Buckinghamshire Education Strategy 2022 to 2027

We collected preliminary feedback from children, young people and their families at the Shout Out for SEND conference in October 2021.

There was some follow up work with the student representatives (reps), who were asked about their education and whether their hopes and aspirations have been altered because of the pandemic.

The reps explained what they learned about:

• their approach to learning
• the importance of socialising
• their own wellbeing
• new opportunities created by the pandemic. We collated further feedback from young people during the public consultation period.

Everyone agreed that the pandemic had affected their learning in some way.

Key themes we noted were that:

• some students found online learning difficult and learning in general less enjoyable, whilst others found the use of technology to support learning beneficial
• many students missed the social interaction with other pupils and teachers. Some felt isolated and felt their learning had been hampered by the experience of the pandemic
• some students reflected on what school and education meant to them and began to realise its importance to their future lives

Parents and carers raised the issue of having access to vital information that would support their child as they prepare to leave education, such as information about opportunities like apprenticeships.