Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are being encouraged to discover the county’s history at a museum recognised for helping visitors feel included, welcomed and valued.

The Oxfordshire Museum, which is run by Oxfordshire County Council, has become the first organisation to receive the SEND Youth Forum's Seal of Approval.

The SEND Youth Forum was created by the council to strengthen the voices of young people with SEND in Oxfordshire, helping to shape services, improve support and provide opportunities for them to share their experiences, ideas and aspirations. Members who recently visited the museum found it to be a welcoming, engaging and accessible place to explore local history interactively.

Councillor Neil Fawcett, Oxfordshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Community and Corporate Services, said: "We are delighted that the Oxfordshire Museum has received the SEND Youth Forum's first ever Seal of Approval. This recognition reflects the museum's commitment to ensuring everyone can enjoy and engage with Oxfordshire's rich heritage and collections.

"The feedback from forum members shows how important it is to listen to young people and involve them in shaping inclusive and accessible visitor experiences. We are grateful for their insight and look forward to welcoming them back in the future."

The award recognises the work the museum has undertaken to improve accessibility in recent years. As well as receiving the Seal of Approval, the museum has joined the Safe Places scheme, committed to seeking regular input from its Access Panel on everything from website information to temporary exhibitions, and introduced the Bloomberg Connects app to improve the visitor experience.

The Seal of Approval recognises organisations and venues that help children and young people with SEND feel included, welcomed and valued. Forum members were impressed by the museum's welcoming approach, accessible environment and engaging ways for visitors to learn about Oxfordshire's history.

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On Wednesday 15 April 2026, Oxfordshire County Council and NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board (NHS Thames Valley) received a letter from The Rt Hon Bridget Phillipson MP, Secretary of State for Education, recognising ongoing improvements in services for Oxfordshire’s SEND children.

The secretary of state noted that Oxfordshire’s local area partnership (LAP) has strengthened how the views of children and young people with SEND, as well as parents and carers, are gathered and used in strategic planning.

There have been improvements in communication and information sharing across the partnership, including monitoring the impact of the partnership’s actions and enhanced timeliness of education and health care plans (EHCPs).

Significant progress in jointly commissioning services and reducing waiting times for critical support, was also acknowledged by the secretary of state in her letter.

Councillor Sean Gaul, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Young People’s Services, said: “The government’s decision to remove the improvement notice is encouraging. Close partnership working has helped us to review, reset and rebuild services.

“The government does, quite rightly, expect the services and support we collectively provide to keep getting better. We are committed to this and will continue to engage and listen to children, young people with SEND and their families as part of our improvement journey.”

Dr Nick Broughton, Executive Lead, NHS Thames Valley, said: “We welcome the decision to lift the improvement notice and recognise it as an important milestone for SEND services in Oxfordshire. This reflects the commitment and hard work of colleagues across the local area partnership, and the willingness of organisations to come together, challenge ourselves and work differently in the interests of children and young people.

“We know, however, that this is not the end of the journey. There is still more to do to ensure services are consistently timely, joined up and responsive, and to rebuild confidence with families. We hope that parents, carers and children are beginning to see the impact of the changes being made, but we remain focused on sustained improvement and listening carefully to their experiences as we continue this work together.”

The LAP includes Oxfordshire County Council; NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board (formerly NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board); Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust; Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Oxfordshire Parent Carer Forum; and professional subject matter leads.

Notes

In July 2023, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission undertook a local area partnership inspection of SEND services

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A total of £2.23 million was approved by councillors at the 19 March meeting of cabinet to create 23 new places at Mabel Prichard Special School in Oxford. The school provides education and support for pupils with a range of severe learning difficulties and is managed by The Gallery Trust.

The school is co-located with Orchard Meadow Primary School. It is also an academy and is managed by United Learning.

It is proposed that Orchard Meadow Primary School will relocate its foundation stage accommodation into surplus space elsewhere on site, enabling the provision of the additional school places for children with SEND.

Councillor Kate Gregory, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Improvement, said: “The expansion of Mabel Prichard School in Oxford is just one part of our continued efforts to provide quality local facilities and support for SEND children.

“We’re fully committed to improving Oxfordshire’s SEND services for children, young people and their families. We’ve recently published a priority action plan and we are working together with families to make a difference to the way children and young people get the support they deserve to help them thrive.”

Kay Willett MBE, Chief Executive Officer of the Gallery Trust, said: “We are delighted that the expansion of Mabel Prichard School in Oxford has been approved.

“The Gallery Trust will always respond to local needs by enhancing or expanding our schools and services and is happy to support Oxfordshire's SEND strategy on this project.

“We are so pleased that this partnership will support the provision of the much needed additional special school places in Oxfordshire and we know that this will have a positive impact on many children and young people and their families."

The cabinet’s approval is part of wider plans to increase SEND provision in the county. Bloxham Grove Academy opened in January, and the Department for Education is due to submit a planning application soon for another school in Faringdon. Meanwhile £14.4m of funding was approved by cabinet in January for a new school SEND school in Didcot.

The proposal for the school in Didcot will be the first of two new special schools planned for the area, which will take the total number of Oxfordshire special schools to 17.

SEND partnership improvement information can be found on the council’s website and parents and carers can sign up for a SEND e-newsletter online and SEND coordinators can also fill in a simple form. In addition, online support for parents and carers of children with SEND has been improved, with more to come, to make it easier to find information, which can be accessed at oxfordshire.gov.uk/localoffer

Progress includes an investment into SEND services by Oxfordshire County Council; plans to expand the number of educational places for children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are taking shape; a review of children’s therapy services is underway by NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB); and a number of regular information sharing opportunities and engagement events are now in place.

The Oxfordshire SEND Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board (SIAB) made up of senior leaders from across the partnership, including Oxfordshire Parent Carer Forum (OxPCF), is also well established with a clear programme of improvement. The board has been set-up to drive the actions required to deliver better services for SEND children, young people and their families.

Councillor Kate Gregory, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for SEND Improvement, said: “We continue to make progress in our improvement journey but it will take time for real changes to be felt by all families. We are working together as a partnership to review, reset and rebuild services listening to what matters most to children, young people with SEND and their families.

“Our budget, approved at our full council meeting in February, includes an investment of £1.5 million in additional capacity in the SEND service to help ensure that children receive timely and good quality responses to their needs within education, health and care plans (EHCPs).

“And good news, all 568 children with EHCPs, who are transferring to primary or secondary school in September 2024, had an updated plan issued by 15 February 2024, meeting statutory deadlines.

“Our commitment to improvement is also reflected in the number of new SEND schools planned across the county in the coming years, including Didcot where funding was approved at our cabinet meeting on 23 January.”

There is significant council funding to increase early intervention work in early years and primary school settings to respond to SEND needs and proactively support the transition of children into mainstream education (£500,000 in 2024/25 and £380,000 ongoing funding from 2025/26).

Measures are being put in place to expand the number of places for children with SEMH and ASD, including:

• Utilising spare capacity in existing schools across the county.
• Three new special schools, with approximately 350 places, planned for Bloxham, Faringdon and Didcot by September 2027.
• Opening five resource bases (providing targeted support) in new schools, with up to 96 places, in Didcot, East Oxford and Wantage by September 2029.

Similar capacity increases are planned for children with needs other than SEMH and ASD, including:

• Building a special school, with approximately 120 places, in Didcot, by September 2029.
• Expanding two community schools by a combined total of 48 places in Oxford and Witney, by September 2027.
• Opening two resource bases in new schools, with up to 16 places, in Banbury and Faringdon, by September 2026.

The BOB ICB review of children’s therapy services is intended to ensure that support is in place for children and young people across various levels of need – universal, targeted and specialist. The review will consider both demand and capacity for occupational, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy services.

It will include a sensory occupational therapy pilot to help parents, carers and mainstream educational settings identify and support children and young people with sensory needs; a speech and language therapy screening and intervention tool, which will assess children with speech and language and communication difficulties and provide interventions to meet their needs earlier in mainstream schools; and speech and language therapy support in nurseries and early years settings.

The number of children and young people referred to neurodevelopmental pathways continue to increase and waiting times remain a challenge. However, progress is being made in terms of:

• More assessments are being offered, directly through NHS organisations, but also in partnership with independent providers to maximise capacity.
• Redesigning processes and maximising opportunities associated with assistive technology to reduce the time it takes to gather information and complete assessments.
• Mechanisms are now in place to identify and meet needs at the earliest possible opportunity, and to review and prioritise needs on a regular basis.

The partnership also continues to deliver on its commitment to listen to, and act on the views of children and young people, parents, carers and professionals. On top of existing meetings with OxPCF and other parent and carer support groups, a variety of termly information gathering and sharing sessions will be held, online and in person, including in educational settings, to gather feedback.

Two online public events are planned for Tuesday 19 March, bringing together parent carers of children and young people with SEND from across Oxfordshire and representatives from the partnership. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions and provide feedback. Parents and carers can find out more and book a place online. 

On Friday 22 March, an event for young people with a learning disability and or autism, and those who support them, will be held at The King’s Centre, Osney Mead, Oxford. The ‘Transition to Adulthood: Perspectives’ conference will host information stalls and speaker sessions and provide healthcare advice from local clinicians.

It will also showcase five short films co-produced by neurodivergent young people about the key challenges of moving from childhood into adulthood. The films aim to help health and care professionals, and the public, better understand how transitioning to adulthood for this group can be particularly difficult, yet similar to others their age. 

SEND e-newsletters have also been set-up to share helpful information and updates, one for professionals and one for parents and carers. Parents and carers can sign up for the e-newsletter online and SEND coordinators can also fill in a simple form. In addition, online support for parents and carers of children with SEND has been improved to make it easier to find information. Further improvements will continue. Information can be accessed at oxfordshire.gov.uk/localoffer

SEND partnership improvement information can be found online on a dedicated webpage hosted by the county council where people can also access the highlights of activity discussed and agreed at the Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board by reading the blogs from Steve Crocker, Independent Chair.

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The plan responds to Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission’s inspection report of SEND partnership services in July. A draft plan was submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) on 24 October and was approved by Ofsted on 12 December.

Councillor Kate Gregory, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for SEND Improvement, explained: “We recognise that we are only at the start of our improvement journey and that it will take time for real change to be felt by families. We are working hard as a partnership to ensure we have the right foundations in place to deliver real and lasting improved outcomes for children, young people and families.

“Progress has been made but much more is to come. I look forward to continuing to forge strong relationships with partners and with families with SEND children to ensure we do this together. We are all determined to make a real difference.”

The plan sets out what will be achieved across five priority action areas. 

1. Gathering and acting on the views of children and young with SEND and their families.
2. Developing effective communications systems across the partnership to ensure coordinated approaches.
3. Improved timeliness and quality assurance of education, health and care plans.
4. Commissioning of services to meet the needs of children and young people and their families.
5. Producing plans that are coproduced with children and young people and their families, which are rigorously monitored.

The local area partnership¹ includes Oxfordshire County Council, NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board and the parent carer forum (PCF), the official body for the voice of parent carers. The PCF will be directly involved in activities in the priority action plan that lead to improving services and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. 

Rachael Corser, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board’s Chief Nursing Officer, said: “As health and care partners, we’re fully committed to improving Oxfordshire’s SEND services for children, young people and their families.

“Without doubt there is still a way to go, but by working together with families we are starting to make a difference to the way children and young people get the support they deserve to help them thrive.”

The Oxfordshire SEND Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board is made up of senior leaders from across the partnership and members of the PCF and will drive the action required to deliver better services for SEND children, young people and their families. It meets again on 20 December.

The partnership will continue to work with Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission on prioritising actions to secure immediate improvement for children and young people with SEND and their families.

Parents and carers can sign up to hear the latest on SEND news online and SEND coordinators can also fill in a simple form. In addition, there is online support for parents and carers of children with SEND at oxfordshire.gov.uk/localoffer

Ends

For more information about this statement contact Oxfordshire County Council’s communications team on 01865 323870 or email press.office@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Notes to editors

• ¹The local area partnership members include Oxfordshire County Council, NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB), Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. They have worked together with the county’s parent carer forum (PCF), as the official body for the voice of parent carers, and professional subject matter leads, to develop the priority action plan detailing clear and measurable service improvements. 
• On 16 November, the DfE published an improvement notice, which was issued to the county council. This is an official document sent to councils following inspections that have similar outcomes, outlining the steps needed to evidence progress in the improvement of services.

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This follows Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission’s inspection of SEND partnership services in July. The partnership includes Oxfordshire County Council, NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board and the parent carer forum (PCF), the official body for the voice of parent carers.

Progress includes proposed investment into resourcing SEND services; an improvement in the timeliness of assessments for education, health and care plans (EHCPs); the establishment of a SEND improvement board to drive and quality assure the delivery of the partnership’s priority action plan, which has now been approved by Ofsted; and improvements in information provision and engagement opportunities.

Councillor Kate Gregory, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for SEND Improvement, explained: “We recognise that we are only at the start of our improvement journey and that it will take time for real change to be felt by families. But progress is being made.

“Our 2024/25 budget proposals include an investment of £1 million in additional capacity in the SEND service to help ensure that children receive timely and good quality responses to their needs within education and health care plans. This year, we have also redesigned roles within the service to better meet demand and have successfully filled 11 permanent posts within the last two months, which will significantly reduce our use of agency workers.

“This is building on work that has been underway for over twelve months to improve the timeliness of education, health and care needs assessments.”

As of November 2023, in Oxfordshire 52 per cent of education, health and care needs assessments were processed within the statutory timeframe of 20 weeks, which is just above the national average (currently 50 per cent²). The partnership will continue to work to improve this.

An Oxfordshire SEND Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board has also been formally established to drive the action required to deliver better services for SEND children, young people and their families. The board has met twice and is made up of senior leaders from across the partnership and members of the PCF. Steve Crocker³, is the board’s independent chair. 

On 24 October, the partnership submitted a draft priority action plan to the Department for Education (DfE), which was approved by Ofsted on 12 December. The plan sets out what will be achieved across five priority action areas. 

1. Gathering and acting on the views of children and young with SEND and their families.
2. Developing effective communications systems across the partnership to ensure coordinated approaches.
3. Improved timeliness and quality assurance of education, health and care plans.
4. Commissioning of services to meet the needs of children and young people and their families.
5. Producing plans that are coproduced with children and young people and their families, which are rigorously monitored.

The plan will be published by Oxfordshire County Council, on behalf of the partnership, on Monday 18 December. The partnership will continue to work with Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission on prioritising actions to secure immediate improvement for children and young people with SEND and their families.

The partnership is also enhancing existing arrangements to listen to, and act on the views of children and young people, parents, carers and professionals. On top of existing meetings with the PCF and other parent and carer support groups, a variety of termly information gathering and sharing sessions will be held, online and in-person, including in educational settings, to gather feedback. These will begin in December followed by regular engagement opportunities in the new year, including with parents, carers and families.

The PCF will be directly involved in activities in the priority action plan that lead to improving services and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. 

Cllr Gregory added: “We are working hard as a partnership to ensure we have the right foundations in place to deliver real and lasting improved outcomes for children, young people and families. Progress has been made but much more is to come. I look forward to continuing to forge strong relationships with partners and with families with SEND children to ensure we do this together. We are all determined to make a real difference on this improvement journey.”

SEND e-newsletters have also been set-up to share helpful information and updates, one for professionals and one for parents and carers. Parents and carers can sign up for the e-newsletter online and SEND coordinators can also fill in a simple form. In addition, online support for parents and carers of children with SEND has been improved to make it easier to find information. Further improvements are being made into the new year. Information can be accessed at oxfordshire.gov.uk/localoffer

Notes to editors

• ¹The local area partnership members include Oxfordshire County Council, NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB), Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. They have worked together with the county’s parent carer forum (PCF), as the official body for the voice of parent carers, and professional subject matter leads, to develop the priority action plan detailing clear and measurable service improvements. 
• ² This is the current national average as reported by the Department for Education in the annual SEN2 data return (June 2023). The SEN2 survey is a statutory data collection that takes place every January, which local authorities must complete.
• ³Steve Crocker has recently retired from his post as Director of Children’s Services at Hampshire County Council and was a former President of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services. He was awarded an OBE in 2018 in recognition for services to children in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight. Steve has played a leading role in the improvement of children’s services in other local authorities and is also a key influencer nationally. He has been called on regularly to contribute to the shaping of policy on areas such as adoption, social work reform and innovation.
• On 16 November, the DfE published an improvement notice, which was issued to the county council. This is an official document sent to councils following inspections that have similar outcomes, outlining the steps needed to evidence progress in the improvement of services.

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Progress is already being made in improving the timeliness of education, health and care (EHC) plans for those who need them. As of September 2023, in Oxfordshire 48 per cent of assessments were being processed within statutory timeframes compared to four per cent in January 2023¹.

The local area partnership members² – including Oxfordshire County Council, NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB), Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – have been working, together with the county’s parent carer forum (PCF) and professional subject matter leads, to develop a priority action plan detailing clear and measurable service improvements. This will be submitted to the Department for Education by Tuesday 24 October.

An Oxfordshire SEND Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board (SIAB) has been formally established made up of senior leaders from across the partnership and members of the PCF. The SIAB will drive the action required to deliver better services for SEND children, young people and their families. The board will have an independent chair and will be supported by the new cabinet member at the county council focused on SEND improvement.

Councillor Kate Gregory, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Improvement, said: “My new role is to ensure a constant focus in rapid action to deliver significant improvements. Our priorities must be on rebuilding trust with parents and children. The voices of parents, carers and children and their lived experiences are central to our improvement work. Only by listening, engaging and understanding will we achieve our joint aim of ensuring better outcomes consistently for the most vulnerable children and young people in the county.”

To ensure there is continual dialogue with families, children and young people and professionals, the partnership will hold a variety of mid-term information gathering and sharing sessions (online and in-person), including in educational settings, to gather feedback. These will be supported by existing meetings with the parent carer forum and other parent and carer support groups.

The local area partnership recognises the importance of meeting the needs of children and young people at the earliest opportunity. For those where an EHC plan is required, the county council is continuing to build extra capacity in the SEND team to keep improving the timeliness of EHC plans. It is in the process of recruiting a SEND improvement officer, with responsibility for delivering the priority action plan, and a parent liaison officer who will be a single point of contact for parents to communicate with. 

Cllr Gregory added: “Since the Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspection, the partnership is building the right relationships together that will be needed to drive significant improvement to services. We are determined to make the changes needed to provide children, young people and their families with the services they need and deserve.”

Notes to editors

¹As of September 2023, in Oxfordshire 48 per cent of assessments were being processed within statutory timeframes. The current national average as reported by the Department for Education (DfE) in June 2023 and based on the January 2023 SEN2 data return is 50.7 per cent.

Monthly progress on processing assessments for EHC plans within statutory timeframes:

In January 2023, there were approximately 23,000 children and young people with SEND in Oxfordshire (SEN2 Jan 23 census and Jan 2023 school census data published by the DfE). This included 5,427 with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in the age bracket 0 - 25. The total number of EHC plans that Oxfordshire maintains is increasing month on month, in line with regional and national trends and now exceeds 6,200.

²Oxfordshire County Council and NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB) are jointly responsible for the planning and commissioning of services (across education, health and social care) for children and young people with SEND in Oxfordshire.

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Councillor Kate Gregory will take on this role while Cllr John Howson is the new cabinet member for children, education and young people’s services.

Other new cabinet members are Cllr Neil Fawcett who will oversee community and corporate services, Cllr Nathan Ley who will look after public health, inequalities and community safety and Cllr Judy Roberts who will manage infrastructure and development strategy. Cllr Calum Miller has decided to step down from the role of cabinet member for finance and will be replaced by Cllr Dan Levy.

Last week, it was announced that Cllr Pete Sudbury had taken on the role of deputy leader of the county council. He will also retain his current role as the cabinet member for climate change delivery and environment.

Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “We have quickly filled vacant cabinet positions and we are now rapidly focusing on the issues that matter to Oxfordshire people. 

“At the top of our list of priorities is the subject of special educational needs and disabilities following the recent Ofsted and CQC local area partnership SEND inspection judgement. Cllr Kate Gregory will be focused solely on the urgent action needed to tackle the matters raised by inspectors.

“The creation of a new cabinet role dedicated to SEND will ensure that the whole council has a constant and permanent focus on turning the situation around at pace.

“Our priorities will be on rebuilding trust with parents and children, communicating better with them, listening to them and delivering better outcomes for the most vulnerable children in the county.

“Meanwhile the other new cabinet members will each bring fresh ideas and energy to their roles as we look to the future in terms of our overarching aim of creating a greener, healthier and fairer Oxfordshire.”

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The inspection formed part of a new national framework of inspections for children and young people with SEND introduced in 2023. Inspectors identified that there are widespread systemic failings across the local area partnership leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which must be urgently addressed.

The LAP is made up of Oxfordshire County Council and NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care Board (ICB) who are jointly responsible for the planning and commissioning of services (across education, health and social care) for children and young people with SEND in Oxfordshire. The partnership also includes Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Areas identified for improvement include:

• Agencies within the local area partnership need to work cohesively to ensure that children and young people get the right help at the right time.
• Too many children and young people are unable to access the education provision they need; and while many schools prioritise transition work, when there are delays to decision making and naming suitable placements, this work is undone.
• The inspection recognised that the timeliness of education, health and care plans has recently improved, but frequently they do not describe the child or young person accurately enough to ensure that their needs are met effectively.

Since Ofsted’s inspection, the partnership has identified it is building the right relationships together that will be needed to drive significant improvement to services. The LAP will revisit its strategic vision and ensure it has a clear plan with deliverable priorities. It will do this by engaging with parents, carers, their children and young people with SEND and supporting organisations. It will also work together on the development of an action plan to address the specific concerns raised as part of the inspection.

The LAP recognises the importance of meeting the needs of children and young people at the earliest opportunity. For those where an education, health and care (EHC) plan is required, the county council will continue to build extra capacity in the SEND team to keep improving the timeliness of EHC plans¹.

In addition, to ensure there is continual dialogue with families, children and young people and professionals, the partnership will hold a variety of mid-term information gathering and sharing sessions (online and in-person), including in educational settings, to gather feedback. This will be supported by existing meetings with the parent carer forum and other parent and carer support groups.

Inspectors acknowledged a number of strengths in the provision of services and support including:

• All agencies involved with looked after children with SEND have a sharp focus on working together to help them to achieve ambitious outcomes and many young people aged 18 - 25 who are known to adult social care, receive effective assessment and intervention to meet their needs.
• Where there is strong practitioner knowledge and expertise, children and young people benefit from cohesive, proactive planning for their needs. For example, from the early help service and the learning disabilities child and adolescent mental health services team. Where children and young people receive support within specialist statutory teams, for example the children’s disability team, they receive timely assessment and appropriate advice to meet their needs. Here, practitioners effectively assess, review and support children and young people to achieve positive outcomes and experiences. For these children and young people, their transitions are well organised.
• Early years practitioners get useful training and advice from the early years SEN inclusion team. They use the early years SEND toolkit to produce ‘support and outcomes plans’ that outline children’s needs and personalised outcomes clearly.

Inspectors also referenced that recently appointed area leaders recognise the significant weaknesses of the current system and acknowledge the wide-ranging concerns found during the inspection.

At Oxfordshire County Council, recent changes to leadership posts include Martin Reeves, Chief Executive and Stephen Chandler, Interim Executive Director, People, Transformation and Performance. Recruitment for a permanent director of children services is underway. Anne Coyle is currently in post as the Interim Director of Children’s Services. The ICB has also appointed Nick Broughton as its Interim Chief Executive. All area leads take joint responsibility for the delivery of improvements across the partnership.

Stephen Chandler, Oxfordshire County Council’s Interim Executive Director, People, Transformation and Performance, said: “I am so sorry we have let families down. We fully and unequivocally accept the findings of this report. We must and will do better together as a partnership.

“We are urgently focusing our efforts to address the concerns raised. To do this, we want to develop a joint action plan together with parents and carers of young people with SEND as well as with other support and advocacy organisations.

“We also want to build on the strengths identified in the inspection, which we cannot do without our teams of dedicated professionals who continue to be committed to improving the experiences of children and young people with SEND. 

“We care deeply about improving the lives of children and young people and supporting them, along with their families, to thrive. We are determined to make significant changes so we can provide families with a better quality of service at the time they need it most.”

Councillor Liz Leffman, Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, added: “I am so very sorry and disappointed we have not been delivering SEND services across the partnership to the standard children and young people need and deserve.

“We are listening and we will act urgently to deliver significant improvements. I am confident that recent and ongoing appointments in senior roles will give us the necessary drive and focus to do this.”

Rachael Corser, NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB’s Chief Nursing Officer, said: “We’re sorry that our Oxfordshire SEND services have not met the high standards which our young people need and deserve. And we understand the frustration of parents, carers and families in Oxfordshire over the delays and confusion they face when trying to get help for their children.

“As health and care partners, we’re committed to building on the good work already being done in Oxfordshire, which the report acknowledges, and to make rapid progress in improving everything that must be done much better.

“We pledge to work closely with our young people and their families to make sure they get the support they need to thrive.”

Grant Macdonald, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Interim Chief Executive, said: “We are sorry that services for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities have not met the standards they and their parents and carers deserve. We will ensure that we play a full role in the partnership’s response, alongside parents and carers of young people with SEND, to ensure the quality of service meets the required high standard.”

Dr Anny Sykes, Oxfordshire University Hospitals’ Interim Chief Medical Officer, said: “As a provider of acute hospital services for children living in Oxfordshire, we are committed to working closely with colleagues at Oxfordshire County Council, BOB ICB and Oxford Health to tackle the areas for priority action related to health, identified by the inspection in July, so that all children and young people with SEND have high quality care in our hospitals. We will all work closely with these children and young people, and their families so that we hear their voices clearly and reflect their views in the plans for improvement.”

Jules Francis-Sinclair and Stephanie Harrison, Oxfordshire Parent Carers Forum (OxPCF) Co-Chairs, said: “OxPCF recognises the systemic failings identified in the inspection of local statutory services and has worked hard to share the views of local parents and carers about SEND services across the county. We share the frustration of local families about the consistent and repeated lack of action, duty and care in many areas. 

“We are pleased that some areas of good practice have been identified by the inspectors and look forward to working with the new leadership team to build on these to address the issues raised.  

“We reiterate our commitment to providing a channel for the voice of local families and hope that the findings of this inspection will lead to much needed improvements in SEND services and outcomes for children and young people across Oxfordshire.”

The full report is available on Ofsted’s website.

Notes

¹ As of July 2023, in Oxfordshire 43 per cent of assessments were being processed within statutory timeframes. The current national average as reported by the DfE in the January 2023 SEN2 data return is 50.7 per cent.

• In January 2023, there were approximately 23,000 children and young people with SEND in Oxfordshire (SEN2 Jan 23 census and Jan 2023 school census data published by the Department for Education). This included 5,427 with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in the age bracket 0 - 25. The total number of EHC plans that Oxfordshire maintains is increasing month on month, in line with regional and national trends and now exceeds 6,000.

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As part of a regular review  - known as local Area Partnership SEND Inspection -  Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are visiting Oxfordshire County Council and its partners this month, carrying out an inspection of local services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

The services within the Oxfordshire local area partnership include education, health, social care and families. The inspection is designed to make sure the services offered by the council and its partners are effective.

Further information about area SEND inspections is available on Ofsted’s website.

The feedback from parents and other interested groups will give inspectors as broader picture as possible about the current local area SEND provision, which includes health, social care and education.

The survey is available on Ofsted’s website where the relevant section can be completed online.

It will close at 9am on Tuesday 11 July 2023.

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The budget has been set in the face of significant pressures on services that stem from escalations in inflation and growing demands – especially in social care for adults and children.

However extra funds will be targeted to promote access to public transport, improve roads, help the lowest income households with cost of living pressures, help for people with special educational needs and disabilities and for community hubs to support families and young people.

The annual budget setting meeting of all 63 county councillors debated  the budget at their meeting today (14 February).

Councillor Liz Leffman, the leader of the county council, said in her statement to the council: “This is a positive budget for Oxfordshire that supports the priorities of the council and reflects the feedback we have heard from our residents.

“We know that households across Oxfordshire face particular financial challenges this year. For many this makes the services we provide even more important

“In the face of political and economic uncertainty we have had to make some difficult choices. We are committing funds to protect frontline services and ensure that the most vulnerable members of our communities continue to receive essential support.”

She added that the budget would “put our finances on a strong and stable footing in the face of future challenges”.

Cllr Leffman said that the inflation that has presented so many difficulties to households in the UK had also presented real challenges to the council in setting a budget – but she said that the council’s cabinet remains committed to its vision for a greener, fairer and healthier county.

She said: “Our priorities are to tackle inequality and support the most vulnerable residents in Oxfordshire by investing in frontline services to take action to address climate change and to put our finances on a stable footing for the challenges ahead.

“We have listened carefully to the feedback from our extensive public engagement and consultation on the budget and the views of Oxfordshire residents are reflected in our proposals.”

Council Tax

The council has agreed a 4.99 per cent Council Tax rise. In the Autumn the government announced that it would allow councils to raise Council Tax by this amount and recommended that they do so – with two per cent ringfenced for adult social care spending.

Cllr Leffman said: “We have thought very hard about the Council Tax increase for 2023/4. In our consultation on the budget, opinion was split on a 4.99 per cent increase to protect adult social care and other services.

“At the same time respondents were very clear that they did not want to see reduced spending on frontline services. We appreciate that any increase at this tough time for households will be hard. At the same time, we know that not funding vital services would have a huge negative impact on some of our most vulnerable residents.

“We therefore proposed to accept the government’s recommendation while investing to make sure we protect the lowest income households from the impact of this increase. We have set aside £2.3m to provide council tax relief and officers are working closely with districts and the city to design this approach.”

Key investments in the areas residents care about

Investments approved in the budget reflect the extensive programme of consultation and engagement that took place in 2022.

• There will be a £13.1m investment for children’s social care including a specific investment of £500,000 to tackle waiting times for Education, Health and Care Plan (ECHP) assessments for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and an additional one-off investment of £500,000 to kick-start the development of community hubs.
• There will be a £14m investment for adult’s social care including £4.4m to deal with increases in demand and complexity and the consequences of paused national reforms.
• Concerns about the availability of public transport options and the maintenance of highways has led to the council investing £2.2m into supporting community public transport and £500,000 to continue the popular combined ticket offer for park and ride that means it costs only £5 for a family of five to park and get a return bus ticket to the city centre.
• There is a further £1m investment in pavements, cycleways and highways.
• An investment of £500,000 is being made to support the expansion of the school streets scheme which has proved very popular in its four trial sites and made it safer and easier for children and parents to walk and cycle to school.
• A further £300,000 is to be invested to help parents and pupils with safe, sustainable, independent travel options for children and young people, encouraging them to walk and cycle to school.

In the council’s capital programme, there is £5.2m to support new children’s homes, £700,000 for statutory health and safety work at Redbridge Waste Recycling Centre and £8m for the expansion of special school capacity.

A further £3m is to be allocated to tackle climate change with a focus on a tree-planting strategy working with city, district and parish councils, with tree cover providing future resilience in the face of rising temperatures.

Meanwhile a £600,000 investment will be made to address severe flooding issues, improving drainage and building community resilience to flooding. There is £1.5m for Thames Towpath bank repairs and reconstruction in Oxford and £5m towards the ‘Vision Zero’ road safety and accessibility programme.

Today, the county council updated residents on how these plans are being rolled out. They are part of a package widely consulted on with partners. And with children, young people and their families.

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Youth Services, said: “We know that parents are really worried about support and education of their children, and that families are being affected because of government policies. We understand and share these concerns. We are doing everything in our power to deal with them.

“I am appealing to the new Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan, to urgently address the national funding issues facing all local authorities providing SEND services for children and young people.

“Like all local authorities in England, we struggle to keep up with demand. This is because the government’s high needs grants don’t match our children’s needs.

“Moreover, the range of children and young people receiving SEND support was extended in 2014, but no extra money was made available to extend our own special provisions.

“Gillian Keegan must find the money to fund the total accumulated deficit in the budget for SEND children arising from unfunded changes the government itself introduced nearly ten years ago. At the end of March 2022, in Oxfordshire the deficit stood at £29.8m and is forecast to increase to £47.3m by March 2023.

“Despite these extremely difficult financial challenges, we recently developed, with our partners, the local area SEND strategy. We’re now working on implementation of plans with schools, health partners, voluntary organisations, parents and carers to provide more support for children with SEND.”

Principal changes, already implemented or in development include:

• More special school places. In addition to looking to expand existing special schools, new schools at Bloxham Grove and Faringdon are in development and the county council has submitted to the Department of Education bids for two further special free schools.
• A project to support the wellbeing and mental health of pupils and staff in schools, being piloted with 10 schools in the north of the county until summer term 2023.
• A SEND support helpdesk is being launched for schools. It will initially be for schools in north Oxfordshire, aimed at both experienced SEND coordinators and those new to role. The initial pilot will be evaluated and, if successful, offered county wide.
• A review of arrangements involving local schools, to ensure a smoother transition when children with special educational needs move schools, an experience they often find difficult. New practical guidance will focus initially on those moving from primary to secondary school. Similar steps will then be introduced to assist those in early years provision into primary school, and secondary school children into further education.

Councillor Brighouse added: “We want children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to receive the very best support at the right time for them.

“All local authorities are experiencing a serious shortfall in government funding for the provision of their SEND services. It’s a national problem, not something that is specific to Oxfordshire.

“But we are determined, despite the challenges, to ensure that children and young people with SEND are able to access suitable education and to achieve their potential by being well prepared for a fulfilling, healthy adult life.”

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These grants are overspent nationally. The government had promised to review this deficit, caused by the increased costs arising from our better understanding of how to meet these children’s extra needs, but is now asking local authorities to carry the can and reduce it.

This is an enormous task. The main reason our SEND budget is overspent is because of greater demand and government restrictions on spending. Demand comes in various forms for children with SEND from classroom learning, where teachers are trained to understand and meet the needs of individual pupils, to more complex cases, such as when a child requires respiratory intervention. The spending restrictions have meant that local authorities haven’t been able to provide the right school places and support needed for children with SEND.

Moreover, the range of children and young people receiving SEND support was extended in 2014, but no extra money was made available to extend our own special provisions and a whole range of commercial providers have also seen the chance to profit and become involved in the system.

These commercial providers offer expensive specialist places in ‘for profit’ schools. Many of these schools make upwards of 38 per cent profit from the SEND budget. The budget is therefore under a lot of stress because of issues that are difficult for a local authority to change.

Oxfordshire County Council has just agreed a SEND strategy to wrestle with these national problems. We consulted widely on the strategy – including with parents, children and young people – and we are now working on an implementation plan with teachers, health partners, voluntary organisations, parents and carers.

Our approach is to keep as many children as possible in our mainstream schools with support and training provided for teachers and other staff – to provide resource bases within some of them – while using our special schools with their expert specialist knowledge to support them. However, this provision is hard to deliver currently because of the lack of appropriate government funding.

Where necessary, we shall build new special state schools to stop the movement into the expensive commercial ‘for profit’ sector. We will also work more closely with health to ensure that we have the necessary data to meet the needs of all these children and ensure they have timely interventions.

Supporting children early is key to ensuring children and families don’t experience the unnecessarily long-term trauma induced through the absence of appropriate early help.

The number of children and young people with special educational needs, particularly those with mental health and wellbeing needs, has risen sharply and we are seeing many more distressed children in our schools.

These children need additional support and help particularly to enable them to thrive in a mainstream school environment. Children in England, however, are 1,500 times more likely to be permanently excluded from schools than children growing up in Scotland. (In 2018: 7,853 children were permanently excluded from schools in England and just five in Scotland).

We would like Oxfordshire County Council, with our highly professional teachers and support staff, to lead the way nationally in reversing this ‘exclusionary’ trend and for Oxfordshire to be seen as a beacon of what’s possible by unlocking the minds and hearts of all our pupils.

Of course, there are many reasons for the difference between the English and Scottish figures. But we believe we have the quality of staff in Oxfordshire schools to lead the way in changing these deplorable national statistics. These are our most vulnerable children – a large number of them have education, health and care plans or are on the SEND register.

A civilised society doesn’t turn its back on such children. We must build an inclusive education system where all are valued and safeguarded, irrespective of their differing needs and abilities. This is our vision, which we are determined to deliver. 

Notes;

Councillor Brighouse's feature was published in Local Government Chronicle.

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Residents have already contributed to plans for this local area SEND strategy through public consultation, which took place between January and March 2022. There were 866 responses with over 90 per cent agreeing with the five strategic objectives. These are:

• Improving outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Developing a continuum of local provision to meet the requirements of these children and young people.
• Good physical and mental health and wellbeing.
• Improving post-16 education, learning, employment and training opportunities.
• Facilitating a positive move into adulthood for young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Youth Services, said: “In Oxfordshire, organisations that work with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities have a shared ambition that our county will be a place where every young person has the opportunity to become everything they want to be.

“We want children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to receive the very best support at the right time for them. We want them to be able to access suitable education and to achieve their potential by being well prepared for a fulfilling, healthy adult life.”

Detailed plans will now be developed by Oxfordshire County Council and its partners, including Oxfordshire’s NHS Clinical Commissioning Group. Schools, parents, and carers will also be involved in the next steps. The intention is to publish the new strategy in June 2022.

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 Oxfordshire County Council’s proposals include making more high quality SEND education available closer to home, reducing reliance on out of county provision, and improving educational outcomes for children through closer partnerships between the council and schools.

 The council and its partners are also seeking views on a draft Local Area SEND Strategy to develop high quality services across education, health, and social care to support children and young people and their families.

 The two consultations are interlinked and will run together between Monday 10 January and Thursday 10 March 2022. Residents can respond to both at letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/SEND-2022 or by scanning the QR code (scroll down).

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Youth Services, said: “In Oxfordshire, organisations that work with children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities have a shared ambition that our county will be a place where every young person has the opportunity to become everything they want to be.”

 The council and its partners are seeking views on:

• Improving outcomes for children with SEND.
• Developing a ‘continuum’ (a broad range) of provision to meet the requirements of children and young people with SEND.
• Ensuring good physical and mental health and wellbeing.
• Improving post-16 education, learning, employment and training to prepare young people for adulthood.
• Supporting an education system where parents and carers have confidence that their children's needs will be understood and met in their local school.
• Offering a range of specialist learning provisions for some young people who have a high level of need.
• Making every effort to use effectively and efficiently all the resources available to young people.

 Councillor Liz Brighouse added: “We want children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to receive the very best support at the right time for them. We want them to be able to access suitable education and to achieve their potential by being well prepared for a fulfilling, healthy adult life. That is why I’m encouraging as many residents as possible to participate in these consultations to help us make the right decisions and choices.”

 Residents can have their say on the proposals by:

•  Visiting letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/SEND-2022.
• Attending an online roadshow. There will be five events during February, outlining the Local Area SEND Strategy and the council's plans to develop a more inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with SEND. Visit letstalk.oxfordshire.gov.uk/SEND-2022 for dates and times, and to book a place.

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Oxfordshire County Council has worked closely with The Gallery Trust in delivering the new buildings, which were handed over to Orion Academy this week. The academy forms part of the council’s commitment to provide more school places for children with special educational needs.

The specialist academy will teach students aged 11 to 18 years, who have a range of additional needs, including autistic spectrum condition, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, speech and language difficulties, and specific and moderate cognition and learning needs.

It will become the sixth SEND school in Oxfordshire operated by The Gallery Trust, a special multi-academy trust based in Oxfordshire. The development, built by Morgan Sindall Construction, is on the site of the former Northfield School on Knights Road.

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Youth Services, said: “This is a very significant moment, demonstrating our commitment to every child and young person in the county. I’m confident Orion School pupils will receive the very best education, shaped for their individual needs, and in a first-class teaching environment.”

Councillor Calum Miller, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “Congratulations to everyone involved in this exciting project. It's been a huge effort to deliver it on time despite the pandemic. There has been great teamwork behind the shared goal of building this specialist learning environment to ensure every pupil gets the very best start in life.”

The new school consists of a main single-storey 2,700 square metre building, housing 14 classrooms. In addition to specialist rooms for science, art, music and design, there is a dedicated space for life skills; where pupils can practice cooking and other domestic tasks to give them independent living skills.

A space in the middle of the school, called The Bridge, will act as a therapeutic base and social area. There is also a large dining area and separate games hall, with an attached gym.

Following completion of the new building, the old structure will be demolished. In its place will be built an all-weather Sport England compliant five-a-side pitch, MUGA (multi-use games area) tarmac court, and a grass pitch with running track. This second phase will be completed in 2022.

Kay Willett, Chief Executive Officer of The Gallery Trust, said: “I am delighted the children are going to benefit from this exceptional environment and access resources they deserve. It is a wonderful building, and it will also benefit the local community.

“We are very grateful to everyone who has supported this build and in particular the attention given to the development of the estates strategy in Oxfordshire for children with special needs.”

Lynne Smith, Head Teacher of Orion Academy, said: “This is a very important moment in time for the students and staff at Orion Academy. We are delighted to welcome our school community into a purpose built, state of the art building where we believe our students will flourish and access a broad range of exciting and innovative learning opportunities. We are also proud to open our school to the local community in the future, so they are able to enjoy our sporting facilities.”

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A cross-party group of councillors reviewed the service for students with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) aged 16 or older to find savings needed by the council in response to reduced government funding.

After consulting with schools and parents, a new approach to providing home to school transport has been agreed without needing any changes to the council’s policy for entitlement to free home to school transport. The council believes it will be able to make further savings in the future. Savings will be made by:

• Route rationalisation – routes into 12 schools have been streamlined to use vehicle capacity more effectively
• Bardwell School in Bicester has agreed to use their own school minibus to support home to school transport and other schools will be encouraged to do the same in future
• Encouraging other modes of travel, including parents to take up direct payments for travel to support their own arrangements.

Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, Cabinet Member for Education who chaired the cross-party group, said:

“Giving every child access to education will always be our number one priority. We listened to the concerns of parents and schools and I am delighted to say that we have found a way to preserve that free school transport for those young people who need it while still managing to save money.”

Watch Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale’s interview on That’s Oxfordshire TV here.

The council has worked with 14 SEND schools to identify the necessary £300,000 of savings for post-16 home to school transport; removing any current need to change existing SEND free transport arrangements. A separate fund has also been created to provide transport for children to go to after-school activities.

A report on the roll-out of new national reforms in the county, published today by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission, calls for better planning for children with SEND and raises concerns over exclusion rates at mainstream schools. It also confirms educational outcomes for children and young people with SEND are improving and that children feel happy and well cared-for when receiving local services.

Both Oxfordshire County Council and the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) accept the findings and have already taken steps to address the issues raised.

These include strengthening leadership across both organisations and a stronger focus on the quality and timeliness of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, which underpin the support provided for families.

Steps are also being taken to provide more effective support – and stronger challenge - for mainstream schools to reduce exclusion rates for pupils with special educational needs.

“Best possible start in life”

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education Hilary Hibbert-Biles said: “Children with special educational needs and disabilities deserve the best possible start in life and we are determined to deliver these improvements alongside our health partners. This is a new national inspection framework and many of the issues highlighted in Oxfordshire are being flagged up elsewhere in the country.”

She added: “It’s important to remember that Oxfordshire is among the very poorest government-funded areas for education in terms of per-pupil funding, which has a bearing on the ability of schools and local agencies to bring in specialist support. For instance, we receive £17m less in ‘high needs’ funding than neighbouring Buckinghamshire, despite being a slightly larger county with higher levels of deprivation. This is something I am continuing to lobby central government over.”

Improvements

Sula Wiltshire, Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group’s director of quality and lead nurse, said: “We accept the report and the additional work that we need to do. We welcome this external review and are pleased to see the strengths identified in the report as well as those areas that need further work.

“We acknowledge there are improvements needed and we are working with our partners to ensure these are prioritised so that our most vulnerable children and young people in Oxfordshire have the joined up services they need and deserve.”

Parent-Carer Voices

Stephanie Harrison of Oxfordshire Parent-Carer Voices said: “The findings of this joint inspection not only identify the areas of strength within the County’s provision but also highlight some of the shortcomings of the service, echoing the concern expressed by many parents.

“This should be seen as a positive report and I believe the implementation of the recommendations will provide the impetus and support needed to bring about genuine and lasting improvements to SEND provision within the County.”

She added: “Oxfordshire has a strong reputation for co-production - where parent Carers and young people are seen by professionals as equal partners - and this report highlights the need to cement that approach between service user and service provider, in all settings.”

The pictures and other works of art were produced during a summer scheme run by Let’s Play - one of a number of organisations commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council to provide short breaks services for children and their families.

It formed part of a countywide partnership project involving more than 300 disabled children and young people aged from five to 21.

The work culminated in the staging of the county’s first disability arts festival, which demonstrated how arts and culture are being integrated into the support provided for disabled children and their families.

Deb Kerrison from Let’s Play said: “We were delighted to be part of such an innovative working partnership. The young people we support produced some great “Graffiti” art work which we have incorporated into a banner promoting our charity. They also had the opportunity to make a short film, produce some Animation and make musical instruments.

"It was a pleasure to see the enjoyment our young people experienced in producing some fantastic art work and we hope that shows in the exhibition on display.”

The RoAR festival, which demonstrated how arts and culture are being integrated into the support provided for disabled children and their families, was hailed a triumph by organisers, who are now discussing plans to make the festival an annual fixture.

The 2016 event rounded off a series of creative projects involving six organisations commissioned by the county council to provide short breaks services for children and their families, and five arts organisations supporting disabled children and young people aged from five to 21.

More than 100 young people gained an Arts Award and over 300 participated across the projects. A wide range of their work was showcased at the festival alongside art and dance workshops, discussion groups and a pop-up cinema. The event was attended by the young people and their families, and was also open to the general public.

Self-confidence

Emmy O'Shaughnessy, Director of Cowley’s Ark-T Centre, which hosted the festival, said: “The ability to engage in mainstream arts and cultural activities led by local organisations has really helped increase the self-confidence of disabled young people and to promote disability awareness more widely.

“The RoAR festival achieved a positive celebration of difference, empowering the children, young people and families to value their creative potential and self-expression.”

The 11 organisations involved have now formed a collective to work on plans for continuing the festival in 2017 and beyond.

The RoAR festival is the first of its kind in Oxfordshire, and will showcase how arts and culture are being integrated into the support provided for disabled children and their families.

It rounds off a series of creative projects involving six organisations commissioned by the council to provide short breaks services for children and their families, and five arts organisations supporting disabled children and young people aged from five to 21.

Great opportunity

Director of the Ark-t Centre Emmy O'Shaughnessy said: "It’s been fantastic for the children and young people to engage in mainstream arts and cultural activities led by local organisations.

"The projects have also enabled key arts organisations in Oxfordshire to develop their skills and improve provision for children with disabilities and their families. This is a great opportunity to show the value we are placing on the young people and their artwork.”

Workshops

As well as displaying the work of the young people involved, The RoAR Festival, which is funded by Oxfordshire County Council and Artswork, will include creative workshops for both invited participants and the general public. The young people will also be receiving certificates for gaining or working towards Arts Awards.

Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Families Melinda Tilley said: “Well done to all the young people who have taken part in what has been an excellent partnership project. Holding this festival not only provides a platform to celebrate their achievements but also helps to promote disability awareness for art and cultural providers.”

Event details

The event runs from 11am-4pm on Saturday, 29 October at the Ark-t Centre, Crowell Road, Oxford, OX4 3LN. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Inspectors will look at how Oxfordshire is

• Identifying needs

How effectively the local area identifies disabled children and young people and those who have special educational needs.

• Meeting needs and improving outcomes

How effectively the local area meets the needs and improves the outcomes of disabled children and young people and those who have special educational needs.

• Evidencing the local area impact

Evidencing how all partners contribute to improving outcomes. Evidence how the area is improving outcomes as a whole- beyond attainment data , include softer measures.

Inspectors will decide to visit

A range of providers and services chosen by inspectors including early years settings, schools, special schools, pupil referrals units and post 16 colleges.

These visits will not inspect the provision but focus on their understanding of and participation in meeting the areas’ responsibilities.

Inspectors will look at children and young peoples’ files to contribute to their evaluations.

Inspectors will want to meet with children, parents, teachers, leaders and governors.

What does this mean for us?

In a pilot inspection three hour meetings were arranged with

• three early years providers
• three primary schools
• two secondary schools
• two pupil referral units / special schools
• two post-16 establishments.

The inspectors began their visits by meeting children and young people with SEND and parents / carers of children and young people with SEND.

They also had discussions with senior leaders and governors about their participation in the area’s fulfilment of its Code of Practice responsibilities.

What inspectors are interested in?

Inspectors will review settings/school/college websites before they arrive to see key information about SEND and links to the local offer. For schools this will include the SEN Information report.

Ask what is different since the reforms were introduced in September 2014?

Have a strong focus on SEN support , early identification and outcomes achieved.

Inspectors reviewed young people’s outcomes during the pilots; they were able to review how the local area helped a young person across, education, health and social care and tracked specific children through the health and education system.

Inspectors want to hear directly from young people and parents about impact.

What should we do to prepare?

Ensure your website includes SEND information and links to the local offer.

Ensure that the SEN Information Report has been updated annually.

Ensure governors, leaders and SENCOS are aware of what the inspection will entail.

Review how data on outcomes is captured and shared with partners.

Think about how you can ensure that children and parents are at the centre of the Ofsted visit if they decide to visit your setting as part of  the inspection process.

Find more detailed information in the Ofsted  SEND Inspection Framework once published in April 2016, Oxfordshire Schools Insite and OCC public website (Early Years and FE colleges webpages).