SEND support in Staffordshire
We are on a mission to make sure that children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Staffordshire get the support they need to achieve the best possible outcomes in life.
On this page you will find information about SEND services in Staffordshire and where to get further advice and support.
What support is available?
In Staffordshire, SEND support is delivered by a number of different organisations or agencies, mainly by the Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Integrated Care Board (NHS).
Staffordshire County Council is responsible for:
- supporting mainstream schools to help children with needs to access the right support
- issuing and maintaining Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)
- managing Home to School transport
The Integrated Care Board is responsible for providing:
- providing Autism support
- providing sensory support
Together, we work closely with early years settings, schools and colleges to provide support.
Accessing SEND support
If a child or young person is showing signs they need extra support at school, the school will work with the child and the family to make interventions that may help to support them better.
This process is known as the ‘Graduated Approach’. It can take a few cycles to get the right support in place, but often a little bit of extra support within the education setting is all that is needed to see improvements.
In Staffordshire there are two stages to the 'Graduated Approach':
- ‘Assess, Plan, Do, Review’
- ‘Enhanced, Assess, Plan, Do, Review’
If the additional support is not helping and improvements are not seen, the education setting will seek support from Staffordshire County Council. The education setting may request that an Education Health and Care Needs Assessment (EHCNA) is undertaken.
If the EHCNA recognises that need is great enough, an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) will be created to support the child or young person. Each EHCP will be different and will be based on individual needs.
The EHCP will be reviewed every year to see if the needs of the child or young person have changed.
Finding information about SEND support in Staffordshire
Staffordshire's online Local Offer provides information in one place for children and young people aged 0-25 with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), their parents/carers, and professionals.
On the Local Offer you will find information about:
- Early years and childcare
- Education
- Social Care
- Health and Wellness
- Travel and transport
- Places to go, things to do
- Preparing for adulthood
- Money Matters
- Extra Help available to children, families and settings
- Information and support including support groups and organisations
- Policy information, referral mechanisms, forms and templates
Visit the SEND Local Offer.
If you need further information about the Local Offer please email localoffer@staffordshire.gov.uk
Our SEND Strategy
In 2019, we developed a strategy to improve the way children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) are supported.
The strategy was developed through engagement, co-production and consultation with parents, professionals, the NHS and school representatives in the county.
Our vision:
“All children and young people with SEND are given the opportunity to achieve everything that they can. They engage with the right support at the right time from their parents/carers, the community and the professionals that work with them to make this happen.”
To achieve this goal, we set out four priorities:
- We communicate well with each other
- We work in partnership to meet the needs of children and young people
- We ensure that the right support is available at the right time
- We encourage communities to be inclusive
Read our SEND Strategy and learn more about how it was developed.
Co-production in Staffordshire
In 2022 the 'Staffordshire Co-production Promise' for the Children and Families was developed.
The promise has created a locally accepted definition of co-production:
“Those with responsibility for providing support, share their power by working with those receiving that support at every step, so that the help provided is as good as it can be and makes life better.”
The promise also includes some shared commitments to improve the experience of support as well as the outcomes for children and families.
The content of the Promise was co-produced by local children, young people, parents, carers, adults and professionals.
Read the full Co-Production Promise and pledge your commitment to co-production.
Stay up to date
If you would like to be kept up to date by email, you can sign up to the SEND newsletter. Once you have put in your email, under the ‘Education and Children’ tab you will need to tick ‘Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Update’.