Since 2016, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have jointly inspected local areas to see how effectively they fulfil their responsibilities for children and young people (from birth to age 25) with SEND. In the first five years, the inspectorate and regulator planned to carry out 152 inspections.
The data, taken from Ofsted inspection reports, reveals that of the first 50 inspections, 21 (42 per cent) failed to meet the required standard for supporting disabled children. For the next 50, the failure rate increased to 60 per cent after 30 of them fell short of the required standard.
Of the 51 local councils and health services that failed, 11 were re-inspected with six failing again.
When a local area fails its joint SEND inspection, a Written Statement of Action is then required to outline how its ‘significant areas of weakness’ will be addressed.
They are also re-inspected to determine how they have urgently improved the situation.
More than a third of councils in this country are yet to be inspected for the first time.
The NDCS says the figures paint a damning picture of the SEND system and mean the 1.3 million disabled children in England are facing a 50:50 chance of getting the support they need.
The charity is now calling on the education secretary Gavin Williamson to urgently explain what action will be taken to ensure the ‘broken’ SEND system becomes fit-for-purpose.
It wants the Government to immediately deliver on its announcement of an additional £700m for special needs education, with money delivered quickly to the front line for additional support staff.
The NDCS also says the Government should extend funding for inspections from the current five years until every disabled child is receiving the support they need.
It argues that deaf children already achieve an entire grade less than their hearing classmates on average and says the data is clear evidence that they are being let down by the system they rely on.
Comments
Steve Haines, executive director at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said, ‘These figures show that support for children with SEND is falling woefully short. This support isn’t a privilege or a luxury, it’s a legal right.
‘Make no mistake, this is a system in crisis and it’s completely unacceptable in a compassionate society. If more than half of schools, hospitals or fire stations were failing, there would be a national outcry.’
‘Disabled children have an incredible amount to offer, but they need the right support along the way. It’s time to sign the cheques, outline the strategy and get on with the job of delivering for every disabled child in this country.’
The Department for Education has been contacted for a response.