Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have missed learning or experienced a narrowed education and many of their families have been left “exhausted or despairing” because they have been unable to access services during the Covid crisis, a new report warns.

Longstanding problems in the system of care for children and young people with SEND have been made even worse by the Covid 19 pandemic, according to Ofsted.

A new report entitled SEND: Old issues, new issues, next steps reveals the findings of joint visits to local areas by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), carried out during the autumn term of 2020 and spring term of 2021.

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It describes the negative experiences of children and families, including missed and narrowed education, the absence of essential services such as physiotherapy or speech and language support, and long waiting times for assessment and treatment.

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By the time of Ofsted’s final visits in the spring, inspectors found that families “were exhausted, even despairing, particularly when they were still unable to access essential services for their children”.

The report also finds that existing weaknesses in the SEND system have been exacerbated by the pandemic, as children are more likely to have been “out of sight” of services.

These weaknesses include:

• Weaknesses in universal education, health and care services, resulting in children and young people not learning essential skills and knowledge, and mistakenly being identified as having SEND.
• Significant inconsistencies in how SEND is identified.
• A lack of joined-up commissioning and joint working across education, health and care.
• A lack of clarity between organisations about who is responsible and accountable within local area SEND systems.

In a commentary published alongside today’s report Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman said: “As restrictions ease and children and young people transition back into routine education, I hope the pressure on families will also begin to lift.

“However, I recognise that many more children and young people with SEND are now even further behind their peers because of the pandemic.

“Others are at risk of being wrongly labelled as having SEND simply because they are struggling following extended periods away from their education setting.

“There is also a greater risk that some children and young people, especially those in the early years, may have new or different needs that have not been identified because they have not been ‘in sight’ of education, health and care professionals.

“This will undoubtedly put further strain on a system that is already under pressure.”