Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have notified Kent County Council that they are carrying out a SEND (special educational needs/disabilities) Local Area Partnership Inspection in the county.
They will look at how well education, health and care services work together to support children and young people with SEND, from birth to age 25.
Inspectors will begin their detailed work next week, with on-site visits taking place at Sessions House, Maidstone, from 6–10 July.
During the inspection, Ofsted and the CQC work together to look at how well services across Kent identify needs, provide support and improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
Inspectors are particularly interested in:
- The experiences of children, young people and families
- How well services are working – both individually and together
- Whether support is making a positive difference to outcomes.
To build this picture, inspectors will:
- Review a wide range of information about services across Kent
- Speak with professionals from education, health and care
- Talk with leaders from Kent County Council and NHS partners
- Meet with children, young people and parents/carers
- Look closely at a small number of individual experiences in more detail.
Inspectors may hear from:
- School and college staff (including SENCos and leaders)
- Health professionals (such as therapists, consultants, nurses and doctors)
- Social care staff
- Parent carer forums and local groups
- Children and young people themselves (with appropriate consent).
The inspection usually takes place over a short, focused period of on-site visits, alongside time spent reviewing information off-site.
Inspectors review information and launch an online survey for families and practitioners to complete.
Inspectors come into Kent to meet people, visit services and gather first-hand evidence from a small number of children, young people and families.
They analyse everything they’ve heard and seen before writing their report. The aim is to understand what is working well, where things could be better and what needs to happen next.
All areas in England are inspected regularly as part of a national programme.
Kent was previously inspected in September 2022 when inspectors found that not enough progress had been made on previously identified areas of weakness. This led to an improvement notice being issued in March 2023 to speed up progress – and this was lifted in August 2024 after significant progress had been made.
Share your views and experiences
Inspectors want to hear directly from young people, families and people working with them, about their experiences of SEND support in Kent.
You can do this by completing the Ofsted survey (there are different surveys for young people, parents/carers and practitioners): Area SEND inspection for Kent Local Area Partnership
Hard copies of the surveys are also available from Kent PACT (Parents and Carers Together).
The surveys will close at 9am on Tuesday 30 June.
The survey is anonymous, confidential and sent directly to Ofsted, not KCC.
Your feedback will help inspectors understand what is working well and what could be better for children and young people with SEND in Kent.
Once the inspection is complete, Ofsted and the CQC will publish a report, usually within a few weeks.
Having worked in both the D.H.S.S., when the C.Q.C. equivalent was the Social Services Inspectorate and, the private care sector since the C.Q.C. was created, I have my doubts about both the motivation for this study – given both the political colour of K.C.C. and that it is soon to be disassembled into unitary authorities – and the credentials of those undertaking the reporting. From my personal experience, most central government inspectorates are staffed by those least able to function within the sphere they inspect. The Peter Principle in action. It will change nothing and cost a lot of public money.