SEND 2020: What’s the current state of Ofsted local area inspections?
Four years ago, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission started inspecting local SEND services. Thanks to COVID-19, inspections are on hold – so now’s a good a time as any …
Category: SEND Accountability
New children’s minister Vicky Ford MUST sign off on continued Ofsted/CQC SEND inspections
First thing’s first, congratulations to Vicky Ford, MP for Chelmsford in Essex, who has been appointed to be the new Children and Families Minister, which includes SEND, or at least …
Ofsted’s grim verdict on SEND in England
Ofsted’s annual report, late because of the election, has a great deal to say about SEND and not much of it is good. To recap figures we’ve previously reported (links …
Ofsted explains its new way of reporting on SEND provision in education
with Nick Whittaker, Specialist Adviser, SEND, Ofsted In one of my roles, I work alongside other SEND representatives on Ofsted’s SEND Stakeholder Advisory Group. As I spend a lot of …
Relentlessly unlawful LA decisions are damaging children and forcing the SEND Tribunal into crisis
Last Friday, whilst people were still getting their heads around the General Election, SNJ’s relentless data hoover sucked in a new set of figures – fresh information on the Special …
SEND audited: Is the system affordable? What’s the alternative?
with contributions from Matt Keer, SNJ Columnist Just last week, Matt mentioned the upcoming report from the National Audit Office (NAO). And lo, this week, here it is. As expected, …
Parents warn Ofsted it’s missing chances to boost inclusion
A few weeks ago, we ran an open letter from a SEND parent, Claire Ryan, to Ofsted’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman about how the new draft inspection framework was letting …
SEND inspections: what do Ofsted and CQC inspectors really think?
There have been a few happenings recently that I have intended to write about but meetings and other commitments, plus the good ol’ Ehlers Danlos, have meant it hasn’t been …
Using the Monitoring Officer to hold councils to account for housing, education and social services
If you’re wondering how you could to hold your local authority to account for not obeying the law or refusing to carry out its statutory duties, we have a post …
Does your school’s website break the law?
An interesting, if limited, study has been published by the government. entitled “Mental health and wellbeing provision in schools, Review of published policies and information”. Researcher, Rebecca Brown looked at the websites of …
SEND Inspections: Moving ahead but illegality must be called out
Accountability is not a word that parents often used to associate with the world of special educational needs and disability. So when the government announced three years ago that independent …
Ofsted/CQC inspections MUST become a permanent part of SEND. Here’s why.
We’re almost two years on from the biggest change to SEND accountability in a generation – the introduction of local area SEND service inspections, led by Ofsted and the Care …
Reforms, what reforms? Lancashire fails SEND children and mistreats parents
Just over a year ago, I wrote about the dreadful SEND inspection report for Surrey from Ofsted/CQC, as part of the SEND reforms accountability measures. Since then quite a number …
The £70 million council costs of fighting – and losing – against parents at the SEND Tribunal
We all know that money’s tight in public services, not least in providing for children with disabilities. It’s not surprising local authorities want to avoid shelling out lots of money …
Is there meaningful accountability for illegal exclusions?
Over the years Special Needs Jungle has frequently highlighted the unacceptable practice of illegally excluding children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) from school. You can see just how …
Our Ofsted/CQC Facebook chat: What you asked and they answered
Our Facebook chat last week had a pretty overwhelming response, thank you to everyone who participated. We had a bit of a glitch in that replies from Matthew Barnes, Ofsted’s …
The SEND system is fractured, if not broken. Three new reports prove it.
SEND reports are like buses. Nothing for ages, then one, two and now three come along at once, this latest from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO). None …
Two-thirds of parents were happy with their 2015 EHCP experience…
Along with the slew of information released by the DfE last week came a very long, detailed survey of family experience of the Education, Health and Care Plan process in 2015. It …
Ofsted Local Area SEND Inspectors: The good, the bad & the ugly
If you’re reading this, then you’ll know that the Government reformed the English SEND system in 2014. Inspectors from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are checking how well …
Ofsted/CQC SEND Inspections and Parents: More Than A Feeling?
Six months ago, Ofsted & the Care Quality Commission began inspecting how well local areas are implementing the September 2014 SEND reforms. At the time of writing, they’ve published 13 …
