Joint release from East Sussex County Council and NHS Sussex
THE FINDINGS of an inspection into services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in East Sussex have been welcomed by council and health leaders.
The report, published today (Tuesday, February 4) by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), gives the East Sussex Local Area Partnership the middle rating for the delivery, planning and commissioning of SEND services.
Inspectors found that leaders in East Sussex are ambitious to improve the experiences of children and young people with SEND. They recognised the renewed focus on SEND and the ambitious plans in place to secure better outcomes for children and young people with SEND across the county.
The report highlighted several areas of good practice and positive examples of work across agencies to provide support for children and young people and their families.
It also praised the SEND information, advice and support service and the important guidance that it provides to families.
Inspectors acknowledged leaders have identified the areas that need to improve and the work already underway to address these. However, they did note that the impact of these improvements is at an early stage and that children and young people with SEND in East Sussex have variable experiences.
The report identifies what the partnership needs to do better and sets out four areas for improvement.
These cover improvements to the quality of EHC Plans; improvements to the waiting time for neurodevelopmental pathways, mental health services and wheelchairs; continuing work to improve inclusion in education settings; and ensuring suitable alternative provision and post-16 options for children and young people with SEND.
Education, social care and health partners will work together to address these.
Councillor Bob Standley, lead member for education and inclusion, special educational needs and disability at East Sussex County Council, said: “We welcome the publication of this inspection report.
“Whilst we are pleased our work to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND in East Sussex has been noted, we recognise that we have more to do to improve the experiences of our young people and their families.
“Inspectors have identified four key areas for improvement, and we will be working with our local partners to update the East Sussex SEND strategy to address these.”
Dr James Ramsay, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Sussex said: “We are committed to ensuring that children and young people with SEND have positive experiences of health and care services, and that they receive the support they need as soon as possible, to lead successful, healthy lives.
“We recognise there are challenges relating to some waiting times and are working with health and care partners across Sussex to improve access to much-needed support while families are waiting for a service, as early as possible.
“We welcome the report and will continue to work with all our partners – including children, young people and their families.”
East Sussex County Council and NHS Sussex share responsibility for planning and commissioning services to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND in the area.
The full Ofsted report can be viewed at https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50268245