West Sussex County Council is calling on the government to make urgent changes to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support nationally.

In a recent letter to the Secretary of State for Education, The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP, Councillor Jacquie Russell, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning, and Councillor Jeremy Hunt, Cabinet Member for Finance and Property, give particular focus to the future of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit and the impact this is having on council budgets and financial sustainability. 

You can read the letter in full on the West Sussex County Council website.

We’re excited to share an update on our work as part of the Department for Education’s (DfE) SEND & Alternative Provision (AP) Change Programme, which is now in its second phase. This national initiative is focused on improving outcomes for children and young people (CYP) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by promoting early identification, effective use of resources, and inclusive, high-quality teaching.

Why change is needed

Between 2010 and 2024, the number of children identified with SEND has grown significantly. At the same time, more of these needs are being met through statutory processes, placing increasing pressure on Local Authority budgets and specialist services. Many families have told us they lack confidence in the support available in mainstream settings, and we know that the current system isn’t delivering the outcomes our children deserve.

What is the Local Inclusion Support Offer (LISO)?

To address these challenges, we are working with the DfE to develop and test a Local Inclusion Support Offer (LISO). This is a new model of support designed to:

• Bring together education, health, and social care services in a joined-up way
• Help schools and settings deliver a stronger universal offer for all children
• Provide training and advice to build inclusive practice across mainstream settings
• Make it easier for schools to access resources and support decision-making locally

Co-designing the future

On Monday 21 July, we held a workshop with partners from education, health, social care, and our parent carer forum. With support from our DfE Change Programme Coach, we explored the key components of the LISO and mapped services across the area to identify gaps and overlaps. We also reviewed our data dashboard to better understand current provision and outcomes.

We know that many schools couldn’t attend due to end-of-term commitments, and we appreciate your understanding as we worked to meet the DfE’s tight timelines. Your voices remain central to this work, and we’ll continue to create opportunities for meaningful engagement.

Where we’re focusing

We’ll be developing and testing the LISO in Crawley, Southbourne and Midhurst. While the DfE has asked us to include our Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce (APST) in the model, our data shows that Southbourne and Midhurst would particularly benefit from a locally tailored offer. We’ve now expanded our Task and Finish Group to include key senior managers who will help shape the next phase of development.

In addition to our LISO, we will also be delivering and testing the use of Assistive Technology Lending Libraries (ATLLs). The AT lending libraries' main focus is to assist children and young people with EHCPs or SEN support to achieve and thrive in mainstream settings, including SEN units and resourced provision.

The aim is to make a wider range of assistive technology available to more schools to trial with their pupils before investing, so that they can try a range of solutions for their pupils. This will help more schools experience the benefits of AT while ensuring funding is used effectively and support is well matched to pupils' needs.

Aligning with wider reform

This work is closely aligned with the upcoming Schools White Paper, which is expected to focus on early intervention and prevention. It also complements the reform of social care through the Family First Partnership, helping us build a more joined-up and inclusive system of support for children and families.

As part of the Education and Skills Transformation Programme, we’ll be reviewing how our services are structured and delivered to ensure they are fit for the future and aligned with national SEND reforms.

We’re committed to co-producing this work with families, schools, and local area partners. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to build a more inclusive and effective SEND system.

In the summer term of 2025, 15 West Sussex Primary and Secondary schools achieved the DaDIPA. 

The latest cohort achieving the DaDIPA started their journey in September 2024 by attending three training days led by the Learning and Behaviour Advisory Team (LBAT).

The training days looked at supporting specific learning difficulties in literacy and maths, including dyslexia and dyscalculia.  Attendees were equipped with the resources and tools to cascade the training days to their own staff. 

You can read more about DaPIPA here.

The web address for the SEND Local Offer has changed. Please ensure that reference to the Local Offer on your website and any documentation, such as SEND policy or SEND Information Report now uses the URL: www.westsussex.gov.uk/local-offer

Any reference to Local Offer using URLs ending with local-offer.org, such as westsussex.local-offer.org, should be deleted and replaced with the URL www.westsussex.gov.uk/local-offer. There is currently a redirect in place, but this is expected to be a temporary measure.

Please also remove any images of and links to the Local Offer leaflet as this is now out of date. A new SEND Local Offer leaflet will be distributed to schools in the autumn term.

Over the summer, SENDIAS have been busy reviewing all their factsheets on specific subjects related to special educational needs and/or disabilities.  They include information on SEN support, Education Health and Care Plans, educational transitions and supported internships.  

Follow this link to view all their factsheets.

We are delighted to share that we are taking two of our services out into the community so we can support even more families in West Sussex!

Benefits advice

Parents of a child or young person with SEND can meet our Benefits Advisor in their local area for support with applications for Carers Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment.

Neurodevelopmental (ND) navigation

Parents of a child or young person waiting on assessment for ADHD or Autism can meet with one of our ND Support Workers for information, advice and signposting.

• Face to Face
• 1-2-1 bookable sessions with a member of the team
• Coming to locations across West Sussex

For more information please visit www.reachingfamilies.org.uk

The WSPCF Together for Change Panel is a collaborative, doing space where parent carers, professionals, and partners can shape projects and services in real time. Through open discussions, feedback, and shared decision-making, the panel directly improves services and practices for SEND families.

Over the last academic year, the panel has reviewed a wide range of work, such as the SEND & Inclusion Strategy, Alternative Provision Strategy, Co-production Charter,  Local Offer flyers and banners, and SENDIAS fact sheet information. 

People who have attended the panel have rated its usefulness 9.7/10, and everyone who has submitted and given feedback have confirmed that the honest discussions and lived experience shared has directly shaped their work, whether by making resources clearer, redesigning services, or including parent carers’ views earlier in the process. 

To find out more, come and observe, or even bring your work to the panel, visit the Together for Change page or email tfcpanel@wspcf.org.uk

West Hoathly Primary School joined the Autism in Schools Project early in 2024 and very soon recognised the advantages of working closely with the parent carers of their SEND register pupils. One of the key objectives of the Autism in Schools Project is for schools to develop relationships with their parent carers of SEND register children to ensure genuine co-production to support children and young people with SEND.

Working in partnership with the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum, each project school sets up a mini forum to share information on SEND support and to create networks of peer support.

Despite being a small village school, regular information sessions are held at West Hoathly with the parent carers of pupils with SEND. At the end of the last academic year the school began working with these parent carers to review their school SEND policy.  

Samantha Dann, Headteacher and SENCO at West Hoathly Primary School, said,

“Working with the parent carers of our SEND pupils to shape our SEND policy has been an extremely positive experience. Not only has it helped improve understanding of what support we are able to offer in school but has also ensured that our policy is completely accessible to this key target audience.”

Clare Eeles, Manager of the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum Autism in Schools Project team, added:  

 “I was fortunate to attend the first session with this group of parent carers. We know that being a parent carer of a child with SEND can often feel quite isolating. This inclusive practice of working with parent carers from the start of the school’s SEND policy development clearly had a positive impact on the parent carers involved.”

For further information on this approach or any other aspects of the Autism in Schools Project, please contact project lead, Jane Crawford at jane.crawford@westsussex.gov.uk.

We are excited to introduce a new initiative brought to you by the West Sussex Disability Register team.

This brand-new programme is designed to support young people aged 14 and over with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in accessing the library through Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) sessions. It is a special project funded by a grant from the UK Government and delivered by West Sussex Libraries.

We hope that by taking part in these sessions young people with SEND will:

• have a safe space to build friendships and explore a mutual enjoyment of table top role play gaming (TTRPG)
• have fun playing an activity that can also benefit their mental health and wellbeing
• gain new or enhance their existing TTRPG skills
• feel more confident in visiting and accessing services through the library
• continue meeting friends at the library to play games once the programme has completed (we would absolutely welcome volunteers to help support this opportunity – do reach out if this sounds like something you’d like to consider!)

Led by an expert Dungeon Master these fortnightly sessions will take place at Horsham Library from September to December 2025, and will then continue at Burgess Hill Library and one other location from January to March 2026.

Spaces must be pre-booked via Eventbrite to secure a spot as the event capacity is capped to 6 players.

Bookings for subsequent sessions will open one week prior to each event to allow a fairer booking system amongst our members.

Any questions? Contact the Library SEND team at disabilityregister@westsussex.gov.uk