BLACKBURN with Darwen Council’s special educational needs and disability provision is to be examined by national inspectors.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are tasked with jointly providing an independent external evaluation of how well a local area effectively carries out and meets its duties in relation to children and young people with SEND.

And the council has been notified inspectors will examine services in Blackburn with Darwen starting on Monday and lasting for five days.

This will mark the first time the council’s SEND provision has been inspected since the process was introduced in May 2016.

The inspection team will include an inspector with enhanced specialism in SEND, a CQC specialist children’s services inspector and an Ofsted inspector specially recruited and trained in SEND.

The inspection of the local area will cover and report on the effectiveness of the local area in identifying children and young people who have SEND, including children who are looked after, young offenders, care leavers, children known to social care, children missing education, children educated out of borough, in alternative provision, hospital or educated at home.

It will also look at the effectiveness of the local area in assessing and meeting the needs of children and young people who have SEND, as well as improving outcomes for them.

Inspectors will also assess the effectiveness of the local area in co-producing service developments and strategic decision making.

Ms Ivory said: "The local area includes the Local Authority (LA), Blackburn with Darwen’s Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), public health, NHS England for specialist services, early year’s settings, schools and further education providers.

"Unlike other Ofsted inspections a SEND inspection is not graded. Inspection reports detail areas of strength and areas for improvement.

"Where significant weaknesses are identified a Written Statement of Action (WSOA) is required to be produced by the LA and/or the CCG.

"The WSOA must clearly outline how, and by when, concerns will be addressed and be submitted within 70 working days of receiving the report.

"Local areas with a WSOA will be revisited by Ofsted and the CQC usually within 18 months of the WSOA being declared fit for purpose.

"The purpose of this revisit is solely to determine whether the local area has made sufficient progress in addressing the areas of significant weakness as detailed in the WSOA."