SEND strategy priority 2: our inclusion vision

We will make sure there is a commitment to services and support that is inclusive of children, young people and adults with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We, as Dorset, are committed to inclusion in mainstream settings. We firmly believe every teacher is a teacher of special needs. This means we will:

• build the capabilities of our mainstream schools to support more children and young people with SEND
• make sure more children can attend a local school.

At the core of our strategy we want to strengthen the capacity of our maintained school system to support more children in mainstream school and meet the need at the lowest level.

Outcomes of SEND strategy priority 2: our inclusion vision

Outcomes of this vision will be:

• working with our early years and schools settings we will agree an approach for a future Inclusion Fund for early years and schools settings. This will support practice innovation in increasing the numbers of our SEND children in mainstream schools
• a reduction in the number of children and young people with SEND placed in specialist provision and out-of-county, high cost placements
• the confidence of our our early years, schools and further education colleges grows to work with and support our children and young people with SEND
• we focus on those children with an EHC plan and without a school place to make sure they secure provision
• we reduce the number of children and young people who access alternative provision arrangements and those who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET)
• no permanent exclusions of children or young people with SEND and a reduction in the number of fixed term exclusions.