion is always the starting point.” 

Central to the plan will be an ongoing focus on promoting inclusion in mainstream schools, to support the majority of children to learn and thrive in these settings. In total, the Government has announced an investment of at least £3 billion to deliver tens of thousands new specialist places in mainstream schools across the country. In Hampshire, this funding will support the creation of new provision including ‘specialist and support bases’ in mainstream environments, to ensure that staff can work more flexibly to meet a range of needs.  

This will come alongside work to strengthen the universal offer available to all pupils, so that teaching and learning are truly inclusive and accessible for everyone. Specialist training and workforce development will make inclusion the shared expectation for all staff working across education settings, from early years through to post-16 and beyond. The new Experts at Hand service will provide additional specialist support where needed, with Government funding of £9 million announced to kickstart the roll out of the service in Hampshire this year. 

Early intervention will be crucial to making the plans a success, with early help services, Best Start Family Hubs, and health providers all set to play a critical role, ensuring that children and young people receive the right support as early as possible. 

Commenting on the plan, Paul Richardson, Chair of the Hampshire Parent and Carer Network (HPCN) which represents parents and carers of children with SEND, said: “Hampshire Parent Carer Network welcomes the publication of Hampshire’s SEND Reform Plan and is pleased to have had the opportunity to work alongside Hampshire County Council and NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight in developing it. 

“We recognise that SEND reform is a significant programme of work that will develop over time, and the real measure of success will be how these changes improve the experiences and outcomes of families across Hampshire. 

“This plan is a starting point, not a finished piece of work. Continued co-production with families will be essential as proposals are developed, tested and refined. HPCN looks forward to working with partners to ensure parent and carer voices remain at the heart of that process.” 

James Lowell, Chief Commissioning Officer at NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, said: “This plan represents an important step towards creating a more joined-up system of support for children and young people with SEND across Hampshire. By bringing together health, education and care partners, we can ensure that children and families receive the right support at the right time, closer to home. 

“Early identification and intervention are key to improving outcomes, and initiatives such as the Experts at Hand service will help education settings access specialist advice more quickly. Just as importantly, we are committed to listening to children, young people and their families, and working alongside them to shape services that truly meet their needs both now and in the future.” 

The Local SEND Reform Plan has now been submitted to Government and will be reviewed by the Department for Education, and published online in due course. The changes will continue to be shaped by ongoing feedback from families and young people, with the aim of achieving fully embedded, system wide reform by 2029. The Hampshire Parent Carer Network continues to encourage more parents and carers to get involved in that process by joining the forum; details of how to sign up are on the HPCN website.