SEND Surgeries
SEND Surgeries provide parent carers with an opportunity to drop-in, ask questions and speak with a wide range of professionals.
The range of officers/professionals attending surgeries has increased in 2025 offering a wider breadth of advice and support to parent carers.
Members of the SEND Team, the Local Offer Team and Specialist Teaching Team were always in attendance at 2025 surgeries, with periodic representation from:
- SENDIASS Southend
- the Lighthouse and Jigsaws team
- the Occupational Therapy Team
- Supporting Families Team
- the Elective Home Education Team
- the Inclusion Team
- Bladder and Bowel service
- Oral Health service
- home to school travel team
- School Nursing Service
11 SEND surgeries were held in 2025, taking place once a month apart from August due to the school summer holidays.
Surgery attendance
The total number of parent carers attending surgeries in 2025 was 108 (an increase of 31 on 2024).
- Average number of parent carers per surgery: 10
- Highest parent carer attendance at a surgery: 22 (June)
- Lowest parent carer attendance at a surgery: 3 (February)
Feedback at the surgeries from parent carers
80 parent carers (74% of attendees) completed feedback sheets at the surgery. 71 said they were very satisfied, 8 satisfied and 1 dissatisfied.
Attendees consistently described the sessions as useful, informative, and worthwhile. Many expressed appreciation for the opportunity and a willingness to return.
- “Very pleased I came along, got the information needed.”
- “Extremely useful; highly recommend / would attend again.”
- “A very useful and fantastic way to have our worries answered.”
Welcoming, supportive and knowledgeable staff:
A standout theme was the professionalism, kindness and approachability of staff:
- “Everyone was very welcoming and friendly.”
- “Kind, caring and supportive. Really useful information, removed doubt in my mind.”
- “Everyone I spoke to was really knowledgeable and explained things in an easy to understand way.”
- “I am so scared of talking to new people but it helped me to come.”
Access to clear information, advice and next steps:
Many attendees highlighted the value of gaining clear, practical information and guidance, particularly around processes, services, and support options.
- “I got all my questions answered and more.”
- “It has given me the knowledge and plan to proceed with my son's appeal.”
- “I am now aware of the diagnosis referral process, and the timeline and bureaucracy that I might encounter.”
Increased confidence, reassurance and emotional impact:
The sessions had a strong emotional impact, helping attendees feel reassured, more confident, and less overwhelmed.
- “Felt assured that my child has been supported and will continue to be supported.”
- “I feel so much happier, and with a greater understanding of my child’s situation now.”
- “Even though it is overwhelming I was put at ease.”
Value of a ‘one-stop shop’ approach:
A key strength identified was the opportunity to access multiple services in one place, enabling efficient and holistic support.
- “Very useful and helpful to have multiple services in the same place for a one stop shop.”
- “Being able to speak to multiple departments and teams in one place was very productive.”
- “Amazing to have so many services available together.”
Practical support, resources and outcomes:
Attendees valued the tangible support provided, including advice, resources, referrals, and follow-up actions:
- “Lots of advice and printouts given.”
- “I managed to get a referral for occupational therapy which can be hard to get.”
- “My child's OT referrals have also been reopened thanks to today.”
Suggestions for improvement:
While feedback was largely positive, some development suggestions were made:
- provide a simple printed summary of services; summary of services available would have been helpful.”
- offer sessions outside daytime hours to support working parents
- allow more time to engage with all services
Follow up feedback
A follow up survey is sent to parent carers 2 to 3 months after attending a surgery. 19 parent carers completed surveys.
Responses:
How helpful was the information and advice you were given, with 1 being not at all helpful and 5 being very helpful?: 4 people scored 3; 7 people scored 4 and 8 people scored 5. Average rating: 4.2
Were you given clear advice, guidance and information?: 18 people said yes and 1 person said some of the information was clear but not all.
Were you able to take any practical action as a result of the advice and guidance given?: 13 people said yes, 1 person said no and 1 person said it was not applicable or too early to say.
Has there been any positive impact from the action or actions you have taken?: 4 people said yes, 3 people said no, and 3 people said it was not applicable or too early to say.
Would you recommend the surgeries to other parents or carers?: 13 people answered this question, and all said yes.
Do you have any other feedback about the surgery and/or suggestions for improvement?:
- "Always friendly and welcoming, makes me feel heard in a world where parents often get forgotten even though they know the child best."
- "Definitely needs to be more advertising. So many parents would benefit but didn't know about it."
- "Felt really supported having the opportunity to speak to professionals specifically about our SEN journey and the guidance was invaluable to talking the next steps so thank you so much!!"
- "It was nice to be able to talk to someone in person rather than over the phone or on an email."
- "More accessible timings and venues."
- "More date/time options for working parents to attend."
- "No. Although the specialist teachers team were very busy and I didn't get to talk to them."
- "Support for challenging behaviour, working with the kids not with parents only."
- "The SEND surgery was very helpful for me, and I got the right advice and answers."
Child ages of parent carers attending surgeries
Child ages of those attending surgeries for whom advice was sought ranged from 2 to 22 years. There is a predominance of primary age children which is probably due to the fact that most surgeries are hosted at primary schools (although they are open to any parent carer in Southend).
- Pre-school age (up to and including 4 years old): 7 children
- Primary school age (up to and including 10 years old): 60 children
- Secondary school age (11 to 16): 19 children
- Post 16: 3 young people