'Weakness' found in Worcestershire's special education

Significant weaknesses remain in Worcestershire services for children with special educational needs (SEND), inspectors say.

Parents have "overwhelming negativity" about SEND services, and there are "significant concerns" over inclusivity at some mainstream schools.

But inspectors also found progress was made in the majority of weaknesses identified in 2018.

Worcestershire County Council said it accepted the findings.

One local care chief said there was still "a lot of work to do".

Inspectors examined services in November and ahead of their full report, to be published next week by watchdogs Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the council has released some details.

Sufficient progress in eight out of 12 "significant" weaknesses identified in 2018 had been made, according to the local authority, which said measures included putting systems in place that effectively monitored vulnerable children and young people.

Although inspectors raised concerns about mainstream school inclusivity, schools have been provided with a range of support to develop the skills and expertise of leaders and staff, the council reported.

Additionally, placing some children in specialist settings when their needs could have been met in a mainstream school has led to special schools not having enough places for those with complex needs, inspectors' findings are set to say.

However, the council reports that increased investment and commitment from NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Clinical Commission Group (CCG), and the development of Worcestershire Children First, has resulted in a "single, centralised" organisation that works "cohesively" with health services.

Amid "serious failures", the Department of Health ruled in 2017 that child protection services in the county must be run externally, with Worcestershire Children First taking over in October that year.

Dr Louise Bramble, clinical lead for women and children at NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG, said it was "pleasing" to see the improvements but there must be acknowledgement that some children and young people, along with families and carers, "have not had the experience that we want them to have".

She said: "There's still a lot of work to do, however, we remain committed to working closely with all of our partners to ensure that we continue to improve and provide a better service and outcomes for our vulnerable children and young people across Worcestershire."

On Thursday, the council announced a proposed tax hike of nearly 4%, with an extra £25m earmarked for adult and community services, along with social care for children and young people.

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