 New resource base and SEND unit to open
Two new SEND facilities are set to open in September 2024 after successful applications from local schools, offering 42 spaces for children with social and communication difficulties and autism.
Both will be attached to mainstream schools, offering bespoke teaching and environments alongside opportunities for integration into mainstream classrooms, meaning children will be members of the school community and receive all the benefits that go with that.
Resource base
A new resource base will open at Loddon Primary School in Earley, starting with eight spaces and growing to 21 spaces over the next three years.
In a resource base, children spend around 50 per cent of their time in the school and the rest getting specialist support in the resource base. The SEND unit is for children with a higher level of need who will spend around 70 per cent of time getting specialist support and the rest in the school
The school are redeveloping a space that previously housed a children's centre as well as an unused classroom which will include a change to how space is divided up and making changes to the environment, including flooring and lighting, to make it more autism friendly.
Designated SEND unit
A new designated SEND unit will open at Radstock Primary School in Earley, starting with six spaces and growing to 21 spaces over the next three years.
SEND units are part of our new offer and will bridge the gap between those needing a lower tier of support and special schools.
The SEND unit will be in a new purpose built modular building, designed with children with autism in mind and will include a sensory environment and quiet spaces.
Further information
Admission will be via the multi-agency SEND panel for children with EHCPs in line with their needs.
 More support for children to stay in their school is coming
We are working with Foundry College to increase support given to schools and families to help support children to stay in their current school settings.
Foundry College, based in Wokingham, currently provides education for those who have been permanently excluded or are at risk of permanent exclusion, as well as those with medical needs who cannot attend school regularly. It also has some outreach services to local schools.
As part of a remodel, a new multi-agency panel for schools will be created, enabling them to get support, signposting and advice at an earlier stage and forging stronger links with other services such as the emotional wellbeing hub to help stop issues from escalating.
We will also be creating a range of new short term interventions and alternative provision aimed at supporting children to successfully return to school.
The new offer will evolve over time as it will be led by the needs of the schools, children and their families.
 Making the SEND Local Offer easier to navigate
We are improving the Local Offer information available to families.
Our Local Offer webpages and directory provide information about education, health and care services, leisure activities and support groups for children with SEND.
At the moment we are focusing on the Local Offer pages on our website and we're re-writing every page and piece of information to strip out any jargon and making it easier for families to understand.
We are also going to be re-organising the pages to make it more logical. We would like to thank the families who have worked with us on this to help us understand how and where they would expect to find information.
Our Local Offer is something that we will look to improve further in the future, so please keep an eye out for updates and opportunities to feedback.
 Local Offer roadshow is coming
As part of our commitment to making information more accessible to families, we will be pilottng a new Local Offer roadshow.
The roadshow will have the theme 'Preparing for Adulthood' and will bring together a range of information and support services to families with SEND children aged 14+.
We are planning to run this before the summer holidays and will send out more information via our Local Offer newsletter when we have confirmed the details, so please make sure you sign up to receive it if you haven't already.
Should this be successful, we will look to roll out further roadshows with different themes.
This is designed as an addition to Local Offer Live, which is run in partnership with SEND Voices Wokingham each Autumn where there are a whole range of topics to explore alongside fun activities for children.
 Welcome to the team
We've been growing the teams that support different areas of the SEND improvement plan, with our new area Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) Helen and new post-16 lead Sarah starting earlier this year.
They have been getting up to speed with the projects so far and will have their own news to share over the coming months as they get stuck in to their work.
It's an exciting time for SEND services in the borough, and you're not too late to join us. We're currently looking for more people to join the team, could one of these roles be for you?
We are regularly advertising for people to join us, so if none of these roles take your fancy, keep an eye out on our jobs page for the latest vacancies.
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