What are they?
The Community Inclusion Forums promote inclusion of children and young people with SEND and additional needs to enable them to achieve the best possible outcomes. The forums provide opportunities for staff across the sector to be empowered to meet these needs, through the sharing of effective practice, providing peer support, and an awareness of emerging research. Schools are organised into community groups based on their geographical area to encourage closer collaboration, information sharing and networking opportunities. Through the collaboration of stakeholders, we intend to enable access, knowledge, and development of the Local Offer.
Who are they for?
All SENCos in Suffolk schools have been invited to take part in the forums as well as anyone with a pastoral or inclusion remit within a school.
Download a list of schools and their areas here. Each area forum is chaired by a specialist teacher from the Whole School Inclusion team and an Educational Psychologist from the Psychology and Therapeutic Service.
Other Specialist Education Service staff will also attend, along with representatives from Early Help and Health services.
When and where do they meet?
The Community Inclusion Forums meet once every half term in venues central to each community.
Future dates for Community Inclusion Forums in 2025-26
Meeting times are 1.00 – 3:30pm. Community Inclusion Forum March 2026 Registration – Fill in form
| Community | Date | Location | Lead |
| Lowestoft & Waveney | Thursday 12 February 2026 | Riverside Ground Floor – G01 Claud Castleton | Laura Humphrey Alice Clarke |
| Bury & Central | Wednesday 18 March 2026 | West Suffolk House Floor 1 – F1R09 Conference Room West | Jamie Hudson Rebecca Griffiths |
| Coastal | Wednesday 18 March 2026 | Stratford St Andrew’s Community Centre | Jo Bustos Jemma Carter |
| Ipswich & South | Wednesday 25 March 2026 | Endeavour House Elisabeth Frink | Claire Mitchell Tracey Pilgrim Kay Breton Marie Osborn |
| Lowestoft & Waveney | Thursday 19 March 2026 | Riverside Ground Floor – G01 Claud Castleton | Laura Humphrey Alice Clarke |
| West | Thursday 19 March 2026 | West Suffolk House Floor 1 – F1R09 Conference Room West | Catherine Fraser-Andrews Jill Griffiths |
| Bury & Central | Wednesday 20 May 2026 | West Suffolk House F1R10 Conference Room East | Jamie Hudson Rebecca Griffiths |
| Ipswich & South | Wednesday 10 June 2026 | Endeavour House Elisabeth Frink | Claire Mitchell Tracey Pilgrim Kay Breton Marie Osborn |
| Coastal | Wednesday 20 May 2026 | Stratford St Andrew’s Community Centre | Jo Bustos Jemma Carter |
| Lowestoft & Waveney | Thursday 21 May 2026 | Riverside Ground Floor – G02 Thomas Crisp | Laura Humphrey Alice Clarke |
| West | Thursday 21 May 2026 | West Suffolk House F1R09 Conference Room West | Catherine Fraser-Andrews Jill Griffiths |
* Please be aware that the CIF date for Lowestoft & Waveney in January is now (12 February 2026) and the CIF Date for Ipswich & South in May is now (10 June 2026) due to a lack of venue availability on the original dates.
Please hold the date for our next Community Inclusion Forum Conference, the date has been confirmed now as Thursday, 9 July 9:00am-4:00pm at Kesgrave Community Centre
Contact details for each community
Agendas and minutes for each community are emailed to all schools in that community. If you would like to be added to the mailing list for your community or if you have missed any of the agendas or minutes, please use the email addresses below.