On 23rd September 2024, our Local Area received notice of its Ofsted and CQC Local Area SEND inspection which finished on 11th October 2024.
On 23rd September 2024, our Local Area received notice of its Ofsted and CQC Local Area SEND inspection which finished on 11th October 2024. Inspectors discussed our SEND processes and experiences with our partners and key stakeholders including:
- Children and young people with SEND and their families.
- Elected members and senior leaders.
- Practitioners and professionals from Education, Health and Social Care settings.
The overall outcome of the inspection confirmed that “The local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)”; this is a fair judgement and reflects the current phase of our Local Area’s improvement journey. Several strengths were identified, some are highlighted below:
- New leadership has brought stability and ambition for children and young people with SEND, resulting in significant service enhancements like reduced wait times for therapy services (e.g. speech and language and occupational therapy).
- Health and social care practitioners identify and address the needs of children with SEND, particularly those with complex needs, through effective early notification processes and dedicated support from passionate social workers.
- The SENDIASS and Newham Parent Carer Forum provide critical guidance on complex issues across the local area.
- Strong co-production, actively involving parents, carers, and young people with SEND in shaping strategies. Improved relationships with parents/carers ensure their voices influence decisions alongside professionals.
Alongside our strengths, recommended areas of development were also identified. In response, our Local Area Partnership has published its SEND Strategic Improvement Action Plan which can be viewed below:
SEND Strategic Improvement Action Plan
Our Local Area is proud of its strengths and improvements since the last Local Area SEND inspection in December 2021. This could not have been achieved without the valuable input from our children, young people, families and our dedicated workforce and partners. For more detail, the full Inspection report can be found here: https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50262991
