Ofsted and CQC to investigate SEND children not in school

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have published guidance for their next visits that will look at how well children with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND) are being supported.

This year’s visits will take place between spring and summer and will focus on children with SEND who are old enough to attend school, yet are not registered with any type of independent or state-funded school. 

The thematic review will consider the experiences of these children, as well as those who are flexi-schooled, on a part-time timetable, receiving education elsewhere than at school, or are frequently absent. Ofsted and CQC aim to investigate how they can meet the needs of these children and the availability of universal and specialist health services. Inspectors will examine why these children are not in school and how they can be best supported to attend full-time education.

These visits will additionally look into how much information is being shared with key partners and the barriers that local partners face when trying to support children who are not in education full-time. Evidence will therefore by collected from stakeholders in order to understand their experiences, including children and young people with SEND and their families.

In autumn 2025, a holistic report is scheduled to be published which will highlight examples of good practice as well as identifying any systemic concerns, rather than individual reports for specific local areas.

Lee Owston, Ofsted’s national director for education, said: “We know from our inspections that the number of children with SEND who are not in schools has been growing to a concerning extent.

“It’s vital that the most vulnerable children are not out of sight and that they continue to receive the support they need, even when they are not at school. I hope these visits will help us understand the experiences of these children, as well as the barriers local areas are facing in trying to deliver improvements for them.”