Festival to celebrate and include kids with SEND

SENDFEST will offer family-friendly activities with adjustments like sensory spaces for people with additional needs

A festival for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is set to take place later.

SENDFEST will be held at Wiltshire Music Centre in Bradford-on-Avon from 10:00 until 18:00 BST.

The one-day festival will offer activities like arts and crafts, a silent disco and live performances. There will also be a calm sensory space for attendees to take time out when needed.

Wiltshire Councillor Jon Hubbard, Cabinet Member for Children's Services, Education and Skills, said SENDFEST was "a celebration of inclusion, creativity and joy."

He added that offering inclusive events for people with additional needs was "really important".

As well as providing young people with a chance to connect and have fun, it is hoped the event will enable the council an opportunity to engage with attendees and their families to find out what services it can provide to "meet their needs better".

Mr Hubbard added: "We've got to stop doing things to people and start doing things with people.

"This is a real step forward in working with these important members of our community and engaging them and helping them shape the services that we offer.

"The SEND community - and certainly young people in the SEND community - is the one we're really looking at working with and empowering," he added.