Ofsted Report highlights the long-standing issues in the SEND system
New report by Ofsted and the CQC, SEND: old issues, new issues, next steps, highlights how long-standing issues around SEND were amplified during the pandemic. The report examines information gathered in the 2010 Ofsted SEND and disability review, outcomes from the 2009 Lamb enquiry and the current situation regarding SEND. This most recent information was gathered from case studies produced during six visits to local areas in Autumn 2020 and four visits in Spring 2021.
Some of the main findings were:
- Multi-agency partnerships have improved though it is not universal
- The interruption, caused by the pandemic, to health and therapy services and social care support had a profound impact
- There was an impact on children and young people’s mental health and some had become more aggressive at home
- Attendance was an issue for pupils with significant health needs
- Loneliness was a theme identified especially for pupils who had undergone an educational transition
- The upper age range of young people with SEND had been affected the most with worries about work experience, disrupted assessments and future employment prospects
When comparing the current information with that in previous reports the authors conclude that many of the long-standing issues for children and young people with SEND were all exacerbated by the pandemic. These included:
- correct identification of support needs,
- insufficient LA funding,
- fixed-term exclusions,
- low levels of sustained employment rates,
- poorer attendance levels and
- disadvantage of access to IT
The experience of the pandemic raises significant questions around whether reforms around SEND have had the desired impact.
The next steps highlighted in the report are frustratingly similar to those found 10 years ago though a new framework will be developed with CQC to focus more sharply on the impact of local SEND arrangements, to drive improvements though a new system of inspections and to broaden the scope to all pupils in alternative provision (AP), not just SEND.
The new framework will look to ensure an effective SEND system through three key drivers:
- Strategic leadership – high aspirations, shared vision.
- Practice – quality of relationships, high quality curriculum, clear graduated response.
- Improvements in the experiences, progress and outcomes for CYP with SEND – significant and sustained improvement
