Vote due on plan to provide earlier support for SEND children & young people in Rotherham

Rotherham Council will vote next week on a proposed three-year plan to improve specialist care for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities in the area. 

The Local SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) Reform Plan 2026-2029 will aim to identify young people’s needs sooner, as well as making available support clearer and more consistent for parents and carers. 

Councillor Victoria Cusworth, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, hopes the plan will help children and young people to get the right help at the right time.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach,” she said. 

One of the plan’s main targets focuses on supporting SEND children and young people at mainstream school.

A team of so-called Experts at Hand, including Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists, will provide specialist advice for schools and families. 

Schools would be able to receive help from these experts without having to wait for children’s needs to increase, which is what happens in the current system. 

The Council has been allocated £2.2 million for the Experts at Hand programme in 2026/27, with the aim for all settings to have access to their support by 2028/29. 

A further £3.4 million High Needs Capital Allocation is set to be approved to support priority areas, including accessibility improvements, inclusion bases and specialist provision. 

There are currently 120 inclusion bases in Rotherham, supporting SEND children and those requiring targeted pastoral support within mainstream schools.

The plan aims to increase this number to 258 bases by its completion 2029, increasing the proportion of children with Education, Health and Care Plans in mainstream settings. Special schools and specialist provision would continue to play an essential role for the children and young people for whom this is more suitable. 

The council will also discuss its role in the delivery of the plan alongside health and education services, families and other partners. 

Cllr Cusworth added: “Our ambition is for children and young people to get the right help at the right time, with more opportunities to not only learn and but to thrive close to home and friends where this meets their needs. 

“This plan sets out how we will work with families, schools and health partners to make support clearer, more consistent and easier to access.

“Special schools and specialist services will remain essential, alongside stronger support in mainstream settings.

“Children’s needs must remain at the heart of decisions, and we will continue listening to them and their parents and carers to understand how these changes are making our families' lives better.”