Services for special needs have improved

A REPORT into services for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Oxfordshire reported that “effective action” had been taken to make improvements.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission conducted a monitoring inspection of the county’s services between September and October this year.

Despite the findings, some parents have argued that the experiences of their children were “getting worse”.

The report comes after “widespread failings” were found in 2023.

The latest inspection highlighted that “reasonable steps” had been taken to address all the areas for priority action identified.

Inspectors spoke to leaders, parents and carers of children and young people and health and social care professionals.

The report found “effective action” had been taken across five areas previously identified for action in the last report, including:

l Better listening to the perspectives of SEND children and young people;

l Improving communications across the care partnership;

l Better commissioning of services;

l Improved timeliness;

l Improved monitoring and measuring of services’ impact.

Inspectors found that better commissioning of services had reduced long waiting times for health services.

It said that most EHCPs, education plans for children with additional needs, sampled during this inspection were timely and up to date.

But it found that their quality continues to be variable.

It also found that experiences differ depending on individual practitioners and that many parents continue to feel unheard.

Parent-led campaign group Oxfordshire SEND Parent Action said the findings do not reflect the “day-to-day experience” of families.

Emma Hawes Taylor, who lives in Henley, a member of the group and mother to SEND children, described the inspector’s findings as “baffling”.

She added: “My son’s been on the waiting assessment for years now. I don’t know why Ofsted is seeing something different. Maybe there is a very low bar to what they call an improvement. It’s not the reality.”