Support for children with SEND who are not in school is inconsistent, inspectorates warn

A report by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) finds that support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) who do not attend school full-time is too inconsistent.

Although some children receive effective support from services, inspectors found that others do not have access to the same key services or joined-up support from health, social care and education partners. Official data does not show how many children with SEND are known to not be in school, but recent research from the Children’s Commissioner estimated that a quarter of children who went into home education had SEN support.

Today’s report says missed opportunities to identify children’s needs early, and to provide the right support, means too many children with SEND are leaving school when it could be avoided. Parents and carers spoke to inspectors about having no choice but to home educate their child – because they believed their child’s needs were not being met in school, and they were struggling to navigate an overly complex SEND system. However, many school leaders stressed that they lack the necessary resources – such as staff with the right expertise – to identify or meet children’s needs effectively.