Deaf News: SEND system branded ‘unfit for purpose’ after Ofsted report reveals issues with learning and development

Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools are not receiving enough support with their learning and development, even with the involvement of external services – a new report by the education inspector Ofsted has revealed.

Supporting SEND, which saw more than 20 SEND students used as case studies, found that issues with learning and development were also negatively impacted when there were gaps in the understanding of pupils’ needs by staff and teachers.

“We also saw examples of pupils adopting coping strategies that could potentially mask needs, making clear and timely identification harder,” it reads.

Faizan, a Year 10 student with bilateral, high frequency hearing loss, was amongst those used in the research, which was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“[Faizan’s mother] reported that the speech and language therapist had noticed that Faizan could lip-read. It is therefore possible that Faizan’s need was not identified earlier because of this self-taught strategy. Additionally, his positive behaviour and attitude to learning likely made his need less apparent.

“Because Faizan developed strategies to cope well with school life and learning, there were missed opportunities to identify his needs. These were perhaps in part due to a lack of efficient information-sharing between education, health and care professionals but also perhaps because of potential weaknesses with staff knowledge, leading to hearing difficulties not being noticed until the end of primary school,” the report continues.

Commenting on the research, Sean Harford, national director for education at Ofsted, said it showed that high-quality education for SEND children is “underpinned by a good understanding of their individual needs”, as well as “good relationships between families and schools”.

“Effective joint work between schools and other services, especially including health, is also critical to children’s learning and development.

“The findings from this research will be really valuable as we continue to build on our inspection practice and develop the new area SEND inspection framework.”

Meanwhile Ian Noon, head of policy at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said the report offers “yet more compelling evidence” to support what parents of deaf children “have been saying for years” – that the SEND system “isn’t fit for purpose and doesn’t deliver” for all those who rely on it.

“Thousands of deaf children need specialist support, like expert Teachers of the Deaf, to thrive in school. However, there are clearly serious gaps between the specialist support they need and what’s being provided.

“The Government has the necessary evidence, so it must address these issues when it reviews the country’s SEND provision later this year. This is the perfect opportunity to fix a broken system once and for all,” he said.

The full report can be found on the GOV.UK website.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a mildly deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He wears bilateral hearing aids and can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.