SEND services in Sunderland have been described as ‘inconsistent’ and ‘variable’ by regulators.

The Ofsted and CQC inspection of services arranged by Sunderland City Council and North East and Cumbria ICB was carried out in November 2025.

While noting improvement in many aspects of the partnership's work, the report said the overall impact on the lived experiences of children and young people was ‘variable'.

Inspectors noted the voice of the child and family was ‘consistently evident' in newly issued EHC plans and the child and young person's needs were more accurately documented, however, health and social care advice and recommendations were too frequently missing from plans and not consistently included in annual reviews, despite the availability of this information.

The report noted the partnership had invested in specialist provision for children and young people with SEND in Sunderland, including a purpose-built special school.

Cllr Michael Butler, Sunderland City Council's cabinet member for children's services, child poverty and skills, said: ‘Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities are a key priority for us, and we are pleased to note the many positives and areas of good practice, the inspectors found during their visit in November.

‘As a partnership committed to continuous improvement, we fully recognise the findings of the report and have a shared understanding of the challenges that remain.

‘The new DfE guidelines on SEND reform reflect many of the issues that have been highlighted locally and we are optimistic that DfE implementation of these reforms will bring improvements for children and families.'

Lee Peart is editor of Hemming Group’s Healthcare Management magazine.