Comment: Ofsted announces local area SEND visits

Commenting on the announcement of local area SEND visits and the development of a new framework for local area SEND inspections Steve Crocker, Chair of the ADCS Standards, Performance and Inspection policy committee, said:

“We know the last few months will have been particularly challenging for some children with special educational needs and disabilities, and their families, as their regular routines and the support they rely on have been significantly disrupted by school closures, reduced availability of health services and the impact of social distancing. Covid-19 has changed the way we are working but it has not changed our commitment to meeting the needs of children and young people with SEND. Capturing lessons from this period will be important in terms of sharing evidence of promising responses developed locally and informing longer term reforms via the ongoing SEND review. These new visits by Ofsted and CQC will contribute to these aims. Going forward the outcome of this exercise, the recent evaluation of the current SEND visits and the common themes in the Written Statements of Action should feed into the development of the next framework for local area SEND inspections. Any future inspection framework to measure how effectively local areas are fulfilling their joint responsibilities to children and young people with SEND needs to clearly define what good looks like to facilitate the spread of good practice. Our collective focus must be on improving the experiences and outcomes of all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and ensuring no child is left behind.”

ENDS

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