Your guide to Local Area Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Inspections

The new inspection framework assesses how effectively education, health, and social care services in the area deliver statutory duties. It takes into account the outcomes from the national SEND review 2022: right support, right place, right time.

The new framework focuses upon:

• the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND and their families. Inspectors will meet with children, young people and their families and will send a survey to the family of every child or young person with SEND in the local area to gather their views
• partnership working, joint arrangements and clear accountabilities across the local education, health and care partnership
• alternative provision for children and young people who cannot attend a mainstream school, how this is commissioned and how this is overseen locally

The joint area SEND inspection will take place over three weeks.

In the first two weeks, the local area partnership will provide a range of local data and information. This includes person-level data (lists of all children and young people with SEND who live in the local authority area, including those educated out of area) and information about how local education, health and care services commission and deliver services for children and young people with SEND and their families.

Inspectors will select specific children and young people’s cases for a deep dive. They will take a close look at documents and data relating to these children and young people and will seek to talk with them and their families as part of the inspection. They will also ask for surveys to be shared with all local children and young people with SEND and their parents or carers.

In the third week of the inspection, inspectors will undertake fieldwork on site, including meetings with leaders and practitioners and visits to a sample of local education, health and care settings. During visits, inspectors will evaluate children and young people’s experiences and outcomes by reviewing documents and records and talking to practitioners.

The settings visited are not subject to evaluation or judgement under this inspection, as each will have their own inspection arrangements, but their records and practice will be scrutinised. The joint SEND inspection is focused on how effectively local education, health, and care partners work together to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND, with shared accountability.

The inspection framework and handbook sets out the evaluation criteria inspectors will use to judge the area. Essentially, they will consider the extent to which children and young people:

• have their needs assessed and identified accurately
• participate in decisions about plans and support
• receive the right help at the right time
• are well prepared for their next steps and achieve strong outcomes
• are valued, visible and included in their communities

Inspectors will also determine how effectively local area partners work together to plan, evaluate and develop the SEND system, including the extent to which leaders:

• are ambitious for children and young people with SEND
• actively engage and work with children, young people and families
• have a shared understanding of the needs of children and young people in their local area
• commission services and provision that meet the needs and aspirations of children and young people, including commissioning of alternative provision
• evaluate services and make improvements
• create an environment in which effective practice and multi-agency working can flourish

Following the inspection, one of three potential judgements will be given:

• the local area partnership’s SEND arrangements typically lead to positive experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership is taking action where improvements are needed; or
• the local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements; or
• there are widespread and/ or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently

Ofsted and CQC work together to inspect education, health and care services for children and young people with SEND in a local area, to make sure they are effective. They have produced a three minute video that explains the local area inspection process and how you can get involved in supporting inspectors to understand what it is like to be a child or young person with SEND.

Between 26 February and 15 March 2024 OfSTED and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited us to undertake our full Local Area SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Inspection. 

Read the full inspection report.

Local Areas have to prepare an action plan which sets out the work of the Local Area Partnership. This plan is developed from the report.

Read our action plan.