Stockton-on-Tees Local Area SEND and Alternative Provision Strategy 2025 to 2030
3. Our vision for children and young people
Our vision for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) or who may require alternative provision is the same as for all children and young people; that Stockton-on-Tees is a great place to grow up, where children and young people are protected from harm and supported to be the best they can be in life.
We will realise this vision by creating an inclusive local area that enables children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, or who may require alternative provision, to thrive and achieve their potential. We aspire to have clear communication between families and professionals, strengthen our commitment to co-production and hold each other accountable as partners. As a local area, we share a commitment to addressing challenges whilst fostering a culture of inclusion and achievement for all children and young people.
We believe that, where possible, every child and young person from Stockton-on-Tees should be supported in the community where they live. This should be through access to high quality early years provision, schools, and further education settings. In addition to learning and education opportunities, children and young people should be offered access to local health and care support which is appropriate to their assessed needs. We are committed to our assessment of need, placing a focus on the identification of individual strengths and understanding children, young people, and families' skills, knowledge, confidence, and resilience. By placing lived experiences at the heart of planning and decision making, we will ensure that services truly reflect the needs and aspirations of the community.
Our strategy has been developed in a time of significant national challenge across the Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system. A 2024 report commissioned by the Local Government Association and County Councils network highlighted the key challenges that the system is facing:
- more children than ever before are being identified as having SEND, with the rise in the number of pupils in schools with Education, Health and Care plans (EHCP) outweighing the overall rise of the school population
- more children and young people require specialist provision, leading to a sharp rise in placements in independent and non-maintained special schools
- although investment in SEND is increasing, it's not keeping pace with spending, this creates significant budget pressures for councils, schools, and health services
- outcomes for children and young people with SEND overall have not improved
In Stockton-on-Tees, these national challenges are being felt locally by our children, young people, parents, carers and services, with increasing financial pressure across our social care, adult, health and education services and budgets.
As a local area partnership, we do not underestimate the challenges and difficult decisions that are ahead of us. We are clear that we need to make the best use of the resources that are available to us to improve outcomes for children and young people. Our focus will be on early intervention, providing swift access to specialist support for our children and young people with the most complex needs and ensuring children and young people's voices guide everything that we do.
Our strategy is bold and ambitious; our children and young people deserve nothing less. We recognise the scale of the challenge and are determined to deliver these improvements in a way while making a real difference to the lives of children, young people, and their families.
