Longstanding weaknesses across SEND system impacting on young people’s transition to adulthood

A report by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) finds that local areas are working hard to improve support for young people with SEND, but systemic challenges are limiting their ability to prepare these young people for adulthood.

• Local area partnerships are developing new and creative solutions to improve support for young people with SEND as they prepare for adulthood. 

• But systemic challenges are limiting efforts and some young people face a ‘cliff edge' in health support once they turn 18. 

• Stark disparity in support for those young people with and without an EHC plan.

A report by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), published today, finds that local areas are working hard to improve support for young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), but a number of systemic challenges are limiting their ability to provide these young people with strong preparation for adulthood (PfA) arrangements.  

Ofsted and the CQC visited 6 local area partnerships for today's report, and surveyed over 2,000 children and young people, parents, carers and practitioners to explore how effectively partners are working together to help young people with SEND prepare for a healthy adult life and meaningful participation in society.

Read the ‘Preparation for adulthood arrangements in local areas: a thematic review' report.

The report highlights a stark disparity in PfA provision for young people with and without an education, health and care (EHC) plan, noting, for example, that those without an EHC plan are often not able to benefit from supported internship arrangements.  

Ofsted and the CQC also found that too many young people with SEND face a ‘cliff edge' in health support as they reach 18, with health services often not involved in planning for their transition to adult life. The report describes how one young person who has spent almost a year awaiting an autism diagnosis has been unable to access additional support for her mental health difficulties and substance misuse. Despite agencies working together to review the support offered by her school and children's social care, health services have been entirely absent from discussions about her needs.  

The report identifies examples of good practice and describes the new and creative solutions that some local areas are developing in response to the challenges they face. It notes that partnerships offering stronger PfAarrangements make sure that preparation begins in the early years, and they work strategically across areas to share expertise and enhance provision in a way that reflects the views and wishes of children and young people.  

In areas with weaker PfA arrangements, inspectors found ineffective joint commissioning of services, poorer information sharing, and a lack of communication with parents and carers about the local services available.

The report makes clear that challenges will not be solved by any one part of the system in isolation. It calls for improved joint working across children's and adult health services and makes a number of recommendations for relevant government departments and organisations, including:   

• developing a national EHC plan template that includes PfA, so it is considered at the earliest possible stage, as well as national guidance to ensure there is a transitional period of support when an EHC plan ends

• continuing to increase the number of supported internships on offer for young people with SEND and expanding access to these opportunities, supported by a national campaign to encourage more employers to provide opportunities for young people with SEND

• strengthening national guidance on transitions from children's to adult health services

• addressing conflicting responsibilities and gaps across social care, education and health-related provision, and creating a national set of standards outlining clear responsibilities for these different organisations

• addressing the national shortage of high-quality specialist residential and supported living accommodation

• ensuring all EHC plans consistently and accurately specify the health support that should be available at different stages of a child's life as they reach adulthood

Sir Martyn Oliver, His Majesty's Chief Inspector, said: 

It's vital that children and young people with SEND receive the right support to help them reach their full potential as they prepare for adulthood. So I am very concerned that longstanding challenges across the SEND system are preventing local areas from improving support for some of our most vulnerable young people. It is particularly worrying that children waiting for an EHC plan are not receiving the level of support they need.

But there are reasons to be positive too. Many local areas are developing solutions to the challenges they face and improving support for young people at the earliest possible stage. I hope this report, and its examples of good practice, can help government and partners across health, education and social care to deliver improvements for children with SEND at the earliest opportunity.

Lucy Harte, Deputy Director for Multi-Agency Operations at the CQC, said: 

It is clear that many people are working tirelessly to provide excellent support for young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).   

We found that partnerships have the greatest impact when they work together with children and families at the earliest opportunities on the critical transition to adulthood.  

However, this report also lays bare the reality that too many young people with SEND are not getting the support they need.  

Our joint report makes a number of recommendations including strengthening national guidance on transitions from children's to adult health services and addressing the conflicting responsibilities and gaps across social care, education and health-related provision.   

Addressing these challenges cannot happen in silos and all organisations involved must work closely together to make sure that the benefits are felt by each child and young person who relies on this crucial support.