Slough Borough Council: Area SEND full inspection

Local area partnership report

Area SEND inspection of Slough Local Area Partnership

Inspection dates: 7 to 11 July 2025

Dates of previous inspection: 27 September 2021 to 1 October 2021

Information about the local area partnership

Slough Borough Council, alongside NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board (Icb), are responsible for commissioning and planning the services for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Slough Children First, a company established in April 2021 and wholly owned by Slough Borough Council, is a key partner in the delivery of services for children and families, including some of the social care functions of the local authority in relation to children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The local authority retains legal responsibility for the discharge of those care functions. The local authority’s education functions in relation to those children and young people are discharged by the local authority.

The commissioning of health services changed across England in 2022. On 1 July 2022, the NHS Frimley Icb became responsible for the commissioning of health services in Slough.

There have been changes to some leadership posts across the partnership since the last inspection, including new appointments and changes to the senior structure. The formerly established Parent Carer Forum (Pcf), known as ‘Special Voices’, relinquished its official Pcf role in March 2025. At the time of the inspection, there was no Pcf.

The local authority commissions two main providers to deliver alternative provision (AP)

Inspection outcome

There are widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), which the local area partnership must address urgently. A monitoring inspection will be carried out within approximately 18 months. The next full reinspection will be within approximately three years. As a result of this inspection, Hmci requires the local area partnership to prepare and submit a priority action plan (area SEND) to address the identified areas for priority action.

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for children and young people who are unable to attend school due to their social, emotional or medical needs, and for those who have been or may be at risk of permanent exclusion.

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

Being a child or young person with SEND in Slough means typically having to navigate a disjointed system. Too many children and young people with SEND receive insufficient support to meet their needs and many wait too long for specialist assessments. There are some examples where children and young people benefit from effective individualised support because of the dedicated and caring practitioners who work with them. Similarly, some children and young people with SEND are beginning to access support through recent initiatives. However, it is too early to see the impact of this work.

Many children and young people with SEND and their families experience challenges in finding and getting the right help at the right time. While in the early years some families experience an encouraging start, this strength of practice is not continued as children get older. Nursery and early years settings accurately identify developmental needs using Slough’s tailored early years SEND tools, and for some children, multi-agency support is provided quickly. However, this is not the case for all children, especially those who miss early health assessments, where needs can be identified and supported at the earliest point. The ‘Nurture Group’ is highly valued by parents and carers who access its support and guidance when their children are not already open to other services.

In some schools, children and young people benefit from appropriate support that is informed by a developing understanding of neurodiverse and mental health needs. However, some children and young people say their needs are frequently not fully understood by staff who work with them, meaning they are not supported appropriately to realise their potential. There is more work to be done across education to embed a consistent graduated response in Slough to ensure the early identification of SEND.

Some children and young people do not get the help they need because their education, health and care (EHC) plans do not contain precise and up-to-date information about their needs. Weaknesses within the EHC plan process include poor-quality initial assessments and out-of-date information and advice. In addition, typically poor communication with SEND case officers causes children, young people and their families additional uncertainty. For example, in some instances, professional recommendations across education, health and social care have not been transferred into children’s EHC plans.

For children and young people approaching transitions, whether from primary to secondary education or into adulthood, weak coordination and unclear planning mean that many feel unprepared, unsupported and anxious about their future.

Children do not benefit from equitable health provision. This includes those who are out of education or whose parents struggle to navigate the system to get the advice and

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guidance that they need. Parents, carers, children and young people face difficulty in accessing and participating in support online, with some commenting they would prefer more face-to-face interaction.

While children and young people’s individual provision and support are not always effective, some spoke positively with inspectors about opportunities they have as part of the ‘Together as One’ SEND youth focus group. This provides a positive experience for some young people where they can make friends and advocate for important service development. Many also explained they would like more opportunities such as these, to work with other children and young people in Slough. Similarly, some families spoke positively about the support they receive for respite care and short breaks.

While some parents and carers are concerned about the support in place for their children, those who are accessing Slough’s SEND information, advice and support service highly value its support. More families are now benefiting from this service because it has recently become more stable with a full complement of knowledgeable staff.

What is the area partnership doing that is effective?

◼ Partnership leaders are ambitious and determined. There is a clear commitment

among leaders and practitioners across the partnership to make improvements to services for children and young people with SEND. Leaders are initiating plans and have made key appointments to enhance their capacity to deliver improvements. These improvements are still in their infancy, so it is too soon to gauge their impact.

◼ The partnership has begun to ensure that some suitable places and resources are

allocated to children and young people with SEND. Inclusion panels comprising specialist teaching staff, local schools and special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) now make informed decisions about provision and support for children and young people with SEND. There are some examples where children and young people with SEND are achieving well because their needs are being met in appropriate settings.

◼ Early years practitioners use partnership guidance to quickly flag concerns when

children join settings. This means support and assessment pathways are quickly initiated. Staff engage well with training, and the ‘Nurture Group’ supports children not yet accessing services. Parents of preschool children can also access speech and language therapy (Salt) guidance via a phone advice line and online workshops and webinars. An occupational therapy (Ot) triage line also offers initial advice and helps practitioners to direct families to support while they wait for a first appointment.

◼ Targeted early help SEND outreach staff help families understand emerging needs,

medical diagnosis, access support and navigate processes with empathy and cultural sensitivity.

◼ Some children and young people with SEND receive bespoke support from

knowledgeable workers in the children with disabilities social work team. Families receive appropriate packages of care or direct payments to meet their identified needs.

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◼ Children and young people with SEND who need residential school provision are

provided with well-matched placements. These are close to home where possible. The partnership also provides highly valued packages of care and short breaks respite that supports identified families and children and young people with SEND.

◼ A wide range of emotional and mental health services support the varied needs of

children and young people with SEND across the area. Recent reductions in waiting times are encouraging, and those with longer waits are now prioritised for support.

◼ Once accessed, neurodevelopmental assessments are thorough. The dynamic

support register (Dsr) is needs led, meaning children and young people can still access support while waiting for an assessment.

◼ The specialist children’s health practitioner role has enabled swift and direct support

through timely interventions, referrals and partnership liaison for children while they are waiting for a community paediatric review.

◼ Young people with SEND open to the youth justice service benefit from a multi-

disciplinary service that incorporates both child and adolescent mental health services and Salt professionals to identify needs and provide support for young people when they are referred to the service.

What does the area partnership need to do better?

◼ In Slough, too many children with SEND face delays in having their needs identified

and met. Despite some improvements, progress has been too slow for too long. The partnership lacks the data and systems to understand needs across the area. There is not the effective governance and oversight that are essential to drive suitable joint commissioning of services and provision.

◼ There is not enough strategic co-production (a way of working where children,

families and those that provide the services work together to create a decision or service that works for them all), particularly in engaging parents across Slough’s diverse communities. The partnership’s understanding of community needs is insufficient to commission and deliver accessible and appropriate services.

◼ Many children and young people’s EHC plans are out of date and do not accurately

reflect their current needs. Local area leaders recognise the challenges that remain and are working to improve the timeliness and quality of EHC plans. While some recent plans show improvements, families still face long delays, leading to unsuitable placements or missed education. Delays and inaccuracies in plans hinder schools from providing appropriate support. Poor communication with SEND officers and social worker changes leave parents feeling unheard and unsupported.

◼ Health and social care practitioners are often excluded from EHC assessments and

annual reviews and rarely see draft or final EHC plans to verify accuracy. Key health recommendations, such as equipment needs, are frequently missing from final EHC plans.

◼ A lack of early identification and support through the graduated approach has led to

disrupted education and rising exclusions affecting children and young people with SEND, particularly those with social, emotional and mental health needs. Many

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children and young people spend extended periods in AP due to unclear reintegration strategies. The local area acknowledges the need for a renewed strategy focusing on earlier intervention, sufficiency planning, and improved commissioning to better support inclusive mainstream reintegration.

◼ Not all relevant staff are contributing effectively to the Dsr network in Slough. For

example, there is limited input from some health services and education professionals. Additionally, delays in the allocation of key workers hinder timely support and coordinated care planning for those with the most complex mental health needs.

◼ Work is underway to develop a needs-led neurodevelopmental pathway, with actions

due to begin in early autumn. However, long waits remain. Parents are not routinely contacted during the wait, though service access is available. Those new to the borough without a local Gp cannot access support.

◼ Many children and young people with SEND face prolonged delays accessing health

services, including non-urgent follow-ups with community paediatricians. Despite some improvement, long waits persist for Ot, and Salt access remains inconsistent. Electively home-educated children with SEND are particularly disadvantaged due to exclusion from school-based therapies. A plan to address access inequities is set for implementation by September 2026.

◼ Children with physical disabilities in specialist settings experience delays and

difficulties accessing the equipment they need, compromising individual postural support. Those with cerebral palsy lack access to a cerebral palsy integrated pathway, limiting early identification of deterioration and onward specialist referrals. Delays in orthotic assessments exacerbate these challenges.

◼ Not all children benefit from multi-agency oversight, planning and tracking to support

preparation for adulthood. This results in limited suitable resources being made available to deliver appropriate education training and employment opportunities, such apprenticeships and internships.

◼ Too many children and young people with SEND face difficult transitions due to

inconsistent guidance, delayed consultations and unclear post-nineteen pathways. Limited AP and outdated EHC plans further hinder placement decisions and support.

◼ Support for children with SEND transitioning to adulthood is weak. Joint

commissioning between child and adult services is underdeveloped, and suitable education, training and employment opportunities, such as apprenticeships and internships, are limited or unavailable.

◼ The local offer is poorly understood and underused, leaving families unaware of

available support in the area. Limited accessible activities and unclear information lead to unused holiday club vouchers and difficulty accessing SEND services. Areas for priority action

Areas for priority action

Responsible body

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Slough Borough Council and NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board.

Local area leaders must establish a more effective partnership to ensure:

• that there is a governance structure in place that provides effective oversight and monitoring of the whole SEND system; and • that there are clear processes established, including more strategic use of data, to better identify the needs of children and young people with SEND across the local area, and to inform service development and measure impact. Slough Borough Council and NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board.

Local area leaders must urgently review arrangements and opportunities for joint commissioning across Slough, including robust oversight of the impact of all commissioned services. This must include immediate action to ensure children receive high-quality essential equipment at school. Slough Borough Council and NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board.

The local area partnership must prioritise systems to gather the views of parents, carers and children and young people with SEND to inform effective co- production. Leaders should use these views to inform their strategic planning for, and evaluation of, SEND services to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with SEND. Slough Borough Council and NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board.

The local area partnership must take urgent action to improve the quality and effectiveness of children and young people’s EHC plans and annual reviews to ensure:

• that EHC plans accurately reflect up-to-date education, health and care needs and provision; and • that the annual review process takes place within the appropriate timescales and amendments to EHC plans accurately reflect needs and include updated views from children, young people and their families. Slough Borough Council and NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board.

The partnership must develop and embed a clear process to ensure young people with SEND are better prepared for adulthood with access to the right support at the right time so they are well prepared for the future. This should include establishing clear oversight and formalised processes to monitor their outcomes and ensure that all young people with SEND are supported into sustained education, employment or training.

Areas for improvement

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Health leaders need to make further improvements to:

• waiting times for children and young people accessing health assessments and community paediatric reviews; • ensure that children and young people with a physical disability have their individual postural needs met using appropriate structured assessment frameworks, specialist equipment recommended by therapists and timely access to orthotics services; and • ensure children and young people receive a timely diagnosis across neurodevelopmental pathways and Ot services. Education leaders should continue to develop their oversight, strategy and commissioning arrangements of suitable AP so that there is sufficient suitable provision that meets the needs of children and young people with SEND. The local area partnership should continue to develop the effectiveness of the way in which the graduated approach is used across education, health and care to ensure identification and intervention at an earlier stage.

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Local area partnership details

Local authority Integrated care board Slough Borough Council NHS Frimley

Sue Butcher, Director of Children’s Services

Sam Burrows, Interim Chief Executive Officer

www.slough.gov.uk www.frimley.icb.nhs.uk

Slough Borough Council Slough Children First Observatory House 25 Windsor Road Slough Berkshire SL1 2EL

NHS Frimley Integrated Care Board King Edward Vii Hospital St Leonards Road Windsor SL4 3DP

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: an HMI and Ofsted Inspector 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 Una Buckley, Ofsted HMI, Lead inspector Deana Fowle, CQC Lead inspector Tom Anthony, Ofsted HMI Tessa Valpy, CQC inspector Andrew Lawrence, Ofsted Inspector

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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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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