Ofsted
OFSTED and CQC jointly inspect local services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). There are ways for you, as a parent carer, and your children/young person can get involved and share your experiences of local services.
What is an Area SEND Inspection:
Ofsted inspects schools and nurseries in England to ensure they are providing quality education services. They also look at children's social care and support for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects health and adult social care services like hospitals and care homes in England.
Both Ofsted and CQC collaborate to inspect education, health, and care services for children with SEND in a local area, known as an area SEND inspection.
Local area partnerships consist of professionals in education, health, and care who oversee aspects of services for children with SEND in their area. The local area partnership has to show how they plan, commission, manage, deliver and evaluate support for those who live in the local area.
The information gathered from these inspections helps local area partnerships enhance services for children with SEND and provides families with information to make decisions about their child's education, health, and care.
What happens during an Area SEND Inspection:
During the inspection, inspectors will gather evidence about local provision for children and young people with SEND and how effective it is. The inspection includes evaluating how well the local authority commissions and oversees alternative provision.
Inspectors will evaluate the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND aged 0 to 25 who are covered by the SEND code of practice, this includes those who have an education, health and care plan (EHCP), and those who do not. They also review children and young people who live in the local authority area but are educated and/or receive social care in other local authority areas.
Inspectors will review information from the local area partnership about the services it provides for children and young people with SEND. The inspectors will also talk directly to children and young people and families to understand their experiences. This includes inspectors meeting with SNAP PCF as the local area’s parent carer forum (PCF) and they may also meet other groups that represent families.
The inspection team will be led by one of His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) from Ofsted. There will be additional inspectors in the team from OFSTED education and social care teams and Children’s Services Inspectors from CQC.
You can find our more detailed information on inspections here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/area-send-framework-and-handbook/area-send-inspections-framework-and-handbook
How you can get involved:
Since the new framework for Area SEND Inspections was introduced in 2023, feedback has proved to OFSTED and the CQC the importance of the views of children and young people and their families in inspections.
There are several ways you can be involved in the inspection:
· OFSTED Inspection Survey
Before inspectors arrive, you will have an opportunity to complete an anonymous survey. The survey will ask you about any support your child receives to meet their education, health and care needs. The survey is sent out on the day the inspection is announced, and you only have 6 days to complete the survey. It is important you complete this survey as it is the opportunity to share your family’s experience. We (SNAP PCF) will share the link with all members via email and on our social media.
Surveys will also be sent to children and young people with SEND which you can help them to complete if needed. Practitioners who work with children and young people with SEND in your local area will also receive a survey to complete.
· Tracking meetings
Inspectors hold tracking meetings with a small number of children and young people, their families (if appropriate) and the practitioners who work with them. The aim of the tracking meetings is to provide an opportunity for inspectors to hear first-hand about children and young people’s experiences and outcomes.
Inspectors select the children and young people for the meetings, not the local area, approximately 6 children and young people to be invited to tracking meetings. They use the data to choose children and young people with a range of needs, who access a range of services, from a range of age groups and who are at different stages in their involvement with education, health and social care services.
The inspectors ask for a practitioner who knows the child or young person well to approach them, and their parents or carers, to ask for their agreement to be involved. If your child is selected, you will get more information on what’s involved before you decide.
· Other inspection activities
Inspectors will visit settings across education, health and social care to gather more information about the experiences of a wider group of children and young people.
Sometimes inspectors may contact families to ask for feedback on your experience of a particular aspect of the SEND system in your local area.
What happens after the inspection finishes:
A full Area SEND Inspection takes 3 weeks to complete.
Once finished the inspectors will write a report of their findings, evaluating the impact of the local area partnership’s arrangements on the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND.
This report will include an inspection outcome, giving one of three possible gradings. It will include what the area partnership is doing well and areas it needs to improve. The report will give clear recommendations for the area partnership to action. It will give the rough timing of the next inspection depending on the outcome.
Additional Information
Ofsted and CQC do not have the power to investigate personal cases. However, they do keep complaints on record and may use them to inform future inspections. If you want to complain about a service, we recommend that you follow local complaints processes, please copy admin@snappcf.org.uk so we are aware.
This video also goes through the Area SEND Inspection process and what to expect as a parent carer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC5avluj2AY
You can give us feedback on local services via our 6Cs Feedback Form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JJNQW9B We use this information to share lived experiences of families living in Central Bedfordshire when we meet with OFSTED. Please help us to represent you.
