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Families are being urged to take part in an important survey as Kirklees’ Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) provision goes under scrutiny. Ofsted and the Care Quality
Commission (CQC) will be visiting Kirklees from June 16 until June 20 as part of an inspection into local SEND services. The inspection will evaluate how well the local area - which includes
the local authority and agencies such as health partners and education providers - meets its responsibilities, as well as the impact for children, young people and their families. To
complement the evidence that will be collected, families including young people or children with SEND and practitioners working with children or young people with SEND are asked to complete
a survey to share their views and experiences by 9am on June 10. A link to this can be found at the bottom of the article. At the time of the last inspection by the two agencies in February
2022, "significant areas of weakness" were found in reforms of SEND at Kirklees Council and Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group. This resulted in a Written Statement of Action -
a detailed action plan to set out how services will be improved - being drawn up. The joint inspection, carried out over five days, found lengthy waiting times for key health services
ranging from 90 weeks for autistic spectrum disorder to 194 weeks - more than three years - for a diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). At the time, Kirklees
Council’s Strategic Director of Children’s Services, Mel Meggs and Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group Chief Officer, Carol McKenna, expressed ‘disappointment’ in certain aspects of the
report, but welcomed the inspection “as a way of helping us to support local families”. The pair were pleased that officers saw “many strengths” across Kirklees’ services and recognised that
some areas needed further time to develop. They assured the public that all of the issues raised during the inspection were being addressed and the transformation of SEND support, along
with extra funding, would make a positive difference for local families. A link to the survey is here. A paper copy can also be requested from Kirklees Local Offer. _GET ALL THE LATEST AND
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