Social care inspectorates have highlighted shortcomings – as well as pockets of strong practice – in how local area partnerships support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who are not attending school.
The joint Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, based on visits to six local area partnerships and a poll of more than 700 children, parents, carers and practitioners, finds support for children with SEND who are out of school is “too inconsistent”, leaving many without access to essential health, education and care services.
The inspectorates said missed opportunities to identify children’s needs early were also contributing to too many children with SEND leaving school “when it could be avoided”.
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While official data does not show how many children with SEND are out of school, recent research from the Children’s Commissioner for England has estimated that a quarter of children going into home education had SEND.
Parents told inspectors they felt they had “no choice but to home educate” because their child’s needs were not being met and because they struggled to navigate “an overly complex SEND system”.
Meanwhile, many school leaders reported lacking the resources and specialist staff required to identify or meet pupils’ needs effectively.
Oversight also varies significantly between areas, with inspectors finding capacity pressures and “a lack of understanding of roles and responsibilities” meant the quality of support for children not in school differed widely.
In addition, limited understanding of how ‘education otherwise than at school’ (EOTAS) arrangements should be used was creating mismatched expectations between families and local services.
Although schools and councils generally shared information well, health partners were “often absent”, leaving some children without access to occupational therapy or speech and language therapy when out of school.
Among examples of strong practice is a local area partnership that jointly funded a nurse educator to train school and transport staff, boosting their confidence in supporting children’s health needs.
The report sets out several recommendations aimed at strengthening support, including for the Department for Education to prioritise early and accurate identification of children’s needs; joint DfE–NHS England work to provide resources and training to help schools take a needs-led approach; national guidance on the appropriate use of EOTAS; and clearer local processes for sharing information and coordinating education, health and care support.
Ofsted’s chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver described the rates of children with SEND that are out of school as “deeply concerning”, adding that many are rendered “out of sight of local services”.
He said: “Although the national picture is worrying, our report also highlights some good practice where local areas have worked together effectively to ensure children with SEND either remain in school or return to full-time education, where appropriate.
“I hope this report and its recommendations support wider understanding of these issues and real improvements for children with SEND.”
Professor Bola Owolabi, chief inspector of primary care and community services at the CQC, said that well-coordinated support with practitioners across education, health and social care working together can “make all the difference” to children but that “barriers still remain” to a truly joined-up approach, meaning that some children and young people with SEND are missing out on their education.
She continued: “The recommendations laid out in this report should help remove these barriers to education and empower the sector to take forward a partnership approach between health, social care, and education partners.”
Heather Sandy, chair of the Inclusive Education Policy Network of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, said: “This report rightly identifies the valuable role of local area partnerships and the innovative work taking place to help SEND children stay in or return to school, but that more can be done.
“Early identification and timely intervention are crucial, and we welcome the report’s recommendations for the DfE and NHS England to work more closely with local partnerships, as well as for greater guidance and information sharing between health, education, and care partners.”
Source: CYP Now
