Blackpool 'failing children with special educational needs'

A spokesman for Blackpool's SEND group said families "deserve better and they will get it"

Children with specialist needs are being failed by Blackpool's support services, a report has found.

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found four areas of "significant weakness" in services for families with children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND).

They included long waiting times and poor communication with parents.

A spokesman for Blackpool's SEND group said it accepted the implementation of reforms had been "too slow".

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Ofsted and the CQC was also concerned with a lack of specificity, ownership and accountability in the area's improvement strategy.

It also highlighted unfulfilled duties around preparing children for adulthood, poor communication with parents and carers, and long waiting times for some therapies.

In a letter following inspections in February and March, the inspectors said the area had not "paid sufficient heed to the views of children, young people, parents and carers".

'Considerable stress'

"In some instances, important decisions about key services, such as the short breaks provision, have been taken which have negatively impacted on lived experience of families," they said.

They added that the long waiting times had caused "considerable stress and anxiety".

"Many parents and carers' perception is that the area has put barriers in place to make it harder for them to access education, health and care plan assessments and specialist short breaks," they said.

The spokesman for the SEND group, which includes Blackpool Council and the town's clinical commissioning group, said they accepted "the outcome of the inspection and appreciate the valuable feedback the inspectors have given".

Apologising for the distress caused by delays, he added that the group was "committed to working together to meet the increasing demand across education and health provision".

"Families deserve better and they will get it," he added.