Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Young People Consultation 2022

Young people with SEND can find it harder to learn or access education than most young people of the same age. Portsmouth City Council (PCC) provides support for both children and young people with SEND, as well as their parents or carers, through support services.

The Department for Education (DfE) has funded the Preparing for Adulthood (PfE) programme in order to ensure young people with SEND are able to achieve equal life chances as they move into adulthood. Focus is given to working with young people with SEND and their families or careers to ensure that they are involved with strategic planning and development of future services.

To better understand if the current support service offering is meeting the needs of its users, a consultation with young people who interact with the SEND system was completed.

The survey was launched on the 19th of January 2022 and was open until the 25th of March 2022. The survey was promoted through various channels including:

• Social media
• A press release on Portsmouth City Council’s website
• The Local Offer Website
• Through schools

The main aim of the consultation is to understand the views of young people with SEND. In order to do so the consultation focuses on the following specific research objectives:

• To gain insight into the level of support needed by young people with SEND in Portsmouth
• To understand if young people feel that their views are listened to by those supporting them
• To gain insight into what young people think does and does not work well in relation to SEND support services in Portsmouth
• To assess whether young people with SEND feel the current support services are enabling them to prepare for adulthood in line with the four key areas outlined by the PfE programme, with specific focus on health, independence, and positive relationships
• To assess the awareness levels and user satisfaction levels of the Local Offer website
• To understand the impacts of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on children and young people with SEND

The individual survey attracted 280 responses. This volume of responses ensures a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of 5.34%, which is within the target range of <6%.