SEND Youth Forum

The SEND Youth Forum exists to strengthen the voices of young people with SEND in Oxfordshire.

Its purpose is to change the system, give people better support, and see what young people can achieve if we help them. To give people opportunities to tell us their stories, feedback and what they want.

Terms of Reference: Download our Terms of Reference to learn more about who we are, what we will do, and how we will do it.

How can I join?

We meet bi-monthly in central Oxford, and invite young people aged 16+ with special educational needs or disability join us.

If you are interested in joining, you can express your interest by emailing us at: SENDYoungPeople@oxfordshire.gov.uk

View our minutes

See what we've been up to recently in our picture minutes:

If you would like a transcript of these picture minutes, please contact us.

Future dates

All of our meetings take place in central Oxford. Further details of the location will be shared once you join.

Our next meetings will take place on:

22nd January 2026 - achieved, with the Participation and Engagement Officer from Buckinghamshire in attendance
24th April 2026 - achieved
11th June 2026 - achieved
16th July 2026

Get in touch: Have any questions or just want to find out more? Email us at SENDYoungPeople@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Watch the video below to learn more about the Oxfordshire SEND Youth Forum.

Feedback from the area SEND Monitoring inspection

Ofsted have recognised the SEND Youth Forum as exemplary, stating that:

"Children and young people with SEND who are members of the Youth Forum are inspirational and proactive. They contribute to partnership developments. Members of the forum benefit from leaders’ support to understand and review information and provide feedback."

We know there's still a lot of work we need to do, one of the things we will be working on is gaining more views from different age ranges and backgrounds, we hope to engage more of our schools with this work.

Take action: The co-leads of Oxfordshire SEND Youth Forum worked with seven councils through a national programme to help young people with SEND have a stronger say in local decisions. You can read more here.

Seal of Approval

The Seal of Approval is a co‑produced quality kite mark created by young people, designed to recognise and highlight services in the local area that meet agreed quality standards. It acts as a visible badge to show that a service has been reviewed and endorsed through young people’s lived experience and feedback. Keep a look out for our Seal of Approval!

Satellite Youth Forums

We now have 8 new SEND Youth Forum Satellites across primary and secondary mainstream settings, special schools and alternative provision. We have asked our Satellites to host their first meeting by the end of term, and we have already received some incredible youth-led feedback.

The SEND Youth Forum Satellites provide safe, local and accessible spaces for children and young people with SEND to share their views, experiences and ideas about the services and support that affect their lives. Running alongside the main SEND Youth Forum at Oxfordshire County Council, the Satellites help us reach a wider range of voices, including those who may find it harder to attend central meetings, ensuring participation is inclusive, flexible and youth-led.

The feedback gathered informs decision-making, service improvement and co-production work, so that SEND services are shaped by what matters most to young people and their families.