The development and implementation of the SEND system in Shropshire is overseen by the SEND & Alternative Provision Partnership Board.  This is supported by the ‘SEND Quality Assurance Group’ which was established to operate alongside the Partnership Board to offer more focused leadership and decision making while ensuring the quality of activities undertaken are of high quality and are coproduced. There are multiple workstreams reporting to the Partnership Board that have responsibilities including monitoring and quality assuring service delivery, ensuring community feedback is understood and responded to, supporting commissioning processes, and evidence gathering for inspection readiness. PACC provides representation on the workstreams, Quality Assurance Group, and Partnership Board. Ultimately the Shropshire SEND & Alternative Provisions Board is responsible for ensuring that the outcomes in the Shropshire SEND Strategy are delivered.

This board is co-chaired by the Director for People at Shropshire Council and the Chief Nursing Officer and Service Lead for SEND at Shropshire Telford & Wrekin Integrated Care Board.

The Board oversees the following workstreams

• Inclusive Practic
• Quality and Commissioning
• Neurodiversity
• Speech, Language and Communication
• EHCP
• Data and Insights
• Post16

PACC provides representation on all of these Workstream meetings

The Early Help and Prevention Partnership Board provides oversight and quality assurance of services that sit in Childrens Services including Targeted Early Help, Family Hubs, and other Public Health Services. This board is attended by statutory, commissioned, and voluntary sector services. Governance of Early Help / Family First services is vital, this group ensures that services are supported to deliver high quality care and support across the community, as well as provided a safe space to raise concerns and challenge the system when things are no working well.

This board is chaired by the Assistant Director for Public Health & Prevention, and reports to the Shropshire Integrated Partnership Board, as well as being held accountable by Senior Leaders in Shropshire Council.

WHAT IS PINS?

Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) is a national programme funded by the Shared Outcomes Fund and delivered between the Department for Education (DfE), NHS England (NHSE) and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC). Its aim of bringing health and education specialists and expert Parent Carers into mainstream primary settings to:

• Help shape whole school SEND provision provide early interventions at a school level
• Upskill school staff
• Support and strengthen partnerships between schools and Parent Carers
• Support and strengthen partnerships between Parent Carer Forums and Integrated Commissioning Boards It will bring a range of practitioners from across education and health service to work alongside parent carers to improve outcomes for children and young people who are neurodivergent, in mainstream school.

PINs is overseen by a partnership across Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin which includes PACC, PODS (Telfords Parent Carer Forum), Severn Training and Schools Alliance, and local Health Leads.

Read more about the PINS work here.

Every local area is subject to a SEND inspection at least once every five years. This is carried out jointly by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). They each focus on their area of expertise, with Ofsted exploring the quality of services in Education and Childrens / Adults Social Care, and CQC looking at Health and Adult Social Care provision. Overall the inspection seeks to determine how well an area identifies, responds to, and has impact on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities of children and young people aged 0-25. It also seeks evidence of impact on outcomes, aspirations, and quality of life for these children, young people and their families. Leaders are required to demonstrate strong leadership qualities, evidence of good data and inteligence that drives succesful commissioning, and high quality standards within the workforce.

Key Features of the 2025 Inspection Framework

• Focus on SEND: The new framework elevates Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) as a core component of school effectiveness. For the first time, SEND is recognized as a standalone category in inspections, ensuring it is not sidelined.
• Five-Tier Evaluation System: The outdated single-word judgments (Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement, Inadequate) are being replaced with a more nuanced five-tier system. This change aims to provide a clearer picture of school effectiveness, particularly in how they support SEND students.
• Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) Teams: These teams will support schools in implementing effective SEND strategies and work collaboratively with Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) to drive improvement. Schools cannot achieve a strong overall rating if their SEND provision is inadequate.
• Monitoring Inspections: Ofsted will resume monitoring inspections for areas with widespread failures in SEND provision. This aims to ensure that local authorities are held accountable for their SEND arrangements and that improvements are made where necessary.
• Consultation and Feedback: A public consultation on the new inspection approach was launched, inviting feedback from parents, carers, and educators to refine the framework further.

Implications for Schools

Schools must demonstrate how they adapt their teaching and learning to support diverse needs, ensuring that SEND provision is integrated into all aspects of school life. The framework aims to foster greater accountability for SEND provision and better recognition of inclusive practices, ultimately enhancing the educational experience for all learners. This new framework represents a significant shift in how schools are evaluated, with a clear focus on inclusivity and support for all students, particularly those with special educational needs.

Implications for Families

The framework includes a selection of case tracking meetings. This means that in an inspection a selection of families will be approached to participate in discussions with the inspectors. Inspectors meet with children, young people, Parent Carers, and practitioners to explore their experiences of the system. This helps develop the lines of enquiry inspectors will follow throughout the inspection process. Families may also be invited to attend focus groups at their child or young persons education provider. This may or may not be with inspectors but can gather evidence that is submit into the inspectors to support their enquiries. Three surveys are launched for Parent Carers, children and young people, and practitioners. These surveys are fed directly into the inspection team and inform their enquiries and decision making. Children and young people may be invited to meet with inspectors during education provision visits. They can share their views and voice their concerns and accomplishments in these meetings too. Parent Carer Forum Representatives will meet with inspectors to discuss their observations, experiences, and to share the collective voice of the SEND community. Other Parent groups may be invited to do the same.

There are 3 inspection outcomes:

"The local area partnership’s arrangements typically lead to positive experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership is taking action where improvements are needed." The next full area SEND inspection will be within 5 years. Ofsted and the CQC ask the local area partnership to update and publish its strategic plan based on the recommendations set out in this report.

"The local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements." The next full area SEND inspection will take place within approximately 3 years. Ofsted and the CQC ask that the local area partnership updates and publishes its strategic plan based on the recommendations set out in this report.

"There are widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND, which the local area partnership must address urgently." A monitoring inspection will be carried out within approximately 18 months. The next full area SEND inspection will take place within approximately 3 years. HMCI requires the local area partnership to prepare and submit a priority action plan (area SEND) to address the identified areas for priority action.

Read more about Shropshire's Local Area SEND Inspection and the work associated with this here.

13 local area Parent Carer Forums make up the West Midlands Regional Network. This network provides representation to regional activity in the SEND sector on behalf of the member forums. They do this on a representational basis, with a selected rep from the regional network presenting the views and experiences of the 13 collective forum areas. There is also a Representative from the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (details below) who acts as a key link for SEND system leads into the regional network. Regionally activity can take place that influences and impacts on the local agenda. This means that some decisions are made at a regional level that can change what is available locally and how things are to be implemented. It is important that our local experiences are heard in this arena to ensure that any decisions made that impact the Shropshire SEND community are coproduced and influenced by Shropshire families.

You can find out more about the regional network here.

The National Network of Parent Carer Forums provides representation to national systems and partners on behalf of the 153 Parent Carer Forums across England. They ensure that the voices of local communities, our aspirations, and concerns are heard and understood at the highest level. The NNPCF listens to local forums and elevates our experiences and voices to influence change through national policy, training programmes, and service developments. You can find out more about the NNPCF on their website: nnpcf.org.uk