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SEND Live 2025

It was a pleasure to welcome our delegates to SEND Live 2025. The enthusiasm and buzz from everyone in attendance were truly energising, and we are excited to announce that planning is already underway for SEND Live 2026. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting all of you and could not have asked for a more successful event.

The conference was opened by Ben Juggins, who inspired delegates by sharing his educational journey, which has led him to volunteer at Great Rollright CE Primary School. His story highlighted the importance of creating meaningful employment opportunities for young people with SEND and showcased the strong, supportive relationships he has formed with his colleagues.

Following the keynote, the event featured twelve practical workshops, all focused on supporting the mental health and well-being of children and young people with SEND. We were honoured to welcome back Dr. Jamie Galpin and Dr. Sarah Moseley for the third consecutive year. This year, we also drew on internal expertise: our Educational Psychology Service (EPS) presented a workshop on ‘Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA)’, and Dr. Jon Reid from Oxford Brookes delivered a session on ‘Compassion Informed Practice’. Dr. Hester Riviere led a session on ‘Teacher Wellbeing’, while The Mulberry Bush explored the ‘Impact of the Environment on Our Wellbeing’. The Child Therapy Service also conducted a well-received workshop on maintaining emotional regulation.

Young Person Work Experience

A special thanks goes to the 13 young people, aged 16–19, who participated in this year’s SEND Live work experience opportunities. These hands-on experiences were designed to offer insight into career possibilities and support future career decisions. The programme aimed to build confidence, foster independence, and provide a meaningful taste of real-life workplace environments.

Preparation for the work experience included applying for roles, participating in face-to-face Q&A sessions, and attending an event preparation session at County Hall. During SEND Live, the young people took on roles in catering, event management and preparation, IT support, and speaker assistance. Their efforts culminated in receiving an 'Oxfordshire Achievement Award' and 'AQA certification'. Their contributions were vital to the success of the event, and they were widely praised for their professionalism, politeness, and dedication. One young person was even offered a future opportunity with the catering team due to his proactive approach.

A Few of Your Highlights

How will SEND Live 2025 change your practice at a whole school level?

  • “Placing emphasis on understanding children as individuals – to all staff.”
  • “Continued focus on relationships.”
  • “Improving our whole school culture around sensory needs and the language around it for both children and adults!”
  • “As a school, we are very interested in how to fully engage the children with their learning and to be active risk takers rather than being passive learners.”

What was your favourite experience or moment of SEND Live 2025?

  • “The keynote speaker at the start of the day was very inspiring!”
  • “It was all great! Excellent speakers. Particularly enjoyed the inspiring talk from Ben.”
  • “The session on EBSA and the toolkit was particularly helpful.”
  • “Time to talk – Time to listen – Time to reflect.”

How did the presence of our young people with SEND influence you in your role?

  • “Inspired to have high expectations for our SEN children and that it is possible to help them achieve their dreams.”
  • “It was inspiring and motivating to see why we do what we do.”
  • “Importance of life skills in curriculum.”
  • “Important to think about the reason we do this – to improve the experiences of young people and help them realise their aspirations.”

Additional Comments

  • All our delegates would highly recommend future SEND Live events.
  • 99% of delegates said the content from SEND Live would help improve their work and that they look forward to embedding their learning into daily practice.
  • 96% of delegates intended to share their learning with colleagues in their settings.
  • 99% could give an example of how SEND Live will change their practice at a whole school level.

We extend our sincere gratitude to all delegates, young people, speakers, marketplace representatives, and Teach Meet presenters. We hope to see you all again in 2026! If you are interested in being a part of SEND Live 2026, please reach out to lydia.martin@oxfordshire.gov.uk.