Reading’s SEND local offer
All Local Authorities must publish information about services available for children and young people with SEND, both in and out of the borough, from birth to 25. This is known as the ‘Local Offer’. In Reading, we are responsible for that, on Reading Borough Council’s behalf.
Our Local Offer is on the Reading Family Information Service SEND Local Offer www.readingsendlocaloffer.org, which sits on a website with a vast array of information for Reading’s residents. It’s called the Reading Services Guide.
You can get straight to the SEND Local Offer section of that website here. The Local Offer aims to provide you with clear, comprehensive and accessible information about all support and services available, and to make provision more responsive to local needs and aspirations.
To contact us, email localoffer@reading.gov.uk or call us on 0118 937 3777 (option 2)
Our SEND team
Our Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) team supports children and young people aged 0–25 who have special educational needs and who require the support of an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP).
The team co-ordinates statutory needs assessments and works closely with families, schools and practitioners from across education, health and social care, to help put support in place through EHC Plans.
If you need to contact the SEND Team, please call us on 0118 937 2674 or email us at sen@BrighterFuturesforChildren.org
Further details about our SEND team is on the SEND Local Offer [ADD URL} and can be found here.
Information, Advice & Support Service
Finding your way through all the SEND services can be daunting and confusing. You may find it helpful to contact Reading’s independent and impartial Information, Advice & Support Service for SEND, which is known locally as Reading IASS, but sometimes referred to as a SENDIASS service in national documents.
For free advice contact Reading IASS.
Statutory Needs Assessments
A request for a statutory needs assessment is usually made by the school or educational setting, but parents and young people also have a right to ask us to consider starting an assessment.
We use criteria when considering a request, alongside the guidance detailed in the SEND Code of Practice.
Children & Young People’s Disability team
Our Children & Young People’s Disability Team (CYPDT) is a team of social workers and occupational therapists who support children and young people with disabilities, and their families.
More information on the CYPDT team, including eligibility for services provided, can be found on the Reading SEND Local Offer here.
For new referrals, please contact us directly through our Children’s Single Point of Access (CSPoA). You can do this via this website on our CSPoA page, or call us on 0118 937 3641 (aged under 18) or through the Contact Centre on 0118 937 3747 (aged 18-25).
Schools and SEND support
The majority of pupils with special educational needs are supported by their school, without the need for an EHC Plan. In a small number of cases, however, where the needs might be more severe, complex and persistent, an EHC Plan may be required to provide further support. If you have concerns, in the first instance please talk to the SEND Co-ordinator (SENDCo) at your/your child’s school or educational setting for further information.
A child or young person with special education needs or disability (SEND) can usually be supported within the mainstream education system.
The following table is a list of Reading schools with varied levels of support available, ranging from full, specialist support to those with resources for different special educational needs and/or disabilities:
| School | Description | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| The Avenue Special School | All age special school for children with complex needs, including autism. | 0118 937 5554 |
| The Holy Brook Special School | Primary special school for pupils with emotional, social and mental health difficulties. | 0118 937 5489 |
| Hamilton School | Secondary special school for pupils with emotional, social and mental health difficulties. | 0118 937 5524 |
| Blessed Hugh Faringdon School | Secondary mainstream school with a resource for pupils with an autistic spectrum condition. | 0118 957 4730 |
| Christ the King Primary School | Primary mainstream school with a resource for pupils with an autistic spectrum condition. | 0118 937 5434 |
| EP Collier Primary School | Primary mainstream school with a resource for pupils with speech & language and communication difficulties. | 0118 937 5470 |
| Highdown School | Secondary mainstream school with a resource for pupils with a visual impairment. | 0118 937 5800 |
| Manor Primary School | Primary mainstream school with a resource for pupils with cognition and learning difficulties. | 0118 937 5494 |
| New Bridge Nursery | Mainstream nursery with a resource for pupils with an autistic spectrum condition. | 0118 937 5580 |
| Prospect School | Secondary mainstream school resource for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. | 0118 959 0466 |
| Thames Valley School | All age special school for children with a diagnosis of Autism. | 0118 942 4750 |
Section 41 Approved List
Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014 allows the Secretary of State to publish a list of approved independent educational institutions, independent special schools and special post-16 institutions. Institutions apply to be included on the list.
Independent special schools and colleges – lists of section 41 schools and colleges, and independent special schools in England including non-maintained special schools (and excluding section 41 schools and colleges).
You can search the educational and support services available including the schools’ SEN Information Reports on SEND Local Offer Reading Services Guide.
In 2019, Ofsted changed the way it inspects and report on schools from September 2019. For more information on these changes please visit www.gov.uk/government/news/ofsted-is-changing-how-it-inspects-schools
Preparing for Adulthood
We are working to help make the move from children’s to adults’ services as seamless as possible for young people with SEND. As well as meetings to explain the process at key stages, we have produced a booklet to help both young people and their parent carers understand the process. In addition to this, we have easy-read guides and we are working on a video and other resources to make the information as accessible as possible.
More information can be found on the Reading SEND Local Offer website here.