Parents 'furious' after two reports find failings with Kirklees SEND services
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission both looked into the service - with reports being released this week
Kirklees parents have spoken of their fury over major failings in local SEND services after two damning reports from Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.
A report following a joint inspection between the two agencies into Kirklees’ SEND services for children and young people was published this week. Kirklees Council and the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board are jointly responsible for the planning and commissioning of these services.
Inspectors said the experiences and outcomes of those using the service were “inconsistent”. Some of the key themes when it came to the areas for improvement were long waits, a lack of support as young people transition into adulthood and concerns around Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans not resulting in the correct support for young people.
Some positives were also noted in the report including the service’s “high ambitions” for children and young people with SEND. Departments including occupational therapy, speech and language therapists and physiotherapists were praised for delivering “compassionate and considered” care.
Since the report has been published, there has been outcry from parents who say their children are being failed by the system. Many of whom don’t feel the inspectors’ description of the service being “inconsistent” accurately reflects their experiences.
Posting to social media, Sandi Bee wrote: “Inconsistency – what an absolute joke. My son who has severe autism, complex needs, learning difficulties, challenging behaviour, is non-verbal and suffers from seizures, was left without any proper kind of education for almost four years because there wasn’t any provision to meet his needs.
“It took 24 placements and him being declined, until the last one he’s attended for almost a year, which I may add, isn’t even in Kirklees. My son has to travel daily for an hour and 15 minutes depending on traffic flow to Doncaster. That’s absolutely ridiculous given the circumstances.”
While Natalia Miller said: “What a nice way of putting the truth which is ‘serious failure’. And yes, I’m angry and I’ve got every right to be angry. Don’t you dare come at me and try and make me feel like I’m wrong to be angry when I’ve seen my child and countless others being let down in huge ways.”
Another commenter, Donna Bennett Boyle, wrote: “Calling it ‘inconsistent’ is generous. The full Ofsted/CQC report shows serious failings that have caused real harm to families like mine. Delays, lack of education and broken systems have left vulnerable children with nothing. Let’s not sugar coat what’s happening here.”
Alison Ainley said: “There are services for children with Autism, ADHD, etc. but children who cannot speak and are wheelchair bound are forgotten. Since Covid there have been families given diagnoses but no support. Huddersfield used to have an amazing child development centre – Ellerslie – it got moved to Halifax.
“Unfortunately everything with a disabled child is a FIGHT, we are one of lucky ones who has an amazing social worker . We never asked for this life but we have to fight every day to get what our children need and deserve”.
The last time the agencies were inspected was in February 2022, when “significant areas of weakness” were found in reforms of SEND at Kirklees Council and Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group. This resulted in a Written Statement of Action – a detailed action plan to set out how services will be improved – being drawn up.
Kirklees councillor, Habiban Zaman, has also spoken out since the latest “damning” report was published, calling for accountability. She said: “Let’s be clear – this is the second time in just over two years that inspectors have raised serious concerns about SEND services in Kirklees. You don’t need another strategy or press release. You need leadership. Because right now, families are being failed.”
When the council addressed the results of the latest joint inspection, Tom Brailsford, Kirklees Council Executive Director for Children and Families acknowledged the positives and that some areas still need improvement. He said the findings of the inspection “reflect the national picture”, though the service remains “fully focused” on delivering the best possible outcomes.
But Cllr Zaman says this stance is not good enough. She said: “It’s frankly insulting to families to brush this off as a national issue. The last inspection in 2022 already found ‘significant weaknesses’. The only thing that’s truly consistent is the failure to deliver the basics: assessments on time, plans that are joined-up, and communication that actually works.
“I speak to families in our community every week who are left in limbo, chasing support, or watching their children deteriorate while they wait. They don’t want warm words , they want action.”
Councillor Zaman is calling for several actions including a full public update on progress against the last Written Statement of Action, regular reporting of waiting times for key services and EHC plan performance, meaningful involvement of parents and carers in redesigning support and an independent SEND improvement board. She said: “If this were a business or a hospital, heads would have rolled by now. Why is it acceptable for the most vulnerable children in our borough to be failed time and again with no consequences? This is a test of political will, and at Community Alliance, we will not let this be brushed under the carpet.”