 The April 2026 edition of the SENCO newsletter includes:
- Area SENCO update
- Training opportunities
- PfA market stall event
- SEND Team staffing update
- Driving high quality teaching for pupils with SEND
- New SEND units
- Free Autism event
- Free Celebrating Deafness event
Welcome to the first summer term edition of the SENCO newsletter. I hope you all had a lovely Easter break and are feeling rested, refreshed and ready for the busy term ahead.
As part of the national SEND reforms, all local area partnerships are required to produce a SEND Reform Plan, setting out how they will implement the changes locally and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND. These plans must be completed by June, making the coming weeks an important period for shaping local priorities and approaches.
At our next SENCO Network Meeting on Thursday 30 April, we will be joined by Jamie Conran and Emma Shrimpton who will share more detail about Wokingham Borough’s emerging SEND Reform Plan and the direction of travel locally.
This will be a valuable opportunity to hear directly about the proposed developments and to share your views. We strongly encourage you to join us for this meeting.
Thank you for your patience following a technical hitch with the Wokingham Hub which meant that PowerPoint presentations could not be uploaded. This has now been resolved and you can now access the presentation as well as the recording on the SENCO Hub.
A reminder to respond to the government’s proposals to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. The consultation closes on 18 May 2026; this is an important opportunity to ensure the voices of schools and SENCOs are heard. You can access the survey below on the DfE website.
If you have not yet completed the short survey on Wokingham Borough’s early intervention services, we would be grateful if you could do so by Friday 24 April. Your feedback really will make a difference and we value your views.
I hope the new term goes smoothly for you and I look forward to seeing you at the SENCO network meeting, if not before.
Our EP Service and Outreach Services are offering more training this term on a range of topics including:
- Supporting learners with EAL and Speech, Language and Communication Needs
- Making Sense of Autism (AET training)
- Theory of Mind and Comic Strip Conversations
- De-escalation
- Supporting Behaviour - A Therapeutic Approach
- Phonological Awareness
- Supporting Pupils with Down Syndrome
- Supporting Speech Sounds
- Building Emotional Language
More information is available on the Wokingham Borough Schools Hub.
NASEN Online SEND CPD Units
A valuable CPD resource is available for all school staff working with pupils with SEND. NASEN’s Online CPD Units offer free, flexible, bite-size online learning designed to enhance understanding and inclusive practice across a wide range of SEND areas.
There are 20 short units in total, each taking under an hour. Topics include creating emotionally, socially and physically safe environments; supporting speech, language and communication needs; understanding behaviour and promoting resilience; supporting sensory differences; and developing reading, maths and executive functioning skills, among others.
These units are ideal for staff who want to build confidence and practical knowledge. They are free to access at a time that suits you — just register for a free account and log in. Specialist follow-up ‘Spotlight’ sessions are also offered to help contextualise learning and share practice.
To explore and access the units, visit the NASEN website.
The SEND Service is hosting a free, market stall event for young people aged 12 and above with SEND and their families. The event offers an opportunity to explore post-16 options and find out about local support and services.
We encourage you to share details of this event with your students and their families. Further information and the booking link are available on TicketSource.
The SEND Team will be welcoming a new SEND Casework Practitioner next month, following a successful recruitment process to fill a current vacancy within the team.
In addition, one of our Casework Practitioners is currently on maternity leave and has recently welcomed a beautiful baby girl. We are pleased to share that both mum and baby are doing well.
Unfortunately, a Casework Practitioner has also left the team unexpectedly at short notice. As a result, we are presently carrying two Casework Practitioner vacancies. Recruitment plans are already in place to fill both vacancies as quickly as possible, and schools affected by these changes will already be aware.
In the interim period, the team is working hard to cover the service as effectively as possible. We recognise that this may result in slower response times in some circumstances, and we are actively managing workloads to minimise disruption and frustration wherever we can.
To support this, we are in the process of introducing automated email replies from individual inboxes. This will provide reassurance that emails have been received and will be responded to in due course. We will continue to aim to respond to emails within five working days, in line with the SEND Communication Promise, but we kindly ask for patience if this is not always possible during this period.
Schools that do not currently have a link Casework Practitioner will be aware of this arrangement and will be supported by either the Senior Case Manager or the Complex Case Manager in the interim.
Thank you for your understanding and continued cooperation.
Sam Philo
SEND Practice Manager
A recent blog from Gary Aubin, one of our keynote speakers at our SEND and inclusion conference, outlines eight practical tips to help SENCOs support and influence inclusive teaching across their schools.
The focus is on strengthening classroom practice so that teaching is accessible and effective for pupils with SEND, and on building sustainable approaches rather than adding ever-more strategies into teachers’ workload.
The suggested strategies are:
- Get a clear and ongoing sense of current classroom provision
- Invest in time with the Teaching and Learning lead
- Don’t be the one with all the answers
- Look to evidence and high-quality resources that already exist
- Ensure what you’re asking for is doable
- Plan CPD as a process, not an event
- Use current strengths
- Understand where answers lie beyond the gates
You can find out more about each of the strategies by visiting SENDMattersUK.
Three new SEND units will be coming to Wokingham Borough after plans were recently approved.
- The Walter Infant school and St Pauls Junior School will support children with autism and associated additional needs
- Winnersh Primary School will support children with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs
More SEND provision is also being developed, subject to approval from the Department for Education. This includes:
- An additional resource base for primary-aged children with SEMH needs
- A resource base for secondary-aged children with cognition and learning needs
- A SEND unit for secondary-aged children with communication and interaction needs
These developments will help ensure a broader range of support is available as children move through their education.
You can find out more by visiting the Wokingham Borough Council website.
As part of the University of Reading’s centenary celebrations, they are hosting a free public (in person and online) event on the evening of the 6 May called Autistic, Thriving at School and Beyond.
It aims to bring together autistic children and young people, their families, students, professionals and researchers to explore what supports autistic children to flourish in education and everyday life.
The event will include talks from:
- Professor Elizabeth McCrum, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Education and Student Experience) at the University of Reading
- Dr Fiona Knott and Dr Jo Billington, Wellbeing Hub project leads
- Andy Smith, founder of Spectrum Gaming, and a passionate advocate for young people’s voices in education.
You can find out more and register for a place by visiting their website.
Reading University and partners are hosting a Deaf Awareness Day.
The event is free to attend and will be held on 7 May from 10am to 2pm at the London Road Campus.
This event is designed to increase understanding of deafness and improve communication and inclusion when working with deaf individuals and their families. The session will provide:
- Valuable insights into the lived experiences of deaf people
- Practical communication tips
- Opportunities to reflect on making services more accessible and inclusive
It’s also a great chance to connect with other professionals and share best practices. We hope you can attend, and please feel free to share this invitation with anyone who might be interested.
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