Local Area SEND Inspections: Common issues and example improvements

Ofsted and CQC Local Area SEND Inspections were first introduced in 2016 and a programme of revisits to local areas found to have significant weaknesses was then started in 2018. According to analysis from Special Needs Jungle, local area inspections identified over 440 individual areas of significant weakness between 2016 and 2022, and one of the three most common areas of weakness was flawed EHCP processes.

So what exactly are the common flaws within LA EHCP processes? For anyone who has involvement in the EHCP assessment, development and/or review process, issues relating to plan quality, consistency and timeliness will likely spring to mind, but what is generally contributing to ongoing issues with poor quality and delayed plans?

To get an oversight of current pressure points, as well as examples of recently implemented improvements, we’ve taken a look at the 32 inspection reports published across 2022 and made some recommendations for ways to strengthen identified key areas of the EHCP process:

A broad EHCP quality issue that cropped up in a few inspection reports related to plans not doing the absolute minimum of meeting statutory requirements, with one report even commenting that “EHC plans are not an effective tool to make a difference. They are a bureaucratic exercise that is not done well.” Other reports made specific reference to key areas of weakness that are impacting on plan quality, such as health and social care contributions and poorly written outcomes.

One inspection report highlighted the following: “Social care provision is often more of a narrative with a lack of specific outcomes for children and young people […] Some contributions from health professionals are simply lists of medical conditions and descriptions of needs.”

However, positive improvement was found within another report, which praised how “Health is represented on EHC plan panels, strengthening the way in which partners identify and meet the need of children and young people with SEND” and shared how “Health professionals are positive about the training and support that they have received” and, as a result, “are now better equipped to make more meaningful contributions to education, health and care plans.” This is a testament to the importance of training the professionals that contribute to the EHC Needs Assessment process, as quality plans are hugely reliant on quality advice. Another LA was also praised for offering training for health and care professionals, who utilised resources from the Council for Disabled Children.

One example of a report identifying issues in relation to outcomes stated that:

“Many plans do not set out specifically what children and young people should know and be able to do. They do not set out clearly how each outcome will benefit the child or young person. This makes it difficult for professionals to evaluate whether the planned provision is meeting children and young people s needs sufficiently well.”

This area continues to be a common weakness for many local areas, which is why we created an online outcomes training course specifically dedicated to training both education, health and care professionals and EHCP writers in what makes an effective outcome.

The topic of training cropped up again across multiple inspection reports, this time in relation to training for SENCOs and EHCP co-ordinators/case officers. Despite the specialist role of SENCOs, there can be large gaps in their understanding about local area EHCP assessment and review processes. One report highlighted the improvement gained through establishing “core training for SENCOs” that includes the graduated approach, annual reviews and preparing for adulthood, whilst another report noted that cross agency working had been strengthened by providing training for SENCOs linked to EHC plans and the assessment process.

LA SEND team staff play a central role in managing the whole EHCP process, and yet consistent training is still not embedded nationally. This is something that we have been addressing since 2019 with our range of online EHCP training courses, such as the popular Fundamentals of Writing EHC Plans introductory course and the LA SEND Officer Training Package.

Several inspection reports evidenced the positive impact of providing specific EHCP training for LA SEND staff, for example:

• “Leaders have provided extensive training for staff to support them in producing effective contributions to EHC plans”.
• “The co-ordinators who write the EHC plans feel that their training has helped them to be more confident in writing child-centred plans. As a result, the plans now better reflect the specific needs, aspirations and views of children and young people, parents and carers”.
• “Leaders have taken appropriate action to increase the capacity and skills of their caseworker team to improve the quality of EHC plans and the timeliness of the process.”

With so many moving parts to the EHCP process, identifying sources of weaknesses and therefore where training is required can be challenging. However, several inspection reports noted the effectiveness of quality assurance. For example, one report stated that QA of plans and providing schools with the feedback has “a greater understanding of the aspects of the EHC plan process that may need additional support or training”.

Unfortunately, often the main problem facing local areas relates to staffing, which can impact on capacity, timeliness and consistency of service. One report noted how difficulties with “recruiting and retaining EHC co-ordinators and other central staff” has led to “breakdown in effective communication for many families”, and that the “churn” of staff at the centre of the EHCP process “hinders both timeliness and quality of information and support”.

Establishing a consistent induction programme can help to more efficiently train new staff members, whilst introducing external plan writing support can ensure that the wheels keep turning whilst teams are in flux (our plan writing service can be used for temporary or ongoing support). One inspection report stated that “The timeliness of statutory assessments has improved. Leaders took assertive action to meet timescales by outsourcing, for a short time, the writing of EHC plans.”

If you would like to discuss how our EHCP services could support your local area improvement journey, please get in touch with us at en*******@***********co.uk