Government approves Wokingham Borough's SEND Reform Plan

Plans to improve support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) across the borough have been approved by the Government.

The approval of Wokingham Borough's SEND Reform Plan marks another important step in the council's ongoing work to improve services, building on years of investment and partnership working to help children and young people get the support they need, closer to home.

The three-year plan sets out how the council will work with schools, health services, families and other partners to provide earlier help, strengthen support in mainstream education and make services more joined up for children and young people aged 0 to 25.

It builds on the council's SEND and Inclusion Strategy 2024–2029, which has guided work to improve services over recent years, alongside significant investment to create more SEND places.

The council is investing more than £40 million to create over 600 additional SEND places, including new and expanded specialist schools, dedicated provision within mainstream schools and support for young people preparing for adulthood.

The reform plan takes this work further by focusing not just on where children are educated, but on how and when they receive support.

The approval also comes alongside a significant step towards addressing financial pressures, with around £46.3 million of the council's historic SEND deficit set to be written off.

While demand for SEND support continues to put pressure on budgets, the reform plan will help tackle these challenges by focusing on earlier support, more local provision and making better use of resources. This will help build a more sustainable system for children and young people in the future.

A key priority is making sure children and young people can get help earlier. This includes developing a clearer, more consistent offer of support across early years settings, schools and colleges, so families know what help should be available and staff feel confident meeting children's needs.

The plan also includes developing an 'Experts at Hand' service, bringing together specialist knowledge from education and health professionals, including educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. 

These professionals will work with education settings to help staff identify needs earlier and provide practical support, while making sure children who need more specialist services can still access them.

We will strengthen workforce skills, confidence and expertise across Wokingham, enabling staff to provide the right support for children and young people now while building the capacity and capability needed to meet their needs sustainably in the future.

Cllr Prue Bray, executive member for children's services, said: "This approval is welcome news and an important step forward for families across the borough.

"We've been working for several years to improve SEND support, and our investment in hundreds of new local places is helping us build a system that better meets children's needs.

"But we know there’s more to do. Families need to know that support will be there when they need it, that schools have the right expertise and that services work together.

"That's what this plan is about. It gives us a clear direction for the next three years and we'll continue listening to families and working with our partners to make improvements that families can really feel."

The reform plan has been developed with education, health and social care partners, alongside children, young people and families. Their involvement will continue as the plan is delivered, helping shape improvements making sure their experiences are at the heart of decisions.

The council and its partners will monitor progress over the next three years, including improvements in early support, children's sense of belonging, family confidence and access to suitable local provision.