SEND Ofsted and CQC inspections
Last updated: 18 September 2026
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) conduct joint inspections to judge the effectiveness of local areas in implementing the disability and special educational needs reforms as set out in the Children and Families Act 2014.
2026 inspection
The latest Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection report into services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Kent has been published (18 September 2026).
The inspection found that children, young people, and families are seeing improvements in SEND services, but that experiences and outcomes remain inconsistent across the county.
The inspection was carried out over a 3-week period from 22 June to 10 July 2026 under the Ofsted/CQC Area SEND Inspection Framework. It considered how education, health, and care services work together to support children and young people with SEND aged 0 to 24.
Inspection findings
The inspection had 3 possible outcomes:
- positive experiences and outcomes
- inconsistent experiences and outcomes
- widespread and systemic failings.
Kent was given the middle outcome, meaning inspectors found evidence of improvement and positive impact, but also recognised that SEND support and experiences remain inconsistent across the county.
The report identifies progress in several areas across Kent's SEND system, including:
- improvements in the quality of newer education, health and care (EHC) plans
- more inclusive support in schools
- earlier help for some children and young people
- stronger partnership working across education, health, and care services
- improved joint working between services
- increased focus on support based on need rather than diagnosis
Inspectors recognised that strategic leadership is now addressing many of the historic weaknesses identified in earlier inspections.
They found evidence that these developments are beginning to have a positive impact on the experiences of some children, young people and families.
The report also found that these improvements are not yet being experienced consistently across Kent.
Areas for further improvement
Areas identified for further improvement include:
- variation in support and outcomes across the county, particularly for children, young people and their families who have been in the SEND system for many years
- delays in accessing some services
- communication with families
- consistency of support for children and young people awaiting specialist assessments
- quality, timeliness and oversight of EHC plans that are part of annual reviews
- preparation for adulthood
- ensuring leaders have a clearer understanding of the impact services are having on children's experiences and outcomes
Our response to the SEND Ofsted and CQC inspection findings
Alongside NHS Kent and Medway and wider partners, we have reviewed the inspection findings and will continue working together to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.
The inspection follows several years of improvement work across Kent's SEND system.
Following inspections in 2019 and 2022, which identified ongoing weaknesses and deterioration in some areas, an Improvement Notice was issued in 2023.
The notice was lifted in 2024 after progress was evidenced to the Department for Education across a range of improvement areas.
The latest inspection recognised strengths including:
- stronger partnership working across education, health and care services
- stronger leadership and oversight
- improved quality of newer EHC plans
- investment in workforce development
- a greater focus on inclusion
- strengthened co-production with families
Inspectors also highlighted Kent's Dynamic Support Register as an example of effective multi-agency working.
Priority areas for improvement
As Kent has now been inspected under the new framework, the additional monitoring arrangements associated with the Improvement Notice, including the Accelerated Progress Plan, will come to a close. The local area will now finalise a Local Area Strategic Plan focused on the 6 areas identified by inspectors:
- Ensuring leaders have a clearer understanding of the impact of services and interventions on the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND.
- Improving the quality, timeliness and oversight of EHC plans and annual reviews.
- Strengthening communication, engagement and co-production with children, young people, families and education providers.
- Reducing variation and improving consistency of support across the county.
- Improving preparation for adulthood and helping more young people, including those receiving SEN support, achieve positive next steps into education, employment and independent living.
- Ensuring improvements are embedded and experienced consistently by children, young people and families.
About the inspection
Kent's Area SEND inspection was carried out jointly by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to assess how effectively education, health and care services work together to support children and young people with SEND.
Inspectors reviewed a wide range of evidence, including service performance information, records and documentation, and examined the experiences of individual children and young people in detail.
They also met with children and young people, parents and carers, education leaders, health and care professionals, frontline practitioners, partner organisations and senior leaders from across Kent.
The findings are based on evidence gathered from across Kent's SEND system, including data, records, case reviews and direct feedback from children and young people with SEND and their families, schools and professionals.
Read the full Ofsted and CQC inspection report
Previous Ofsted, CQC inspections and improvement plans
In March 2023, we received a letter from Claire Coutinho MP, Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing, informing us of her decision to issue an Improvement Notice. It also set out the requirement for KCC and NHS Kent and Medway to develop a rapid improvement plan, called an Accelerated Improvement Plan which we published in August 2023.
The plan is overseen by the Department for Education and NHS England who conducted their first progress monitoring visit in November 2023 with representatives from KCC, NHS Kent and Medway, schools, and parents.
They found that Kent is making progress in all areas. Read their progress monitoring visit letter (PDF, 173.8 KB).
Find out more about our Accelerated Progress Plan and outcomes of progress monitoring visits.
Ofsted and the CQC conducted a re-visit to Kent in September 2022 to assess whether the local area (KCC, NHS Kent and Medway, and local schools and settings) had made progress in addressing the areas of significant weakness identified in their inspection of the local area in 2019.
Following the 2022 Ofsted and CQC re-visit in September, their findings were published in November 2022:
The inspection identified nine areas of significant weakness in SEND provision in Kent. These were set out in a letter which was published on the Ofsted website on 29 March 2019.
- Written Statement of Action (PDF, 509.0 KB)
- Written Statement of Action - plan on a page (PDF, 105.3 KB)
- Written Statement of Action - response letter (PDF, 119.0 KB)
- Written Statement of Action - measures and indicators report (XLSX, 60.6 KB)
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