Supporting Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Youth Co-Production: An Exploration of Practitioner Views

The UK Government’s Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years (Department for Education & Department of Health, 2015), highlights the need for children and young people (CYP) to participate in decisions that affect their lives. However, concerns have been raised around failures to support those with SEND in participating effectively (United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2016). In 2017, practitioners in the North West set up an interest group to explore practices around the participation and co-production with CYP with SEND, from which Participation Learning Events were subsequently created. Data from practitioners from two events, using World Café and storyboard methods led to the creation of Principles of Co-Production: Practitioners' Perspectives (see Figure 1) in order to fill the knowledge gap in this area, hoping these principles could be used to support their practice and that of others. The overarching principle includes the development of a co-production culture, which is supported by other principles of: understanding of co-production; developing engagement opportunities; accessibility and representation; evidence-based practice; creating sustainable systems; creating goals and assigning responsibility; reviewing goals and challenging practice; and sharing practice. It is hoped that these principles along with reflective questioning will support thoughtful discussions and, in turn, co-produced practices at individual and strategic levels. Research implications, limitations and areas for further research are considered.