Welcome to the SEND Partnership Bulletin, now reaching over 500 professionals working in education, health care, social care and the voluntary, charity and social enterprise sector.
Our Local Area Partnership is committed to improving outcomes for all children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) and we want to keep you in touch with all the great work happening as part of Bradford district's SEND transformation journey.
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A Message from Bradford Council's Assistant Director of SEND and Inclusion
We have seen the publication of the White Paper, detailing the Government proposals to reform the schools and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) systems in England for children and young people with SEND from birth to 25 years.
Bradford welcomes the publication of the White Paper and stands firmly in solidarity with our schools, parents, carers, and all the services that work tirelessly for children and young people across the district. As with all our work linked to SEND, we will now take the opportunity to reflect on the proposals and assess how they align with the ambitions already set out in our SEND One Plan and SEND Strategy.
Our commitment remains clear: to work collaboratively with all partners so that we continue to strengthen outcomes and improve the lived experience of children and young people with SEND. This includes maintaining a relentless focus on what matters most ensuring that children’s and young people’s rights remain central to every decision we make.
We will use our extensive networks for communication, engagement, and feedback to help move this work forward. By listening carefully and working transparently with families, education settings, health partners, and wider services, we will ensure that Bradford continues to make informed, inclusive, and ambitious decisions for all children and young people.
If you are working with families, please share information about the proposed changes to the SEND system in the Education blog, and summary document here. There is also the opportunity for people to share their thoughts and comments in the SEND Reform consultation.
Please share our updates
SEND One Plan
Half termly meetings are being run with headteachers from across the district to keep them updated on One Plan developments and work in the priority areas.
One Plan engagement sessions are also being offered to parent/carers with the next session being held on online on Friday 13 March, 2026 (10am - 12 noon).
For more information, please visit, the Bradford Local Offer, SEND One Plan.
SEND workstreams
There are six workstreams which develop and deliver improvements.
Communication and Engagement' workstream
Sharing SEND information with families
The SEND Local Offer is a statutory website for the Bradford district. The team continue to co-produce content with parent/carers, children and young people and professionals. Our latest updates include new categories on short breaks, with updates to the social care and health care sections.
All professionals working with families with SEND are requested to attend Local Offer training. We now have sessions available to book on the Evolve system, they run the first Wednesday of the month at 10am. Partners can contact Bradford's Local Offer to organise training. Email: localoffer@bradford.gov.uk
To help you promote the SEND Local Offer to families there is a SEND Local Offer Promotional toolkit.
You can also download and print out promotional materials to develop your own SEND noticeboard at your workplace or setting by visiting the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) noticeboard.
Engagement and co-production
This years annual SEND parent/carer network survey shows improvements in the quality of EHCPs and the timeliness of EHCP annual reviews for the second year running. But families are once again asking for more support with attendance, mental health and Preparation for Adulthood (PfA).
The district has also hosted its first SEND Youth Summit this month at City Hall. The event saw 47 young people from 8 settings attending the event hosted by the SEND Transformation and Compliance team. The event focused on gathering youth voice around inclusion, travel and support plans. Feedback from the event will be shared with SEND workstreams and the Local Area SEND Strategic Partnership Board.
There is a Communication and Engagement toolkit for services to self-assess how effectively they are working with service users. The toolkit can be downloaded from the Bradford Local Offer's resources hub.
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Our SEND Journey workstream
This workstream looks at how well education, health and social care services work together to identify, assess and support children and young people with SEND. Each service reports on how they are doing with assessments and provision.
The workstream is focused on improving support through a graduated approach. The quality and timeliness of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has improved over time, and Bradford district continues to perform above national levels. The SEND Audit team helps keep attention on the quality of both the EHCPs and the advice that informs them.
Recent work has strengthened the annual review process. SEND Coordinator (SENCO) training has taken place and new documents have been shared. There has also been increased staffing in the annual review team which is improving processing times. These improvements are reflected in the latest parent/carer survey.
The SEND schools reference group has introduced an updated 'My SEN Support Plan' template for schools, which has been positively received and will be rolled out gradually.
SENCOs have also received training on how to request an EHC Needs Assessment. The new My SEN Support Plan places more emphasis on reviewing the impact of interventions, which is important when deciding whether to request an assessment.
Training has been developed and is now being rolled out to health services and care colleagues and continues to support their role in helping children and young people with SEND through a graduated approach.
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Partnership Commissioning workstream
This workstream has been overseeing the short breaks and personal care re‑commissioning work. This is part of a larger piece of work on SEND short breaks. The market engagement work is completed and new contracts for short breaks and personal care are due to go live in Summer 2026.
There is a piece of work being undertaken at the moment on sensory processing support within the Graduated Approach/Thrive model.
The Local Inclusion Support Offer (LISO) is also in development, which supports stakeholders to understand what support is ordinarily available, targeted or bespoke. This is supported by the Partnership’s Inclusion Chartermark.
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Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) workstream
Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) is how we help young people from year 9 onwards (aged 14 years +) prepare for their adult life.
The PfA workstream has co-produced a workforce training package. The initial offer is specifically targeted at SENCOs to support planning for young people as early as possible, but at the latest from year 9 onwards. This is to make sure PfA outcomes are included in plans and young people are familiar with what support they can access to help them during transition.
Work is ongoing to review and strengthen the Progression Pathways from Key Stage 4 onwards, to ensure this allows for all children and young people to achieve their aspirations. There are four core pathways; employment, vocational, supported employment and life skills.
The workstream has also been reviewing information available to families, children and young people on the Local Offer website, and rating the information provided by services, and work has been undertaken to produce a post-16 transport and travel guide. The SEND youth forum, Brad Starz has also met with SkillsHouse, the employment service for people in the Bradford district, to learn more about the experiences of young people who are already accessing further learning and employment.
If you are a practitioner working with families you can find more information on Preparation for Adulthood in the Bradford Local Offer's One Minute Guide - Preparation for Adulthood and the Bradford SEND Preparation for Adulthood (PfA) strategy - Ages and Stages. Both these resources can be shared with families.
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Sufficiency workstream
This group is made up of members from across the Partnership, including schools to look at the sufficiency of places and place planning. The workstream has focused on agreeing an approach for High Needs Capital within sufficiency.
The group will assess demography and place pressures and identify schemes to increase capacity within special and mainstream schools. Progress on expansion and place creation projects will be shared and communicated at key points across the wider network to ensure a joined up and collaborative approach.
Workforce development workstream
This is a new workstream to look at training offer and gaps across the SEND Partnership. Members have co-produced a Workforce Development Framework, identifying training offers across the Partnership and have undertaken a gap analysis.
SEND inspection update
The SEND Partnership is continuing to work hard to prepare for its next SEND Inspection when Bradford district’s SEND provision will be inspected by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.
In Bradford, we continue to work with Department for Education advisers to ensure the SEND One Plan is aligned to the SEND Inspection Framework.
An overview of our current position is documented in the Self Evaluation Framework (SEF), the first draft of which was shared with the SEND workstreams earlier this year.
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SEND Change Programme - National SEND reforms
The key measures proposed around SEND will now be subject to a 12-week formal consultation period:
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Earlier identification and support - A national push to spot additional needs sooner, with clearer pathways so children get help before issues escalate.
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Consistent national standards - New expectations for how schools, councils and services assess needs and deliver support, reducing the current postcode variation.
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More specialist provision - Expansion of specialist school places and improved access to alternative provision for pupils who need it.
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Stronger inclusion in mainstream schools - A shift toward broader, more inclusive school experiences so children with SEND can thrive alongside peers.
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Experts at Hand - Improved access will be given to specialist support and advice from a range of professionals including speech and language and occupational therapists.
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6,500 additional teachers - A major recruitment plan to boost capacity across the system and improve support quality.
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Children and families at the centre - Reforms emphasise clearer communication, simpler processes and more joined‑up services.
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SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan
The plan was published in March 2023 and it set out plans for reforming the SEND system.
Bradford district has been trialling several changes. Change Programme success is reviewed at national level and that will determine the key focus areas for the reforms moving forward.
During the period September 2025 to March 2026, Bradford's Local Area SEND Strategic Partnership Board will be delivering the following projects:
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Local Inclusion Support Offer, including – the Inclusion Chartermark and wraparound support for schools that may need more support: In development - team around the School.
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Development of a Primary Interventions Centre and Alternative Provision (AP) Quality Assurance (QA) Model - currently reviewing the Quality Assurance processes that are followed for all alternative providers. This is to support a strong AP offer across the district that can support pupils to achieve their aspirations. The AP 3‑tier model is operational with a referral route and a QA review has been established. Read more about, Alternative Provision.
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Enhancing transitions and service feedback.
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Developing a team of Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology (INPP) lead practitioners who have now completed 50% of their training, enhancing their skills in identifying and addressing neurodevelopmental barriers to learning.
- Early Language Support for Every Child pilot (ELSEC) - the eight original settings are still being supported, and a further 11 nurseries are now part of the pilot.
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Assistive Technology Lending Library - Bradford has acquired 15 AV1 Robots and is procuring 30+ additional technology that will be lent to schools. The Assistive Technology Lending Library is now live, giving schools the opportunity to trial equipment to meet a wider range of needs.
West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) organisational change - the role of ICBs is evolving
Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are evolving to become strategic commissioners, focusing on population health, long‑term planning, oversight and outcomes. Day‑to‑day service delivery and pathway redesign will increasingly sit with ‘provider collaboratives’ and ‘place provider partnerships.’
Staff at West Yorkshire ICB are working through a voluntary redundancy process and an organisation change consultation. ICB Place Accountable officers have arranged a number of briefings with senior leaders, and the region has started to build the foundations of place provider partnerships taking over some responsibilities and functions from the ICB.
Emerging Place Provider Partnerships (PPPs)
Lots of work has been taking place in the background to build the foundations for place provider partnerships. Joint committees will operate in shadow form alongside West Yorkshire ICB place committees, starting in April 2026. They will be expected to drive significant progress on neighbourhood health that has meaningful impact for patients and local communities. Read more about Organisational change updates from West Yorkshire Health & Care Partnership.
Professional development
One day sleep training for professionals
Course content, delivered online via MS Teams:
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an introduction to sleep science and why sleep is important
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sleep disorders and common sleep problems
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basic sleep strategies to support good sleep
Date and time: Wed 26 March, (10am - 3pm) and Wed 13 May, (10am - 3pm).
Service spotlight - The Educational Psychology team
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The Educational Psychology team provide support to parent/carers in the community for Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). When a young person has lots of worried feelings and does not want to attend school, they may be experiencing Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). EBSA is not a medical diagnosis but a way of understanding that there is something causing a young person to feel worried and that is impacting how they feel about attending school.
The Educational Psychology team have developed a range of EBSA resources for parent/ carers which can be found on the SEND Local Offer website:
The team also run parent/carer support groups every term which are online or based in the district’s Family Hubs. In the academic year 2024-25 the groups were attended by 37 parent/carers and consulations were also offered.
Parents feedback:
“It was a time away from normal duties, to actually focus on EBSA and listen and actually 'think' about your own emotions and your child's in a constructive kind of a way…a relaxed atmosphere where you don't feel judged, rather understood and validated."
"Most times when you’re having to discuss EBSA is when you have to fight your corner for your child…being in a supportive environment with other parents experiencing similar challenges was very helpful in making me feel less isolated and alone."
It was helpful to be able to talk directly with an educational psychologist…I feel the offer of a free consultation with the EP team may prove the most valuable aspect as cost was a barrier to accessing this specialist advice.”
Resources
Reasonable adjustments at medical appointments for children with additional needs.
SEND in the news
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Newsletters for professionals
Where to find more information
Visit the SEND Local Offer website to find out more about:
Contact us
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