Ofsted and CQC will visit local areas to support
strengthening special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
systems in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, before returning to
full inspections when it is right to do so.
Ofsted visits in the autumn
Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) have been commissioned by
the Department for Education (DfE) and Department for Health
and Social Care (DHSC) to visit
local areas to help improve their SEND systems
following the COVID-19 disruption.
Ofsted and CQC will work
collaboratively with local areas to understand the experiences of
children and young people with SEND and
their families during the pandemic, and to support local areas to
prioritise and meet their needs.
The visits are not inspections, nor will they replace the current
area SENDinspection
cycle. They will give insights into how the SEND system
is working from the autumn term, while the area SEND inspection
cycle remains on hold. We will not give a formal judgement for a
local area nor publish individual reports. We will share learning
from these visits, alongside good practice and case studies, in
national reports. This will help to strengthen the
whole SEND system
in a positive way.
Ofsted and CQC will return to complete
the current inspection cycle when it is right to do so, and these
visits will help us to determine when local areas will be ready
for this.
A new framework
We are committed to promoting ongoing improvement in
the SEND system
beyond the current crisis, because we know that many of the
problems we see now precede the pandemic. DfE, with the support
of DHSC, has
therefore formally commissioned Ofsted and CQC to develop a new
area SENDinspection
framework, with inspections beginning once the existing cycle
finishes. This will be a regular cycle that will form a part of
Ofsted and CQC’s core inspection activity,
continuing to hold areas to account for their SENDarrangements
and promoting improvement.
Ofsted has published a
report that evaluates what has gone well and what the
new inspection framework could improve on.
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman said:
There is no doubt that children and young people
with SEND and
their families have been affected significantly by the COVID-19
pandemic. Although many hard-working professionals and
organisations have responded admirably by finding innovative
ways to support children and families, we must not lose sight
of the wide-ranging disruption to essential support and
services still faced by many.
Our joint visits to local areas with CQC will be collaborative
and supportive, designed to support the whole SEND system.
I am also very pleased that Ofsted and CQC have been
commissioned by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for
Children and Families to develop a new, ongoing
area SEND inspection
framework. This will continue to drive lasting and vital
improvement in the whole SEND system.
