Child assessment delays 'not good enough' - Ofsted

Many local authorities are overseeing systemic and widespread failures, Mike Sheridan says

Too many families are being let down by delays in children with special educational needs being assessed, a senior Ofsted official has said.

Mike Sheridan said the watchdog was "absolutely aware" of lengthy waits young people living in Essex were facing.

Only about 1% of children in the county are assessed for an educational health care plan (EHCP) within the legal time limit of 20 weeks.

Mr Sheridan, Ofsted's regional director for the East of England, said the situation was "just not good enough".

"I'm really disappointed to say there are too many local areas where there are systemic and widespread failures," he told BBC Essex.

The senior official said inspections into a county's special educational needs (Send) provision were always reported "frankly".

In neighbouring Suffolk, three leading councillors resigned and a new children's director was appointed earlier this year following a highly critical report by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.

Families were disappointed that only one question was permitted to be put to Essex County Council during a meeting on Tuesday

Mr Sheridan acknowledged people were working "really hard" to fill gaps where delays in assessment were being seen.

"But, quite simply, it's just not good enough and too many young people are being let down," Mr Sheridan continued.

'Unacceptable'

Parents heckled councillors  at an Essex County Council meeting that discussed the delays on Tuesday.

A total of 19 questions were submitted by families to the authority but only one was allowed to be asked in the chamber.

The meeting was told that 2,237 of EHCPs still needed to be assessed. Of those, 26 families had been waiting more than a year.

The council's Conservative cabinet member for education, Tony Ball, apologised to those affected.

He said: "I make no secret that within Essex our performance is unacceptable and has let down the children and young people of Essex."

The council is due to spend £1m on paying for extra assessment specialists in a bid to reduce its backlog.