The London Borough of Harrow has introduced a new set of priorities aimed at enhancing the lives of children and young people with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and those in Alternative Provision (AP).
This comprehensive strategy, reflecting the voices of children, young people, parents, carers, and professionals across education, health, and social care, outlines five key priorities for the next five years.
While progress has been made in recent years, with Harrow achieving higher than national average attendance and strong learning outcomes in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and other key stages, the council have acknowledged that there is still much to be done.
The five priorities outlined are designed to ensure that children and young people continue to thrive, learn, and reach their full potential:
- Right Support at the Right Time: Ensuring timely and appropriate support for children and young people.
- Suitable Educational Settings: Providing access to educational environments that meet the individual needs of each child.
- Confident Workforce: Supporting and developing a workforce capable of meeting the diverse needs of SEND and AP students.
- Mental Health and Well-being: Addressing mental health needs to enable children and young people to learn and enjoy life.
- Preparation for Adulthood: Equipping young people with the skills and support needed for a fulfilling adult life.
Cllr Hitesh Karia, Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services said: “Every child, including those with special educational needs deserve the best education and support to enable them to excel and live fulfilling lives.
“It is important to ensure that every child is empowered, receives the right support, is enabled to be included and thrive in a nurturing environment. We are grateful for the input from children and their families, schools, health professionals and the community in developing this strategy.
“There has been some fantastic progress to date in Harrow. This includes articulating a case for a SEND school to Government, together with purchasing an appropriate site at The Ridgeway and securing the necessary funding to build a school.
“In conjunction with this, we have increased the number of places at Alexandra and Shaftesbury School. We have also upskilled staff and recruited more mental health practitioners. All of this ties in with our five priorities listed within the strategy.
“However, there is always much more we can do to support our local children and their families.
“Our new strategy will continue to put residents first and support those in need.”
Chris Mitchell is the founder and editor of Harrow Online, Harrow’s leading local news platform.
He launched Harrow Online in 2010 as a Facebook page sharing local news and information. Since then, it has grown into a trusted source for breaking news, crime, council decisions, planning, transport, business and community stories across the borough.
Harrow Online reaches hundreds of thousands of readers each month and has a social media audience of more than 200,000 followers.
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