Local Area SEND Inspection outcome

Progress being made to improve services for children with additional needs and disabilities

A report published today (24 November 2023) by national inspectors recognises that services for children and young people with additional needs and disabilities in Surrey have made progress since they were previously inspected, but that there is lots of work still to do to improve the experiences and outcomes for some families.

The rating - the middle of three possible outcomes - notes 'inconsistencies' in experiences and outcomes and the report makes several clear recommendations for improvement, but also notes areas of good practice putting Surrey's provision in line with many other Local Areas, which nationally have experienced significant pressure on services.

You can read the full report below:

• Area SEND inspection report (PDF)

The Inspection findings

Inspectors found that, "there is ambition for children and young people with SEND [Special Educational Needs and Disabilities] in Surrey" and that "leaders have identified the areas that they need to improve" and "have put in place important actions that are starting to make a difference", but that the "overall pace is too slow".

The report also recognised that partnership working had led to innovative improvements in joint commissioning and that strengthened multi-agency working had led to improved early identification of the needs of young people. Co-production was recognised as a "shining beacon", with members of the 'Accept, Teach, Listen, Access, Support' (ATLAS) participation group of children and young people seen to be involved in "many of the recent positive changes across the Local Area" and "helping partnership leaders to understand and respond well to the current situation of inconsistency". The report also acknowledged that leaders have been creative to address the rising mental health needs of children and young people in Surrey.

Despite these improvements, the report observed that inconsistencies remained. The report notes that children and young people and their families were found to be waiting too long for identification of their needs. Communication with parents and carers was considered in need of improvement, and the system found to be "hard to understand and navigate". Inspectors noted that some parents and carers "feel 'bounced about' and confused", and that to them "services appear disjointed and uncaring". This is in turn contributing to "many parents and carers find[ing] it hard to build trusting relationships with professionals".

While the Transitions team was noted as having "well understood referral pathways for young people needing support in adulthood", support for children and young people during transitions between phases, geographical locations or placements was deemed "inconsistent". The need to ensure children and young people with additional needs and disabilities, and their families, feel valued and visible in their communities was also highlighted.

Delivering improvements for Surrey children

Ofsted and CQC have asked that the Local Area Partnership updates and publishes its strategic plan based on the recommendations set out in their report. Work is already underway and details will be published within 35 working days from receipt of the final report, as required by the Ofsted framework.

Based on areas for improvement already acknowledged by the Partnership in its self-evaluation, and those highlighted during the inspection, we will take action to:

• Further develop strategic evaluation of all partnership projects and interventions to improve their ability to monitor the impact and outcomes on children and young people at a system level.
• Improve communications from SEN case officers and practitioners to parents and carers so that all stakeholders are supported to understand the system, decision making and feel fully involved in the journey with their child or young person.
• Ensure that improvements continue in line with its recovery plan in respect of:
  • reducing waiting times for health assessments
  • increasing timeliness and quality of needs assessments
  • increasing timeliness and quality of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and annual reviews.
• Continue to review the breadth and offer of alternative education provision in order to inform commissioning so that alternative provision meets children and young peoples' needs and improves their outcomes.

We will provide updates as that work progresses.

Special Cabinet meeting: 11 December

A special meeting of the Surrey County Council Cabinet will be held on Monday 11 December 2023, 9.30 – 11am, to consider the outcomes of the Local Area SEND Inspection. This will be a meeting in public with representatives from the AND Partnership's statutory partners (Surrey County Council and Surrey Heartlands and Frimley Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)) and also Family Voice Surrey and Surrey school leaders in attendance. The meeting will be webcast live, and members of the public will be able to attend and submit questions in advance, but not during the meeting itself. Further details are available on the Council's website.

Background: the inspection process

The Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) Local Area SEND inspection was carried out from 11 to 29 September 2023 and was an independent review of the provision for children and families across the whole of the Surrey Local Area, as coordinated by the Additional Needs and Disabilities Partnership. The Partnership, which plans and commissions these services, is jointly led by Surrey County Council and NHS Frimley and NHS Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Boards (ICBs).

The inspection took place under a framework introduced earlier this year, with three possible outcome gradings:

1. Typically positive experiences and outcomes
2. Inconsistent experiences and outcomes
3. Widespread and/or systematic failings.

For further information about Area SEND Inspections in England, you can visit the Area SEND Inspection webpage.