Ofsted’s annual report 2020/21 paints a stark picture of the challenges faced by families of children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND), including missed education, difficulties accessing services such as physiotherapy and speech and language therapy, and long waiting times for assessment and treatment.
“Many families were exhausted, even despairing, particularly when they were persistently unable to access essential services for their children,” states the report.
This is nothing new, stresses the document. “There are long-standing issues in the SEND system,” it says. “The pandemic has only served to highlight these issues and deepen their effects.”
Since 2016, Ofsted has worked with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on joint inspections to look at local provision for children and young people with SEND. The annual report shows 123 inspections had been carried out by the end of August 2021, with 26 areas yet to be inspected.
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