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SEND Governance Structure

Operational Group 1: Improving Provision

Purpose

To improve the quality, range, and accessibility of provision for children and young people with complex and multiple needs, including those with Autism Spectrum Disorder/Condition (ASD/ASC). The group works in partnership with families, schools, and other agencies to ensure that support is tailored to individual needs, with the child or young person’s wellbeing at the centre. It aims to expand and strengthen provision across all settings and age ranges, particularly in secondary education, and to implement recommendations from the recent ASD review as part of Southwark’s Inclusion Plan.

Update

The intended goal of this group was to lead a strategic programme of work focused on expanding and improving specialist education provision for children and young people with SEND across Southwark. Its work spans capital development, service design, and strategic planning to ensure that high-quality, appropriate provision is available locally and across all age ranges.

Current priorities include delivering the statutory consultation, design, and build of the Highshore School expansion at the Comber Grove site, and the relocation of Haymerle School to Inverton Road. The group is also developing new post-19 SEND provision, supporting the expansion of Orchard Hill College, and overseeing the creation of a satellite site for Cherry Garden Special School at Bellenden Primary. Alongside this, the group is reviewing the borough’s alternative provision model and building a robust evidence base to inform future investment in high-needs provision across primary, secondary, and post-16 education.

Due to the bespoke requirements of the individual initiatives and projects this group was originally intended to oversee, the work of this group was devolved into smaller groups with a more focused group of stakeholders responsible for delivery. Progress on the portfolio of capital projects and expanding specialist provision is regularly reported to the SEND Inclusion, Quality and Improvement and the SEND Partnership Boards.