SEND support in Staffordshire

We want every child and young person with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to get the right support at the right time. Our aim is to help them thrive in education, health, and everyday life.

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Improving SEND support

Our vision

“All children and young people with SEND are given the opportunity to achieve everything they can. They receive the right support at the right time from their families, communities, and professionals.”

The SEND picture

  • The number of children and young people needing SEND support has grown by almost 30% since 2018.
  • Staffordshire currently maintains 8,300 Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for children and young people aged 0–25.
  • Most children’s needs can be met in their local mainstream school.
  • A smaller number of children with very complex needs may need specialist provision.
  • In Staffordshire, 31% of children with an EHCP attend mainstream schools, compared to 40.5% nationally.
  • Children with SEND in Staffordshire do not achieve as well as other children, and parents and schools tell us support is inconsistent across the county.

Why change is needed

We know there is excellent practice in some areas, but families and schools are frustrated by the lack of consistency. We need to make better use of resources to:

  • Improve support in local schools
  • Help children learn and achieve
  • Enable children to have friends and grow up in their home communities

This is a challenge because:

  • Children have a wide range of needs
  • Staffordshire is a large county with different local issues
  • Education is changing
  • Funding pressures affect all public services

How we are improving support

We have developed a new approach to strengthen SEND services and provide pre-statutory support before an EHCP is considered.

The Graduated Approach

Support starts with Assess, Plan, Do, Review in schools.

Enhanced Assess, Plan, Do, Review (EAPDR)

If more help is needed, schools can request EAPDR. This provides:

  • Extra advice and guidance
  • Access to specialist support
  • Additional resources

One option within EAPDR is the Staffordshire Enhanced District Inclusion Support (SEDIS) model, which helps schools build capacity and confidence to meet children’s needs.

Moving to statutory support

If EAPDR and other interventions do not meet needs, the next step may be an Education, Health and Care Needs Assessment leading to an EHCP.

Our goal

We want a system that:

  • Supports children in their local schools wherever possible
  • Provides consistent, high-quality help across Staffordshire
  • Builds on best practice and shares what works well