Dear Parents & Carers, please read on. This is important.
We need your help to find out what you think about services provided for children and young people in Dorset, and are asking you to answer a short survey. (see link below).
The background:
Two years ago, in January 2017, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) did an inspection of the services provided for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). (They looked at services provided in the Dorset area, not including Bournemouth & Poole.)
Four areas of weakness* were found. In brief, these were:
- Education, Health & Social Care need to work more closely together;
- Education, Health & Care Plans need to be produced more quickly;
- Parents and Carers need to be more involved in decision making, and get better help sooner;
- The quality of what is being done needs to be better monitored and, if necessary, challenged to improve.
What has happened since then:
A Written Statement of Action* was produced as a result of the inspection, and a lot of work has gone into improving services where this was felt necessary.
What is about to happen: Ofsted and the CQC will be re-visiting* * Dorset in the near future to see what has been done to improve the four areas highlighted above. Dorset Parent Carer Council need to be ready to provide information, gathered from you, the people who know, about whether things really have improved! What we need to do now: So, we need your input, in the form of answers to our survey. Have the various bodies done what they were asked? Have things improved? Are Education Health & Care Plans now being produced on time? What is going really well for you? What isn’t going so well? Please tell us by clicking the button below!
Thank you,
THE STEERING GROUP DORSET PARENT-CARER COUNCIL
* More information about the Written Statement of Action & Dorset’s SEND Strategy can be find on the Local Offer. https://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/children-families/sen-and-disability-local-offer/about-our-local-offer/about-our-local-offer.aspx
** More information about the Special Educational Needs & Disability Local Area Inspections can be found on the Department of Education’s website. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-area-send-inspection-framework
Comments