Partners from the NHS and Shropshire Council are working together, listening to the feedback from parent carers and their children and young people, to improve the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) support available in the local area.

Last summer, parent carers were invited to complete a short survey, following a reinspection of SEND services in November 2022, to understand families’ experiences and inform plans for improvement.

A reinspection, carried out by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), found further progress was needed in relation to waiting times for Autism and ADHD assessments, waiting times for Speech and Language Therapy services, and the quality and timeliness of Education, Health and Care Plans.

Councillor Kirstie Hurst-Knight, Cabinet Member for Children and Education at Shropshire Council, said: “In response to the reinspection, we developed an Accelerated Progress Plan which included a commitment to seek feedback from parent carers to measure its impact.

“The survey received over 200 responses and provided valuable insight into families’ experiences of SEND services in the local area.  We have listened to what people have said, taken action and set out a number of next steps which can be read on our website.

“Following a six-month review of the plan last year, the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England recognised that we are making good progress against our commitment to improve support for children and young people with SEND and we want to hear from parent carers if this is being reflected in your recent experiences too.

“While we have made some really positive progress, we know we still have more to do, and we will continue to work with all our partners to develop the support available and raise awareness of what’s on offer to improve the experiences and outcomes for children and young people.”

Gareth Robinson, Executive Director of Delivery and Transformation for NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said: “We are again asking parent carers to complete the same short survey to understand if the actions we have taken are making a difference, what’s working well and to identify further opportunities for improvement. 

“We are interested in understanding whether, in relation to your experiences over the last 6 months, services met your individual or family needs and if you are aware of the full range of support available in relation to neurodiversity, speech, language and communication needs and Education, Health and Care Plans.

“Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to our previous survey and we hope you will continue to share your feedback to help us make progress on our ambition to improve the health and wellbeing of our children and young people.”

To complete the survey, click here. Closing date for survey is Sunday 7 April 2024.