Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited the Southend-on-Sea City Council area to inspect the local arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) between 2^nd and 10^th March 2023.

Southend is the fourth area to be inspected under the new framework, which came into effect earlier this year. The outcome won’t be confirmed until the written report is published in 30 working days from 10 March, which is on or around Tuesday 26 April. We will share the joint report from Ofsted and the CQC when it is published, in our monthly SEND e-newsletter and here, on the Local Offer website.

In the meantime thank you to all of you who completed the SEND survey and contributed to the overall inspection. There were three different questionnaires that Ofsted and the CQC asked to be circulated across Southend, to children and young people, parent and carers and practitioners. Whichever group you fall into, your input matters. It helps us understand the current service we are providing, so we can work out where we want to be, and most importantly what improvements or changes need to be made to get there.