IMPOWER announced as delivery partner to the government’s SEND & AP programme

The Department for Education has announced a flagship programme to test and refine reforms to services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEND) and in alternative provision (AP). We are pleased to part of it.

Working alongside PA Consulting, the Council for Disabled Children and Olive Academies, we will provide support to the Department and the local areas involved; helping to plan, design and test reforms outlined in the Government’s SEND & AP Improvement Plan, and to refine the related policy and guidance based on evidence of ‘what works.’

At IMPOWER, we believe a better public sector is the cornerstone of a better society. We know from experience what a difference a well-functioning ‘SEND & AP system’ makes to life chances.

Having worked with twenty per cent of local SEND areas in England already to improve the experiences of children, young people and their families, we also know the system can be better.

As the Government’s SEND & AP Improvement Plan highlights, there are currently too many missed chances to see and meet the needs of pupils, and there is too much inconsistency in what is done to help and how it is done.

Working with parents and professionals to re-design and then change how things work ‘on the frontline’ of SEND & AP is why I, and so many colleagues, enjoy working at IMPOWER. It is the reason we have developed new approaches like ‘Valuing SEND,’ which is now helping pupils, parents and schools throughout the country. It is why we provoke debate and help to share learning – through the networks and forums we run, and through examples outlined in our High Hopes for High Needs Programme Impact Report.

In short, co-production, local implementation and evidence are important to us. They are key elements of this major Government SEND & AP programme, and I am looking forward to getting started.