Date published: 2026-09-02 | Category: Children's Services
Bath and North East Somerset Local Area SEND Partnership has welcomed the findings of an inspection into services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), which recognises strong partnership working, effective early help services and significant work to improve outcomes and experiences for children, young people and families.
The report, published following an inspection by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), recognised the progress being made across education, health and care services and found that leaders understand the challenges facing children and young people with SEND, have identified the right priorities, and are working together to drive improvement.
While acknowledging areas where further progress is needed, inspectors recognised that significant work is already under way across the partnership to improve outcomes.
The partnership, which brings together Bath & North East Somerset Council and NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board. .
The report highlights a number of strengths across the local area. Inspectors praised effective multi-agency working, stronger engagement with parents and carers through the Parent Carer Forum, a broad and well-established early help offer, and improving transitions for young people moving into adult services.
They also recognised successful work to increase specialist provision in schools, effective alternative provision arrangements, strong therapy services and prompt support for many children and young people through physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech and language services.
The inspection found that experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND are inconsistent and that the partnership must continue to work jointly to drive improvement. Inspectors recognised that many developments are under way, but that these are not yet delivering consistently positive experiences for all children, young people and families.
Inspectors found that children and young people with SEND generally achieve well, with many sustaining placements in education, employment and training after leaving school. They also noted effective practices in social care, including the work of the Connecting Families and disabled children's teams, and recognised improvements in supporting children with complex medical needs through initiatives such as the Therapy Boost Programme.
The partnership also recognises the areas where faster progress is required. These include reducing waiting times for some specialist health services, improving the consistency and quality of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, strengthening support available through mainstream schools, improving attendance and reducing suspensions among children with SEND, increasing the availability of short breaks for families, and improving data sharing and analysis across services.
Councillor Paul May, cabinet member for Children’s Services, said: “We welcome the report’s findings and want to thank everyone who contributed to the inspection. Children, young people and families remain at the heart of everything we do.
“The inspection recognised the growing influence of the Parent Carer Forum and the partnership's commitment to listening to lived experience. We will continue working closely with families as we deliver the improvements identified in the report.
“Work is continuing at pace on a number of these priorities. The partnership is updating its strategic improvement plan in response to the report's recommendations and remains committed to working closely with children, young people, families, schools, health providers and partner organisations to deliver lasting improvements “
Lucy Baker, Place Director at Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, said: “The inspection report provides a clear roadmap for further action and helps focus efforts on the areas that will make the greatest difference to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The report recognises strengths across our partnership, including effective joint working and strong early help services, while highlighting areas where further improvement is needed.”
Rachel Hale, Strategic Director and CEO of B&NES Parent Carer Forum, said: “We hope this report reassures parents and carers that their voices are being heard. Every voice matters, and the experiences and feedback shared through the Parent Carer Forum help ensure they are heard in the right places and used to shape better services.”
You can find a copy of the report here:
You can find our plan for SEND reform here
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