In July 2024, Shout Out for SEND created Buckinghamshire’s first SEND Children and Young People’s plan, and in September 2025, we can now officially announce that this plan is complete!
Our young people have worked incredibly hard to make this happen, and scroll down to find out about what they did to achieve each action, detailing how we did it, and the impact it is having on our local area.
Action 1 Teacher Training:
Louise, Pippa, Will and Serena delivered talks to over 100+ SENDCos and head teachers in September. The feedback from the day said their talks were the most impactful!
We now have four training videos on our SOfS learning hub to educate all kinds of professionals on these topics:
• The difference a teacher can make – Pippa
• Involving young people in the support they need – Will
• Three steps to inclusive practice – Louise
• Dyslexia, and what it means to me – Rachel (This was created for the dyslexia trainer at the council, who will be using it in all her training)
Sam has, and is, sharing these videos at SENDCo Network meetings – with an aim to reach as many SENDCos as possible across Bucks.
Our learning hub has been shared on ‘Schools Web’, the councils training HQ for teachers in schools.
The professionals Sam has spoken with so far are wowed by our work!
Action 2: SEND Education
We’ve had a local and national impact on this action, something we are truly passionate about, which is increasing the amount of SEND Education in schools, to help our peers, and teachers, understand us better. Having more of this in the curriculum will be a huge gamechanger for us, as it will foster a more inclusive and supportive ethos in countless schools when done right.
Locally, our PSHE lead, Carol Stottor promoted the use of LEANS (Learning About Neurodiversity at School) which are free lesson plans for teachers to educate students (ages 8-11) on including people with SEND. She also shared our voices on how and why secondary schools should incorporate SEND Education into their PSHE curriculum.
Nationally, we wrote an open letter to the Department for Education (DfE), engaged with a local MP, got our wishes included in a national report, and recieved a response from the DfE, which you can read about below!
Action 3: Accessing Mental Health Services
In April 2025, our meeting was focussed on one of our priorities: Accessing mental health services. We unpicked all the key issues in a SEND young person’s journey, and made suggestions on how they can be better supported, all tied up in a report. Meanwhile, our amazing artist Elly captured the conversation in this digital art piece!
Becky Kineen, who works for Children and Young People in health, thinks our report is amazing. It aligns with their work and what more young people are saying, meaning it’s doubly accurate!
She is taking all our suggestions to be put into their Children and Young people’s mental health plan.
This artwork is also on canvas inside council buildings now, with countless council workers viewing the voices of our Reps.
Action 4: Trainsitions
In May, we worked on transitions. We focussed on education, health care and social services.
Following what we said, Sam has created 3 flyers which are being shared with professionals in schools, social care and healthcare.
Action 5: ‘What I Wish I Knew’ videos, for Preparing for Adulthood
We have now published three videos for young people to learn about issues important to them when it comes to ‘preparing for adulthood’
Molly, Cadence and Louise have all created short, sharp videos for people to watch on; Turning 18, What is PIP, and accessing support at University.
Looking back, we have achieved so much in just a year, and we won’t stop here! Our Children and Young People’s plan will be published in November, so keep an eye out for that.
For more information
If you, or someone you know wants to be a part of making society a better place for children and young people with SEND, why not join us?
If you’d like to find out more about Shout Out for SEND, email ShoutOutforSEND@Buckinghamshire.gov.uk.