Cheshire East Council celebrates impressive SEND Revisit inspection result

OFSTED has found that Cheshire East Council has ‘made sufficient progress in addressing all of the significant weaknesses identified’ at the 2018 inspection.

A Special Educational Needs and Disabilities inspection by Ofsted in 2018 found that the Conservative-led Cheshire East Council had ‘significant weaknesses’ in its SEND approach. Now, since the Labour-led administration came into place in 2019, OFSTED has found that the Council has ‘made sufficient progress in addressing all of the significant weaknesses identified’ at the 2018 inspection.

This year’s inspection report celebrates real progress that has occurred since 2019, with ‘sustained efforts’ made to address the ‘endemic issues’ surrounding Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans and a sufficient ASD diagnostic pathway now being in action to support young people in entering nursery and school with their needs being better understood.

The report refers to the huge efforts made following the Labour-led administration coming in, saying that Leaders have worked tirelessly with staff to identify and address any issues that arise. Furthermore, the report states that ‘Since 2019, leaders have incrementally raised the quality standards for EHC plans. And to further complement these achievements, in October 2018, ‘over 200 children and young people were waiting for their first assessment appointment’, however by March 2020, this had been reduced to just two.

Whilst much progress has already been made, the Labour-led administration, along with Council officers, are refusing to sit back and are striving for further improvements to ensure our young people have the best possible start in life.

Councillor James Barber, Cheshire East Champion for Young People, said “I am in awe of the inspiring work that our Council Officers and staff have done to improve standards across the department over the past two years. Since becoming a Councillor and Champion for Young People, I have always strived to ensure young people are at the forefront of everything the Council does, so it is fantastic to see the huge progress made since the last SEND inspection. Many thanks to all who work to support our young people across Cheshire East.”

Councillor Kathryn Flavell, Chair of the Children and Families Committee said “I am so proud of all of the officers and staff in CE Children's Services for the tremendous work they have done in achieving this result. I have worked very closely with them throughout the past 18 months and seen first-hand the herculean task that they have undertaken. The Ofsted inspectors have said that the service has been 'transformed' - high praise indeed! However, we cannot be complacent; there are still areas where we can improve, and the Administration will be overseeing the continuing work to raise standards even further across all Children's Services."

Councillor Carol Bulman, Vice Chair of the Children and Families committee, said “One of the main priorities of the Labour-led Cheshire East Council since we came into power in May 2019 has been improving the lives of young people. It is therefore indicative of how hard our staff have worked that OFSTED agree that we have made progress. Our Children and Young People deserve the best start in life, and Cheshire East Council is working to ensure they get that.”