One thing that hasn’t stopped since March is our commitment to representing parents at a strategic level locally. The SEND steering group which is made up of local professionals working at a senior level in a variety of different areas of SEND in Bolton. We have been part of this group since the SEND reforms were introduced. The group normally meets 1/2 termly and works to bring to life the development of our local SEND priorities as a multi agency team. The pandemic hasn’t stopped this work, and our meetings moved online instead. Bolton’s SEND priorities, which we were part of developing, are:
- Improving SEN Support
- Preparing for Adulthood
- A new online Local Offer
- Inclusion
- Coproduction
- Joint Commissioning
- Local provision
Each priority has a multi-agency task group working towards it’s aims. BPC are in the process of designing a leaflet for parents and carers to show what this work aims to change locally.
Both BPC and Bolton Information Advisory Service are part of the SEND Steering group, which means that the experiences of local families are very well represented.
