‘Serious weaknesses’ in children’s services
AN inspection into the council’s services for children with special educational needs has found ‘serious weaknesses’.
A joint inspection from the Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found fault in the ‘timeliness, process and quality’ of education, health and care (EHC) plans for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).
The inspectors also highlighted ‘unreasonable waiting times’ and the lack of an effective pathway to sup- port children on the autism spectrum and their families.
A letter sent to the council said: “The vast majority of parents who contributed to the inspection do not believe that their children’s needs have been identified in a timely manner. They are justified in their view.
“Inspectors saw far too many examples of children who have significant health and/or social care needs yet their EHC plans state ‘none identified’. This failing on the part of leaders has a detrimental effect on the lives of children, young people and their families.
“Due to delays in identifi- cation of needs and the subsequent failure to meet needs effectively, some families have now entered the social care system. This situation could have been avoided had their children’s needs been identified sooner and the appropriate provision put in place. Some parents recounted how they now ‘fear’ for their children’s futures.”
During a week-long visit in March, the inspectors attended 60 focus groups, and heard from more than 200 staff and 130 parents and carers.
Inspectors did praise much of CEC’s SEND provision – including ‘significant improvement’ in leadership, the teams responsible for complex care, autism and children with disabilities, and the work to provide training for SEND young people. But they said these are ‘overshadowed’ by the biggest weaknesses.
Councillor Jos Saunders, cabinet member for children and families, said: “The findings of the report were broadly as we were expecting and it is reassuring to know that we are very much on the right path and improving in the areas that still need our full attention.
“There is an ongoing programme of work, which now needs re-prioritising to review our processes but it is very encouraging to know that the outcomes that we are delivering for so many of our young people with special educational needs are still very good.”