Share your experiences as part of the SEND Local Area Inspection

This week, Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will be visiting Together for Children and Sunderland CCG as part of their SEND Local Area Inspection, which will take place from Monday 21 June to Friday 25 June.

The inspection will look at the effectiveness of the services delivered by education, health and social care providers who offer services to children and young people with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in the city of Sunderland. It will evaluate Sunderland City Council's effectiveness in:

• Identifying the needs children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities
• Meeting the needs of those children and young people so that their outcomes and changes of participating fully in society improve

During the inspection, inspectors will collect information about children and young people in Sunderland and will look at local area records, speak to area officers and leaders at educational settings, and speak to children, young people, parents and carers.

Inspectors are keen to speak to as many children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities and their parents and carers as possible, to understand more about the services provided on offer here in Sunderland.

This will be done through an online survey. If you would like to take part in this survey, you can do so at: www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/SunderlandLASENDInspection/. Alternatively, you can email your contribution to lasend.support@osfted.gov.uk. 

If you would like to contribute, we would be grateful if you could share your reviews on your most recent experiences. While we understand that many parents and carers may have views that extend back several years, the focus of this inspection is on the effectiveness of the local area since the introduction of reforms in September 2014. It is important that the views shared with inspectors relate to experiences from this time onwards.

Please note, Ofsted and CQC will not be able to follow up directly with individual parents and carers, however, the inspection team will consider all input from those who contribute as part of the evidence when evaluating the effectiveness of the local area and the outcome of the inspection will be made public once the inspection report is available.

Information on local area duties towards children and young people with SEND can be found on the Department for Education website at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-guide-for-parents-and-carers.

Thank you in advance to all children, young people, parents and carers who decided to take part. Your contribution will help us and our partners across the city to shape and provide services that work for you.