A senior Nottinghamshire county councillor is resisting calls to resign after an inspection found "widespread failings" in services for those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). A joint inspection by Ofsted and the CQC, carried out in February, found that children and young people were waiting too long to be assessed and that there was a lack of confidence among some about being prepared for adult life.
Services for children and young people up until the age of 25 with SEND are the responsibility of the county council and the local Integrated Care Board (ICB). In terms of waiting times for assessments, the council says the average time in Nottinghamshire is currently 32 weeks.
That is beyond the 20-week timeframe by which the Government says families should have had a completed assessment. Georgina Palmer is the Forum Lead for the Nottinghamshire Parent Carer Forum (NPCF), a charity representing the views of families who have children or young people with SEND.
