As part of the Department for Education-funded “What Works in SEND” programme, researchers at the University of Warwick are seeking to gather the views of children, young people and parents/carers on co-production and SEND services. They are keen to hear from you about your understanding and experience of ‘co-production’. They have asked Special Needs Jungle if we can spread the word… and we were only too happy to help. We would encourage you to have your views heard. We tell you how to get involved later in this post.
The research project has been approved by the University of Warwick’s Humanities and Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee (HSSREC). Your participation is, of course, completely voluntary.
What is “What Works in SEND”?
The “What Works in SEND” programme is a government-funded programme aimed at generating ‘high-quality’ evidence of ‘what works’, to improve practice, support and outcomes within the SEND system in England. The programme is led by the RISE (Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence) Partnership, a partnership that consists of four partners – the Council for Disabled Children, the Local Government Association’s favourite ISOS Partnership (let’s not forget their recent report stating that SEND is an existential threat), the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) and researchers from the University of Warwick (the Business School, the Medical School and the Centre for Research in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (CIDD)).
The RISE Partnership’s website describes the programme as follows:
The What Works in SEND programme is part of a programme of work led by the RISE Partnership bringing together thought leaders from the SEND system who have the necessary understanding of system change and specialist knowledge of SEND.
As part of the programme’s work, the University of Warwick team is identifying existing evidence of what works (and what doesn’t) at system level in the SEND system. One of their current projects is to explore “what good looks and feels like” about ‘co-production’, and they want to hear your thoughts.
What is co-production?
What co-production actually is, is the crux of the problem facing researchers. They’ve been asked to research best practice in co-production, yet the very term still defies consistent definitions or application in practice. The previous government would frequently litter publications with the language of co-production, and yet ten years on from the introduction of the Children & Families Act (CFA) in 2014, there is still a lack of consensus about what it means or how to put it into practice.
So, how do you research something so nebulous?
What we do know is, despite the original intentions, ‘co-production’ with families has not been consistently effective. As we’ve previously reported, there was a big buzz around the term when the CFA 2014 was being “co-produced” with families. But in practice, working in co-production often appears as a myth, an illusion, or simply magical thinking.
And yet, co-production still feels important. In our recent podcast with former SEND Minister, Edward Timpson, who steered the legislation through parliament, he described how co-production with families is the “essence of what drives change” and without listening closely to parents and young people, you won’t end up with the changes that are needed.
One of our criticisms of the recent LGA commissioned Isos report was a lack of meaningful engagement or ‘co-production’ with families. Here is an opportunity to let Isos and others working in the RISE partnership know your thoughts on what co-production can and should look like, and what the programme’s priorities should be if they are to listen to families.
How to get involved
There are two ways to get involved. You can respond to a short survey (it takes just a few minutes, we have already completed it ourselves) or you can email your more detailed examples of good practice in co-production in SEND directly to the research team by email:
- The survey (click here) aims to gather the views of children, young people and parents/carers about co-production. All data gathered is anonymous unless you choose to add your email address at the end so you can receive a copy of the research results. The research findings will also be published on the What Works in Send website. The survey will remain open until 28 September 2024.
- If you know of any projects/areas that you believe are undertaking ‘good’ co-production, please share the details with the research team at University of Warwick. You can contact Meanu by email.
If you have any queries about this research, please contact the research team at University of Warwick directly via email (not SNJ)
Also read:
- Better co-production is crucial for improving SEND provision. But are the Government’s plans a case of magical thinking?
- Coproduction is an illusion for parents and SENCOs
- SEND is an existential threat to LAs’ financial sustainability; junking the SEND Tribunal is part of the answer, claims new report
- SNJ in Conversation with Edward Timpson CBE KC “You’ve got to really care about families and their lives
- Not co-production: Was your child’s Education, Health and Care plan outsourced?
- The rare disease game-changers showing how SEND co-production can work
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