Herefordshire and Worcestershire’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Information, Advice and Support Service (SENDIASS) and youth forum, Voices United Worcestershire, have joined forces to design and create a Christmas tree for this year’s Worcester Cathedral Festival of Trees.
Worcester Cathedral’s Festival of Trees is an annual event displaying decorated Christmas trees throughout the Cathedral cloisters.
Each tree is sponsored and designed by a local business, organisation, or community group. The event is free to attend, runs throughout the Christmas period, and allows visitors to view the displays and vote for their preferred tree.
This year, the All About Me Tree highlights difference and individuality by sharing the voices of local children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Voices United worked with SENDIASS through planning sessions and creative workshops to ensure the design reflected the messages young people wanted to communicate.
They were clear that the tree should be accessible to everyone, so the decorations use a range of communication methods including text, pictures and braille, and incorporate different textures for visitors to explore.
Voices United provides children and young people with SEND a platform where their voices are listened to, respected, and valued.
It gives them opportunities to share their experiences, express their views, and contribute to decisions that directly affect their lives. The forum aims to ensure that the voices of children and young people with SEND remain central to all decisions influencing their education, wellbeing, and future opportunities.
Young people from Voices United and local schools created decorations expressing what matters to them and describing who they are.
One participant, Myah Atherden, explained: “It is very important to have a tree that celebrates differences because it helps to remind people that differences still exist but even with our differences we can still make meaningful contributions.”
Another, Lydia Beech, added: “For a lot of young people with SEND, it can be a rarity that something is built with us in mind… The different textures, braille, pictures etc. make the tree engaging, we hope, for everyone.”
Herefordshire and Worcestershire SENDIASS provides legally based information, advice and support on all matters relating to children and young people (0–25) who have or may have SEND. The service is free, impartial and confidential.
Chris Boxall, Operational Manager for Herefordshire and Worcestershire SENDIASS, said: “Part of the work we do at SENDIASS is to support young people with SEND to share their views and make informed decisions about their education and support. It has been wonderful working with the inspiring young people from Voices United, helping them to share their important messages with the public, and watching them work together to advocate for themselves and other children and young people with SEND. They should be very proud of their fantastic creation.”
The All About Me Tree was funded by Worcestershire County Council’s Skills & Employability Service and can be viewed in Worcester Cathedral until 6 January 2026.
To find out more about Voices United visit the SEND Co-Production pages of our website and to find out more about SENDIASS visit the SENDIASS website.
You can also call SENDIASS on 01905 768153 (Monday to Friday, 8.30am–4pm; 24-hour answer machine available), or email sendiass@worcestershire.gov.uk.
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