Councils with “significant weaknesses” in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision may not be inspected again for up to four and a half years, following the introduction of Ofsted’s new framework.
The new regime by the inspectorate and the Care Quality Commission came into effect on January 1.
Local SEND services will be judged more on the impact they have on children, with more scrutiny on alternative provision.
Figures show that more than two thirds of councils inspected by Ofsted last year had “significant weaknesses” in how they supported pupils with SEND – the worst record since the watchdog started its visits six years ago.
Areas found to have significant weaknesses produced a “written statement of action” (WSoA), and then faced a revisit, usually within 18 months.
