Children's Learning Disability Service (CLDS) feedback opportunity.

September 22, 2025

The Children's Learning Disability Service (CLDS) is due to be recommissioned in 2027.

We recently wrote to our membership to let you know about an opportunity to give your feedback on the Children's Learning Disability Service, (CLDS). 


When a new contract is developed, it’s important that the voices of children, young people, and families are heard so that services meet their needs.

The Learning Disability and Autism Health Inequalities (LD/A HE) team are keen to hear your feedback and experiences, and details about how you can give your views can be found in our letter.


Read our letter in full below;



Dear Members,

Our colleagues from the Learning Disability and Autism Health Inequalities (LD/A HE) Team would like to hear your views about the Children's Learning Disability Service, (CLDS).


The CLDS is an offer for children and young people aged 5-18 living in Southend, Essex and Thurrock with a moderate to severe learning disability and behaviours which challenge. The service is provided by Essex Partnership University Foundation Trust (EPUT) and is a specialist community-based behavioural assessment and treatment service.

The CLDS is due to be recommissioned in 2027; this means the current contract will come to an end, and LD/A HE Team Commissioners will need to organise a new contract to be provided. To help them deliver the right service for children, young people and families who really need it, they are asking for your feedback.

The team would like to hear from you:

  • If you have used the service,
  • If you have not used the service but have tried to or would like to or
  • If you have not used the service but meet their criteria


To give your feedback, please click HERE


The survey will be live from 19th September until 3rd October. After this date the results will be analysed and will be used to help inform options for the new contract which will be considered in the design of the new service specification (the document describing what we want the service to do, and how we want the provider of that service to do it). This part of the process will start in 2026.

If you have any questions, or if you would like any further information about the survey’s or recommissioning process, please contact the team directly:
Becca King, CYP Commissioner – Rebecca.king2@essex.gov.uk
Claire Bate, DSR Coordinator – Claire.bate@essex.gov.uk

Best wishes,

SSIF

SEND Reform Engagement and Listening Events

March 4, 2026
As Southend’s Parent Carer Forum, Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF), we encourage you to share your experiences — your voice really matters in shaping support for our children and young people. We’re hosting informal drop-in sessions at Southend Civic Centre during the consultation period specifically to gather your feedback and thoughts on the proposed changes, so we can reflect the real views of parent carers in our response. Please come along to share your views or ask any questions — we’d love to see you there. The SEND Partnership is also hosting an information Event and will present an overview of the key proposed changes, highlight the areas the government is consulting on, and empower parent carers with the information needed to share their views with confidence. The SEND Partnership will require pre-booking tickets and you can do that here, tickets .
An advertisement for a coffee and chat event

SSIF Coffee Mornings

March 2, 2026
One of our favourite Events is our regular monthly coffee morning, where Parent Carers can get together to share their experiences. Every month we have the Local Offer team with us and invite 1 or 2 additional special guests from for example Health, Social Care, Education and more, to offer guidance and advice. *Please note that the coffee mornings for 2026 will temporarily be held at the Civic Centre and will again return to SAVS in September 2026* Come along and chat to other ParentCarers, get advice from one of our SEND support service guests and enjoy a hot drink with something sweet. Booking is not required.

SSIF SEND Reform drop-in Sessions

February 27, 2026
We will be hosting a series of informal drop-in sessions for parent carers to share views and ask questions about the Government SEND reform proposals and consultation. The Government's Schools White Paper, Every child achieving and thriving was published on Monday 23 February 2026. The Paper sets out proposed reforms to the schools and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system in England. The Government's consultation on the proposed reforms is open until 18 May. You can read the proposals and share your views here: SEND reform: putting children and young people first - Department for Education - Citizen Space As Southend's Parent Carer Forum, we encourage parent carers to engage with the consultation. To support this, we are hosting informal drop‑in sessions where you can share your views and ask questions. All sessions will be held in Southend Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue, Southend, SS2 6ER on the following dates: Friday 13 March, 9.30am to 10.30am Committee Room 2 Tuesday 17 March, 9.30am to 10.30am Committee Room 2 Monday 23 March, 12.30pm to 1.30pm Committee Room 3 Thursday 23 April, 10.30am to 11.30am Committee Room 7 Friday 1 May, 12.30pm to 1.30pm, Committee Room 7 Monday 11 May, 10am to 11am, Committee Room 4  The Southend SEND Area Partnership are also hosting an information session about the proposed SEND reforms on Friday 17 April 9.30am to 10.30am at Southend Civic Centre (Jubilee Room). You can book a place on that event here .

Southend SEND Area Partnership letter about proposed Government SEND Reforms

February 27, 2026
The Southend SEND Area Partnership have issued a letter about the proposed Government SEND reforms and the consultation. You can read the letter in full here: 25 February 2026 Dear parent carers, The Government's Schools White Paper, Every child achieving and thriving was published this week (Monday 23 February 2026). This White Paper sets out proposed reforms to the schools and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system in England. We expect more detail to become available over the coming weeks and will share further information with you as soon as we can. We understand that these announcements may create uncertainty for families of children and young people with SEND. We want to reassure you that nothing about the support you currently receive will change at this stage. These proposals are part of a national consultation, and no decisions have yet been finalised. Leaders from Southend-on-Sea City Council and the Integrated Care Board will now take time to carefully review the proposals so we can understand what they may mean for our local area. We are encouraged that the reforms aim to improve help and support for children and young people with SEND, with a commitment to ensuring the right resources are in place to deliver this. The improvement work the SEND Area Partnership has undertaken over the last three years places us in a good position to align with the principles set out in the reforms – early and fair support, delivered through collaborative working and shared accountability. The Government's consultation on the proposed reforms is now open and seeks feedback from everyone with an interest in SEND, including parents, carers, young people, and professionals. You can read the proposals and share your views here: SEND reform: putting children and young people first - Department for Education - Citizen Space The Partnership fully agrees that the voice of families must remain central as we consider these proposals and prepare our response to the consultation. As Southend's Parent Carer Forum, Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF) encourages parents and carers to engage with the consultation to share your lived experiences as these are vital in shaping a system that truly reflects the needs of our children and young people. Throughout the consultation, SSIF are hosting informal in-person drop‑in sessions at Southend Civic Centre where you can share your views and ask questions. Drop-in session dates: Friday 13 March, 9.30am to 10.30am Committee Room 2 Tuesday 17 March, 9.30am to 10.30am Committee Room 2 Monday 23 March, 12.30pm to 1.30pm Committee Room 3 Thursday 23 April, 10.30am to 11.30am Committee Room 7 Friday 1 May, 12.30pm to 1.30pm, Committee Room 7 Monday 11 May, 10am to 11am, Committee Room 4 The Partnership will also host an in-person information session on Friday 17 April 2026 at Southend Civic Centre (Jubilee Room) from 9.30am to 10.30am. Find out more and book your place through Eventbrite: SEND Reform Family Engagement session A further online session will be confirmed shortly. We encourage you to follow SSIF and the SEND Local Offer social media channels for updates: www.facebook.com/TheSSIF/ www.instagram.com/southendsendindependent www.facebook.com/SouthendCouncilSEND/ www.instagram.com/southendcouncilsend/ It is important to note that the new system is not expected to be enacted until 2029. In the meantime, the Southend Area Partnership focus will remain on continuing the improvements achieved so far and ensuring children and young people in Southend receive the support they need. Signatories: Michael Marks, Executive Director, Children and Public Health, Southend-on-Sea City Council Dr Giles Thorpe, Executive Chief Nursing Officer, Mid and South Essex ICB Philomena Johnson, Strategic Lead for Education and Social Care, Southend SEND Independent Forum Samantha Delve, Strategic Lead for Health, Southend SEND Independent Forum