Annual Milton Keynes event for families with special educational needs to be held online

Milton Keynes Council has confirmed that the (SEND) event for families with special educational needs will take place between Thursday February 4 and Saturday February 6.

Typically SEND information day would be held in person with more than 500 attendees, this year the event will be hosted online over video.

The event is organised by The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information Advice (SENADIAS) and Parent Carer Forum Milton Keynes (PACA MK).

Mayor of Milton Keynes Andrew Geary will formally open the festival at 10am on February 4. In that first session we will also hear from keynote speaker and Paralympian Natasha Baker MBE. Both speeches can be watched live on Youtube using the following link.

This year’s event, which is themed around support for SEND in a virtual world, includes a packed programme of online activities and workshops designed for parents and carers of children and young people (aged under 25) living with special education needs and disabilities.

A full list of the workshops and activities can be found here. To take part in a family or a parent/carer themed worship you must pre-register here.

Councillor Zoe Nolan, Cabinet Member for Children and Families at MK Council, said: "We’re really excited to see the annual SEND event go virtual this year. SEND Information Days are always really well attended and this year’s online festival has the potential to reach even more local people.

“Young people and their families regularly tell us how important it is to know what specialist support is out there for them locally, so I’m really pleased that council colleagues and their partners in the health and the voluntary sectors have found a way that we can safely continue to offer the event during the pandemic.”

Keynote speaker Natasha Baker MBE, a British para-equestrian who won two gold medals at the London 2012 Summer Paralympics and three at the Rio 2016 Summer Paralympics, said:

“Events like this are really good in normal times, but in the current uncertain times we find ourselves in they are vital, not only to ensure people are gaining the necessary support and information needed, but also keeping us all connected. So, to be asked to be part of this year’s SEND Information Festival is a privilege."