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<p>It firmly remains a priority for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for
Education, that local authorities and other providers fulfil their statutory duties
in providing the right support at the right time for children and young people with
SEND and their families. The Secretary of State is committed to holding them to account
where these statutory obligations are not met.</p><p>From May 2016, Ofsted and the
Care Quality Commission (CQC) began inspecting local areas (including local authorities
and other commissioners and service providers) on their effectiveness in fulfilling
their duties for children and young people who have SEND.</p><p>Under the current
framework, Area SEND inspections consider how effectively the local area identifies
and meets the needs of different groups of children and young people who have special
educational needs or a disability, as defined in the Children and Families Act 2014
and set out in the SEND Code of Practice. The inspections also consider how effectively
the local area improves the outcomes of these children and young people. They may
also provide evidence for local areas to receive appropriate external support and
intervention.</p><p>The department has commissioned CQC and Ofsted, with the support
of the Department of Health and Social Care, to develop a new area SEND inspection
framework to launch after the existing inspection cycle has finished. Taking account
of learning from the first cycle, this framework will include a greater focus on the
experience of children and young people with SEND and their families and give more
prominence to the quality integration and commissioning of education, health, and
care services.</p><p>The SEND and AP Green Paper proposes to strengthen accountability
measures, including through Ofsted and CQC inspections and strengthened oversight
via the department's new Regions Group.</p><p><strong><br> </strong></p>
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