Portsmouth council approves school inclusion strategy for children

Portsmouth is the south-east regional lead for the implementation of Special Educational Needs and Disability (Send) reforms.

These are aimed at making sure that mainstream schools can support children with special needs, and if not then there are special schools in the city that can help.

At a cabinet meeting for education last week, Councillor Neill Young approved the council’s strategy for the next three years.

He said: ‘We’ve done a lot of good work in the city over recent years to embed the Send reforms.

‘Our new strategy builds on this work and sets out our aim to enable more children and young people with Send to get the support they need within a school environment – which is what they and their families prefer.’

The aim of the strategy is to improve the life outcomes for children and young people and ensure that there is a range of support services to schools and colleges.

Barbara McDougall, from the Parent Carer Forum, said: ‘Parents are really pleased with the work that has taken place so far in the city to implement the Send reforms.’