Introduction
This page includes important documents supporting and explaining our Local Offer.
We publish documents like strategies about how we plan to work together for children and young people with additional needs who need to be supported and involved in their education, health, and care.
SEND Strategy for Somerset
The SEND strategy was shaped by extensive engagement with children, young people and families and sets out how services will be delivered and led over the next three years (2023-26).
It builds upon the work of the Written Statement of Action (2020-2022).
It has been developed by Somerset SEND Local Area Partnership, which includes:
- Somerset Council
- NHS Somerset
- Education: schools, early years, further education providers
- Somerset Parent Carer Forum
- The Unstoppables
- Voluntary, Community, Faith, Social Enterprise
The partnership is responsible for making a positive difference for children and young people with SEND and their families. They will do this by meeting the aims of the SEND charter.
Vision
We want to be able to move through the world without having to force our way through it.
My life – not a service
Themes
Themes for the SEND Strategy have been developed using feedback and regular discussion events used to inform improvements.
The plan has four areas:
- Working together: I can achieve my outcomes because I, my family and staff are working together.
- Getting help as early as possible: I and my family can access the right support at the right time.
- Access to the right support and provision: I understand the support and provision that is available to me, and I can access it, if I need it.
- Preparing for the future: I have the right skills and options, according to my individual needs, to take control of my future and to achieve the ambitions important to me.
Joint Strategic Needs Assessment
The SEND Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) was completed in May – June 2022. It includes a wealth of data about SEN and disability in Somerset’s children and young people.
The findings include:
- The local area should maintain a focus on Social Emotional and Mental Health
- Continued improvements should be made to increase Joint Commissioning. Commissioners and those undertaking commissioning activity should work closely together, reviewing what has been done and how it has been done, to ensure services are fit for purpose and improving. They should focus on the people in specific Somerset localities, to best meet local needs and utilise local services and resources.
- Service development, particularly across the neurodevelopmental pathway, should explore the current gender imbalance
- More data and research are required into the needs of children in special circumstances and those who are preparing for adulthood
Somerset's Graduated Response Tool
We oversee a range of support to meet the needs of children and young people in education. Educational support is coordinated with other services and there are policies and ways of working that shape the services we provide. The way we provide support for children and young people with SEND is based on the SEND Code of Practice 2015
Somerset’s Graduated Response Tool sets out the provision ordinarily available in Somerset education settings.
Local Offer Annual Reports
The annual report provides information on how Somerset’s Local Offer has evolved using feedback from its stakeholders, especially parent carers and children and young people. Read our Local Offer Annual Reports.
Improving Lives
Improving Lives Strategy 2019-2028 describes our plan to help people live healthy and independent lives, supported by thriving and connected communities, with timely and easy access to high-quality and efficient public services when they need them.
Joint Commissioning
Commissioning with Somerset Council (SC) and NHS Somerset is done on a recurring basis. This allows us to regularly assess the needs of our local population and use this information to design, deliver, and review services to ensure good outcomes. Joint commissioning a partnership to increase efficiency, make the best use of all possible resources across the system and enable joined-up services. This provides a shared understanding of SEND commissioning and the agreed framework for Education, Health and Care partners, which is simple and easily understood. Our SEND needs assessment provides an overview of the data and commissioning gaps identified within this current analysis.