Ofsted Report Reveals “Widespread and Systemic Failings” in Derbyshire’s SEND Services, Leaving Families “In Crisis”

A government regulator has identified “widespread and systemic failings” concerning the outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) throughout Derbyshire. In a new report released by Ofsted, inspectors stated that children “wait too long” for their needs to be assessed, which has led to some “missing large amounts of their education.” Families with SEND children who participated in the inspection informed the regulator that they were “in crisis” and felt their requests for assistance were being disregarded. Alison Noble, Derbyshire County Council’s temporary executive director for children’s services, offered an apology and confirmed that they “fully accept the findings.” Inspectors discovered that there were “not enough” special school places to accommodate the increasing number of children and young people with SEND. They attributed this to the absence of a joint strategic needs assessment, noting that sufficiency plans to address this issue had been neither adequate nor timely. This situation has prompted special school leaders to state that their overcrowded schools “are being pushed towards crisis points.” The inspectors further added that the recently announced capital expenditure to provide more special school spaces “will do little to address” the significant number of children and young people with SEND who are currently out of education and awaiting placement at a special school. Claire Walsh from Derbyshire Parent Carer Voice, a charity focused on SEND parents’ participation and campaigning, commented: “The findings align with what parent carers have consistently reported – a need for substantial improvement in the support and services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.“While the outcome may not come as a surprise, it does represent a pivotal opportunity for reflection, healing, and ultimately, progress.” Members of Parliament in Derbyshire indicated that a substantial portion of their casework involved parents seeking help for their children regarding SEND provision. Linsey Farnsworth, the MP for Amber Valley, stated: “This report makes for disappointing but unsurprising reading.”All our offices have been contacted by so many parents and carers desperate for help in accessing appropriate SEND provision for their child, and it is a regular topic of concern at my advice surgeries.”So many of our young people are denied the support they need to succeed, some missing months of schooling, and so many families are in distress.” The Local Area Partnership, which consists of Derbyshire’s County Council’s education service and the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board (responsible for providing paediatric and specialist health services), announced they are developing a “priority action plan” to address the areas highlighted by the inspectors for improvement. Alison Noble, Derbyshire County Council’s temporary executive director for children’s services, declared: “We fully accept the findings of the report and apologise to the children and families who have been affected by Derbyshire Local Area Partnership SEND services not responding in a timely way and being of the quality they should expect.“We know we need to do better and we continue to work hard with our health, education, private, public and voluntary sector partners to offer a service these children deserve. It is our joint responsibility and we take it extremely seriously.