Buckinghamshire’s SEND Co-production Charter

We listen to people’s needs and experiences to make decisions and improve the support and services we provide. This is called Co-production and it’s at the heart of everything we do.

Our Co-production Charter shows how we do this.

• Everyone is welcome and treated with care and respect.
• Everyone’s opinion is not only listened to but is equally valued and included.
• Everyone communicates respectfully and in a timely fashion.
• Everyone works together to achieve the best outcome, offering compromise where necessary.
• Everyone acts with trust and transparency.

Co-production happens at three levels, individually, collectively and strategically.

Here’s how we’ll work at these levels, our priorities and what we’ll achieve.

Where an individual can influence the support and services they need. Their voice is heard, and they feel empowered about the decisions being made about their future.

Where two or more people influence the way services are designed, commissioned and delivered.

Where co-production is an embedded culture of inclusion. Individuals, families, groups and organisations can influence equally services, commissioning, monitoring and new projects.

The views, wishes and aspirations of our children/young people will have every opportunity to form the provision and services required to support them and their families.

• Starting together and listening to the views of all those involved. Individuals, parents, carers and professionals will be included and everyone will be valued and treated equally.
• Using real-life experiences from people we work with to improve our services. We value the first-hand perspective children, young people, adults and their families provide.
• Encouraging and supporting children, young people and their parents/ carers to think about what would help them to be as independent as possible.
• Communicating transparently, honestly, responsively and creatively to enable everyone to express their views and promote positive working relationships.
• Sharing information, children, young people and their parents/carers will not have to repeat their story.
• Being flexible and adapting processes to ensure access to services and decision processes.

This ensures that the services provided are suitable for the children, young people, adults and their families who need them.

• Listening and learning from each other and share information about what works and what doesn’t work.
• Telling children, young people, adults and their families what we have done in response to their feedback. For example, publishing and responding to feedback on the Local Offer’s You said...we did.
• Making sure there are different ways that children, young people, adults and their families can share their feedback with us. We’ll use feedback when creating new services or improving existing ones (commissioning).
• Ensuring all our information and documentation is easy to understand and accessible.

This ensures that long term plans and new projects are tailored to the needs of children, young people, adults and their families in Buckinghamshire.

• Valuing children, young people and their parents/carers as experts by experience to provide feedback, review and evaluate services.
• Involving children, young people and their parents/carers in the planning, commissioning and reviewing of services and the development of strategies and plans.
• Enabling the collective voice of children, young people and their parents/ carers to set their own plans and priorities by support and empower them to undertake specific pieces of work at a strategic level.
• Including children and young people (a representative on their behalf) and the Parent Carer Forum in decision-making Boards and Groups.
• Embedding co-production culture in the workforce and practices. This includes sharing the learning from co-production and its successes.
• Holding regular events to celebrate and engage with children, young people, adults and their families about the successes achieved and how this informs decision-making processes.

Make a SEND Co-production promise and help us to make sure that co-production is at the heart of everything we do. You can also see who has made a promise.

These resources can help you to make co-production as successful as possible.