The SEND Lived Experience Survey: Results and Future Plans
The SEND and AP Lived Experience SurveysResults and Future Plans
Understanding how parent carers, children and young people feel about SEND services is crucial for improving them; for making them more responsive to individual needs. That is why, between October and January, we conducted the second set of ‘SEND and AP Lived Experience Surveys’ as a way for you to tell us about your experiences of navigating the SEND system across education, health, and social care.
In this post, we will go over the results of the survey, looking at the questions asked, providing extra context to their purpose, and explaining how you can get involved with future feedback sharing opportunities. With further surveys planned, we encourage families to engage with us once they are circulated. We hope you enjoy reading through.
What are Lived Experience Surveys?
Lived Experience Surveys are not meant to gather direct feedback on the SEND system as a whole. Instead, they seek to assess the impacts of the Local Area SEND and AP Improvement Plan on the daily lives of SEND parent carers, children and young people. Lived experience is a general measure of how supported families feel, how satisfied they are after using services, and the extent in which they feel happy, valued, and able to engage with activities in their local community.Â
Naturally, experiences between parent carers, children and young people will be different, and so, two separate surveys were produced for each group. These were then shared through different channels, including email, social media, and noticeboards. Schools were also asked to share the surveys with their families.Â
If you are interested in the ways we are improving services in Birmingham, particularly after the Ofsted Inspection, we recommend visiting the Local Offer section on SEND Improvement.
Lived Experience Survey Results
Beginning in March 2025 and finishing in June 2025, the first lived experience survey acted as a baseline for all subsequent surveys. This years iteration was the first of annual post-baseline surveys used to evidence growth and decline in areas of lived experience.
As there are two different surveys (for parent carers and children and young people) there are different sets of results. The following tables show notable changes to responses for each version.
Notable Changes from the Parent Carer Survey
| Parent/Carers say it’s easy to contact appropriate professionals for help. |
|---|
| 2025: 46% |
| 2026: 22% |
| Growth: -22% |
| Parent Carer feel appropriate pathways have been developed for SEND C&YP |
| 2025: 17% |
| 2026: 49% |
| Growth: +32% |
| Parent/Carers feel engaged in service improvement |
| 2025: 7% |
| 2026: 47% |
| Growth: +40% |
Notable Changes from the Children and Young People Survey
| C&YP agreeing that local leaders engage and communicate with them directly |
|---|
| 2025: 46% |
| 2026: 60% |
| Growth: +14% |
| C&YP feeling supported by Education Services |
| 2025: 79% |
| 2026: 87% |
| Growth: +8% |
| C&YP feeling their EHCP contained the support they need. |
| 2025: 32% |
| 2026: 22X% |
| Growth: -10% |
For a complete breakdown on the survey findings, see the full report linked below.
Getting Involved with Future Lived Experience Surveys
For those who did not manage to complete this years survey, there will be a new set coming in November 2026. The completion window will remain open until the new year, allowing for plenty of time to share your feedback. So that you don’t miss the survey, there are a few ways you can make sure you hear about it.
Firstly, consider following us on social media where we regularly post SEND updates from both the Local Area Partnership and groups in the community. This includes activities and clubs, but also support groups for families. Use the icons below to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
There will also be information published on the Local Offer once the completion window opens, so check back in November. Out Latest News section is the principle place for SEND updates across education, health, and social care. Information will also be shared with schools, and so we suggest keeping can eye on any communications coming from your setting. We look forward to hearing about your experiences of SEND services in Birmingham.