Children's services
Ofsted re-inspection finds positive improvements in Walsall’s SEND offer
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Positive outcome from SEND resinspection.
Progress and improvements have been identified in Walsall’s offer for Special Education Needs support, following a re-inspection by Ofsted and CQC (Care Quality Commission).
The Local Area SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) services inspection, that took place in February 2019, identified nine areas of concern in the way that SEND services were being delivered in Walsall. The Local Area, which is a partnership across several organisations, was instructed to develop and deliver a Written Statement of Action (WSoA) outlining how it intended to improve services for children with SEND and address the issues identified.
A re-inspection took place from 20 to 22 June to assess whether the Local Area had achieved sufficient progress in delivering the improvements set out in the WSoA.
The inspection team spoke with parents, carers, children and young people and schools to capture their feedback, including Walsall’s impartial advice and support service (SENDIASS) and the parent/carer forum, FACE Walsall. They also spoke to key professionals who had been involved in delivering the improvements.
“ This was an important inspection for us and it has highlighted the improvements we have made to SEND services over the past three years. I’m pleased to say that out of the nine areas of concern identified in the previous inspection, the local area has shown sufficient improvement in seven of those areas.
It is encouraging that the report highlights our progress in co-production work with parents and carers, our Holiday Activity and Food Programme offer and improvements in outcomes for children with SEND.
We recognise that there is still room for improvement and continue to work collaboratively with our partners and families to ensure we deliver an effective offer for families impacted by SEND.
The focus now will be on further improvement of the Local Offer and the quality of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. Both of these areas are delivered in partnership and plans are already underway to make headway, with inspectors acknowledging ‘considerable work’ already completed by the EHC team where there have been noticeable changes to EHC plan coordination, assessment processes and structures.
The inspectors acknowledged the way in which Local Area leaders have worked with FACE Walsall to improve communication with parents and carers regarding SEND issues across the local area. FACE Walsall also sit on the Local Area Improvement Board, ensuring that families' voices are clearly heard and understood.
The report also highlighted that the local area has collaborated well to develop Walsall's SENDIASS and this been universally well received with parents and carers welcoming and appreciating the help and guidance this service provides, as well as guidance with navigating the local area's systems and processes.
Other areas of progress identified by inspectors include the development of groups to gain the views of children and young people in order to shape support going forward and improved support for Autism, including post-diagnosis support for parents and children and specialist training for professionals “
“ I am pleased that inspectors have recognised the progress that has been made in improving SEND services for children and young people in Walsall. I would like to thank the young people, families and carers who have worked with us to make this possible and the staff that have taken on board feedback and made changes. We will continue to listen to what families are telling us and drive forward improvements to make sure children, young people, families and carers in Walsall get the services they are entitled to and need to ensure that they have the opportunities to achieve positive outcomes. “
“ This is an encouraging report that shows significant progress and highlights some clear examples of good practice. There are still some areas for improvement, and we look forward to working with the council and partners to continuously improve the support offered to children and families with their health and educational needs going forward.
The inspection team also noted that “The building resilient and inclusive communities and schools programme has started to positively change the inclusive culture across the partnership. “
To find out more about the SEND Local offer in the borough, visit the website or email: LocalOffer@walsall.gov.uk
- The full Ofsted re-inspection link can be found on the Local offer webpages
- FACE is Families and Carers Empowered - Walsall’s Parent Carer Forum
- SENDIASS is Walsall’s Special Education Needs and Disabilities Information and Advice Support Service
