CORNWALL's local area partnership has been told it needs to make improvements after inspectors from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected local SEND services.

Ofsted and the CQC concluded that there are “inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND” (special educational needs and/or disabilities) in Cornwall following an inspection of services.

Inspectors visited Cornwall in February to examine SEND services and have now published their findings.

In its inspection outcome, Oftsed and CQC inspectors stated: "Children and young people with SEND in early years provision, and those moving into adulthood, generally have positive experiences and successful outcomes.

"For those children and young people of school age with SEND, their experiences are not consistently positive. At times, this is due to the lack of clear information about the availability of services and how children and young people can access them."

Inspectors did find 'positive evidence' of the work leaders in the local area partnership were doing for children and young people with SEND, and highlighted that its ambition, collaboration with other agencies, and its approach to locality working were all strengths of the local area partnership.

It also noted how There has been an increase in access to a range of timely support for children and young people with SEND and their families to support social, emotional and mental health needs. 

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However, inspectors also noted how the local area partnership had to "mirror their overarching leadership oversight of working with children and young people in early years and through post-16 years provision across services and support for all children and young people aged 5 to 16 years.

It stated that: "Currently, in this age range, services do not consistently meet children and young people’s needs in a timely way."

Alongside this, it was noted that planning for children with more complex needs is not consistent and that EHC plans do not routinely identify these children’s and young people’s health and social care needs, outcomes, or provision precisely.

As a result, some children and young people with complex needs do not get the right support at the right time.

The report went on to state that: "There are consistent gaps in EHC plans from some services.

"The contributions of practitioners involved in the child’s or young person’s care are not always reflected accurately in the plan.

"Leaders’ evaluation of the effectiveness of their actions is not thorough enough in some areas.

"There is a need to strengthen the range of information that supports decision-making and the improvement of services."

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The report listed the following areas for improvement:

"Leaders across the partnership need to develop further the work they have started to improve the education offer and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

"Leaders across the partnership should continue to address long waiting times for children and young people requesting support from health services.

"Leaders across the partnership must improve the quality of education, health and care planning and review.

"Leaders across the partnership should establish effective communication across the partnership to improve the experiences for children and young people with SEND and their families.

"Leaders across the partnership should improve their evaluation and analysis of information about the effectiveness of services for children and young people with SEND.

"Leaders should strengthen their monitoring processes in these areas to accelerate the improvement of SEND services."

The inspection outcome summarised: "The local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements."

The next full area SEND inspection will be in approximately 3 years.

Kate Evan-Hughes, Service Director for Education and Community Health at Cornwall Council, said: "I am pleased that the inspectors recognised the strong partnership working that goes on in Cornwall to ensure young people with SEND and their families receive the support they deserve.

“We recognise that there is always more that can be done to ensure the quality of service is consistent across all areas and ages and we are already working together with our partners and school leaders to address the ‘areas for improvement’ identified in the report.

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“The improvement plan will be overseen by the ‘One Vision’ board and we look forward to updating SEND children and families on our progress in the near future.”

Cllr Barbara Ellenbroek, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Learning and Skills, said: "It is one of the Council’s priorities to make sure Cornwall is a brilliant place to be a child and grow up so it is vital that all young people with SEND and their families have access to the best services, support, healthcare and education.

“It is good to see that Oftsed and the CQC recognised the strong leadership and collaborative working across our partnership here in Cornwall, and the positive experiences and outcomes for many of our young people.

“We are already working hard to address any inconsistencies in our offer, and I am confident that the experiences of all children and young people with SEND in Cornwall will continue to improve going forward.

“I would like to thank everyone who participated in the inspection and all our partners who work tirelessly to improve the lives of children and families in Cornwall.”

Kate Shields, Chief Executive of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care System, said: "We welcome the findings of this inspection, which recognises the positive changes colleagues across our multi-agency partnership have made to improve access to services for children and young people with additional needs and disabilities.

“We know there is more work to be done, and we are committed to working closely with our families to ensure they are listened to and that we continue to improve and deliver the best possible outcomes for our children and young people.”