Trafford Council and NHS Trafford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have welcomed the findings of its recent inspection of special educational needs and /or disabilities (SEND) services.
Earlier this year, inspectors from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) conducted a joint inspection of Trafford to judge the effectiveness of how we are implementing the reforms for children and young people who have SEND as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.
Whilst on site, the inspectors spoke with children and young people who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, parents and carers, and local authority and National Health Service officers. They visited a range of providers and spoke to leaders, staff and governors about how they were implementing the SEND reforms.
They also looked at a range of information about the performance of the local area, including the local area’s self-evaluation. Inspectors met with leaders from the local area for health, social care and education. They reviewed performance data and evidence about the local offer and joint commissioning.
In the report, that was issued to the Council and Trafford CCG this week, inspectors highlighted:
- Trafford’s strong joint working and commissioning between the council and healthcare services and providers;
- The clear procedures and assessment systems that are in place;
- That the educational needs of children who have SEND are well catered for and monitored and there are progression plans in place;
- The high quality of our schools in Trafford and the high quality of SEND support on offer;
- That we have strong plans in place to prepare pupils with SEND for adulthood and to progress into their career of choice.
The report does highlight the historical issues Trafford has faced with delayed assessments and of how families have found this process ‘frustrating’ however the report does demonstrate that Ofsted and the CQC are confident that Trafford are now working towards resolving historical issues with time delays in assessments and are happy with the action being taken to address this.
Jill Colbert, Trafford Council’s Corporate Director for Children Families and Wellbeing, said: “I congratulate all of the staff involved in providing SEND services in Trafford. The report highlights the excellent work that is taking place in Trafford to support our young people into adulthood and into a career of their choice.
Once again our outstanding schools, who are offering such a valuable service to those with SEND needs, have been put on a pedestal and I thank them for the excellent work they do to support our young people coupled with the additional support from council and healthcare providers. Above all we are pleased with the outcome of the inspection and are confident that we offer good outcomes for children and young people with SEND in Trafford.”
Catherine Randall, Chief Nurse at Trafford CCG, said: “We’re thrilled that the joint commissioning and collaborative working between partners has been recognised as effective in having a positive impact and working to ensure the best outcomes for Trafford children. We will continue to work together to deliver the required improvements to further improve the service.”
Posted on Monday 27th March 2017