Government asked to step in and review failing SEND service

SEND National Crisis Worcestershire, a campaign group run by the families of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), says the county’s young people deserve better.

An Ofsted report published last week identified “widespread systemic failings” and said children wait too long for assessments.

FAMILY: Tracy Winchester with husband Russ and children Maive and Rowan. The family have first-hand experience of Worcestershire's struggling SEND provision (Image: Tracy Winchester)

Inspectors have called for urgent action - but campaigners said “enough is enough”.

In an open letter to Worcestershire County Council, NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board and other stakeholders, the group said: “It is no longer sufficient to just replace senior leadership and wait another few years.

“The education of children and young people with SEND matters as much as everybody’s children, and it’s time that this was honoured and radical action was taken.

READ MORE: Call for SEND investigation in Worcestershire Children First failings

READ MORE: Report on Worcestershire's SEND failings was 'no surprise'

“Accountability must be realised for the failures to date but furthermore there should be consequences and real learning from such inadequacy of the governance of public services and the waste of public funds.”

The group is calling on education secretary Bridget Phillipson and health secretary Wes Streeting to intervene and launch a full-scale independent review into Worcestershire’s SEND provision.

Tracy Winchester, of SEND National Crisis Worcestershire, said: “We must have external scrutiny now of what on earth has gone on here in Worcestershire.

“How could things be no  better, and in some cases worse, after six years of a supposed improvement plan: the ironically named ‘Accelerated Progress Plan’?

“It is a scandal and our children and young people with SEND, and their families, are paying the cost, with their lost or insufficient education, their mental health and ultimately their future prospects because they won’t get those lost years back.”

The group’s Dr Karen Nokes added: “The outcome of the Ofsted inspection confirms the experiences of parents and carers, children and young people.

“Urgent action is now  needed, and this must include an independent review. Worcestershire Children’s First has had the benefit of a host of resources over the past five years to improve and has spectacularly failed.”

A joint statement from NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire Integrated Care Board, Worcestershire Children First and Worcestershire County Council said the authorities “fully accept the findings and recommendations on what the Worcestershire Local Area Partnership needs to improve”.

The partnership also apologised to “those children and young people with SEND who have not received the timely support they need”.