East Sussex SEND Strategy
East Sussex SEND Strategy (2022-2026)
The East Sussex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Strategy (2022-2026):
- is a document that identifies the high-level priorities. These priorities highlight what's needed to support Children and Young People (CYP) with SEND, and their families
- establishes what priorities are needed to support children and young people with SEND. This will enable them to achieve the best possible outcomes in life
- identifies the partners who are responsible for working together to deliver the priorities
The SEND Strategy aims to develop more opportunities for co-production. This includes our key partners (also known as stakeholders), so that it becomes a regular feature of service design.
ASEND Inspection and Improvement Plan
The East Sussex Area SEND inspection took place in November 2024:
In response to the inspection, the area partnership must:
- develop, and
- publish an improvement plan.
Our plan addresses the key areas for improvement identified through the inspection. It has been created collaboratively. It builds on previous work and aligns with Ofsted and CQC requirements.
Implementation of the plan is already underway. This will be:
- led by our multi-agency SEND Strategy Implementation Group, and
- overseen by the SEND Strategy Governance Board.
Additionally, we have extended our existing SEND Strategy for an extra year. It is now running until 2026.
SEND Strategy Governance Board
As part of the SEND Strategy development, a SEND Strategy Governance Board (SGB) meet throughout the year.
The SGB has an independent chair. The SGB meet to monitor how the identified priorities will be delivered in East Sussex. The board will have oversight of the Strategy. They will also provide direction to working groups that are implementing action plans. This will help them to deliver change for the SEND community.
What the Strategy Means to You
For children, young people and families:
The SEND Strategy is a document that explains how we will improve different SEND:
- Services
- Support
- Pathways
The Strategy outlines different expectations about how partners will:
- Work together
- Be responsible for delivering improvements
For professionals:
The SEND Strategy sets the high-level plans and goals. These aim to help improve education and provision for the CYP they work with.
For schools:
The SEND Strategy highlights high-level plans and priorities. These aim to influence how educational settings will improve support for CYP with SEND.
Developing the SEND Strategy
A steering group collaborated to develop the SEND Strategy. The group included representatives from various groups within the East Sussex SEND Community. Groups include:
- The East Sussex Parent Carer Forum (ESPCF)
- Senior management representation from Education East Sussex
- Social Care – Children’s Disability Service
- Health Partners
- Mental Health Commissioner
Co-production
The collaboration of these groups set a foundation for ongoing strategic co-production. This means partners will work together to use everyone's knowledge and skills. This will create better outcomes for CYP with SEND, and their families.
We aim to create more opportunities in East Sussex for strategic co-production. This is where all partners play an equal part in strategic decision-making processes.
Priority Themes
5 overarching priority themes were identified for SEND development in East Sussex:
- Participation - My voice is heard and acted upon
- Physical and mental health - My optimum health and well-being are supported
- Safety and security - I feel confident and secure
- Inclusion and belonging - I belong and feel valued for who I am
- Progress and achievement - I am supported to develop and achieve my goals
These themes were identified by:
- Education East Sussex
- Stakeholders, and
- The Children’s Disability Council
These themes provide the framework for collaborative working for SEND in East Sussex. Priority areas of work within each theme was then identified by:
- Recommendations from the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA), and
- Recommendations and Ofsted feedback
Working groups have been set up to carry out the plans needed to develop services and processes.
You can find out more by visiting the JSNA website:
Engagement Events
Education East Sussex worked with ESPCF to host engagement events. This allowed us to talk to parent carers and school leaders about which SEND priorities to include in the Strategy.
Parent carer events
East Sussex Parent Carer Forum (ESPCF) hosted engagement events with parents and carers. These took place in February, March and June 2022.
The events:
- supported parent carers to talk about what needs to happen to improve East Sussex SEND services. This includes how we will do this
- provided time and space for representatives to listen to parent carer experiences, views, and ideas. This included health practitioners and the Local Authority
The events highlighted valuable suggestions that fed into the SEND Strategy.
Children and Young People events
We held workshops with young people from different youth groups. This included the Young SEND Ambassadors.
The young people created a statement that we use as a foundation for the Strategy:
‘All people who work with Children and Young People with SEND understand what matters to them, they listen to them and know how to help them be included and happy. This allows them to enjoy their education and make good academic, social and emotional progress to achieve their ambitions.’
School events
A series of events were held with school leaders. This aimed to:
- develop a shared understanding and vision about the priorities, and
- develop understanding about how SEND Services can support best practice in school settings.
Consultation
We published a consultation (also known as a survey) in October 2022. The aim of the survey was to collect more comments and views. The results of that consultation were considered ahead of the final version of the Strategy.
How to Get Involved
Visit this websites' page on how to ‘Have Your Say’. This page offers various ways in which you can share your views and contribute to various Education East Sussex services.
You can also visit the ‘You Said, We Did’ web page. This page outlines how feedback has already shaped various services.
Glossary of East Sussex SEND Terms
We explain some of the terms used on this website on our page, Glossary of East Sussex SEND Terms.