Council hit with improvement notice following SEND inspection

The London Borough of Bexley has been issued with an improvement notice by the Department for Education (DfE) following an Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) Area SEND Inspection.

Leaders were told to “urgently improve” arrangements for ensuring that amended Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans are completed and issued in a “timely way”.

The improvement notice, issued yesterday (1 May), highlights three areas for priority action and two areas for improvement, as identified in the Ofsted and CQC inspection report of 23 February 2024.

The inspection found “widespread and/or systemic failings” leading to “significant concerns” about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The report described the quality of EHC plans as “highly variable”, and found that the voices of children and young people are “not heard well” in Bexley.

The improvement notice made the following recommendations:

• Leaders should work together at pace to ensure children and young people are being prepared effectively for adulthood; particularly focusing on ensuring that annual reviews from Year 9 and any subsequent amendments to EHC plans include a clear focus on how the child or young person will be supported to achieve the best outcomes in adult life.
• Leaders should urgently improve arrangements for ensuring that amended EHC plans are completed and issued in a timely way, and better reflect the current needs and provision for the child or young person particularly as they move through phases of education.
• Leaders should quickly address the delays and gaps in the commissioning and provision of speech and language and occupational therapies to ensure equity of provision across Bexley.
• Leaders should work together to improve how the voices of children and young people are used to make improvements to services and their experiences.
• Leaders should improve how data and information about children and young people with SEND and their families are used, so that practitioners have access to up-to-date and accurate information.

The council was told it must ensure there is an improvement board, with the chair agreed by the Department for Education and attended by “key leaders” across Education, Health and Care services.

Setting out expected timescales, the notice stated: “The council should aim for actions included in the improvement plan to be delivered by the end of August 2025 or sooner. However, the Improvement Notice will not be stepped down until sufficient progress has been evidenced, and the Minister agrees.”

A Bexley Council spokesperson said: “Following Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission’s Inspection report of SEND Partnership services, the London Borough of Bexley and the NHS South East London Integrated Care Board have published the SEND local area partnership priority action plan.

“The plan outlines the actions we will take to make the required improvements in response to the inspection report. A draft plan was submitted to Ofsted on 28 March and was approved on 16 April."

They added: “The Local Area SEND Partnership is committed to meeting the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and believes the plan we have in place will achieve the improvements required.

“[…] The partnership will continue to work with the Department for Education and NHS England on prioritising actions to secure immediate improvement for children and young people with SEND and their families.”

Lottie Winson