The CDC SEND Awards, held on 23 April 2026 at the University of Birmingham, celebrated collaborative systems, innovation and service improvement in SEND across ten categories. Find out more about the awards, nominees and winners below.
- Excellence in Co-Production (Sponsored by the University of Birmingham)
Recognising outstanding local area approaches to co-production across children and young people and parent carers.
Runner up: Wolverhampton HY5! SEND Youth Forum
Runner up: Hertfordshire County Council – Voices of Hertfordshire
WINNER: Co-Production - Multi Schools Council
Born in a SEN school and now spanning 700+ schools, the Multi-Schools Council (MSC) puts co-production at the heart of challenging negative perceptions of disabled children and young people and those with SEN. With 200+ ambassadors and regular contact with 1,000+ young people each term, MSC drives change at school, community and system level. “Share Zone” meetings bring young people of all abilities together to start local and countywide projects. MSC also delivers youth-designed assemblies, workshops and staff training (including autism and ADHD). Ambassadors shape local services, develop community understanding and support their peers to advocate for themselves.
- Partnership for Inclusion (Local Authority and schools): Recognising strong collaboration between local authorities and schools to embed inclusive practice and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
Runner up: Wakefield (Local Area Partnership)
Runner up: Southend-on-Sea (SEND Therapies Service)
WINNER: The Mountjoy School and Dorset Council
Dorset Council and local special schools have strengthened inclusive practice through a shared, practical partnership with schools and the Dorset Parent Carer Council. Partners focused on shared learning and consistent decision-making to support children to move from specialist provision into mainstream when this is right for them. The “Moving On” approach (summer 2025) sets out shared principles and a five-step pathway to support children to move into and thrive in mainstream provision. It is underpinned by the “Valuing SEND” approach and tool, which supports reflective conversations about strengths, needs, readiness and confidence. Early case examples show improved trust, clearer planning and smoother reintegration.
- Accessible and Inclusive Communications Strategy for SEND: Recognising excellence in clear, inclusive, and co-produced communication across the SEND system.
Runner up: Sunderland Communicates Together (Together for Children, Sunderland)
WINNER: Accessible & Inclusive Comms - Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea’s Local Offer Team, Southend SEND Independent Forum (SSIF) and partners co-produce SEND communications that are consistent, accessible and kept up to date. The Local Offer is actively maintained and supported by social media and a monthly partnership newsletter, with feedback driving improvements. To avoid excluding families through digital-only approaches, the partnership also runs SEND surgeries, seminars, coffee and chat sessions and a SEND Information Day. In response to requests for alternatives to written information, an Early Years video podcast series is being co-produced, alongside webinars and exploration of a young person-friendly app for preparing for adulthood. A standout innovation is a set of visual SEND Routemaps – step-by-step guides using plain language and clear design to make complex processes easier to navigate.
- Unity in Leadership for SEND (Sponsored by Peopletoo): Celebrating strong, collaborative leadership that drives positive change across the SEND system.
Runner up: Hertfordshire County Council (SEND Partnership Leadership)
WINNER: Lancashire & South Cumbria ICB
The SEND Champions Group within Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) brings together senior leaders and operational decision-makers across health, education, local authorities and partners to drive system improvement for disabled children and young people and those with SEN. Meeting monthly for over five years, it is action-focused: completing task-and-finish priorities, co-producing resources, sharing best practice and solving complex problems together. A distinctive strength is its learning culture, including regular discussion of tribunal insights to reduce repeat issues and strengthen practice across organisations. The group provides a trusted space for open discussion, shared accountability and workforce development, breaking down silos and supporting more timely, coordinated support for families.
- Special Recognition - Tom Ashforth
- Shared System Vision for SEND: Recognising local areas with a clear, inclusive, and co-produced vision that drives improvement across the SEND system.
Runner-up: Transforming SEND, Hampshire County Council (Local Area SEND Partnership Vision)
WINNER: Rochdale
Rochdale’s shared vision places speech, language and communication at the centre of inclusion, learning and life chances, aiming for children and young people to be understood early and supported in everyday settings. Co-produced through lived experience and self-evaluation, it responds to feedback about long waits and fragmented pathways and to workforce requests for practical, earlier help. Funding from the SENDAP Change Programme was used to build long-term system capability through shared tools, digital resources and sustainable school-facing models, reducing duplication and strengthening workforce confidence. Partners now work to clearer pathways and consistent messaging, supported by training and borough-wide events. Adoption of the Balanced System® Framework reinforces shared terminology and goals across education, health and care, with the Parent Carer Forum helping drive shared ownership and accountability.
- Partnership with the VCSE Sector (Sponsored by Bates Wells): Recognising strong, collaborative work with the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
Runner up: Supporting Your Neurodivergent Child (Essex Family Forum, STRM & MyOTAS)
WINNER: Better Person (Barking & Dagenham Council, Progress Project & True Cadence)
Better Person is a youth-led anti-bullying project showing equitable partnership between statutory services and the VCSE sector in Barking & Dagenham. Co-produced by Barking and Dagenham Council, Progress Project and True Cadence following a 2024 needs assessment, it was built around shared decision-making and youth-led creative direction. The local authority provided alignment and safeguarding; Progress Project brought trusted SEND youth work; and True Cadence delivered community-based music production. Young people shaped the narrative and message, choosing music as the most powerful medium. A 10-week songwriting programme produced a resource now used in schools, parent workshops, youth groups and SEND training, while building participants’ confidence, teamwork and performance skills.
- Best Integrated Service or Team: Celebrating outstanding collaboration across services to deliver joined-up support for children and young people with SEND.
Runner up: The Mercian Trust
WINNER: Brent Mental Health Support Team (MHST)
Brent Mental Health Support Team (MHST) delivers school-embedded, integrated mental health support that is easy to access and timely for children and young people. Its multidisciplinary team includes Education Mental Health Practitioners, wellbeing practitioners and therapeutic specialists, helping families get coordinated support rather than being passed between services. Working closely with schools and the local authority, clinicians provide one-to-one and group work, workshops and whole-school activity that builds trust and reduces stigma. Access is designed to be straightforward, with most young people seen within four weeks and a “no wrong door” approach when onward referral is needed. Support is flexible and sensory-aware, including tailored approaches for neurodiverse learners and those awaiting assessment.
- Preparing for Adulthood: Recognising outstanding support for young people with SEND as they transition into adulthood.
Runner up: Evalina Community Transition Team (Lambeth)
Runner up: Gloucestershire County Council (PfA & Post 16 Team)
WINNER: Imagine the Possibilities Team - Somerset
Imagine the Possibilities is strengthening Preparing for Adulthood in Somerset by building aspiration-led pathways for disabled young people and those with SEN across employment, education, health, independent living and community life. Created in response to fragmented communication and limited supported employment, it has grown into a countywide, co-produced programme, changing culture and outcomes. Transition Panels start early to map aspirations and agree shared next steps. A countywide “heat map” aligns young people’s interests with labour market opportunities to guide families, educators and employers. Supported Internships have tripled, improving programme availability and outcomes. Clearer information and supported employment guides help young people and families make informed choices and self-advocate, underpinned by multi-agency collaboration and employer engagement.
- Partnership for Early Years Inclusion: Recognising strong partnerships and inclusive practice in Early Years settings that support all children to thrive.
Runner up: Blackburn with Darwen
WINNER: The North and South Sefton SPOT Teams
The North and South Sefton SPOT teams are teams of Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapists & Occupational Therapists supporting children aged 0–4 across clinics, homes and nurseries. They provide joined-up early identification and intervention, working closely with families and partners to promote inclusion and smooth transitions into nursery and school. Multi-Agency Planning meetings with Portage and SENIS Inclusion Consultants help coordinate support. To reduce barriers to community provision, SPOT created inclusive, play-centred Community Play Therapy Sessions in local venues that parents describe as a “safe space.” The teams also act early on emerging needs and offer joint clinics with a Consultant Paediatrician closer to home.
- The Service That Made the Difference to Me (Sponsored by KPMG): Celebrating the people and services that have made a real difference in the lives of children, young people, and families. This award is for a child, young person, or parent carer to nominate a service or individual who has made a positive impact on their life.
Runner up: The Gregg School
Runner up: Northamptonshire Parent Carer Voices (NPCV)
WINNER: Childs Play Day Nursery, Penistone
Child’s Play Day Nursery is described by the nominating family as transforming their experience as parents of a previously looked-after disabled child with complex, undiagnosed needs. The nursery offered a highly sensitive transition focused on safety, trust and attachment, with stable key-worker relationships. Staff completed additional training on complex needs, including trauma, neglect and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, so support was trauma-informed and responsive. The nursery also led multi-agency coordination, helping the family access Early Help and secure an EHCP before school. When the child was not ready for school, the nursery provided continuity through an additional year and continued supporting transitions after the move to primary school, offering sustained advocacy and family support.
A flavour of the CDC SEND Awards 2026