Refreshing Southend's SEND Strategy 2027-2029 - Have your Say!

Friday 27 November 2026, 10am–2pm Southend Civic Centre, Victoria Avenue, Southend-on-Sea, SS2 6ER Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF) and the Southend SEND Local Offer Team are excited to co-host the third Southend SEND Information Day on Friday 27 November 2026. This Information Day will have a particular focus on Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing. Following positive feedback for our previous Information Days, we’re looking forward to bringing the community together again. Why come along? We know that navigating services and support can sometimes feel overwhelming. The SEND Information Day is an opportunity for parents and carers of children and young people with SEND, and professionals to find out about local services, organisations and support. You’ll be able to meet services, ask questions, gather information and potentially discover support you didn’t know about. Whether you have particular questions, or just want to come along and explore, we hope you will join us. Mental Health and Wellbeing Marketplace At the event, you’ll be able to visit stalls hosted by a range of services. Mental health and wellbeing support can take many different forms, and children, young people and families may need different types of support at different points. This can range from activities and community-based support that promote wellbeing, confidence and resilience, through to more targeted support and one-to-one therapeutic services. Support does not have to begin at a point of crisis. The Marketplace is an opportunity to find out about the different options and routes to support that may be available at different stages of a child or young person’s journey. Participating services will be listed on the SEND Information Day webpage, so keep an eye on this in the run-up to the event: www.livewellsouthend.com/SENDInformationDay Mental Health and Wellbeing SEND Surgery For this Information Day, instead of our usual Topic Talks, we will have a Mental Health and Wellbeing SEND Surgery . At the surgery, parents and carers will be able to book a 15-minute slot to speak directly with some of the participating services about their child or young person’s needs. This is intended to create an opportunity for more direct conversations to help families understand where they may be able to access further information and support. Please be aware that Surgery slots will be available on a first come, first served basis and will be bookable on the day. Each service participating in the Surgery will also have a stall at the event, so if you are unable to speak to them at the surgery, you will still be able to visit them in the marketplace. The Surgery will be available between 10.30am and 1.30pm. Pre-register for the event If you plan to come to the SEND Information Day, we invite you to pre-register. Doing this speeds up the signing-in process on the day and allows us to email you information in advance to help you plan your day (subject to your permission). Pre-register here: Registration form - 27 November 2026 SEND Information Additional information for parents and carers Please be aware that the Southend SEND Information Day is an information event aimed at parents and carers and is not an event for children and young people . There will be no crèche or childcare facilities available at the event, so please take this into consideration when planning your visit. Getting to Southend Civic Centre Southend Civic Centre is close to Southend Victoria station and local bus routes. Parking spaces at the Civic Centre are limited and the area can be busy, so we advise allowing extra time for your journey if you are travelling by car. Alternative parking is available at The Beecroft Car Park (a short walk from the civic centre) and in the town centre car parks. On-street parking on surrounding roads is very limited. Parking charges apply to Southend car parks. Please remember to check local parking signs and restrictions before leaving your car. About the event hosts SSIF and the Southend SEND Local Offer Team work closely to co-host the SEND Information Day , bringing together two important parts of the SEND community: the experiences and voices of parent carers, and the information, services and support available to children, young people and families across Southend. As Southend’s independent parent carer forum, Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF) works to ensure that the experiences and views of families of children and young people with SEND are heard and help to inform the development of local services. Co-hosting events such as the Southend SEND Information Day is one of the ways we can help bring parent carers and professionals together, create opportunities for conversations and make it easier for families to find out about the support available locally. It is also an important opportunity for us to listen to you . The conversations we have with parent carers help SSIF to understand families’ experiences, what is working well and where there may be challenges or gaps. If you are coming to the Information Day, please come and find the SSIF team and say hello . Whether you would like to find out more about what we do, share your experiences and views, or simply have a chat, we would love to meet you. The Southend SEND Local Offer on the Livewell Southend website ( www.livewellsouthend.com/SEND ) provides information about local services and support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and their families, in Southend. The Information Day enables families to meet some of the services who are featured on the Local Offer. The Local Offer is not just for when you need a particular service or are facing a difficulty. It is a useful place to explore what is available locally, discover activities and opportunities, and find information that may be helpful at different stages of your child or young person’s SEND journey. Come and meet the SEND Local Offer team at the event. They will be able to tell you about the Local Offer and show you how to find information relevant to you and your family.

A little space just for you Caring for a child or young person with SEND can sometimes feel like a world of its own. Our monthly coffee morning is a chance to spend some time with other parent carers who understand that world – no explanations needed. Come along for a cuppa (and a very good choice of cake!), have a chat, share experiences if you want to, and get to know other parent carers. Whether you’re looking to build your own network of people who get it, have a question you’d like to ask, or simply fancy getting out of the house for an hour or two, you’ll be very welcome. First and foremost, it’s a parent carer space. There’s no agenda and no expectation to talk about anything you don’t want to. We also know how useful it can be to speak to the right person when you do have a question. We’ll have professionals joining us who can offer information, answer questions and help signpost you to further support – they’re there if you need them, but they’re not the focus of the morning. Hot and cold drinks are available, there’s always LOTS of cake , and you’re welcome to stay for as much or as little of the morning as works for you. And because this really is meant to be a little bit of time just for you, our coffee mornings are just for parent carers – no children this time, please. Come and find your people, have a cuppa and build your parent carer network. Our 2026–2027 coffee morning dates are here - we'd love to see you at one soon!

The Government is currently consulting on proposed changes to Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) – how it should work, who it should be for and how children and young people receiving EOTAS should be supported. The consultation closes on 18 September 2026 , and it is really important that the experiences of children, young people and their families help inform what happens next. What is the consultation about? The main focus of the consultation is EOTAS and proposed changes to the way these arrangements work. The Government wants to hear views and experiences to help shape future arrangements, including what is working well, what isn't working and what could be improved. The consultation also covers two related areas : support for children and young people who cannot attend school because of physical or mental health needs how schools and local authorities use accredited online education providers for alternative provision What is EOTAS? Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) is a specific arrangement for a child or young person with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan . It applies where the local authority is satisfied that it would be inappropriate for the child or young person's special educational provision to be delivered in a school, college or other educational institution. Their provision is therefore arranged somewhere else and could include education at home or a combination of different types of provision. EOTAS is not the same as elective home education , where a parent chooses to take responsibility for providing their child's education at home. What about children who cannot attend school because of health needs? This is an important distinction. A child being unable to attend school because of physical or mental health needs does not automatically mean they are receiving EOTAS. The consultation separately considers the support available for children and young people who cannot attend school because of their health. The Government is looking at how schools, local authorities and health services work together, how children can receive suitable education while they are unable to attend school, and whether support could be provided earlier or more effectively. A child or young person does not need to have an EHC Plan or EOTAS arrangement for their family's experience to be relevant to this part of the consultation. What about online education? The consultation also considers the use of accredited online education providers as alternative provision . This includes how schools and local authorities use online education for children and young people who need alternative provision and how appropriate, high-quality provision can be ensured. Why does your experience matter? If your child or young person has experience of EOTAS , has been unable to attend school because of physical or mental health needs , or has experience of online or alternative provision , your experience could be really valuable. You don't need to understand all the legislation or read every page of the consultation to contribute. We want to understand what works, what doesn't, what has been difficult, what needs to improve – and what is working well and needs to be protected. Your feedback will help us understand what the proposals could mean for Southend families and make sure that local parent-carer experiences are represented. ➡️ Read the Government's information for parents and carers ➡️ Read the full Government consultation How can I have my say? Share your experience with SSIF We really encourage Southend parent carers with experience of these areas to complete our family feedback form. You don't need to answer every question or be an expert in SEND law. We want to hear about your family's experience. Your feedback will help us identify common experiences, concerns and priorities and inform how we represent the collective voice of Southend parent carers. COMPLETE THE SSIF FAMILY FEEDBACK FORM Respond directly to the Government Consultation You can also submit your own response directly to the Department for Education. You can do this as well as sharing your experience with SSIF. ➡️ Respond directly to the Government consultation The consultation closes on 18 September 2026. If your family has experience that relates to any of these areas, please tell us more about it.  What families tell us about what is working – and what needs to change – matters.