Ellie Ames 09 May 2024

SEND experience in Bury has been ‘poor for too long’

SEND experience in Bury has been ‘poor for too long’ image
Image: SynthEx / Shutterstock.com

Ofsted has found ‘widespread and/or systemic failings’, its lowest rating, in Bury’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision.

Bury Council and the NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board are jointly responsible for Bury’s SEND services.

Ofsted inspectors said the experiences of children and young people have been ‘poor for too long’, and heard that Bury’s approach to its SEND strategy was ‘stop/start’.

Young people are left waiting too long for services, and their needs often go unmet while they wait, the report says.

The quality of many Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) ‘remains unacceptable’, and plans are often generic or significantly out of date.

Inspectors said they met ‘many supportive, professional and dedicated practitioners and leaders’, and that improvements had begun, but ‘significant work’ remained.

Bury Council and NHS Greater Manchester said improvements ‘have not been at the pace required.’

They reported an 85% rise in the number of children with EHCPs in the past five years but said they were now meeting assessment times for the plans in 75% of cases, up from 22% two years ago.

Because of its high deficit in its high needs funding block, Bury Council has a ‘safety valve’ agreement, meaning the Department for Education provides extra funding, subject to the authority's progress on improving its SEND system.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Chief Executive

Ebbsfleet Development Corporation
up to £165,000
Ebbsfleet is one of the UK’s most ambitious regeneration projects, a 21st-century Garden City Ebbsfleet, Kent
Recuriter: Ebbsfleet Development Corporation

Virtual School Inclusion Support Officer

Essex County Council
£32768.0000 - £38550.0000 per annum
Virtual School Inclusion Support OfficerPermanent, Term Time£32,768 to £38,550 per annum (full time equivalent)Location
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Senior Business Development Officer

Essex County Council
£36341.0000 - £42754.0000 per annum
Senior Business Development Officer - Integrated Passenger Transport UnitFixed Term, Full Time£36,341 to £42,754 per annumLocation
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Adults Social Worker - Neighbourhood Team

Essex County Council
£37185 - £50081 per annum + Flexible Working, Hybrid Working
Interview dates
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Investment Marketing and Web Officer CDC

City Of Doncaster Council
Grade 8, £33,708 - £37,399
The postholder should be experienced in planning social media activity, refreshing web content and analysing their impact. Doncaster, South Yorkshire
Recuriter: City Of Doncaster Council
Linkedin Banner