Yorkshire and The Humber

In Yorkshire and The Humber SEND Leaders are currently working with LAs, Opportunity Areas, MATs, Dioceses and schools to develop solutions to enhance SEND related school improvement and workforce development. 

We are committed to improving the quantity and quality of trained SEND Reviewers. We have a developed network of specialist Teaching Schools and SEND Reviewers and are continually enhancing this talent pool. We are developing locality specific ‘provision maps’ for SEND CPLD to close gaps in workforce development and encouraging all schools to sign up to the Community of Practice.

We recognise the importance of engaging with children and families to support school improvement. We will collect and collate examples of Best Practice relating to SEND regional issues and share these cross-regionally. We are also sharing excellence in SEND ITT by contributing to research projects.

Key worker with a young boy that has Downs Syndrome

Local authorities in this region

  • Barnsley
  • Bradford
  • Calderdale
  • Doncaster
  • East Riding of Yorkshire
  • Hull
  • Kirklees
  • Leeds
  • North East Lincolnshire
  • North Lincolnshire
  • North Yorkshire
  • Rotherham
  • Sheffield
  • Wakefield
  • York

Your Regional SEND Leads

Nicole Dempsey is Trust Director for Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities and Safeguarding at Dixons Academies Trusty, a multi-academy trust with schools in Bradford, Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester.  She is also a Deputy Regional SEND Lead in the Yorkshire and The Humber region, for Whole School SEND, a consortium of organisations committed to enhancing the quality of education for learners with special educational needs and/or disabilities throughout England.  She writes about SEND and inclusion on her blog, inco14.wordpress.com, and posts on X under the username @NDempseyDTA. 
 

Image shows Nicole Dempsey, Deputy Regional SEND Lead for Lancashire and West Yorkshire

Nicole Dempsey

Cheryl is an experienced education leader with 23 years in primary mainstream and secondary special education, including nine years in senior leadership. She has been the Strategic Lead for SEND and Inclusion across 21 primary mainstream schools for the James Montgomery Academy Trust for just over three and a half years. She has a proven track record of driving school improvement, raising attainment and attendance all through strengthening inclusive practice. She has the skills in developing strategic leadership across the Trust, developing bespoke curriculum pathways to ensure genuine inclusion for all children through research and evidence-based practice. She is the DfE local lead for the Engagement Model and works with two teaching school hubs to develop the SEND content for ECTs, NPQSEN materials and facilitates on both. She is the vice-chair for the EQUALs charity and a member of the following networks; the National Network of Specialist Provision, the National Primary School Network for SEN units/resourced provisions, the National Network of SEND MAT leaders and part of the advisory board for Evidence for Learning.

Cheryl Gaughan

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