WORCESTERSHIRE County Council has thanked staff and pupils at Wyre Forest School for their welcome to a session to discuss special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Officers from the cou-nty council and NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire heard directly about the outcomes children and young people with SEND wanted to see.
The team chatted with pupils while they prepared lunches, made crafts and served customers in the community cafe.
Youngsters also prepared thoughtful questions for the council’s director of children’s services, Adam Johnston; NHS director of operations Jade Brooks; and Voices United forum members Matthew and Myah.
Questions covered everything from adult services funding, transport to college and accessible sports clubs to adding widgets to the council’s websites – along with lighter queries about football and fast cars.
In recent months, the council’s co-production officers have worked with Voices United Worcestershire, the authority’s forum for children and young people with SEND. They have gathered views from more than 400 children and young people about what matters most to them and what a ‘good life’ looks like.
That data indicated young people want to feel welcome, included, part of a community where they belong, safe and supported, listened to, understood and involved in decisions about their lives.
They added, they want to be helped to be healthy in body and mind, enjoy life and have fun whilst being supported to reach their full potential.
Those outcomes will now be rolled out across the local-area partnership and will sit at the heart of the council’s plans, developing and designing services for children and young people with SEND.
The council added, it knows there is more to do but is glad to be working alongside its NHS partners, Worcestershire Parent Carer Forum and Voices United Worcestershire, to make it happen.
Young people wanting to find out more about Voices United are urged to visit worcestershire.gov.uk/SENDcoproduction, for more details.
