Local area SEND inspections
Our SEND service could have a local Area SEND Inspection from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Here we explain what this means and how families can be involved.
What an Area SEND Inspection is
Ofsted inspects education services in England, such as schools and nurseries. They also look at children’s social care and the support available for children and young people with SEND.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects health and adult social care services in England, such as hospitals and care homes.
Together, inspectors will review how effectively our teams work together as a partnership to improve the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND.
Our ‘local area partnership’ includes everyone in education, health and social care involved in arrangements for children and young people with SEND in Camden.
The inspection findings will be published and recommendations will be made about what we should do to improve how we support children and young people with SEND.
What happens during an Area SEND Inspection
The inspection happens over 3 weeks. Inspectors will usually contact us on a Monday morning to announce the inspection and we'll then have 2 weeks (10 working days) to get ready for it before they arrive on-site.
The inspection team will be led by an Inspector from Ofsted and will include Children’s Services Inspectors from the CQC , as well as education and social care inspectors from Ofsted.
We'll be asked to share a range of information about SEND in Camden and the children and young people who use our services. This will include those who have an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, those who receive an Exceptional Needs Grant (ENG) and those who receive SEND support in school.
The inspection will also include:
- surveys for children, young people and their parents or carers
- surveys for practitioners working with children and young people with SEND
- in-depth conversations with children, young people and their families.
- sampling and reviewing children and young people’s case records, including discussing cases with practitioners
- visits to providers and services across education, health and care to review the experiences of a wider group of children and young people
- meetings with parent and carer groups
- meetings with leaders across education, health and care
What inspectors look at
Inspectors will use 11 criteria to help them judge how we improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
They'll assess if:
- Children and young people’s needs are identified accurately and assessed in a timely and effective way
- Children, young people and their families participate in decision-making about their individual plans and support
- Children and young people receive the right help and support at the right time
- Children and young people are well prepared for their next steps and achieve strong outcomes
- Children and young people with SEND are valued, visible and included in their communities
- Leaders are ambitious for children and young people with SEND
- Leaders actively engage and work with children, young people and families
- Leaders have an accurate, shared understanding of the needs of children and young people in their local area
- Leaders commission services and provision to meet the needs and aspirations of children and young people
- Leaders evaluate services and make improvements
- Leaders create an environment for effective practice and multi-agency working to flourish
How families can be involved
Once we know an inspection is going to happen, we'll let children, young people and families know by:
- contacting our education settings, early years providers, schools and colleges
- putting updates on our social media accounts, websites and email bulletins
- working with the Camden Special Parents' Forum
We'll do our best to make sure that you have opportunities to share your views and experiences. You'll be able to get involved in lots of different ways, including:
- surveys - children, young people and their families will be invited to fill in surveys before inspectors visit us. The surveys will ask about support with education, health and care needs and preparation for adulthood
- tracking meetings - inspectors will identify around 6 children and young people for tracking meetings. You can ask not to be chosen, and if your child is selected then you'll be told by a practitioner currently working with your family. The tracking meetings allow inspectors to speak directly to children, young people and their families to understand their experiences
- parent carer forums - inspectors will meet with our forums. You can contact them about any issues you feel need raising with inspectors. Find more information about our parent carer forums
- inspectors will visit providers across education, health and social care to get more feedback on families' experiences. This will include schools, colleges and health services
If you do get involved with the inspection by sharing your views, your contributions will be made anonymous and you'll not be identified in the inspection report.
What happens after an inspection
The inspectors will write a report about the impact of our services on the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND.
This report will include an inspection outcome, which will say what we're doing well and what we need to improve. The report will also give recommendations for us to act on, as well as giving the rough timing of the next inspection.
There are 3 possible inspection outcomes:
1. The local area partnership’s SEND arrangements typically lead to positive experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership is taking action where improvements are needed. The area will be visited again for a full inspection within five years.
2. The local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements. There will be regular engagement meetings to monitor progress and a full inspection within three years.
3. There are widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently. There will be engagement meetings, an action plan will have to be submitted, a monitoring inspection within 18 months and a full inspection within three years.
Previous inspections in Camden
SEND services in Camden were last inspected in 2019. Find the inspection report on the Ofsted website.
Our Children’s Social Care services were last inspected in 2022. Find the inspection report on the Ofsted website.
You can find inspection reports for health services in Camden on the CQC website.
You can find inspection reports for individual schools can on the Ofsted website.
More information
If you want to learn more about local area SEND inspections, you can find guidance for parents and carers, as well as for children and young people, on the GOV.UK website. You can also find a video of the information using British Sign Language (BSL) there.
You may also find it helpful to look at the online area SEND inspections: framework and handbook, published by Ofsted and CQC .