Ofsted has found 'widespread and/or systematic failures' in Redbridge's Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) partnership, requiring a Priority Action Plan to address the issues. The findings, stemming from an inspection conducted in May 2025 by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC), have prompted a series of actions aimed at improving the experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND in the borough.

The Redbridge Local Area SEND Partnership, which includes Redbridge Council and the North East London Integrated Care Board, was evaluated on the impact of its arrangements on children and young people. While inspectors noted some strengths, the overall judgement was critical, leading to the requirement of a Priority Action Plan.

The SEND and AP Priority Action Plan report outlines a total estimated cost of £2.390m for the plan. Redbridge Council is intending to contribute £1.794m over three years, and the Integrated Care Board (ICB) is expected to contribute £0.596m over the same period.

The plan, developed with input from over 300 stakeholders including parent carers, was submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England (NHSE) and approved in October 2025. It addresses five areas of priority action and six areas for improvement.

Key steps taken to address the failures include:

  • Establishing an independently-chaired SEND and Implementation Board.
  • Confirming thematic leads across the Local Authority (LA), NELFT (North East London NHS Foundation Trust), and ICB.
  • Conducting scoping sessions with each lead to define key activities, success measures, and resource needs.
  • Establishing an ICB-chaired SEND Therapies Task and Finish Group.
  • Identifying supporting staff across all themes to enable the formation of working groups and task and finish teams.
  • Drafting Terms of Reference for each outcome theme group to guide their work.
  • Commissioning Barnet Education Learning Services (BELS) to support the Education Service, focusing on SEND and Inclusion.
  • Recruiting a SEND Transformation Lead, who started on 27 October.
  • Developing a co-produced Communications Plan with EPT (Empowering Parents Together), LBR, and the ICB.
  • Agreeing a Resource Plan by the Partnership to deliver the Priority Action Plan.

Angela Wellings, Interim Director of Education – SEND and Inclusion, presented the SEND and AP Priority Action Plan report to the Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee on Monday, 24 November 2025. The report outlined the progress made since the Ofsted inspection and the steps being taken to address the identified weaknesses.

Councillor Anne Sachs, chair of the Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee, and other members raised concerns about the financial implications of the plan. Councillor Sachs recommended that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee seek assurance that the necessary funding would be available, both from Redbridge Council and its partners. Chris Spencer, the new Executive Director for People Services, assured the committee that as the independent chair of the SEND and AB board, they would hold partners to account for their financial contributions.

Looking ahead, the local area partnership will be subject to a monitoring inspection within 18 months, followed by a full inspection within three years, to assess the progress made in addressing the identified failures and improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND. Failure to demonstrate sufficient progress during the monitoring inspection could lead to further intervention from Ofsted and the CQC.