In March 2023, officials from DfE SEND and NHS England reviewed the progress we have made against our Accelerated Progress Plan (APP).

Officials reported that the local area has a tangible commitment from stakeholders, willing to build more inclusive cultures to improve its SEND services for the children and young people in Worcestershire. Based on the evidence provided, alongside feedback from partners, they said it was clear that a vast amount of work has taken place and that we had demonstrated the range of actions in place to continue and accelerate improvement in our SEND service.

As the improvement work continues, the DfE have asked to see further evidence how the local area continues to develop and embed the changes into our policies and processes to sustain improvements.

The next review meeting will take place in September 2023.

Read the outcome letter in full.

Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out a revisit inspection in November 2021. This letter feeding back their findings is now available at the link below and has been published on the Ofsted website. We are working hard to respond to these findings and make sure we build on the progress and address the four remaining areas of concern.

In response to the report, the Department for Education (DfE) and CQC have asked us to produce an action plan (Accelerated Progress Plan) which set out the following for each of the areas of concern:

• The actions we have taken since the revisit and will take in the next 12 months to address the concerns
• The milestones we are working towards, being clear on the improvements we will have delivered after 3, 6 and 12 months
• The impact measures we will be using to judge our success
• How the experience for children and families will be different as a result of the actions we are taking

The Worcestershire Local Area SEND Accelerated Progress Plan (APP) has now been approved by the DfE and NHS.

We are grateful to all parents, carers and professionals who have come together to work with us on the development and delivery of this plan.

A copy of the plan and an additional summary are available to download from the following links:

Accelerated Progress Plan (PDF)

APP level 1 plan (PDF)

An inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) into Worcestershire’s approach to special education needs and disability (SEND) has recognised that sufficient progress has been made in many areas of the service.

The report acknowledges that the local area has made sufficient progress in eight out of the twelve significant weaknesses identified at the initial inspection in 2018.

Following the 3-day inspection that took place between 1 to 3 November 2021, inspectors reported that leaders have put systems in place that effectively monitor vulnerable children and young people who are placed in Worcestershire from other local authorities, including children and young people with SEND.

The reported added that NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Clinical Commission Group (CCG) has shown increased investment and commitment in their focus on children and young people with SEND and the development of Worcestershire Children First has resulted in a single, centralised organisation that now works in a cohesive structure in partnership with health services.

Many thanks to all the children and young people with SEND and the parents and carers who shared their experiences with inspectors.

The Ofsted and CQC report (PDF)

In March 2018, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission inspected how effectively the special educational needs and disability provision is delivered in Worcestershire by the Council together with NHS Worcestershire Clinical Commissioning Groups. Inspectors looked at the local information that is provided across the county on services to support children and young people and their parents and carers. They reviewed joint commissioning between health services and the Council, and the way schools support children in mainstream education. Inspectors also looked at assessments and planning for children and young people with special educational needs and disability.

Improvements were recognised by inspectors, but it was found that children and young people who have SEND are not provided with the quality of support and service they are entitled to.

Read the inspection report at Ofsted website

We have produced the following summary videos which outline the work we have done so far.