West Sussex youngsters with special educational needs and disabilities have ‘inconsistent experiences', Ofsted report says

The report was published on Thursday (February 29) by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), following an inspection which ran from November 27 to December 1 2023.

Responsibility for planning and delivering services for children and young people with SEND lays with West Sussex County Council and NHS Sussex.

While the work being carried out by both organisations was recognised, the report made it clear that there was more to be done.

It said that too many education, health and care needs assessments were not being completed within the statutory timescales – and the quality of the plans was ‘variable’.

In addition, the waiting times were described as being ‘too long’ for children and young people needing speech and language therapy, access to the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and the neurodevelopmental pathway.

The report said: “The area’s actions in response to challenges presented by some children and young people’s poor mental health and absence from school are of variable effectiveness.

“For children attending school, some are able to access support through the work of the nine newly introduced mental health support teams.

“However, for some pupils with very poor attendance, and who have limited access to such support as a result, lengthy wait times for diagnosis and treatment exacerbates their situation.”

Jacquie Russell, the council’s cabinet member for children & young people, learning and skills said: “I welcome Ofsted’s report as an opportunity for us to review and reflect on the services we provide to children and young people with SEND and their families.

“Helping them to achieve their potential is a priority for West Sussex County Council and I’d like to thank Ofsted and the CQC for the insight on how we can do better for them.

“It is clear that we have more work to do with our partners to provide the best services for children and young people with SEND in West Sussex.

“Our detailed SEND improvement plan is now being implemented at pace to make the necessary improvements.”

Another area in which the report said the council could do better was helping youngsters prepare for work after the age of 16.

It said: “There is a lack of opportunity for supported internships to help young people develop essential employability skills.”

A shortage of special school places was said to be having a negative impact on some children and young people.

The report said: “While some access appropriate provision through ‘education other than at school’ packages or Alternative Provision, there are still too few appropriate provisions to meet children and young people’s curriculum and educational aspirations.”

A number of positives came from the report, such as the work carried out by the West Sussex Parent Carer Forum in representing families, and the efforts of health visitors to consistently deliver developmental checks for preschool children.

Inclusivity was recognised in many schools, with leaders reported as valuing the training provided in areas such as the ‘autism-friendly classroom’ and mental health and well-being training.

The work of the early years childcare team and advisory team came in for praise, with the teams described as playing a positive role in improving staff expertise.

And many children and young people in special schools were seen to benefit from knowledgeablestaff and personalised planning which helped to ensure they received effective support.

The report said: “Leaders are ambitious for children and young people with SEND.

“They are aware of, and are beginning to make improvements to remove, barriers to opportunity, to improve equality of access to services, and to enable children and young people to achieve their maximum potential.”

Dr Dinesh Sinha, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Sussex said: “We are committed to ensuring that all young people receive the right help and support they need to lead successful lives and welcome the report’s findings.

“We recognise that there are challenges in relation to waiting times for some health services, especially after increased demand over recent years.

“We are working with health and care partners across Sussex to improve our support offer to improve timeliness and support while families are waiting for a service.

“We will continue to work with all our partners, including children, young people and their families, to further develop arrangements to ensure that health services meet children and young people’s special educational needs now and in the future.”

Rowan Westwood, Chief Executive Officer for West Sussex Parent Carer Forum said: “West Sussex Parent Carer Forum are so pleased that Ofsted recognised our tireless work to represent the views and needs of SEND families in West Sussex; our aim is to continue to build and strengthen our involvement in joint strategic and partnership planning to produce authentic co-production and better outcomes for our children and young people in West Sussex.

“We look forward to continuing our work with West Sussex County Council, NHS Sussex and other local partners.”