Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their parents and carers are being urged to get more involved with planning and improving services for the future.

Organisations responsible for the SEND system, including Nottinghamshire County Council and NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, want to work with people who have experienced services such as speech and language therapy, neurodevelopmental services, equipment services or who are waiting for an Education, Health and Care Plan.

This is part of a drive to improve the experiences and outcomes of children and young people in need of SEND support.

Rosa Waddingham, (Chief Nurse at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire) and Colin Pettigrew, (Corporate Director for Children and Families at Nottinghamshire County Council) said: “We have some but not enough parents and carers represented across the SEND improvement programme. We are also pleased that the Pioneers youth forum has agreed to ensure we hear the voice of children and young people with additional needs.

“We are always looking for new ways and opportunities to listen to and learn from children, young people, parents and carers in this important work and are committed to communicate better with families and want to hear their feedback and ideas to help us to deliver improvements across the local area.”

Georgina Palmer, Forum Lead of Nottinghamshire Parent Carer Forum, said: “We know the value of parent voices and are passionate about bringing these experts into any change and improvement planning. We encourage parent carers to be involved, and impact decisions and actions that affect their families. It is this evaluation of ‘what works and matters’ that is central to making sure services do meet families’ needs.”

If you would like to share your experiences and have your say on the way SEND services are developed, visit our website

You can also sign up to our SEND newsletter for the latest updates on services and to find out about upcoming engagement events.