Wiltshire Council's cabinet approves new SEND strategy

The strategy is called “Meeting Needs Together – ambitious for all” and was given the go-ahead at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, September 17.

It lays out how Wiltshire Council will support families, children and young people with SEND over the next five years.

Cllr Laura Mayes, cabinet member for children's services, education, and skills, said: “It’s still so difficult for families and the process is impenetrable, it’s very, very hard.”

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The signing of the SEND strategy. (Image: Wiltshire Council)She noted that strategies should aim to result in an improvement of the human experience within the process.  

The new strategy’s vision is to “create a future where every young person in Wiltshire has the tools and support needed to thrive and achieve their dreams”.

It reads: “We want to support children and young people to be aspirational and hopeful, to increase their confidence, to have the resources to live the futures they want to live and to foster a culture of empowerment and inclusion.”

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Wiltshire Council’s Liberal Democrat leader, Ian Thorn, described it as “an excellent piece of work”, but feedback from the children’s select committee suggested that the strategy was lacking in “defined deliverables”.

Cllr Jon Hubbard, the chairman of the committee, added: “The best place for most children with SEND is in their local community, is in their local school, it’s sitting there alongside their neighbours.”

The strategy also details how Wiltshire Council and its partners, including the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (BSW ICB), will work with SEND families and organisations within the Wiltshire SEND Local Area Partnership.

This collaboration was signed by stakeholders, including the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (BSW ICB) Wiltshire Parent Carer Council, and Nathan Huntley, a young person with SEND in a team working with Wiltshire Centre for Independent Living.

In a statement released after the meeting, Cllr Jane Davies, cabinet member for SEND, said: “We recognise that some great work is already being done, but we must continue listening to our SEND families and work alongside them to turn these words into meaningful actions.

“Our goal is to be ambitious for all children and young people, providing cohesive, holistic support, centred around their aspirations and needs.

“We believe that it’s everyone’s responsibility to meet the needs of every child and young person with SEND or in alternative provision in Wiltshire.”