Special education needs (SEN)
Overview
Many children require extra support at one time or another during their school career. Most will attend their local school, with their needs being met from existing resources. However, a small number will need extra help throughout their school career.
Latest update
The Council is currently implementing recommendations from a review of its Special Educational Needs and Disability service and has just approved a significant increase in school places for children and young people with special needs. It has also approved an additional 14 members of staff to support the SEND service. These roles included increased capacity in the communications team, and increased capacity within the statutory Education, Health and Care Plan process.
The Council has looked at the levels of current and future demand for school places and have mapped it against the current provision. We know that there has been an increase both locally and nationally for specialist placements for children and young people, particularly for those with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC), Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) and associated learning needs. Working closely with local schools, the Council has identified, and now approved, an additional 93 resourced provision places and 32 special school places.
Resourced provision is a way of enabling children with more specialist needs to access their education with specialist support and resources in a mainstream school usually in a separate and appropriately equipped classroom This enables children and young people to remain on a mainstream site (with their peers and usually in their local communities) instead of attending a special school. Resourced provisions are staffed by highly qualified staff who have similar experience to those staff working in the special school sector.
63 of the resourced provisions places are in primary schools across the borough, with 30 in secondary schools. The Council’s focus now will move to creating more resourced provision in secondary schools, whilst working with schools and parents to enable schools to provide inclusive mainstream placements for those children and young people that could thrive within them.
In addition to the 93 places outlined above, we have opened the first Cheshire West and Chester special school satellite at the start of the academic year – this means that a special school is hosted by a mainstream school. The Satellite Provision provides access to a specialist curriculum and social experience for young people who would also benefit from mainstream opportunities tailored to their individual needs.
We will continue to build on this work to support increased capacity and promote inclusion in mainstream settings where possible across the borough.
Where to find help
- Email: senteam@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
- By post: SEN Team, The Portal, Wellington Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BA
- Telephone: 0151 337 6505
Further information
Further information about Special Educational Needs can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Local Offer for SEN
The West Cheshire Local Offer website also provides comprehensive local information, advice and support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND) and their parents or carers, in a single place. It includes information from a range of local agencies, including education, health and social care. Knowing what is out there gives you more choice and therefore more control over what support is right for your child is now available:
Parent Carer Forum
The Parent Carer Forum is a voluntary group of parents and carers of children or young people with special education needs and or disability (SEND), who live in the borough.
The group aims to be the voice of as many of these parents and carers as possible and to work in partnership with education, health and social care to influence decisions about services.
Transport assistance for pupils with Special Educational Needs
The Council recognises that there will be a number of children and young people who by the nature of their special educational needs will be entitled to assisted home to school transport. The Council will look at factors such as the needs of the child, the nature of the route to school and the suitability of existing transport options.
