News

SEND inspection report published

25th January 2019

TAGS SEND inspection

  • Today, inspectors from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission published their findings from a week-long visit to Sheffield in November 2018. Download the report The purpose of the inspection was to assess how well the local area identifies and meets the needs of children and young people aged 0-25 years who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

    In their report, the inspectors identify several areas of significant concern. To address these issues, Sheffield has been told to produce a “Written Statement of Action”. This means that Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group must write an action plan that sets out how they will address the issues identified.

    The written statement of action must be submitted no later than 30 April 2019, and must be agreed by the inspectors. Once approved, advisors from the Department for Education and NHS England will carry out quarterly monitoring visits to check on progress. In addition, Sheffield will receive another visit from the inspectors within the next 18 months.

    Read a briefing note and a press release published by Sheffield City Council

    Katie Monette, Chair of Sheffield Parent Carer Forum, said: “The findings in the inspection report chime with what families in Sheffield have been telling us for years, and consequently come as no surprise.“

    She added: “Our Forum played an important role in the inspection, representing parents’ views and experiences. We attended many of the inspection meetings and submitted a summary of the feedback we had collected from parents. We also shared the preliminary findings of our current State of Sheffield survey, which has received over 600 responses to date. The inspectors really appreciated this, and we felt that they listened well to parents.”

    Katie is hopeful that the inspection will lead to a step change: “The report says that some strong work is emerging in pockets of provision, and that is true. However, progress overall has been too slow. Time is a luxury our children don’t have; they need help NOW. The inspection has created a momentum and an opportunity for improvement. We will continue to share feedback from parents with Sheffield City Council and Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group to ensure that they now make some real, tangible improvements that benefit ALL children with additional needs across the city.”

    Please help us with this work – complete our survey!

    We have extended the deadline for our “State of Sheffield” survey. This asks parents of children and young people with additional needs about their experiences with things like education, short breaks and respite, health services, childcare, transition to adulthood, and more. The survey is very important for our work, because it helps us to gather evidence that can be used to improve services. It takes around 15-20 minutes to complete the questionnaire, and you can win some shopping vouchers! But hurry, you haven’t got long – the survey closes on Friday 1st February 2019.

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