Damning report finds 'widespread, systemic failings' in Derbyshire's SEND services

A damning report has found "widespread" and "systemic" failings in services for children with special educational needs (SEND) in Derbyshire.

An inspection by education watchdog Ofsted said the needs of youngsters in the county "have not been met for far too long" and urgent action was needed.

Derbyshire County Council said it accepted the findings and apologised to affected families.

Ofsted carried out a three-week inspection in September of this year - eight years after its last checks.

It identified a series of problems with SEND provision, including a lack of effective partnership working between organisations, missed opportunities to commission services for children and a dearth of special school places.

Ofsted's report said: "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."

It added: "The system that should ensure that they receive the right help at the right time has not worked well for many years.

"Children and young people with SEND wait too long for their needs to be assessed and for suitable provision to be put in place to meet their needs.

"Their difficulties become greater while they wait to get the right support, leading to some missing large amounts of their education."

Inspectors found many families in "crisis" felt requests for help were "ignored".

Some parents had felt compelled to home school their children because of a lack of appropriate spaces in special schools.

The report said: "Some provisions, including some schools, struggle to accommodate them, leading to increasing numbers of children and young people with SEND being suspended and/or excluded, or placed on a part-time timetable.

"The lack of a clearly defined joint strategy for SEND in Derbyshire has led to key stakeholders, such as schools and multi-academy trusts, filling the void with their own strategies and resources.

"This leads to the disparity seen across the region, with parents reporting a postcode lottery for support."

Cally Hewer, from Chesterfield, whose severely disabled five-year-old son Phoenix was allocated a place in a mainstream school even though it could not accommodate his mobility equipment, welcomed the report.

She said: "I'm glad this is now in the spotlight as it affects a lot of people. My experience of getting an education for Phoenix bears our what's in the report."

Claire Walsh, chair of campaign group Derbyshire Parent Carer Voice said the report was not a "surprise" but was "a pivotal opportunity for reflection, healing, and ultimately, progress".

She said: "This report is not just a document, it’s a reflection of the voices of countless families who have shared their most challenging experiences.

"In this moment, we stand ready to work strategically alongside health, social care and education - independently and steadfastly - to ensure that parent carers are at the centre of co-productive change."Alison Noble, Derbyshire County Council's temporary executive director for children’s services, said: “We fully accept the findings of the report and apologise to the children and families who have been affected by Derbyshire Local Area Partnership SEND services not responding in a timely way and being of the quality they should expect.

"We know we need to do better and we continue to work hard with our health, education, private, public and voluntary sector partners to offer a service these children deserve.

"It is our joint responsibility and we take it extremely seriously.

"The concerns highlighted by the inspectors are all areas we know need improvement and we’re making a multi-million-pound investment in employing more specialist staff, improving efficiency around assessments and creating more special needs school places.

"Those changes are already starting to show positive improvements, but the report published today shows we are not yet where we need to be, and for that we apologise to the children and families affected now."

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