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Thursday 7 May 2026
SEND reforms
Thank you to everyone who turned up to our SEND reform engagement and development day last week.
We invited you to give us your views on the future of SEND services in Torbay.
We’ll feed this back to the government as part of their national consultation.
If you missed the events, please fill in one of our surveys below to make your views known.
If you need any help to complete either of them, please contact SEND Family Voice Torbay on 07554 040107.
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The government is carrying out its own consultation on SEND. This closes on Monday 18 May so you’ve only got a few days to give your feedback.
Where do you get your SEND information from?
We want to make sure you’re getting all the information you need about SEND services and news in Torbay.
We’ve put together a short survey so you can tell us what you think about the ways we communicate with you – whether that’s through this newsletter, our social media channels, the Family Hubs website or some other way.
What’s working well and what could be improved?
Please give us your thoughts by taking part in this short survey.
Congratulations - and good luck!
Brunel School headteacher Vikki Alden has been awarded Fellowship of the International Forums of Inclusion Practitioners.
This is awarded to leaders who contribute to inclusive practice and champion belonging, equity, and opportunity for children and young people.
Vikki said: “This is more than a personal achievement; it reflects the values that sit at the heart of our school community.
“Inclusion is not an add-on at Brunel. It is the foundation of everything we do – from safeguarding and pastoral care, to curriculum design, family engagement, attendance, and community partnerships, our vision is rooted in ensuring every child feels seen, valued, safe, and able to thrive.”
Meanwhile, the Learning Academy Partnership has been nominated for Inclusive Trust of the Year by the TES Schools Awards 2026.
Learning Academy Partnership schools in Torbay are Ellacombe, Ilsham, St Michael’s and Warberry.
The winners will be announced on 19 June.
Mayfield College relocation to MyPlace
All pupils at Mayfield College will be enjoying their learning together from September thanks to the completion of building works at Parkfield’s MyPlace site.
The second phase of works to refurbish the building in Paignton has now finished.
The internal remodelling has transformed the interior spaces into multi-functional teaching and extra-curricular activity areas, as this collage of images shows.
 Devon-based construction firm Mercury carried out this phase of the works and held an engagement day alongside Sound Communities earlier in the year for young people.
The works included remodelling some of the existing accommodation to create more multi-use rooms.
The sports hall, climbing wall and classrooms remain as spaces for the community to use in the evenings, weekends and school holidays.
Mayfield began relocating from its Occombe House site last year.
The project was funded by High Needs Capital Allocations which is government money paid to local councils to support new places and improve existing provision for children with SEND or who require alternative provision.
Combe Pafford building works update
Work will be starting in the coming weeks to remodel parts of Combe Pafford Academy.
The work will be carried out in two phases with the council’s project team delivering phase 1a – internal toilet reconfiguration, two external canopies and roadworks.
Combe Pafford will deliver phase 1b to improve fencing and create sensory spaces within the classrooms. Included in this phase will be the development of the external space known as the Pea Pod area (pictured below).
This will be repurposed and refurbished as a safe learning environment with internal space and toilet facilities.
The works are due to finish by the end of September.
The school has changed its designation from a special school for children with moderate learning difficulties (MLD) to a special school for children with autistic spectrum condition (ASC).
To ensure the school can meet the needs of its new intake from September, the existing buildings, external areas and boundaries need to be made more suitable.
Supported internships
Would your young person benefit from a supported internship?
Supported internships are work placements for young people aged 17 to 20 who have an education, health and care plan (EHCP).
A job coach supports them while on placement. Recent roles in Torbay include sales assistants, ward clerks and chefs.
In this video, produced by Sound Communities on behalf of Torbay Council’s SEND team, Torbay interns, school staff and employers talk about the benefits of internships for both the young people and the workplace.
To find out more about supported internships, email ehcp@torbay.gov.uk
Designing the SEND pledge
We’ve asked young people to help us design a new look for the SEND pledge.
The pledge is the partnership’s promise to be honest, caring, kind, fair, friendly and thoughtful towards children and their families.
We know this work is already going on across Torbay but the partners wanted the pledge to have a more visible presence.
We held a workshop on Wednesday at Mayfield College to get ideas from young people. They came up with drawings showing what the six pledges mean to them.
Artist Zoe Curley, who led the workshop, said: “They’ve come up with some lovely ideas. What’s great is when they explain what they’re doing. They are taking ownership of it. The ideas are coming from the people that the pledge is all about.”
Student Tanya was proud of her image showing what she thought ‘Be Kind’ means. She said: “If someone is having a bad day it’s good to be kind to them. Emojis and smiley faces might make people feel happy. Red and purple are my favourite colours.”
 This was the first of three events held this month with young people. There are two more planned, one with SEND Family Voice and another at South Devon College with their students and pupils from Brunel School.
The themes will be collated and presented to Torbay Council’s Design team to work up into the finished design on behalf of the partnership.
Join the SEND Youth Forum – come along this May half term!
Does your child want to help improve things for children and young people with SEND in Torbay?
The SEND Youth Forum, run by the council’s participation team, is looking for new members.
It's a friendly, supportive space where young people can:
- share what works well – and what doesn’t
- talk about their experiences of education, health and services
- help shape decisions and improvements across SEND services
- meet other young people with similar experiences
- get involved in ways that feel comfortable for them
They don’t need to be confident speaking in groups or have any previous experience — they can come along, listen, and take part at their own pace.
The next meeting is during the May half term.
Contact participation officer Sarah Evans: participation@torbay.gov.uk or 07500 608141.
The participation team was busy in 2025! They’ve put together a video to show all the projects they ran – with input from Torbay children and young people during the year.
Children and Family Health Devon (CFHD) updates
New-look referral pages and updated forms now live
These changes are part of a wider improvement to make the referral process clearer, quicker, and more accessible for young people, families, and professionals.
As part of this, CFHD has introduced a self-referral option for young people aged 16 and over, enabling more direct access to support where appropriate.
 New workshop programme to support families and professionals
CFHD and SEND Family Voice Torbay have launched the Leap SEND Workshops, designed to support families and professionals across Devon and Torbay.
The free expert-led sessions will cover a range of topics including autism, dyslexia, masking and sensory processing.
Improve CFHD services
CFHD is looking for children, young people and parent carers to share their ideas on how to improve services.
Turning Heads Saturday Club
Young people aged 13 to 19 with an EHCP are invited to this weekly club.
The club aims to build confidence and independence, preparing young people for adulthood in a supportive and structured environment.
Each week follows a specific theme of activities and could include art-based projects, IT and tech, woodwork, cooking and beauty and wellness.
There will also be opportunities for off-site volunteering and exploring.
Let’s Talk Teenagers – webinars
Let’s Talk Safer Families are running a series of webinars for parents to hear about the challenges young people face and how you can help them.
Torbay Carers
If you’re one of Torbay’s many unpaid Carers, make sure you’re getting all the support you’re entitled to.
Torbay Carers can help you identify as a Carer, which means you can get a Carers’ Discount Card, giving you reductions in dozens of shops and on many services across the Bay.
You can find out more about this in the latest Signpost for Carers magazine. The spring issue also includes Universal Credit updates, activities taking place during Carers’ Week (8-14 June), training courses and information about young carer groups.
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