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Area SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections

SEND Monitoring Visit : Area SEND Inspection

Sheffield's Local Area Partnership is undergoing an Area SEND monitoring inspection from 28 to 30 September 2026.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carry out Area SEND inspections to evaluate how effectively education, health and care services work together to improve the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We encourage parents, carers, children and young people to find out more about the inspection process and how they can share their views by visiting:

Area SEND inspections: information about ongoing inspections

Further information will be shared on the Sheffield Local Offer as soon as it becomes available.

What are joint area SEND inspections

In January 2023, OfSTED and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) started using a new framework to inspect how local areas support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

These inspections look at how well education, health, and social care services work together to help children and young people with SEND, from birth to 25 years old, and their families.  You will hear this called the Local Area Partnership.

The new framework builds on the one first used in 2016. This focused on how well local areas followed the laws from the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice 2015. Sheffield was inspected under the original framework in November 2018. You can read the inspectors' letter here.

5 cartoon figures of people of different ethnic origins. one is in a wheelchair, one is wearing glasses

What does the inspection framework cover

The new inspection framework still assesses how well education, health, and social care services follow the law.

It also includes new features from the 2022 SEND review: Right support, right place, right time.

See the drop-downs for more information.

Inspectors will meet with children, young people and their families.  They will also send a survey to every child or young person with SEND and their family in the local area.  They will ask them about their experiences.

Local education, health and care partnership working together clearly so everyone knows who's responsible for what. See how well they're all working together as a team.  

Lead inspectors for:

  • education
  • health
  • social care

Will lead multi-disciplinary inspection teams.

Alternative provision provides education for children who cannot attend school. 

It includes:

  • Pupil Referral Units
  • tuition for those who are struggling to attend.  This is because of medical/mental health issues

They will look at how it is commissioned and overseen locally.

The 3 new judgements are:

1. The local area partnership’s SEND arrangements typically lead to positive experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership is taking action where improvements are needed. 

The next full area SEND inspection will be within 5 years.

2. The local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements. 

The next full area SEND inspection will take place within approximately 3 years.

3. There are widespread and/ or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently. 

A monitoring inspection will be carried out within approximately 18 months.  The next full area SEND inspection will take place within approximately 3 years.

With re-inspections happening more often for areas where arrangements do not typically lead to positive experiences and outcomes.

Some Local areas will have a themed inspection. This is where Ofsted and the CQC look at a certain area of the SEND system in depth.  They will share learning from these visits in national reports.

Sheffield City Council have put together a 5-minute read PDF guide on themed inspections.

Ofsted and the CQC will invite local area partnerships to have engagement meetings. These will be held between inspections. These meetings are not inspections. They are held to support local areas as they work to improve the experiences and outcomes of children/young people with SEND.

These meetings will help keep a spotlight on SEND provision. Through these meetings, Ofsted and the CQC will:

  • check that the local area partnership understands the needs of children/young people in its area. That they are working to improve its services for children and young people with SEND and their families

  • find any issues that concern them

  • stay up to date with any changes to the local SEND system

 

5 cartoon figures of people of different ethnic origins. one is in a wheelchair, one is wearing glasses

How are the inspections carried out

Inspections take place over three weeks.

In weeks one and two, the local area must provide a range of local data and information. This includes:

  • person-level data (lists of all children and young people with SEND who live in the local authority area, including those educated out of area)
  • information about how local education, health and care services commission and deliver services for children and young people with SEND and their families.
  • Inspectors will select specific children and young people’s cases for ‘tracking’.  They will need data and documents for those cases. They will aim to talk to all the children and young people who are ‘tracked’, and their families.
  • Inspectors will also ask for surveys to be shared with all local children and young people with SEND.  They will share them through their parents or carers.

In week three, inspectors are on-site for fieldwork, including meetings with leaders and practitioners.  They will visit a sample of local education, health, and/ or care settings.

During visits to settings, inspectors will evaluate children and young people’s experiences and outcomes by:

  • reviewing documents and records
  • talking to practitioners.

The settings visited won't be evaluated or judged under this inspection.  They will have their own inspection arrangements, but their records and practice will be looked at.

The joint SEND inspection checks how well local education, health, and care partners work together to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.  They check that they share responsibility.  You may hear this called shared accountability.

How will inspectors judge local areas

The inspection framework and handbook lists what inspectors use to judge the area.

Inspectors look at how good the area’s partnership SEND arrangements in improving experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND are.  It includes:

    • children and young people’s needs are identified accurately and assessed
    • children, young people and families participate in decisions about plans and support
    • children and young people receive the right help at the right time
    • children and young people are well prepared for their next steps, and achieve strong outcomes
    • children and young people are valued, visible and included in their communities

Inspectors also look at how good local area partners work together to plan, evaluate and develop the SEND system. It includes:

    • leaders are ambitious for children and young people with SEND
    • leaders actively engage and work with children, young people and families
    • leaders have an accurate, shared understanding of the needs of children and young people in their local area
    • leaders commission services and provision to meet the needs and aspirations of children and young people, including commissioning of alternative provision
    • leaders evaluate services and make improvements
    • leaders create an environment in which effective practice and multi-agency working can flourish
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