Management Information Sheet

Ofsted and CQC SEND Inspection

I would just like to make you aware that on Monday 24 February we received the announcement that Ofsted and the CQC (Care Quality Commission) will be carrying out a Local Area SEND inspection in Norfolk commencing next Monday 2 March 2020.

The inspection team will comprise of 1 Ofsted HMI, 1 CS Inspector from CQC and a local authority Ofsted Inspector.

Some schools will become involved through the visits to providers or by being part of a focus group. In other local authorities already inspected they have visited early year's providers, primary schools, secondary schools, PRU/Special schools and post 16 providers. We will notify any provider that Ofsted/CQC wishes to visit as soon as we find out.

The team will arrive on site next Monday 2 March 2020 and will be based at County Hall. They will be with us for 5 days to carry out the inspection.

The focus of the inspection is to evaluate how effectively the local area (local authority, CCGs, public health, NHS England for specialist services, early year's settings, schools, further education providers and other partners) meets its responsibilities in relation to Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014 as described in the Code of Practice - Special Educational Needs and Disability: 0 to 25 years, which came into force in September 2014.

The inspection will last for 5 days. The team will use a range of methods to gather and evaluate evidence, such as:-

• Meetings with a range of leaders from education, health and social care agencies
• Meetings with children and young people to discuss their views and experiences
• Meetings with parents and carers to hear their views, discuss their involvement in identifying and assessing their children's needs and review how well they are engaged
• Scrutinising and evaluating documentary evidence used by the local area to strategically plan for and evaluate impact in meeting the requirements of the Code of Practice
• Visits to a range of agencies and providers to meet with staff and review documentary evidence
• Interviewing staff across the local area

The Nominated Officer is Michael Bateman and Lisa Flood-Powell is the Inspection Preparation Manager. They are the main points of contact for the Local Authority. Should you be involved in meetings with the inspection team and they ask you to provide any documentation/written information, please do not give them anything directly. We have an agreement with all HMI inspection teams that information requested during the inspection period will be co-ordinated for them, and logged, 'centrally', and, therefore, please provide direct to Lisa Flood-Powell.

Lisa Flood-Powell
Phone : 01603 222447
Email : lisa.flood-powell@norfolk.gov.uk