con_13130 SEND Participation and Family Support

The primary objective of this contract is to support the continued improvement of coproduction at national, local and individual level, including in the context of the continuing pandemic and the national recovery. This will ensure the effective involvement of parents, carers and young people in the design and delivery of SEND services and provision, including the continued embedding of the voices of SEND stakeholders in national policy development, to support system-wide improvements. We would require the Strategic Participation programme to respond to the long-term impact of Covid-19 (coronavirus) in the delivery of its business objectives and adapt its delivery in light of emerging priorities and recommendations identified through the SEND Review.

Through empowering children and young people with SEND and their parents to make informed choices about the provision available to them and supporting them to influence SEND policy at an individual, local and national level, services and provision can be designed in a way that works for children and young people user-centered system that meets their needs at the right level, this will counter the perception that statutory Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and specialist provision are the only means through which children and young people with SEND can be properly supported. This in turn will reduce pressure on local delivery systems and demand for higher cost provision procuring a contract to continue existing participation and coproduction arrangements, consolidated with existing arrangements for a national helpline and online support service to provide information and advice to parents whose children have SEND.

This would provide the necessary government intervention to consolidate and grow meaningful participation and coproduction by families at an individual, local and national level.

22/08/2023 - A £35,000 variation was completed to increase the total grant allocation by £17,500 for financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, this was due to the development of a new Parent Carer Forum.