Slough Borough Council has been working with Frimley Integrated Care Board (ICB) and East Berkshire local authorities (Bracknell Forest Council, and Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead)
To jointly develop and re-design an integrated service for delivering Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Physiotherapy in East Berkshire schools and early years settings.
Due to launch on 1 July, the new service will address some of the unequal experiences of children and young people with SEND and their families and carers, and address gaps identified as part of a service review. The service review was carried out collaboratively between health, education, social care, early years, local authority partners, schools, nurseries, parents and carers, and young people.
Our collective vision is to enhance early support, developing a more inclusive service which will meet the needs of our children and young people with SEND, and their families. Referral to the service is through GPs, Health Visitors, early years settings, or schools.
The new service is based on a three-tiered approach – universal offer, targeted, and complex. The universal offer covers all children and young people with SEND and their families. Examples of this offer include online videos, enquiry and helplines, and support materials. Children and young people being supported at the targeted and complex tiers are likely to have EHCPs.
Councillor Puja Bedi, lead member for children & lifelong learning, said: “This jointly developed integrated therapies service aims to make it much easier for children and young people with SEND to access a wide range of therapies they need, not only from Slough but across the whole of East Berkshire, reducing inequalities previously experienced. Thank you to all who have worked so hard on this project.”