6 March 2020 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

We would like to take this opportunity to thank those of you who managed to find time in your busy work schedules to attend one of the eight SEND workshops facilitated by ISOS Partnership that was held before Christmas. ISOS was commissioned to undertake this work to further inform Kent’s response to the issues highlighted in the Ofsted inspection report. These workshops highlighted key messages from the survey schools undertook in the summer along with some contextual information using Kent and national data. View the presentation from the workshop (PDF, 458.1 KB).

Ben Bryant from ISOS partnership led the workshops and emphasised the following points:

• The purpose of the inspection was to establish how well services and providers across Kent work together to provide positive experiences and outcomes for young people with SEND and their families
• A clear acknowledgement from the local authority for the need to improve aspects of their offer to young people, their families and schools
• Clarification that the focus of the workshops was to identify challenges to inclusive practice in schools, have open discussions and find positive ways forward
• The Written Statement of Action (PDF, 509.0 KB) produced to address key issues identified in the report is not the totality of work regarding services for SEND taking place in Kent.

A follow up session in December with school colleagues looked in more detail at the themes from the workshops with some initial suggestions as to how to address these. This is only one aspect of the follow up work however and goes hand in hand with a range of other activities taking place with partners and stakeholders, which we will update you with shortly.

The need for good communication was a strong theme and acknowledge that this is an area for improvement. We are committed to keeping you informed of developments.

Matt Dunkley CBE
Corporate Director
Children, Young People and Education