SEND Pilot Inspection
East Riding’s experience
Jane Gould,
Service Manager: Specialist Services and Inclusive Education and Principal Educational Psychologist
Pilot Inspection
Disclaimer - This was a PILOT!
Why volunteer?
• Procedure and methodology • Preparations and practicalities
• The inspection week – the inspection team’s focus • Lessons learned
• Feedback • Q&A
Pilot Inspection Methodology
• Judgements made about the performance of the local area since the implementation of the reforms in
September 2014.
• Local area inspection, not local authority.
• Advanced warning of the inspection date, though phone call on Thursday morning to finalise arrangements for Monday.
Pilot Inspection Methodology
DfE asked Ofsted and CQC to inspect local areas on their effectiveness in fulfilling their new duties (from May 2016). We were informed of their focus:
• How effectively does the local area identify children and young people who are disabled and/ or have special
educational needs?
• How effectively does the local area meet the needs and improve outcomes of children and young people who are disabled and/ or have special educational needs?
Pilot Inspection Methodology
• 3 Inspectors, HMI, LA Inspector and CQC
• They had reviewed national data in preparation, including within area inspection outcomes from CQC and Ofsted.
• 3 days centrally based (M,T,F): introductory context setting, self evaluation, a series of focus groups, meetings and
observations.
• 2 days (W,Th): visited early years settings, schools, colleges • Webinair for parents/carers
Setting, school and college visits
Setting visits included:
• Discussions with senior leaders and governors exploring participation in the area’s fulfilment of its Code of Practice responsibilities.
• Meeting some C & YP with disabilities and/or SEN • Meeting parents and carers
• Looking at C & YP files to gather evidence on the 2 key areas of evaluation
NB Inspectors did not observe any teaching or learning
Preparations
• SEND strategy/Local Offer/JSNA/Council website • Self evaluation
• Storyboards
• Leads briefed and prepared – Children’s Services, Public Health, CCG and health providers (CAMHs, SALT etc)
• Identified lead gave feedback immediately after every meeting – written and verbal
• Settings, schools, colleges involved and briefed and had identified contact. Immediate feedback sought.
Preparations
• A short presentation on first day to give the defining issues/messages/orientation of the Local Area eg
corporate commitment, financial protection and areas of strength
• Session on self evaluation
• Invited them to meetings (JCP, Early Support Panel) to demonstrate self evaluation claims in action
• Series of “Focus Groups”
• Acknowledged areas for development and demonstrated a plan for them!
Learned along the way…
• Attended feedback each day; could feed in
information/evidence to support/counter developing themes • Critical role of MC – picked up a lot regarding their
emerging hypotheses
• LA data for achievements and progress of CYP with SEN support/ EHC/Statement/LDA – need to maintain it
• Beware the problems of 1 9 2014 and everything that went before; parents didn’t find it easy to discriminate, especially if they had poor experiences
Their interests:
• Parent/carer presence in the implementation of the reforms, co-construction (micro and macro)
• Webinar – eliciting views of parents and carers
• The CYP voice - being elicited and heard
• Joint commissioning processes and evidence of effective practice, including Personal Budgets
Inspection Feedback headlines
• Commitment to reforms and positive culture
• Good practice identified in settings, schools and
colleges
• More consistency needed
• Strengths identified and areas for development
consistent with our self evaluation
Main activity since October
• Training audit – front line staff
• Maintaining data re progress and achievements of SEN support, EHC, Statement and LDAs
• Familiarising more settings, schools and colleges with their role in inspection
• PfA – clarifying the vision creating the reality • Analysis of need and commissioning process
• Membership and workstreams of 0-25 SEND strategic group refreshed
