Sector-Led Improvement Partners for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND)

Our vision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is the same as for all children and young people - that they achieve well in their early years, at school and beyond; they find employment where that's appropriate; and lead happy, healthy and fulfilled lives, in which they have choices and control over the support provided to them.

Supporting local areas, delivery partners and providers to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND continues to be a high priority for government, with a clear line of sight to key government commitments on the levelling up agenda, economic growth and employment, and the recently published national disability strategy.

However, increasing demands on SEND services have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted children and young people with SEND and their families, and key challenges remain in delivering SEND services that are in line with our vision.

Sector-led improvement (SLI) is about local authorities (LAs) helping one another to improve their services by working collaboratively, sharing good practice and providing constructive challenge. Since 2016, under the Partners in Practice (PIP) Programme, the strongest performing LAs in the country have provided SLI support to other authorities to improve practice and outcomes for children and families across the children's social care (CSC) system. In July 2021, the Department launched a new programme for SLI Partners wishing to deliver holistic packages of improvement support across both CSC and SEND.

The Department now wants to build on the success of the previous SLI programme by grant funding a small number of SLI Partners to deliver packages of support focused solely on improving the quality and impact of local area SEND services. This may include, but is not limited to, support for strategic planning and leadership, effective financial management, SEN place planning, workforce development, joint working and commissioning, EHC needs assessments and reviews, and co-production with parent carers, children and young people.

The SEND SLI Partners programme will run for 15 months in the first instance, with the option to extend grant funding and activities for up to one further year, subject to budgetary approvals and successful delivery of measured objectives.