You will remember that the SEND Local Area revisit took place in May this year.  The disappointing findings have been published today on the Ofsted website and I write to you to share the report and the Council’s and CCG’s response, as detailed in the joint statement.

We fully accept the findings of the CQC/Ofsted re-inspection and realise that the service is not good enough.  We have apologised to families in Birmingham that are affected and are very aware of the need for immediate improvement. 

We are also very conscious of the effect that this had had on schools and apologise for the effect that the underperforming service has had on hard working teachers and their leaders.  We want to support schools in delivering an outstanding SEND service and recognise that we are falling short of that at the moment.

Transformation of the service is underway, but we know we still have a long way to go.  We are planning to meet with schools, parents and carers and young people to continue the co-production work that is fundamental to delivering the service that our City deserves.

We will be announcing our next steps in the transformation of this service in more detail shortly.  However, if you have any comments or questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me personally.

With best wishes

Kevin Crompton

Interim Director of Education and Skills/Director of Children’s Services

kevin.crompton@birmingham.gov.uk