Local Area SEND Partnership Board August 2026
Updates on Agreed Actions
All agreed actions from previous meetings were completed by their target dates.
A briefing note for Action 282 will be shared with the meeting minutes.
Action 297 was completed and will be included in the report on impact and outcomes.
Action 298 was completed.
Parents and carers can be reassured that all outstanding actions had been addressed as planned, helping the partnership to continue its improvement work.
Our SEND Partnership - What We Talked About
Progress on Improvement Priorities
The board received an update on progress against the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Improvement Plan.
Members heard about progress in Preparation for Adulthood (PfA). This work helps children and young people prepare for adult life by building independence, developing skills and supporting future opportunities. Positive feedback has been received from the Empowerment Passport pilot, and there are plans to expand its use before a review in March 2027.
The board also received updates on:
The Knowing Me profiling tool, which is being developed to help professionals better understand a child or young person's needs and strengths.
A new Welcome to the Neurodiversity (ND) Pathway resource, designed to help children, young people and families find information and support more easily.
The Knowing Me tool is planned to go live at the SEND Local Offer Live event in October 2026. Members welcomed the progress made and discussed sharing learning from the project more widely across Cheshire and Merseyside.
The board also noted the growing use of real-life stories to show how improvements are making a difference for children, young people and families.
Performance and Impact Group
The board reviewed the SEND performance dashboard for August 2026.
The dashboard provides information about progress across SEND services and helps the partnership monitor the impact of improvement work. Members agreed that the report should be published so that information is openly available.
Impact Session: Preparation For Adulthood
The board received a detailed update on Preparation for Adulthood across Wirral.
Preparation for Adulthood is being developed as a shared approach across education, health and care services. The aim is to help children and young people have high aspirations, become as independent as possible and achieve positive outcomes in adult life.
The presentation highlighted:
How the views and experiences of children and young people are helping to improve services.
Positive feedback from new projects, including the Empowerment Passport.
Work to improve planning and support when young people move between services and into adulthood.
Ongoing efforts to improve communication, co-ordination and partnership working between services.
Board members discussed the importance of:
Sharing positive stories and resources with families.
Supporting young people to make informed choices about their future.
Challenging assumptions about what children and young people with SEND can achieve.
Listening to feedback from children, young people and families.
Starting Preparation for Adulthood planning early.
Improving support when moving from children's services to adults' services.
Members also discussed factors that can affect outcomes for young people, including mental health, health inequalities and wider social circumstances.
The board reviewed proposed measures that will be used to track the impact of Preparation for Adulthood work. Members agreed that some measures need further development to make sure they clearly show the difference being made to young people. Updated measures will be considered through the Priority Plan Group before reporting begins in November 2026.
The board welcomed the work taking place and recognised it as a strong example of person-centred support, effective partnership working and positive change for children and young people with SEND across Wirral.
The next meeting is on 29th September 2026.