Overview

The Stockport SEND strategy sets out our priorities for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in Stockport and their families for 2024 to 2027.

Chris McLoughlin OBE and Philippa Johnson

Co-chairs of the SEND Board

Whether it’s educational support, health services, or emotional wellbeing, we want to ensure that families can access what they need close to home...

Read more about Chris McLoughlin OBE and Philippa Johnson

Sherann Hillman MBE

Chair of Parents and Carers Together Stockport (PACTS)

Parents and carers are the unsung heroes of our children’s lives. They hold a wealth of knowledge about their child’s unique needs, aspirations, and challenges.

Read more about Sherann Hillman MBE

One Stockport: One Future

The One Stockport: One Future plan focuses on 5 big things that are crucial to aim for so that all children and families can thrive. These are:

  • good jobs and homes
  • the best place to grow up
  • best health and care
  • thriving neighbourhoods
  • clean, green transport

They can only be achieved if we all work together. Our SEND Strategy provides a strategic framework for the delivery of One Stockport: One Future through the lens of children, young people and families with special educational needs and disabilities.

The SEND Strategy has a particular focus on our ambition to be ‘the best place to grow up’ but also contributes to the delivery of the other big things.

The SEND strategy within the Children and Young People Plan

The SEND Strategy is one part of our Children and Young People Plan 2024 to 2027. This plan identifies 7 big ambitions:

  • Ambition 1: All the services that work with children and families work together to ensure families get the help they need when they need it and children and young people are safe and supported by their family networks

  • Ambition 2: Working together with families and communities, all children have the best start in life and are ready for school at the end of reception

  • Ambition 3: All children and young people can access and engage in education and achieve the best they can

  • Ambition 4: Children and families with SEND receive the best possible support at the right time to ensure the best possible outcomes are achieved

  • Ambition 5: All children, young people and families have access to a clear and inclusive early help offer

  • Ambition 6: All children and young people enjoy good emotional health and wellbeing and can access co-ordinated robust and timely support based on need

  • Ambition 7: Children in care and care leavers have stable and loving homes and are equipped with the skills needed to live a fulfilling, successful and rewarding life

While the SEND Strategy supports our delivery of all 7 ambitions, it focuses on ambition 4. The SEND Board, which is our Local Area Partnership for SEND, is responsible for coordinating and delivering this.

We're building on the work completed as part of the 2020 to 2023 SEND strategy and the significant improvements made since our initial SEND Inspection in 2018.

Since 2018, we've come a long way and have embedded 'SEND as everyone’s business' with a focused transformation plan in place throughout the last 5 years. In the OFSTED re-visit in 2022 it was noted that:

"Leaders’ mantra that ‘SEND is everyone’s business’ is now embedded in the culture of the local area. Leaders ensure that children’s services and health teams are held to account for the education and health outcomes for children and young people with SEND."

However, as a council we recognise that there's still much to do to improve the lives of our children and young people with SEND in Stockport.

The following pages detail our SEND strategy. If you'd like a copy of the strategy as a PDF document, you can email send-ip@stockport.gov.uk.