Improving the way services for young people with SEND are inspected

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have today published the outcome of a review of the way local area services for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are inspected.

The aim of the review was to identify enhancements that could be made to the current inspection framework to help drive improvements in the SENDsystem, without diluting accountability.

To carry out the review, Ofsted and CQC consulted stakeholders across the sector, including young people with SEND and their families, as well as inspectors themselves and colleagues at the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England.

Read the ‘Area SEND review: what we heard and how we are improving'

Alongside the review, Ofsted has also published a report summarising findings from the first 2 years of inspections under the current framework. This includes common challenges such as the timeliness and/or quality of education, health and care (EHC) plans.

Ofsted heard some positive feedback about the current inspection framework, with many across the sector finding it a more supportive process than the previous framework. The focus on the experiences and views of young people and their families was highlighted as a particularly positive change. However, the review also found there was a strong desire from children, young people, families and representative groups to have more opportunities to share their experiences with inspectors. Some local areas also highlighted that inspections can be resource-intensive, which can have an impact on their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.

There was positive feedback from children, young people and their families about the way inspectors engage with them during inspections, with many saying they felt comfortable openly sharing their thoughts. Meanwhile, feedback both internally and from the sector highlighted the importance of continuing to develop inspectors' expertise, with inspectors saying that they would value more frequent opportunities to refresh their knowledge.

As a result of the review, Ofsted and CQC have committed to a series of improvements to the way area SEND inspections are carried out, including:

• ensuring that inspectors have sufficient time on inspections and providing more opportunities for young people and their families to engage with inspectors during full inspections
• communicating better with children, young people and their families to ensure they understand how to share their thoughts with inspectors by improving the surveys used to gather their views
• simplifying the data inspectors ask for at the start of the inspection
• making engagement meetings more supportive and adjusting the frequency of these meetings
• where appropriate, specifying more clearly which member of the partnership should take forward areas for improvement
• exploring how inspection reports can be made more accessible and sharing a summary of survey findings with local area partnerships and family representative groups to support strategic planning
• updating and increasing the frequency of inspectors' training
• exploring the creation of a national pool of Ofsted education inspectors to increase the consistency and expertise of inspection teams
• working with the Ofsted Academy to continue recruiting inspectors with relevant experience in SEND and alternative provision

In the longer term, Ofsted and CQC will also consider options for further developing the area SEND framework, including exploring the introduction of an inspection report card after the first cycle of inspections ends in December 2027.

Lee Owston, Ofsted's National Director for Education, said:

We recognise that the SEND system is under significant pressure, and many of the factors contributing to this pressure are outside the control of any local area. But it's also a fact that services for children with SENDhave fallen short for too long, and it is vital that we hold providers to account where improvements need to be made. If we can make sure that we are getting support right for children with SEND, then we know that we're getting it right for everyone.

It has been great to hear some positive feedback about our area SENDinspections, and in particular the shift in focus to the experiences and outcomes of children and young people. But we know that we can continue to improve the way that we inspect local areas, by working closely with the sector and government to make sure the framework evolves and develops in response to feedback from the sector and any future government reforms.

Lucy Harte, CQC's Deputy Director for Multiagency Operations, said:

A system of regulation that delivers on the needs of the families and practitioners who use and work in services, is one that is built around their voices and experiences. Hearing that children, young people and their families value the increased focus on their views and experience is wonderful feedback and gives us the opportunity to further develop how we engage with them and make the most of their insight.

While people told us that examples of good practice in our reports help them to identify strategies to improve the care they offer – there is a clear desire for reports to better highlight where collaboration is making a difference, and where the local area partnerships are facing challenges. Working with Ofsted, we will continue to develop our approach and take advantage of the feedback and opportunities to drive better outcomes for children, young people and their families.

Notes to editors

Area SEND monitoring inspections were temporarily paused while this review was completed. Monitoring inspections will start again this term.