Families invited to help shape SEND services in Gloucestershire
The Annual SEND Surveys 2026 opened on Monday 5 October, and will run until Friday 4 December. Following feedback from last year’s survey, there are now two Annual SEND Surveys, one for parents and carers of children and young people aged 0 to 25 with SEND, and a brand new survey for young people aged 16 to 25 with SEND, for them to share their experiences directly.
Run by Gloucestershire’s SEND and Inclusion Local Area Partnership, which includes Gloucestershire County Council, local NHS partners, education settings, and the voluntary and community sector, the surveys give families an opportunity to say what is working well, what could be better and what matters most to them.
Feedback is used to help shape support and services across education, health, care and early help. Importantly, what families and young people tell us is helping to make a difference.
You said, We did
Last year families told us about long waits for mental health, neurodevelopmental and educational support. In response, information on Gloucestershire’s Local Offer Autism, ADHD and Neurodivergence Support webpages has been improved to make it clearer and easier for families to understand assessment processes and find support while they are waiting.
Other work has included:
- Expanding mental health support in schools. Mental Health Support Teams, known locally as Young Minds Matter (YMM), currently support more than 70 per cent of schools in the county. Four more teams are planned, which will extend this support to every school in Gloucestershire.
- Providing access to educational psychology support. Every school in Gloucestershire has access to Educational Psychologist time to help schools support children and young people.
- Growing educational psychology capacity. The number of Assistant Educational Psychologists has increased, providing more support to schools while also helping develop Gloucestershire’s qualified Educational Psychologists of the future.
- Making information easier to use. Parent and carers have been involved in reviewing Local Offer pages and checking their accessibility, helping make information clearer and easier for families to understand.
This year feedback from parents, carers and young people has been used by services to identify areas for further improvement, with separate reports produced for parents carers and young people.
Families can read more about changes made following their feedback here:
Cllr Linda Cohen, cabinet member for education and skills at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “Parents and carers know their children best, so listening to their experiences is incredibly important. We want to hear what is working well, but also where families feel things need to improve. What families tell us through these surveys helps us understand what matters most and where we need to focus our efforts.
“We’ve already made changes in response to feedback, from improving information for families to increasing support available to schools, and we want to keep building on this. I’d encourage as many parents and carers as possible to take part. Every response can help us improve support for children, young people and their families.”
The Annual SEND Surveys are open until Friday 4 December 2026.
Click on the links below to complete the surveys.
Annual Parent Carer SEND Survey
Annual Young Person SEND Survey
For more information about the Annual SEND Surveys, please visit Gloucestershire’s Local Offer, Support for Families with SEND website.