Redbridge's Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Partnership has a new action plan after a critical inspection earlier this year revealed widespread and/or systematic failures . While the specific failures identified by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) aren't detailed in the SEND and AP Priority Action Plan report for Education Scrutiny, the plan aims to address areas needing priority action and improvement. The plan, designed to address these failures, was approved following input from over 300 stakeholders, including parent carers.

The Education Scrutiny Sub-Committee convened on Monday, 24 November 2025, to discuss the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Priority Action Plan, among other topics. The plan, submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) and NHS England (NHSE) in September 2025, received approval in October 2025. The plan addresses five priority areas and six areas for improvement, though the specific details of these areas are not listed in the provided text.

Addressing Key Areas

Key steps already taken 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 (Integrated Care Board).
  • Conducting individual scoping sessions with each lead to define key activities, success measures, and resource needs.
  • Convening the 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 and ensure consistency.
  • Commissioning Barnet Education Learning Services (BELS) to provide support to 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. The council is working with parent carer forums to develop a co-production strategy. The Education, Health and Care plan coordinators co-produce education, health, and care plans with individual families. The intention is to gather a range of voices to understand the lived experience in Redbridge.
  • Agreeing to a Resource Plan by the Partnership to deliver the Priority Action Plan.

Financial Commitment

The council has secured additional resources from both the Council and the Integrated Care Board (ICB). The Council is intending to contribute £1.794m over three years, and there is an expectation that the Integrated Care Board (ICB) contributes £0.596m over the three years, bringing the total estimated cost to £2.390m. A memorandum of understanding with the ICB is under negotiation to formalise their financial commitment.

Next Steps

The SEND and AP Priority Action Plan is now published on the Redbridge Council website and the ICB website. An easy-read version is also being developed and translated into multiple languages to ensure accessibility for all residents.