One minute guide: Area SEND thematic visits

What are area SEND thematic visits

In January 2023, OfSTED and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) introduced a framework for the inspection of local area arrangements for children and young people with special educational needs (SEND). This replaced the previous SEND inspection framework. Leeds was inspected under the former framework in 2016; see the published letter.

The 2023 SEND inspection framework includes full area SEND inspections - see the one minute guide for more information on how these inspections work, and their outcomes - as well as annual conversations with Ofsted focused on services and support for SEND, and thematic visits.

Ofsted and the CQC carry out a series of thematic visits each year in a small number of areas to investigate a particular aspect of the SEND system in depth, looking at the ways in which local area partners work together to deliver that aspect.

Local areas which are subject to a thematic visit do not receive a judgement about their services, and there are no published letters setting out the strengths and areas for development for each area visited under the theme. The outcome of the thematic visits is a national report summarising findings and themes across all local areas visited; these reports do not attribute findings to individual areas unless those areas agree to be identified. The purpose of the reports is to share learning to promote improvement across the sector.

In September 2023, inspectors visited Leeds during their set of thematic visits focused on alternative provision. The summary report is available.

The focus of the 2025 thematic visits

The 2025 thematic visits are focused on children of statutory school age with SEND (with an Education Health and Care Plan, or receiving SEN support, or who are waiting for a diagnostic assessment) who are not in school. The framework for the children not in school thematic visits.

Visits seek to explore the experiences of children with SEND and their families who:

• are missing from education, and children who are electively home educated (EHE)
• are on a school roll but are flexi-schooled on a part-time basis or who are severely absent
• attend unregistered alternative provision
• receive special educational provision through education other than at school arrangements
• have returned to education in the six months prior to the visit, having met the definition of children not in school

The framework notes that both strategic leaders and delivery partners are also stakeholders, in addition to children and families, for the purposes of the thematic visits. Strategic leaders include those who commission or support the commissioning of services that provide support for children not in school, and those who are involved in area-wide strategic planning for this group of children. Delivery partners include those who deliver education to school-age children, and health and social care providers that support all children an a local area.

What thematic visits for children not in school cover

The framework states that inspectors will seek to better understand five key themes:

Information sharing

• the extent to which local partners share information about a child’s change in circumstances when they either leave a school roll or no longer attend full time
• how partners work together to ensure education and health provision is in place when a child is no longer, or has never been, on a school roll
• how local area partners work together to use data to improve outcomes for children with SEND who are not in school, or who are at risk of exclusion

Access to health services

• the availability and commissioning of health services for children not in school, and whether children with SEND have their health needs met when not attending school
• parents’ and carers’ understanding of the availability of relevant health services when their child is not in school
• how health services meet children’s additional needs without a formal diagnosis

Oversight of provision

• support from local area partners to children who are EHE or not on a school roll
• monitoring, evaluation and oversight arrangements for children not in school, including those on part-time timetables or in unregistered alternative provision
• how local area partners know whether children’s needs are identified accurately and assessed in a timely and effective way when those children are not in school

Enablers of, and barriers to, children remaining in education

• the reasons for children with SEND not being in school, including if they have been excluded, where off-rolling is suspected and where they are not attending full time
• the experiences of parents and carers of children with complex health needs who do not think that the school can support their child’s needs
• how schools and local area partners support children and families to keep children with SEND in school, or re-integrate them into full-time education where appropriate

Children not in school who need help and protection

• how local area partners understand their safeguarding responsibilities for children with SEND who are not in school, and the barriers they face to fulfilling them
• the oversight of children with SEND who are not in school and are children in need, on a child protection plan and in care, who need targeted or specialist health

How inspections are carried out

Thematic inspections take place over three weeks, with inspectors off-site for the first two weeks.

During the offsite weeks, the local authority:

• distributes an Ofsted survey to relevant children, families and practitioners which asks about their experiences; provides inspectors with requested information, including lists of children in scope
• provides additional information on children inspectors select for ‘deep-dive’ tracking; and agrees the on-site timetable with inspectors

During week three: inspectors conduct on-site evidence gathering through visits and meetings, and discuss their observations with local area leaders.

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