03/09/2026
🚸‼️ SOUTHEND SEND INSPECTION: “INCONSISTENT EXPERIENCES AND OUTCOMES” FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE WITH SEND‼️
The Ofsted and Care Quality Commission Area SEND inspection report for Southend-on-Sea City Council has now been published.
📑We’ve gone through the report and pulled together some of the key points we think families need to know.ℹ️
The overall finding is that children and young people with SEND continue to have inconsistent experiences and outcomes across Southend.
1️⃣ Getting help before crisis
Some children and young people only receive help after their needs have escalated including when they stop attending school, are excluded or reach crisis point with their mental health.
2️⃣ Understanding children’s needs
Inspectors found that some children can be labelled as having social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs too quickly, without professionals fully exploring what is behind their behaviour. This can mean underlying neurodivergent needs are not identified quickly enough.
3️⃣ Experiences in school
Experiences vary between schools. The partnership does not have an agreed strategy to tackle high rates of absence, suspension and exclusion for children and young people with SEND. The report also highlights more requests for Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS), more families choosing home education and growing concerns about school-based anxiety.
4️⃣ Health and mental health
Children and young people wait too long for neurodevelopmental assessments and paediatric reviews, and some reach crisis point without getting the right help quickly enough.
5️⃣ EHCPs
There is positive progress in the timeliness of new Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). However, inspectors found problems with annual reviews and plans not always being updated promptly. Some plans do not reflect children’s current needs, and health and social care outcomes can be too vague to properly measure progress.
6️⃣ What is working well
There are positives. Inspectors found that children known to early help or social care often receive timely, coordinated support, and children in care with SEND benefit from strong support to access education and make progress.
7️⃣ Families having a voice
Inspectors recognised good engagement with the Parent Carer Forum (PCF).
However, STRM feels it is important to recognise that the PCF’s voice should not be assumed to represent all parent carers or organisations in Southend.
The report also makes clear that many improvements are recent and have not yet improved experiences and outcomes for all children and young people.
We welcome the progress being made, while recognising there is still significant work to do across the partnership.
🧡 Children and young people should receive the right support at the right time. They should not have to stop attending school, be excluded or reach crisis point before they get the help they need.
What's your thoughts 💬 Comment 👇 below.
https://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50310704
