Graham Allanson, Director of Development and Innovation at Community Catalysts, reflects on potential solutions to the system challenges for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We’ve been thinking about the role community assets can play in supporting children and young people with SEND for a while.

Over the last 15 years we’ve developed some tried-and-tested ways to bring people together and create natural supportive connections that complement formal services.

It’s clear that the systems for supporting children and young people with SEND are under huge pressure. We know through the conversations we’ve had that often, in addition to some specialist support, young people want and need more connections – either in their local communities or in communities of shared interest and experience.

Through our work we see that in all communities there are local assets including:

• Places (community centres, church halls, charities etc)
• Physical spaces (parks, gardens, allotments etc)
• Associations (clubs, hobby groups, self-help groups etc)
• People (enthusiasts, volunteers, community activists with skills and knowledge etc).

Yet, we think these resources and assets are underused by local authorities, schools and specialist SEND services.

Could more asset-based ways of working – using the physical assets in communities and the skills and talents of local people – improve the outcomes for young people with SEND? Could more social, recreational, creative and sporting activities and out-of-school opportunities create more connections and a bolstered sense of belonging, leading, in turn, to an increased ability and willingness to engage with education?

Opportunities for a place-based development programme

One of the things we specialise in is developing the capacity of individuals and organisations to provide suitable care and support. We think there is scope to open more opportunities for young people with SEND by running a place-based and time-limited development programme for both mainstream and specialist activity providers.

In doing that we think it would be important to build peer support and social connections between young people of all abilities and between parents/carers.

We can see that such a local and time-limited development programme in a place might need to include:

• Understanding the existing connections and collaborations between SEND services, education providers and community assets.
• Talking to children and young people with SEND and their families about activities and out-of-school opportunities they are interested in (and which might help engaging with and participating in education).
• Talking to schools, colleges, apprenticeship providers and local authorities.
• Providing asset-based training to staff and volunteers.
• Digging deeply into communities to find the places, physical spaces, associations and clubs where people are coming together for social, recreational, creative and sporting activities.
• Inviting local people to access a structured support programme to make their activities more accessible to children and young people with SEND.
• Providing support that includes advice on adaptations to activities and buildings, workshops and learning opportunities, and peer-to-peer networks.
• Working with young people and their families on creating their own activities and opportunities.
• Learning what works and capturing impact by involving young people, parents, carers and stakeholders in steering the work locally.

Our experience tells us that bringing more local assets into supporting children and young people with SEND requires some confidence building on both sides. Children and young people may think opportunities are ‘not for them’ and parents/carers may be wary. Equally, different places, physical spaces, associations and people may not always feel confident to include children and young people with SEND in their activities.

Want to collaborate on a development programme?

We’re sharing our thoughts at this early stage to spark conversations. Do you think local assets have something useful to offer? Is this kind of SEND capacity building work already happening in your area? Are you interested in collaborating and piloting an approach?

Get in touch if you’d like to discuss: graham.allanson@communitycatalysts.co.uk