SEND Local Area Inspection Revisit Outcome Letter

06/02/2023

Following Shropshires Local Area SEND Inspection in January 2020, Shropshire was Re-Inspected in November 2022. You can read more about the Re-Inspection and how PACC was involved here.

The latest Re-Inspection Outcome Letter has been published, which you can read here.

The SEND Inspection Revisit Outcome was very well informed by Shropshire Parent Carers and their families’ experiences. The outcome reflects what both PACC, as a representative parent carer forum, and individual Parent Carers have shared with inspectors. This demonstrates that our links between the SEND community and the system we are trying to influence have improved over the last two years. PACC has been clear that while the SEND system may be listening to families more, there is still a disconnect between that information being fed through to influence service delivery to improve families experience of the care and support the receive. We are pleased to see the Inspectors recognise the challenges, and express concern that a refreshed focus should be applied to the quality of Education Health Care Plans, the Neurodevelopmental Assessment Services, and the Speech and Language Therapy Services. This reflects what families within the SEND community share with us regularly, and while there has been some progress made in relation to waiting times and legally required timescales being met across these three areas, the quality of the experience for many families remains far too varied and inconsistent for these not to remain key priorities.

We cannot thank enough the many Parent Carers who took the time to share their experiences. As a representative organisation, we cannot influence change without your shared experience informing our discussions across the SEND system. We remain committed to representing the SEND community as we move forward and working to inform how the SEND Strategic Vision is implemented across Shropshire to improve families experience of supporting children and young people with SEND in Shropshire.

Shropshire Council and NHS Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin have published a response to the outcome letter here. 

This outcome letter demonstrates that families’ voices were heard, valued, and fully informed the inspection outcome. Families’ engagement and coproduction across services, ensuring families experience and needs must be at the heart of decision making across the Shropshire SEND landscape. This report reinforces the priority that needs to be given to not only identifying the needs of the system to change, but also to deliver impact and genuine outcomes for families. 

If you have any comments or questions, please contact us via info@paccshropshire.org.uk