Children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) in York could find it easier to get early support and have their needs met in mainstream schools.
City of York Council’s Executive will consider York’s draft Local SEND Reform Plan next month (2 June), which outlines the city’s response to national SEND reforms.
The schools’ white paper and SEND reforms set out the government’s vision to support every child to achieve and thrive. The white paper sets an ambitious vision of inclusive education that enables every child to achieve and thrive.
The SEND reforms align directly with the council’s plan One City for All (2023–2027) and its own local Inclusion and Belonging Strategy (2025–2030).
The scale of the national reforms is significant and, together with the implementation of the Best Start in Life Plan and the Families First reforms, represent the most significant period of change for children’s services and education in over a decade.
The full implementation of the reforms involves a 10-year plan for change which is designed to support disadvantaged children to feel like school is designed for them, alongside their peers in classrooms.
As part of this plan, the council will receive £2.3 million in SEND Capital and £1.3 million of revenue funding from central Government to fund the reforms in York in the 2026/27 financial year.
The focus of York’s SEND Reform Plan is on building capacity within the city in the first year to:
- Use the capital funding to support mainstream schools to be more inclusive, working alongside high quality specialist provision.
- Expand access to a wide range of support in mainstream schools by creating a new £1.3 million Experts at Hand service of speech and language therapists, Educational Psychologists and other professionals to provide early support to children.
- Encourage collaboration between schools and other partners in local areas.
- Support all staff across early years, schools and post 16 in York to complete a new national training programme in building inclusive learning environments and early identification of needs so children receive timely support.
Cllr Bob Webb, the council’s Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, said:
School should be a place where all children and young people feel that they belong and this is something that we want to make happen.
“Together with our Inclusion and Belonging Strategy for children and young people with SEND and their families, this draft Local Reform Plan sets out how we, along with schools, can ensure that they are valued, included, and supported to achieve their full potential.”
If approved by Executive, the SEND Reform Plan needs to be shared with the Government by 18 June. York’s plan will be finalised following feedback from the Department for Education.