Meet the SEND service
Call the SEND Service on 01793 464641. Lines are open from Monday to Thursday between 8.00am and 5.00pm and on Friday between 8.00am and 4:30pm. You can also email us at SENDService@swindon.gov.uk.
The SEND statutory service
The SEND statutory service has two main functions:
- to complete statutory needs assessments for children and young people where it has been agreed that they have met both parts of the legal test
- to complete the annual review processes for education, health and care (EHC) plans
Previously, these two functions were split across different hubs. This meant that, unlike their colleagues in reviewing hubs who worked with a set number of settings, the assessment hub could be working with every setting across Swindon and sometimes schools on the border of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. This allowed assessment staff less of an opportunity to build strong working relationships with settings compared to their reviewing colleagues.
In order to address this we have re-designed our delivery model. We now have:
- three ‘Birth to year 9’ hubs. These hubs have EHC plan coordinators who deal with assessments and EHC plan coordinators who manage the processing of annual reviews to ensure compliance with time scales. The hubs are split into geographical locations - north, central and south - and only process requests and reviews for the schools that fall into each of these areas.
- a 'preparing for adulthood' team. This team manages all cases across the borough for children and young people who are in year 10 and above. Again, this hub has an assessment coordinator and reviewing coordinators.
We believe that this model will see an improved service for our children, young people and their families. It also aims to facilitate better working relationships with our settings and allows more effective internal handover processes from assessment into review.
SEND service team members
The SEND Service consists of the following teams and team members.
Help us to help you – SENCo guide
Many of the questions we receive via the SEND service front door have the answers on our website. Please see:
