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Latest SILAP board meeting summary
Published
For 2026, the SEND and Inclusion Local Area Partnership (SILAP) board have been keen to give updates on their meetings. Here Kirsten Harrison, Director of Education, and Helen Ford, Deputy Director of Integrated Commissioning, who both co-chair the SILAP board provide a summary for young people and their families of the last meeting.
Welcome to the second update on the work of the SEND and Inclusion Gloucestershire Local Area Partnership Board, often referred to as SILAP.
SILAP met in early February again to discuss how, as a partnership, we can better support children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), and their families.
To find out more about the SILAP board, who’s involved and what are they doing for you, please visit Gloucestershire’s Local Offer, Support for Families with SEND.
We’re pleased to share a summary of the main topics discussed, the progress made so far, and the future actions agreed.
Areas discussed in the meeting included:
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The expected timeline for the National SEND Reforms expected in a government White Paper.
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Listening to children, young people and families and how we will act on what we are hearing from them.
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Sharing impact from one of the Department for Education Change Partnership Programme reforms – the pilot of an Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce (APST) at the county’s alternative provision school, The Altus School.
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An update on the national Social Care reforms – the Families First Partnership Programme (FFPP) – and how the planned new arrangements support children with SEND and their families.
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Updates on the statutory EHCP Service Developments.
National SEND Reforms
The partnership discussed our preparation for the national SEND reforms, which - at the time - were due to be announced by the Government. We reinforced our commitment as a partnership to drive positive change so all children can flourish and achieve. (Please see this article for more information on the subsequent announcement from the Government).
Children and Young People’s Voice
The board continued its focus on improving how the voices of children and young people are gathered and used. Ownership of this feedback is being addressed by services across the partnership, with actions being agreed and a delivery plan prepared which will be communicated. Your voices are heard - we encourage feedback from children and young people to help inform how we develop the delivery of our services.
Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce (APST)
The APST pilot, known locally as the Coordinated Support Team (CST), continues to help children struggling to attend school. Learning from this pilot will be used to inform future decisions and will also be shared nationally with other local authorities.
Families First Partnership Programme (FFPP)
The Families First Partnership Programme is a national initiative aimed at transforming Children’s Social Care in England by promoting a more integrated, family-focused approach to support and protection.
Since our launch in Summer 2025, over 1,500 professionals and 600 Parent Carers have contributed to co‑design work, with SEND and Inclusion as a key component.
Over 50+ children have been supported to contribute to co-design sessions.
If you are interested in participating in workshops, co-design sessions and sharing your views please email: familiesfirstpartnershipprogramme@gloucestershire.gov.uk
EHCP Service Improvements
We continue to listen to children, parents and carers to understand what works and what needs to be better. We are working with schools, health services and families to give the right support at the right time. The board received updates on the improved quality and timeliness of Education Health and Care plans (EHCPs). Higher quality plans means a child’s needs can be met more effectively by the professionals in their education setting.
Looking ahead
Our next SILAP meeting will be in Spring 2026 and we will let you know what happened in a future edition of this newsletter. We will keep working together to make SEND services better for everyone. Thank you for being part of this journey!
If you have ideas or want to share your thoughts, please get in touch. Together, we can make a big difference for children and young people with SEND.