Current updates (SEND co-production)
See all the current updates and latest news about SEND co-production.
October 2025 updates
Life Beyond School Event
We had an amazing time yesterday at the Life Beyond School event at Sixways Stadium in Worcester. We were able to connect and chat with a range of young people, parent carers and practitioners from other services in Worcestershire! We had discussions with the young people about:
- library use
- short breaks
- EHCP's
- education experiences
- outcomes for children with SEND
We also had some young people wanting to take part in more projects like these in the future! If you would like to get involved, please fill in this form to get your voice heard! Working with the Co-production Officers (Children and Young People up to 25yrs)
Hollymount Primary School
We visited Hollymount nursery where we played alongside and got to know some of the children. We were wanting to find out more about their early years experiences. We used communication boards and buttons to aid the communication and got down to their level to join them in their play. The children were able to show us their feedback through vocalisations, body language and facial expressions.
University of Worcester - Primary Education Undergraduates
We met virtually with the Primary Education Cohort and gave some insight into what we do as co-production officers. We asked them to reflect and think about what may be important to CYP with SEND. We then gave some examples of what children and young people have been saying based on feedback we had already gathered.
After the initial meeting, some young people stayed behind to support us with some current projects we have going on. They answered some questions around communication from the local area partnership, telling us what they want to hear about and how. We also looked at the emerging outcomes and got their views and opinions on those. They gave some insightful feedback which will be used to help shape the outcomes document!
Honeybourne Primary School
We had a fab time visiting Honeybourne Primary School. We visited the nursery and reception to find out from the children directly what they think about early years. Do they enjoy going to nursery or school? Do they get to make choices? What do they like to do? What don't they like to do? We had fun playing alongside them and understanding more about their experiences.
Young Adult Learning Services at Fairfields Centre
We have continued to gather the voices and views of young people with SEND in relation to the outcomes and vision statements. We had discussions around what words were powerful, what needed changing, what needed adding and whether the statements reflect meaningful what children and young people need. We continue to develop the documents based on the feedback we have received from the young people.
Genuine Partnerships Workshop
Wow what an amazing workshop we had on 1st October. We had practitioners join from education, health, local authority and parent carer reps! We also had 3 young people, Shanelle, Lydia and Matthew who not only attended the workshop all day but presented alongside the co-production officers! There were discussions around what is going well, what needs to be done better and how we can move forward to embed co-production and participation.
Practitioners were keen to ask the young people their experiences of different subjects such as school and adult life. We were so proud of the young people for sharing their lived experiences, it certainly made the workshop more memorable!
Previous updates
September 2025
Voices United Forum
We had an extra Voices United forum on 30 September to look at the emerging outcomes and vision statements. So many amazing views and idea's shared to ensure this document represents what CYP need. We will be amending the statements and will continue to review them with a wider cohort of children and young people!
Wyre Forest School
We visited Wyre Forest School and gathered the views and opinions on the emerging outcomes and vision statement for children and young people with SEND in Worcestershire. We had some great discussions about what is important and what statements resonate with them the most. We were were also joined by practitioners from 'Genuine Partnerships', who are experienced in co-production and working together equally to improve services!
Pershore High School
We have recently visited Pershore High school and had meaningful discussions around these topics:
- neurodivergence and neuro-affirming terminology
- outcomes and vision for young people with SEND
- what information they would like to hear about from Worcestershire council and health services
Special Steps Visit
We also visited Special Steps Nursery today and had a fabulous time singing, building and joining in with the "word of the week" activity! The children were communicating their feelings and also choosing items they would like using communication grids and sound buttons!
For more details about Special Steps click here: About Us
Bramblewood Visit
We loved being outdoors all morning at Bramblewood! We climbed trees, swung in hammocks, and got stuck into imaginative play! The children were able to talk about what they like doing at Bramlewood. We look forward to visiting more groups of young people in different sessions. More information about Bramlewood here: home - the bramblewood project.
Cornmeadow Early Years Visit
We enjoyed visiting the two rooms at Cornmeadow. We played alongside the children and joined in their favourite activities which included drawing, singing the alphabet and climbing the climbing frame. They were using the sound buttons and communication grids to communicate their choices. We look forward to working with them again in the future! More information about Cornmeadow here: Cornmeadow Early Years & Families.
New Hope Visit
We had a fab time visiting New Hope, joining in with a game of tag outside and exploring the sensory room equipment. The children made choices about what they like to play with! We look forward to visiting again soon. They have a lovely charity shop next door to support their service, see leaflet below. More information about New Hope here: New Hope Worcester Childrens Charity
Voices United Forum
What an amazing Voices United meeting on 19 September. We had two visitors join us - Mari Gay from the NHS and Sarah Wilkins from Education. The forum members were able to share their lived experiences of these services and how they could be improved. The feedback was collected by Mari and Sarah and will be used for future developments. Mari and Sarah were also able to ask questions to the forum which sparked lots of meaningful discussions. The forum members are keen to have more visitors and decision makers in their meetings to share their views and experiences and to inform decisions within a range of services.
Voices United
Voices United members attend The SEND and AP Partnership Executive Board.
On 15 September Lydia and Matthew attended the monthly meeting of the Executive board representing Voices United Forum and children and young people with additional needs from Worcestershire. The board is the strategic decision making group, where directors plan the actions for the whole of SEND and alternative provision. It is led by the Independent Chair Jane Friswell.
It was Lydia and Matthew's first meeting and they showed skill and knowledge by contributing meaningfully to discussions about schools, Ofsted and inclusion. We are so proud of them! They also accepted the invitation to attend next month's meeting, forging a close relationship with Voices United and the decision makers in SEND and AP. Strategic co-production feels like it took a massive step forward today.
First co-production meeting with Worcester Parent Carer Forum (WPCF)
On Tuesday 9 September, members of Voices United Worcestershire, the new forum for children and young people with additional needs met with parents and carers from WPCF. The aim was to start the co-production process, considering how to measure the impact of co-production.
Discussions were productive and honest with opinions such ast the meaning of words and what should and should not be included. It was a really valuable start. Voices United members were brilliant and offered useful suggestions that moved the conversation forward. They did themselves proud and we are excited to see them in action in other meetings. What an amazing bunch!
Worcester MET
We were lucky enough to visit the Medical Education space in Worcester, on 4 September, to work with young people in Years 9 to 11. We discussed neurodivergence, outcomes and the quality assurance framework and they provided useful feedback to help our project leads improve services. Thank you so much for letting us come to your PSHE lesson.
Our Cultural Heritage
Celebrating Black history and culture in Worcestershire.
Details:
- location: Guildhall
- date: 18 October 2025
- time: 11:00am to 3:00pm
Activities:
- educational talks
- art table
- poetry performance
- live music
Update
What an amazing Voices United meeting on 19 September. We had two visitors join us - Mari Gay from the NHS and Sarah Wilkins from Education. The forum members were able to share their lived experiences of these services and how they could be improved. The feedback was collected by Mari and Sarah and will be used for future developments. Mari and Sarah were also able to ask questions to the forum which sparked lots of meaningful discussions. The forum members are keen to have more visitors and decision makers in their meetings to share their views and experiences and to inform decisions within a range of services.
August 2025
August 2025 updates
Midland Mencap
We visited Midland Mencap yesterday at Ronkswood Hub. The young people were having a fab time and we enjoyed joining in with them. We collected conkers, took lots of photos and rolled balls down the slide. It was great fun! We are looking forward to visiting again soon.
Voices United
We held our 2nd Voices United Forum meeting on Friday 15 August where we had 7 children and young people attend! They had the option of attending online or in person.
Voices United discussed:
- co-designing a logo for the forum
- co-producing a newsletter format and the content
- accommodations for future meetings in the forum and with practitioners within services
- what children and young people want in Worcestershire
- what a perfect activity would look like and who would they would be doing the activity with
We had some new members join us for this session!
If you would like to be part of the Voices United Forum or contribute to projects to inform decisions within services, see: Working with the Co-production Officers (Children and Young People up to 25yrs)
Worcester Festival
Thank you Worcester Festival for letting us come along to your event on Saturday. We had a fab time engaging with the families who were passing by. We had some wonderful conversations about what is important to children and what they would need to be a happy, healthy and successful adult. There were lots of discussions and a recurring theme of wanting to have fun with family and friends!
Malvern Special Families
We had a great time visiting Malvern Special Families (MSF) on Tuesday 12 August. The children engaged in activities we had brought along and told us what they enjoy doing at MSF. We look forward to visiting again to gain some more feedback from them!
Hive event
We held our first co-production event at the Hive in Worcester. Thank you to the services that supported our event:
- SENDIASS
- Worcester Deaf Society
- ARCOS
- Family Hubs
- Careers Worcestershire
- Disability Football
- Onside
- Worcestershire Parent Carer Forum
- Your Space
- Hansel and Gretel
- Our Space
- Sky Autism
- Worcestershire Parent Carers
- SENDIASS
Thank you to all the families that came along and to the children and young people for getting involved in the activities provided! We had some great conversations with children about what is important to them in Worcestershire. We also had some young people from the SEND forum group and Worcestershire Youth Cabinet help us during the day, we couldn't have done it without you!
Malvern Cube
We visited Malvern Cube to get to visit some young people and ask them about what is important to them. Thank you for inviting us to one of your sessions and we look forward to coming back again!
Come and meet us on 7 August
We will be hosting a drop in event 11:00am to 4:00pm at the Hive, Worcester. We will have a range of information stalls and fun activities to join in with! We look forward to seeing you there.
Co-Production Hive Event Plasma Screen (PDF)
July 2025
Updates for July 2025:
Your Ideas, Redditch
We had a great time visiting 'Your Ideas' in Redditch. The young people were enjoying a relaxed social environment where they could take part in games, art activities, cooking and sport alongside their friends in the community. We enjoyed our homemade sushi made by one of the young people during the session! Thanks for inviting us along!
Pitcheroak School, Whittington Primary, and Kempsey Primary
We have been into Pitcheroak School, Whittington Primary, and Kempsey Primary to find out from the pupils, "what is important to them and what does a good life look like?" This will help inform the Worcestershire SEND strategy plan.
Wyre Forest School
We have visited Wyre Forest School to deliver two workshops, one around life outcomes and one looking at Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP's) and gathering the pupil’s ideas on what an EHCP summary document should look like! They drew and wrote their ideas to help co-design a summary document.
We have met a few young people who are interested in joining the SEND forum, we have met some in school and the rest in local café's due to no current school placement.
Oasis Hub Warndon
We also visited Oasis Hub Warndon for their event on Saturday 5 July, where we spoke to families and children about what's important to them.
A big thank you to the schools, children, young people and families we have met so far. We look forward to meeting more in the upcoming weeks.
Youth Voice team fun day
It was fabulous to attend the Youth Voice team fun day on Sunday 13 July, the children and young people created a visual around the topic of 'What is important to me?'
SEND forum meeting
We are excited to say that we held our first SEND forum meeting on 17 July. We held it online and the young people involved did an amazing job at showing us how skilled and enthusiastic they are. We are so looking forward to our next meeting in August you can still join us if you would like to by completing the form on the 'How to get involved' page.
The Monday Night Club
We had a lovely evening at The Monday Night club meeting people and enjoying a bop to the disco tunes.
June 2025
Updates for June 2025:
- workshops in schools with children and young people to find out what is important to them, what does good look like and what do they need to have a good life?
- a thank you to the schools we have visited so far: Heart of Worcestershire College, Fort Royal Primary School, Perryfields Primary Pru, Pershore High School and future schools we have booked in Kempsey Primary School, Pitcheroak School, Wyre Forest School and Christopher Whitehead
- made visits to children and young people in their homes
- made visits to family hubs and groups
- had interest from some children and young people wanting to be involved in SEND forum
- Thank you to Friends of Fort Royal for letting us attend their family fun day. We really enjoyed meeting everyone there
May 2025
Updates for May 2025:
- Amy and Chanika were appointed as Co-production Officers
- communication action plan: launch and awareness of co-production officers
- practitioners from health, parent/carer forum and the Council attended the Genuine Partnership training to start the journey of meaningful engagement and co-production
- met with Worcestershire Youth Cabinet
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