Local area decision making

There are many ways that you can be involved in helping to shape services for special educational needs in Swindon. Here are some ways to help with the strategic decisions (meaning the way we want to achieve our objectives) made in Swindon:

  • By completing surveys / responding to consultations
  • Join Swindon SEND Families Voice
  • Attend an open event
  • Talk to Healthwatch Swindon or let a service know if you have a concern, complaint or compliment.

It is extremely important that your views and experiences are shared, acknowledged and understood. We are committed to responding to people’s concerns and meeting local needs. Services will be better planned if we know what matters to, works well for, and makes the most difference to children, young people and their families.

Different Types of Consultation:

We regularly consult on service changes across all departments, including Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). You can find out about these when they happen through:

The Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (BSW ICB) also undertakes public consultations, and host a range of patient engagement groups to give individuals the opportunity to provide feedback.

You can contribute in a number of ways:

  • Join a Patient and Public Engagement Group
  • Join the ‘Our Health, Our Future’ Citizens Panel
  • Subscribe to Stakeholder newsletters 

Swindon SEND Families Voice

Swindon SEND Families Voice (SSFV) are the local parent carer forum for Swindon, and provide the parents and carers of children and young people with SEND, in Swindon, the ability to help shape the services that affect them. The group are a strategic partner to both the Local Authority and ICB in the development of services for children and young people aged 0 – 25 with SEND across Swindon. 

You can contact the SSFV Team in various ways:

  1. Email: swindonsendfamiliesvoice@outlook.com
  2. Phone: 07486 873 405
  3. Swindon SEND families voice Facebook page
  4. Swindon SEND families voice web form

STEP Swindon

STEP Swindon are commissioned by Swindon Borough Council as an independent organisation, who work with children and young people with SEND on the following:

  • Personal development.
  • Organisational and strategic decision making - ensuring that children and young people are able to contribute to this across the local area.
  • The promotion of inclusion across education, health and care.

STEP do this by:

  • Working with a core group of children and young people with SEND who meet on a regular basis – the SEND Shadow Board.
  • Undertaking projects across Swindon.
  • The Young Commissioners programme.

If you are a child or young person, a parent / carer, professional or organisation would like to contribute please contact swindonstep@aol.com

SEND and AP Partnership Board

The SEND and AP Partnership Board is a group which:

  • Makes sure that we are working towards achieving our priorities, which are outlined in the SEND, Inclusion and Alternative Provision (SENDi & AP) Strategy (2023-2028).
  • Make sure that we have the resources we need in order to achieve our priorities.
  • Make sure that there is a commitment across the local area to supporting children, young people and families with SEND, and that we all have the same vision.
  • Aims to provide an organised and multi-agency approach to SEND provision in Swindon, so that everyone is connected with the ability to support children, young people and families.

You can find more information on the SENDi & AP Strategy page.

The board brings together colleagues from the Local Authority, Education, Health, Social Care and Voluntary sectors along with SSFV and STEP to discuss and make decisions on how we can work together to improve SEND provision in Swindon (a multi-agency approach). This helps us to make sure that he voices of those effected by decision making the most are heard – and that they can contribute to how services are run.

Terms of reference

The Terms of Reference outlines the purpose, objectives, membership and additional information about the Board, so that individuals have more information before attending. The SEND and AP Partnership Board Terms of Reference is currently being reviewed and will appear here soon.

Executive summary of meeting minutes

An executive summary provides an overview of the discussions that took place in a short format, compared with original minutes which are often many pages long.

Below you can find the executive summaries for previous SEND and AP Partnership Boards, some of which are from when the Board was called ‘The SEND Strategic Partnership Board’. This section will continue to be updated following future meetings.

Upcoming Meeting Dates

The SEND and AP Partnership Board is aimed to be held 6 times a year, and the dates for the 2023-2024 meetings are:

  • Thursday, 21 March 2024
  • Thursday, 20 June 2024

Special Education Needs and Disability Privacy Notice

It is important that you understand what your data is being used for when you provide your views/feedback to any organisation. When giving feedback for a consultation a Privacy Notice should be given to you for your information, it is important you understand what it means before you have your say.

For more information on Privacy Notices used by SEND Service, visit Schools and education privacy notice page.

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