Changes to support services
CHANGES to special educational and disabilities services will better meet the needs of children and young people in Hampshire, the council has said.
Following feedback from families Hampshire County Council will be providing a more '˜streamlined'Â service in the new year that encompasses all strands of support currently available.
Along with the five NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Hampshire, the council has awarded a three-year contract to Core Assets Children's Services, to provide special educational needs and disability information, advice and support.
The council's head of children's services, councillor Keith Mans, said: '˜We have listened to families of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and responded to their preference for a single source of professional advice.
'˜In appointing a new, external agency we aim to maintain the quality of service families have come to expect.'
From January 1 this one service will encompass both Support4SEND (currently provided by the council), and Parent Voice (operated by the Rose Road Association) as a single point of contact for children and young people and their parents and carers.
Jo Maxwell Heron, from the Rose Road Association, said she was '˜confident'Â the change would be beneficial for families using the new services.Â