The partnership responsible for planning, delivering and commissioning services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Derbyshire has welcomed the findings of a recent Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitoring inspection.
Inspectors re-visited the Derbyshire Local Area Partnership in September to assess the progress it has made since an inspection in 2024 highlighted a number of areas requiring work to improve the effectiveness of local education, health and care services to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND aged up to 25.
The report found that Derbyshire has developed a stronger understanding of the needs of children and young people with SEND, established a new co-produced SEND strategy and improved collaboration across organisations.
It also recognised strengthened partnership working across education, health and social care, improved strategic planning and joint commissioning arrangements, reductions in the number of children with SEND missing education and improved access to some health assessments and support.
While they found improvements across 4 of the 6 priority areas in the Priority Impact Plan, the inspectors found families continue to experience delays in the education, health and care plan (EHCP) process and continued to receive poor communication about services available to them.
The partnership, made up of our education service, NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board and partners across education, health and care services, will now update its plan to address the new findings.
Executive Director of Children’s Services at Derbyshire County Council Jenny Lingrell said:
“We welcome the recognition from inspectors that effective action has been taken in 4 of the 6 priority areas identified in 2024. This reflects the hard work of staff and partners across education, health and social care who have been committed to improving services for children and young people with SEND.
“At the same time we fully accept that there are still areas where children, young people and families are not receiving the service they deserve. We are sorry that some families continue to experience delays in assessments, frustrations with EHCP processes and poor communication.
“While we have made good progress in areas such as strengthening our SEND strategy, improving joint working, increasing specialist provision and reducing waiting times in some health services, we know there is more to do.
“Our focus now is on building on the progress we’ve made, listening carefully to the experiences of families and ensuring that improvements are felt consistently by children, young people and their families across the county.
“We remain committed to working alongside parents, carers, schools, health colleagues and Derbyshire Parent Carer Voice to deliver positive outcomes for children in Derbyshire.”
Jo Hunter, Director of Quality, Safeguarding, Continuing Healthcare and Partnerships at NHS Derby and Derbyshire Integrated Care Board, added:
“The report acknowledges important improvements including shorter waiting times in several health services, expanded mental health support and better access to help for children and young people with neurodevelopmental needs.
“However, we recognise that some waiting times remain too long, particularly for some specialist services and we understand the impact this can have on children, young people and their families. We apologise to those who continue to face these challenges.
“Our focus remains on improving access to timely support, reducing waiting times wherever possible and ensuring families receive the information and communication they need throughout their journey.”
Sam Gaunt, Chair of Derbyshire Parent Carer Voice, said:
“We welcome the recognition that improvements have been made across several areas of the Derbyshire SEND system and acknowledge the commitment shown by partners to address the areas identified during the 2024 inspection. We have seen positive developments in partnership working and a greater focus on the needs of children and young people with SEND.
”However, many parent carers continue to tell us that they face significant challenges navigating the SEND system and that the improvements being made at a strategic level are not always being consistently experienced by families. Delays, communication issues and difficulties accessing support remain a reality for many.
”As Derbyshire moves into the next phase of its improvement journey, we hope to see a stronger focus on meaningful co-production with children, young people and families, alongside clearer communication and greater transparency. We remain hopeful that by working together we can ensure improvements are not only made, but are felt by families across Derbyshire.”
