Public consultation: Charlton House, Keynsham
Learn about our proposals for a special needs centre in central Keynsham. Have your say by taking part in our public consultation, from 25 November to 19 December.
It is our aim that every child and young person in Bath and North East Somerset has effective, inclusive support to enable them to access an education that meets their needs. Education professionals and people working with children and young people can use this page to learn more and access Inclusion and SEND support.
If you're a professional seeking support around inclusion and SEND please contact us using our contact form for all education early help services. We can offer information, signposting, advice and support, and training through our Inclusion and SEND Early Help offer.
Inclusion and SEND support - contact us
When you have completed the contact form your query will be triaged and directed to the relevant service or teams who will make contact with you. Your request may be triaged to one of the following teams.
- Inclusion and SEND Advice Service
- Inclusion Panels
- Alternative Learning Team
- Virtual School – Children Previously Looked After and Kinship Care, Child with a Social Worker
- Attendance and Welfare Support Service
- Educational Psychology Service
You can learn more about our teams, services and resources on this page.
If you are a parent, carer or young person seeking support, please use these links:
The local offer on the Livewell directory for information, signposting and support
Sendias - Supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their parents and carers
The B&NES Parent Carer Forum - an independent, parent-led organisation supporting families of children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities
If you are a professional seeking more information about our inclusion and SEND support offer for education settings, please use the following links.
The Inclusion and SEND Advice Service provides first-line support for professionals through signposting, consultations and training.
Education professionals can find training resources at the Hub. There are links to training, to book onto webinars and face to face training, and information on conferences and courses relating to Alternative Provision (AP) and Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Our virtual school offers educational support to all children with a social worker, those previously in care, and those involved in kinship care arrangements.
For children currently in care, we actively monitor and support their progress as if they were enrolled in a single virtual school. Should you have any concerns regarding a child in care, please contact the virtual school directly at virtual_school@bathnes.gov.uk.
For advice concerning a child with a social worker, a child previously in care, or open to kinship care, please use the inclusion request form provided above.
The hub offers resources to support all children with a social worker. It includes links for designated teachers’ statutory duties, support around the PEP process, guidance for children who are previously looked after, in kinship care, and unaccompanied asylum seekers.
Schools are encouraged to use our trauma-informed resources, guidance, toolkits, and training, links to all of these are available on the hub.
The Alternative Learning Team provide advice and guidance for all Alternative Provision (AP). This includes all our Alternative Provision, Elective Home Education (EHE), Hospital Education and Reintegration Service (HERS), and inclusion panels.
The Hospital Education and Reintegration Service (HERS) offers teaching, support and advice to children and young people who cannot attend school because of health medical needs.
This service is being provided in B&NES by The Mendip School, a member of The Partnership Trust.
In Bath and North East Somerset, the local authority is responsible for providing education for permanently excluded pupils and those unable to attend school due to ill health, commissioning registered DFE providers overseen by the Alternative Learning Team. This team also ensures quality assurance for OFSTED unregistered alternative providers and compiles the B&NES approved provider list.
Find out more at the hub, including a link to the approved provider list:
Attendance and Welfare Support Service (AWSS) work with schools to promote attendance and reduce absence. This team helps identify children who are missing education. They also lead on child employment and children who perform.
There are 6 Inclusion panels in B&NES: Bath Primary, Bath Secondary, Norton Radstock Primary, Norton Radstock Secondary, Keynsham and Chew Valley Primary and Keynsham and Chew Valley Secondary. The Inclusion panels operate to ensure:
- A collaborative approach between schools, the LA and commissioned providers to support learners with social, emotional and mental health difficulties, who are disaffected or experience attendance difficulties;
- The continuous education of learners who are at risk of exclusion;
- Permanent exclusions in the locality are kept to a minimum.
- Schools review existing provision, share good practice and explore new opportunities to improve learning outcomes for all vulnerable learners in the local area;
- Schools liaise with each other and providers to provide support to children at transition points
Learn more about Inclusion Panels at the hub.
Elective home education is the term used to describe the educational provision made for children whose parents decide to educate them at home instead of sending them to school.
Parents have a right to educate their children at home and are responsible for providing an efficient, full time and suitable education taking into consideration the child’s age, ability and aptitude as well as any special educational need & disability the child may have.
Find out about the support we provide for our EHE community on the hub.
The Educational Psychology Service (EPS) provides psychological advice to schools, early years settings and other providers, for children and young people with complex educational needs.
Please visit the EPS team on Livewell to learn more.