Children and young people in Nottingham will benefit from £2.88 million in Government funding secured by the City Council to improve support for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
The funding, formally accepted by the Council’s Executive Board on 21 July, will enable the implementation of the Government’s SEND reforms set out in the Every Child Achieving and Thriving White Paper and establish a new Experts at Hand model from September 2026.
The Experts at Hand approach is designed to ensure that schools, early years settings and colleges can access specialist advice and support more easily. It will provide a clearer route to expertise from professionals including Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and specialist teachers, helping children receive support earlier and closer to home.
The funding will support Nottingham’s Local SEND Reform Plan, developed with partners across education, health and the wider SEND Partnership. The programme aims to strengthen inclusion in mainstream settings, improve early intervention, enhance outcomes for children and young people, and reduce the need for more intensive specialist support later on.
Councillor Sulcan Mahmood, Executive Member for Employment, Education and Skills at Nottingham City Council, said: “This significant investment is fantastic news for Nottingham’s children, young people and families. The Experts at Hand model will help ensure that specialist SEND support is available much earlier, giving schools and settings the expertise they need to respond quickly and effectively to children’s needs.
“Our ambition is for more children and young people with SEND to thrive in their local communities, attend schools close to home and achieve positive outcomes throughout their education. By working closely with families, schools, health partners and the Parent Carer Forum, we can build a more inclusive system that delivers the right support at the right time.
“This funding gives us an important opportunity to strengthen early intervention, improve experiences for families and create a more sustainable SEND system for the future.”
Nottingham City’s SEND Partnership will oversee delivery of the programme through established governance arrangements involving education, health and parent representatives. The initiative will also support wider benefits including improved attendance, reduced exclusions, stronger emotional wellbeing and better long-term outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
Subject to final grant determination and funding agreements from the Department for Education, the Council plans to begin implementing the Experts at Hand model and wider SEND reform programme from September 2026.