The release of the Department for Education's SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan sets out how children and young people across England with special educational needs and disabilities, or in alternative provision, will get high-quality, early support wherever they live in the country.

As the Head of SEND at Staffordshire CC, following a long career firstly as a teacher and then as an educational psychologist, I have seen first-hand how meeting children's needs early, personalising the services they receive, and using evidence to inform how we approach their needs can really make a difference to their lives.