London Borough of Islington: Area SEND full inspection

Local area partnership report

Area SEND inspection of Islington Local Area Partnership

Inspection dates: 09 February 2026 to 13 February 2026

Dates of previous inspection: 08 November 2021 to 12 November 2021

Inspection outcome

The local area partnership’s special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) 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 approximately 5 years.

Ofsted and CQC ask that the local area partnership updates and publishes its strategic plan based on the recommendations set out in this report.

Information about the local area partnership

The London Borough of Islington and the North London Integrated Care Board (Icb) are jointly responsible for the planning and commissioning of services for children and young people with SEND in Islington.

Since the previous inspection, there have been national changes to the way health services are commissioned. These changed across England in 2022. On 1 July 2022, the North London Icb became responsible for the commissioning of health services in Islington.

The Islington partnership commissions alternative provision (AP) from a local pupil referral unit as its core offer. AP is commissioned for children or young people who are unable to attend a school due to their social, emotional or medical needs. Some schools commission their own AP to meet children and young people’s needs.

What is it like to be a child or young person with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in this area?

Children and young people with SEND are put at the centre of the partnership’s work. Their needs and starting points are known and prioritised. There is high ambition and commitment to providing high-quality services through an embedded culture of collaboration among professionals across education, health and social care.

Area SEND inspection report: Islington Local Area Partnership 09 February 2026 to 13 February 2026 2

Most children and young people’s needs are identified quickly. Deliberately designed approaches are making a difference in earlier identification and support. Approaches include further training provided to school and nursery staff to identify and support children and young people’s needs, and the roll out of bright start hubs which are services for children under 5 and their families in Islington.

Children and young people with SEND in Islington benefit from a strong integrated therapy offer including speech and language, and occupational therapy. Many children experience accessible support in their schools, family hubs and early years settings, which helps them receive the right help at the right time in environments familiar to them.

Children and young people benefit from a wide range of effective early help across education, health and social care. A well-integrated workforce provides comprehensive support and accessible options for advice and information. A range of support groups and services mean there is a gentle introduction to more targeted early help, where appropriate. Professionals in these services work proactively to raise awareness, provide guidance and encourage the take up of additional help when needed.

Children and young people benefit from timely production of education, health and care (EHC) plans, which are developed to a typically strong standard, providing accurate information about health and care needs, alongside educational needs and requirements. Annual reviews are also timely, enabling professionals to have a clear updated understanding of the child and young person’s needs, such as of those who may be at risk of becoming not in education, employment or training.

The voices and views of children and young people are valued. They are considered thoroughly when devising new strategy and take a clear role in the formulation of their EHC plans. Typically, children and young people with SEND achieve well in Islington across all phases of education. This success prepares them well to continue into further education or employment.

Children and young people who attend local authority commissioned AP follow a graduated response. Packages are personalised and developed through meaningful consultation with the child and young person and their family. This means there is a clear understanding of their individual needs and aspirations. Outreach work and training to other providers further supports children and young people for their next steps and helps them re-engage with their education.

Many children and young people enjoy access to short breaks, with their parents or carers given choice and control over how it is best used to suit them and their family. However, this can be variable and overnight short break options are limited. Likewise, while the partnership has thoughtfully reviewed and strengthened its post-16 pathways, a few young people experience delays in accessing adult services, especially where the signposting of what is available is not communicated clearly.

Area SEND inspection report: Islington Local Area Partnership 09 February 2026 to 13 February 2026 3

What is the area partnership doing that is effective?

◼ The partnership is committed to delivering high-quality provision for children and

young people with SEND and their families. There is a palpable dedication to improve the quality of identification and support. Reflective practice is championed and there is a shared responsibility. This means that the partnership builds on the high standards in place to ensure that children and young people’s interests are put first. For example, leaders have identified priorities with precision and there is strong oversight over the impact of leaders’ work. ◼ Leaders are working creatively to anticipate and address the rising need for

services. For example, when equipment services were disrupted nationally, leaders worked at pace to ensure children and young people were not impacted locally. ◼ Joint commissioning is well-embedded. Partners have strengthened governance of

their strategy and key performance information is being used to evaluate services and hold each other to account. Leaders have a firm handle on what is working well and where improvements or refinements are needed, for example developing overnight short breaks and addressing neurodevelopmental assessment waiting times by piloting ‘assessment sprints’ by pooling their resources. ◼ The partnership has ensured that most schools and children’s centres have

allocated a link speech and language therapist and child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) practitioner providing prompt and consistent advice and training as well as individual therapeutic work with children who may have struggled to attend appointments in clinical settings. ◼ Babies and children receive timely health reviews in line with the healthy child

programme. For example, communication development is screened and prompt early intervention is offered by family health advisers if needed. The early use of a new screening tool is well embedded and impactful. The tiny heroes programme supports parents of babies who have spent time in intensive care. Enhanced home visiting, tailored parenting groups and intervention and advice from specialist occupational therapy and speech and language therapy practitioners provide sensitive support for parents who have often experienced a difficult start to their baby’s life. ◼ Referrals for children and young people seeking support for mental health or

emotional wellbeing are managed effectively through a central point of contact. This ensures that families, including those where children and young people may be at significant risk, are supported to access the most appropriate services swiftly. ◼ There is a broad range of specialist mental health services for young people who

are the most vulnerable, for example looked after children; those educated in AP; and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. Mental health practitioners work

Area SEND inspection report: Islington Local Area Partnership 09 February 2026 to 13 February 2026 4

alongside social care and provide extensive consultation to ensure that there is effective wraparound support. ◼ A strong multi-agency approach helps manage need for children via the dynamic

support register (Dsr). On discharge, there is effective planning, including practitioners liaising with schools, resulting in shorter inpatient stays where possible. Further outreach work and wraparound care for transition points also provide effective support for children and young people on the Dsr. ◼ Early help practitioners and children’s social workers proactively collaborate across

the partnership to understand disabled children’s education, health and social care needs, ensuring holistic and effective support. Disabled children make consistent progress toward their goals and greater independence. Parents and carers receive bespoke social care support. ◼ Partnership commissioning arrangements for residential special schools are

embedded, quality-focused and child-centred. Leaders take decisions to place children and young people in out-of-area provision very seriously, ensuring that these are underpinned by integrated, holistic multi-agency assessment and review. Therefore, risk management and commitment to children’s progress are shared responsibilities. Regular visiting and the consistent uptake of advocates for children help ensure that they are individually known and the quality of care they receive is clearly understood. ◼ Leaders have strengthened oversight of the EHC plan process through weekly

multidisciplinary reviews, structured quality audits and clearer accountability for timely, high-quality advice. Children and young people receiving early help and social care support are screened early during each EHC needs assessment, with proactive contact with families to support decision-making on the most suitable provision. Many EHC plans reflect the needs of the child and the provision needed. ◼ The partnership uses multiple parent support groups, including the family action

group. This enables parental influence in new strategies and ensures their active participation in community initiatives, alongside building supportive networks for families. The employment of a lived experience practitioner within the neurodevelopment pathway provides insightful and tangible help to families. ◼ The partnership is developing a more inclusive culture in schools through training

and sharing good practice. Work here is demonstrating significant success. For example, children and young people with SEND typically achieve well and secure positive outcomes at both key stage 2 and key stage 4.

◼ The partnership has developed a robust system that holds schools to account and

shared responsibility. Suspensions for children and young people with SEND are reducing in many schools, and the number of families choosing to home educate is also decreasing. Rates of attendance for children and young people with SEND

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in Islington schools is improving, and those children and young people most at risk are quickly identified. ◼ Children and young people who are educated outside of school receive tailored

support and guidance. There is strong oversight of these children and young people with coproduction of education other than at school packages with the parent and child. Inspectors found these children and young people make good progress and achieve well academically and socially. ◼ The fair access panel protocols are well established across the partnership to

enable colleagues to provide peer review and challenge to each other to improve an increasingly more equitable SEND offer across schools. ◼ Children and young people’s next steps are often well planned. They benefit from

the support provided through the career progress team. Planning for disabled children and young people known to social care to transition to adult services typically begins in good time.

What does the area partnership need to do better?

◼ The partnership has renewed its efforts in improving attendance and reducing

suspensions of children and young people with SEND. However, some of the new approaches adopted are not fully embedded across all educational settings. This is particularly evident in the number of suspensions of children and young people with SEND in secondary schools. Some secondary schools are not identifying children and young people’s needs quickly or making the reasonable adjustments and/or adaptations to meet their needs effectively. The partnership is putting robust processes in place to challenge and offer support to these schools, but it is too early to see the full impact of this work. ◼ There is more to be done across the partnership to develop far-reaching

communication and relationships with families. While many parents and carers are actively involved in the partnership’s work and included in decisions about education, health and social care, leaders know there is more to do and are enacting their plans to address this. ◼ While many children and young people benefit from short breaks in their

community, timely access to overnight short breaks for those with complex health needs is variable. Some children and young people on the Dsr would benefit from stronger community provision to prevent escalation of their needs when home environments become challenging. Leaders have already identified the need to further refine the short break offer and have advanced plans to take this work forward. ◼ Some young adults experience delays in having their needs assessed by adult

services. Although some children and young people’s health and social care services continue to fund support packages post 18 in the interim to prevent gaps,

Area SEND inspection report: Islington Local Area Partnership 09 February 2026 to 13 February 2026 6

some young people do not receive their full adult entitlement promptly. This delays their ability to live their most independent and autonomous lives and can add further stress for families at a time when they need clarity about their futures.

◼ Some children and young people wait too long for specific health assessments and

specialist therapeutic support. Delays in accessing neurodevelopment assessment, treatment from core CAMHS team, and certain specialist pathways for occupational therapy, along with speech and language therapy mean that, for some children and young people, their needs are not fully understood or met in a timely way. ◼ Antenatal visits are not offered routinely due to workforce capacity issues.

Consequently, there are missed opportunities to support and provide health guidance to parents at the earliest opportunity.

Areas for improvement

Areas for improvement Leaders at the NHS North Central London Icb must maintain the pace and traction around timely access to health services for children and young people with SEND, particularly in addressing the waiting times for CAMHS core treatment pathways, neurodevelopmental assessment pathways and some specialist speech and language and occupational pathways for children. Leaders across the partnership should continue to improve communication with parent carers to ensure that they are increasingly included in strategic co-production and consistently engaged in individual plans for children and young people with SEND. Leaders should continue to review and strengthen local sufficiency of short breaks for children and young people with SEND, including those children with complex health care needs and those on the Dsr.

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Local area partnership details

Local authority Integrated care board London Borough of Islington North London Integrated Care Board Jon Abbey, Corporate Director Children’s Services

Frances O’Callaghan, Ceo for North Central London (Ncl) Icb and for North West London (Nwl) Icb www.islington.gov.uk

www.nclhealthandcare.org.uk Islington Council 222 Upper St London N1 1XR

North Central London Integrated Care System Laycock Pdc Laycock Street London N1 1TH

Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out at the request of the Secretary of State for Education under section 20(1)(a) of the Children Act 2004.

The inspection was led by one of His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI) from Ofsted, with a team of inspectors including: 2 HMI/Ofsted Inspectors from education and social care; a lead Children’s Services Inspector from the Care Quality Commission (CQC); and another Children’s Services Inspector from the CQC.

Inspection team

Ofsted Care Quality Commission Sarah Saunders, Ofsted HMI, Lead inspector

Claire Mason, CQC, Lead inspector

Steve Bailey, Ofsted HMI Geraldine Bates, CQC inspector

Esther Brooks, Ofsted Inspector Harriet Doran, CQC inspector

Area SEND inspection report: Islington Local Area Partnership 09 February 2026 to 13 February 2026 8

The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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