Special needs service mostly positive - report

Inspectors have said a council's provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is mostly "positive" but has listed areas where improvements are needed.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out inspections across the borough of Bedford in November.

Their report said children "had their voices heard effectively" but partners "should establish more effective processes to ensure that children and young people's needs are identified quickly and accurately".

Bedford Borough Council said it recognised that not everyone had "positive experiences" and it still had work to do.

The report found most needs were "identified early and accurately across education, health and social care".

The council and the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (ICB) are responsible for planning and commissioning services and the Bedford Borough partnership oversees the commissioning of SEND services.

Inspectors found assessments were timely and thorough, and that waiting times for many health services had decreased.

Guidance for young people was "well-considered" and work placements, job coaching and supported internships meant the number of children and young people not in education, employment or training was very low.

It also found the parent and carers' forum (PCF) was represented well as part of the partnership.

It found it was "ambitious" for children and young people to be successful; that weaker aspects were "improving" and it had established a culture of multi-agency working.

It said "teams 'around the child' go above and beyond" and there were few complaints or appeals.

However, it found children were waiting "too long for neurodevelopmental assessment".

It said the service needed to "do better" in some areas, including results in national educational tests, as they were lower than national results.

There were "gaps in a small number of health services", including access to hydrotherapy pools.

A spokesperson for the council said the report highlighted "the strengths" of the partnership.

"We also recognise and acknowledge that some children and families have not had positive experiences or outcomes and we know that there is still work to do in some areas," they added.

The spokesperson said the council would be adding the identified areas to its "SEND improvement action plan".

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