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This October, the SCEP hosted its first of termly Info Burst sessions. These sessions are informed by consultation with our Steering Group who selected CPD priorities for the year.  

This term, we hosted Dan Beck (Head of Strategic SEND at Southampton City Council) who focused on explaining the new SEND White Paper Reforms: its meaning for children, young people and schools as well as changes that will be made both locally and nationally. Dan allowed our members to steer the discussion towards changes relevant to them whilst providing a solid overview of the reforms.  

Dan opened the presentation by referencing Temple Grandin and her brilliant work with cattle as an example of the importance of neurodiverse perspectives. Participants were asked, “When you think about children and young people with SEND accessing culture and creativity in Southampton, what is the first word or phrase that comes to mind?” They created the following word cloud: 

Participants had the opportunity to explain their answers, which stimulated discussions surrounding the difficulty that SEND individuals face in accessing these spaces and the immense amount of potential demonstrated by SEND individuals who access these services.  

Moving onto discussion of the reforms, Dan noted that consultations are still ongoing and that they initially launched under the Starmer government – these factors mean that, in the future, there are likely to be changes. Despite this, implementation of the reform is expected to happen over the next 3 years. 

Locally, Southampton has identified 3 key goals: 

• Improve life opportunities for CYP with SEND 
• Increase confidence and trust in the SEND system 
• Build a sustainable and reliable SEND system 

More can be read about it here. This includes information on the Southampton 360 Support Model which replaces the Expert at Hand system recommended in the paper. This is because Southampton has developed a system for incorporating in that crucial lived experience expertise into their model.  

We also had the opportunity to discuss with other members some of their relevant projects and experiences from Artswork’s Young Consultants programme to Turner Sims ‘Tune in’ project.  

Excitingly, SCC is working on a website to consolidate information on SEND services that provides information to all stakeholders. This website can be found here. Dan highlighted the self-evaluation tool present on the website that can be used to assess your current knowledge and skills when working alongside SEND individuals and can then be translated into professional development.  

For access to the recording of this session and information on our next Info Burst, sign-up below – 

On Thursday 24th September Lucy Marder (SCEP Lead) and I (Philippa Evans, SCEP Communications Assistant) had the opportunity to attend Young Southampton’s launch event at St Mary’s Leisure Centre.

The Young Southampton Launch Event brought together a variety of Southampton’s youth-serving organisations – we were delighted to represent the SCEP in this room. Excitingly, many of SCEP’s Members were able to attend the event, including multiple activities facilitated by SCEP Members.

Whilst the afternoon boasted speeches from two MPs, many SCEP Members took centre-stage: with Zoielogic literally taking to the stage with a dance performance about releasing your inner child from their youth-led group Fuzzy Logic. Alongside this, we heard from Professor Mary Barker (representing Life Lab) discuss Enabling Environments, whilst facilitating consideration of youth voice with the room. This led nicely into Artswork’s presentation about the new Young Southampton branding. Azra Throlby (Artswork Young Consultant) unveiled branding that had been co-created by 8-18-year-olds from around Southampton. Excitingly, we had the opportunity to discuss the co-creation process with Rose who took part in some of Azra’s workshops.

It was a pleasure to learn from our members and we’re looking forward to seeing how Young Southampton continues to connect the city and it’s young people.

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Calling teachers, schools, colleges, youth settings, commissioners:  It’s here! The new SCEP Cultural Education Directory is now live, making it easier than ever for schools, colleges, youth services and alternative provision settings to discover and connect with cultural organisations across Southampton. Developed with input from our education partners at Southampton Education Forum, the directory helps decisionmakers quickly find creative programmes, workshops, projects and experiences that can enrich learning and inspire young people.  

Whether you’re looking for workshops, performances, artist residencies, enrichment activities, careers inspiration, curriculum-linked projects or other creative programmes, the directory brings Southampton’s cultural learning offer together in one place. 

This is more than just a directory. It’s a tool for building new partnerships, creating opportunities for young people and strengthening the connection between education and culture across the city. 

Take a look, discover what’s available, and start making new connections today. 

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Explore the Directory above, or, visit our Resources page.

Join us on Wednesday 21st October from 4-5pm for an Info Burst session with Dan Beck, Head of Strategic SEND at Southampton City Council, exploring the proposed reforms set out in the Government’s new SEND White Paper and what they could mean for children and young people, schools and partner services. 

Alongside the national picture, Dan will provide an update on Southampton 360 Support model, the city’s local SEND transformation model, which aims to strengthen inclusion by bringing specialist expertise closer to children, young people and schools. The session will explore how Southampton 360 supports early intervention, builds workforce confidence and capacity, and helps create a more inclusive and sustainable SEND system. 

Dan will share insights into the key themes emerging from both the national reforms and local developments, including inclusion, accountability and support for children and young people with SEND, as well as the potential implications for education settings and services. 

Whether you work directly with children and young people, lead provision in a school or support strategic planning across education, health or community services, this session will help you understand the direction of travel and Southampton’s local response to improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND. 

Lucy Marder (SCEP Lead) provides insight into what an Andy Burnham leadership could look like for cultural education.

With Andy Burnham widely expected to become the UK’s next Prime Minister, many in the education and cultural sectors are considering what this could mean for arts and cultural learning. While it is too early to predict specific policy changes, his record as Mayor of Greater Manchester suggests a strong belief in culture as part of a wider civic agenda, linked to education, wellbeing, skills, regeneration and local identity. 

A recurring theme in Burnham’s work has been the redistribution of power away from Whitehall and towards cities and regions. Recent speeches have reinforced his commitment to devolution and greater local control over public services, skills and economic development. For Southampton, this could create opportunities for cultural education to be shaped more strongly through local partnerships between schools, colleges, universities, cultural organisations and local authorities. A more devolved approach may enable places to align cultural learning more closely with local priorities, creative industries and community needs. A potential challenge for Southampton is that, despite significant social and economic inequalities, it is not always perceived as a place requiring the same level of intervention as areas further from London. 

Commentators also suggest a Burnham government could place greater emphasis on technical and vocational pathways, stronger links between education and employment, and broader measures of success for young people. This may create new opportunities to position arts and cultural learning as contributing not only to creativity and wellbeing, but also to skills development, employability and economic growth.

For SCEP members, the key question is how cultural education can demonstrate its value within wider agendas around opportunity, enrichment, skills and place-making. If decision-making becomes more locally driven, partnerships in Southampton may have greater scope to influence how arts and culture support young people’s learning and development. 

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Further reading:

• The Art Newspaper – What Andy Burnham’s achievements in Manchester tell us about his views on the arts https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/06/26/what-andy-burnhams-achievements-in-manchester-tell-us-about-his-views-on-the-arts
• Schools Week – What would a Burnham government mean for schools? https://schoolsweek.co.uk/what-would-a-burnham-government-would-mean-for-schools/
• Cultural Learning Alliance – Latest News Early July 2026 https://www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk/latest-news-early-july-26/
• Directory of Social Change – What does a new Labour Prime Minister mean for the voluntary sector?: https://www.dsc.org.uk/content/what-does-a-new-labour-prime-minister-mean-for-the-voluntary-sector/?dm_i=6S7,995GM,9B5Q4X,12UT3U,1,0,0,0