Ofsted brands elements of Oldham borough’s special educational needs and disability services ‘shoddy and deplorable’

Inspectors from Ofsted have revealed that children with disabilities and learning difficulties have been ‘illegally’ kicked out of school in Oldham.

The watchdog branded elements of the borough’s special educational needs and disability (SEND) services ‘shoddy and deplorable’ in a damning report.

Inspectors from Ofsted demanded Oldham Council urgently overhauls the care and support children receive.

In response to the report, published in November, council bosses apologised to ‘anyone let down’ by ‘unacceptable failings’ and vowed to do better.

The town hall, Oldham’s Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and disability support agency Point have now submitted a written statement of action to Ofsted, which explains how they plan to tackle serious weaknesses.

Bosses also sought clarification on what ‘potentially illegal practices’ were being carried out.

Merlin Joseph, interim director of children’s services, said the council was now working in a ‘right and legal manner’.

Ofsted bosses said children with special needs were ‘illegally’ sent home from school without being formally excluded.

The charity Child Law Advice states that it is unlawful for a child to be informally excluded from school, even when the child’s parents or guardian agree to the exclusion.

It advises that head teachers should, ‘as far as possible, avoid permanently excluding any pupil with special education needs’.

Other practices that urgently needed rectifying, according to Ofsted chiefs, included the ‘shoddy practice’ of education, health and care (EHC) plans - specials needs assessments carried out by councils to establish what support a child needs.

Inspectors found that some referrals for plans were refused within just 24 hours of them being received.

Typically, it should take between three and six weeks to fully assess an EHC referral before deciding whether or not to refuse it.

Fiona Boyd, head of quality and safety at Oldham CCG, stated in a recent board report that the need to establish joint leadership to tackle the ‘endemic’ lack of accountability was a key issue.

She added that there was still a ‘backlog’ of EHC plans which needed the health section signing off by the CCG before they could be implemented.

Oldham Council is now aiming to make sure that children and young people ‘achieve well in their early years, at school and in further education, finding employment, leading happy, healthy and fulfilled lives and having choice and control over their support’.

The statement of action describes their vision for the borough as a place where ‘children and young people can thrive’.

And town hall bosses pledged to ensure that the results of youngsters with special education needs improve faster each year than the national average.