Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have rated Kent’s special educational needs and disabilities services as “inconsistent” — an improvement on past failures, but short of the consistent support families need.
Children with special educational needs in Kent are getting a better deal than they were — but whether you actually benefit still depends too much on where you live and when you entered the system. That’s the headline finding from a joint Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspection, which rated Kent’s local SEND arrangements as delivering “inconsistent experiences and outcomes”. Three possible verdicts exist: positive experiences and outcomes; inconsistent experiences and outcomes; and widespread and systemic failings. Kent sits in the middle.
Inspectors found genuine progress. Newer Education, Health and Care Plans — the legal documents setting out what support a child must receive — are of better quality, schools are more inclusive, and services are working together more effectively than before. But delays in accessing some services remain, communication with families is patchy in places, and preparation for adulthood is uneven across the county. That last point matters: it covers helping young people move into work, further education or independent living.
Beverley Fordham, KCC’s Cabinet Member for Education and SEND, said: “For the first time in many years, KCC is no longer systemically failing children and families with SEND.” She added that “there is more to do” and acknowledged that “not every child and young person is getting the experience they should” — calling that frustrating for parents and carers.
Jennie Hall, Chief Nursing, Experience and Quality Officer at NHS Kent and Medway, welcomed recognition of stronger leadership and needs-led support, but confirmed families “do not yet experience consistently timely and equitable support.” Work is already under way to cut delays, improve data and oversight, and strengthen co-production — meaning families having a genuine say in shaping the services they use — alongside preparation for adulthood.
Improvement Notice lifted
Kent’s SEND system has been under close scrutiny for several years. Key milestones:
- Initial SEND inspection in 2019
- Revisit inspection in 2022
- A formal Improvement Notice issued to the Kent local area partnership in 2023, then lifted in 2024 after significant progress was evidenced to the Department for Education across a range of improvement areas
The lifting of that notice is not nothing. It signals that the partnership — KCC, NHS Kent and Medway, schools and wider partners — is no longer considered to be in the most serious category of failure. All additional monitoring, including the Accelerated Progress Plan, will now close.
What changes next
One area inspectors specifically flagged as working well is Kent’s Dynamic Support Register, a multi-agency tool that identifies children and young people at risk of hospital admission or placement breakdown, and pulls support around them before a crisis hits.
But those who joined the SEND system before the recent improvements began are the ones least likely to have felt the benefits. Inspectors were clear: progress must reach every family, regardless of postcode or history with the system.
KCC and NHS Kent and Medway say they agree with the findings. They will now finalise a Local Area Strategic Plan built around six priority areas identified by inspectors — covering leadership understanding of service impact, EHCP quality and timeliness, family communication and co-production, reducing variation across the county, preparation for adulthood, and embedding improvements consistently.
Kent SEND services show progress but remain patchy, inspectors find Quiz
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