Erewash MP comments following the release of OFSTED 'SEND' report for Derbyshire

Ministers have been giving their response after Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out a three-week inspection of the Derbyshire Local Area Partnership in September.

Their report, published on Thursday 14th November highlights a number of areas requiring work to improve the effectiveness of local education, health and care services to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND aged up to 25.

The report’s Inspection Outcome states: "There are widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), which the local area partnership must address urgently."

The report also identifies the following specific issues:

• pupils with SEND requirements can wait over two years for assessments, causing many missing significant amounts of education
• a critical shortage of special school and alternative provision (AP) places is forcing schools and trusts to make their own provision and desperate parents to consider home education
• poor communication with families, unanswered calls and emails, has left many feeling ignored and frustrated
• The absence of a cohesive strategic approach has led to a ‘post code lottery’ in support availability across our region.

The partnership, made up of Derbyshire County Council’s education and the NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board, which provides paediatric and specialist health services, is now working on a priority action plan to address areas highlighted by the inspectors for improvement.

Adam Thompson is the recently installed Labour MP for Erewash. He said: "Problems with SEND provision in Derbyshire are amongst the most common issues raised to me by my constituents. While we have some truly incredible providers, it is very clear to me that SEND provision as a whole in Derbyshire is failing, and failing badly. Our children are out of school, unprovided for and forgotten, and that is unacceptable."