Suffolk County Council apologise following Ofsted report
Leaders say they are ‘very sorry’ following a damning Ofsted SEND report.
Leaders say they are ‘very sorry’ following a damning Ofsted SEND report.
Ofsted’s report was released earlier this morning and outlined widespread systemic failings in Suffolk’s provision of services to children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The report follows an inspection conducted in November which found children with SEND needed urgent help
Council leader, Matthew Hicks, apologised to children and families for the current lack of SEND provision.
He said: “We know we’re not doing well enough yet, there’s a lot more to do, and we are very sorry to the children and families that haven’t had the service they deserve.
“We are aware the service is not in the position we want it to be in.”
Despite Cllr Hick’s guarantee that the council is aware of current problems, Ofsted’s report maintains that annual reviews were not always conducted and, when they were, the problems were not addressed properly.
Also outlined in the report is the fact assessments for children’s education, health and care (EHC) plans were too lengthy, leading them to perform poorly in school or, in some cases, find themselves without education altogether.
Cllr Rachel Hood, cabinet member for education, SEND and skills, revealed although, at the time of the inspection, none of the council’s EHC plans had been delivered on time, it had now issued 17 per cent of them.
She added: “We’re not hiding from these issues but we are clear that this is quite a long road to improve things.
“There has been absolute commitment to focus on our SEND situation despite the fact demand has gone up exponentially, we are poorly funded, and the SEND system is broken, but we are not making any excuses.”
Currently, the council is ranked 111 out of 151 local authorities for high-needs funding with the first place, Camden, getting roughly £1,500 more per pupil.
On top of this, the council revealed the SEND population in the county had increased by 30 per cent since 2019, with a 32 per cent increase in the number of EHC requests in the last year alone.
Cllr Hood also said the council was committed to its promise to deliver around 1,300 school places for children with SEND, many of which have already been delivered, for them to stay locally.
Cllr Hood continued: “I don’t know if it’s enough, time will tell, but our investment hasn’t stopped.
We are absolutely committed to providing every child in Suffolk with a good experience.”