Firstly, thank you to everyone who contributed to the SEND parent carer and young people’s survey before the summer break and to Parent Carer Forum Devon (PCFD) for conducting this on behalf of the local area. We recognise that this is not a survey that PCFD or young people would have chosen to do themselves and that it doesn’t reflect the whole lives of families. This survey will be a baseline to enable the local area to show progress against the areas identified by Ofsted and CQC in 2022.
The results of this baseline survey show us as a local area just how poor the experience of families is of our services. We know that families have been telling us this for some time and we must now deliver these improvements without delay. The need to rapidly and sustainably improve services for children, young people and families with SEND is now being led and monitored by all leaders within our organisations and is a top priority for the council, local health system and school leaders.
We’ve made a commitment to look not just at the areas identified by Ofsted and CQC but at how we can transform the whole system so that we improve the experiences of children, young people and their families. We want children and young people, and their families, to receive the right support at the right time and in the right place.
One of the things that we are committed to moving forward is co-producing this change with parent carers and young people. We know that it is the only way to get things right. Like almost all local areas, we will be working with our local area forum; Parent Carer Forum Devon, and with our young people supported by our participation teams, to make sure the services we plan and deliver meet the needs of children and young people with SEND and their families.
If you are a parent carer and would like to be involved you can contact PCFD by emailing admin@parentcarerforumdevon.org or for young people, please contact the participation team by emailing participation@devon.gov.uk.