SEND local area inspection

The local area inspection is made up of key strategic partners who have a responsibility for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) in a local area.

Key strategic partners are:

  • Swindon families,represented by Swindon SEND Families Voice
  • children and young people represented by STEP
  • our providers, who are Swindon Borough Council for Education, children's and adults social care, education providers from early years to schools to post 16 providers 
  • the Integrated Care Board who commission our health services and our voluntary sector

To ensure we are listening to our children, young people and their families, the local area is inspected every few years by a regulatory body, Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), along with inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Inspectors are keen to ensure that continuous improvements in services are made. They will look at previous inspection reports and a range of both local and national data sets. 

They will look at a range of data, both local and national. Inspectors will choose a number of children and young people to review their files and seek assurances that their needs are being met. They will also want to hear from young people, families and professionals.

Swindon was last inspected in 2018. We were re-inspected in 2021 to assess progress made against areas for improvement, which were identified in 2018.

Swindon could be inspected at any time in the next 12 to 24 months.

SEND improvement is continuous and we do not want anyone to wait until the inspection to raise concerns that they may have.

If you are a young person who wants to raise concerns or you have ideas on how to improve your experience, either contact your School SENCO or contact our Young Peoples Champions by emailing SENDService@Swindon.gov.uk. You can also contact STEP at stepswindon1@outlook.com.

If you are a family who have concerns or have ideas to improve services, contact Swindon SEND Families Voice (SSFV) by calling 07486 873 405 or emailing swindonsendfamiliesvoice@outlook.com. They are your parent representatives.

If you are a professional with ideas for improvement or have concerns, please raise these through your line managers who have access to the SEND Local Area Partnership Board members who will be able to direct you.

Inspectors give local area’s three weeks’ notice of inspection. They give two weeks to provide the range of information inspectors wish to receive. On week three they will be in Swindon where they will have a full timetable of meetings.

On notification of inspection, the local area must send out information to all stakeholders including young people; families and practitioners. This is in written format and will contain a link to a webinar, which captures your views and feeds into an overview of the local area’s work, successes and any area(s) where there is room for further improvement.

This will help inspectors have a real feel for SEND in Swindon before they visit.

We will keep you up to date with any inspection updates through this page; SSFV social media accounts and our News Splash. If in the meantime you have any queries relating to the inspection, email localoffer@swindon.gov.uk.

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