The Children's Services Scrutiny Panel were scheduled to discuss SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) performance and the council's Early Help Strategy at their meeting. The discussion of SEND performance included progress following a Local Government Association (LGA) peer challenge review¹, the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) review process, criteria for placements in Additionally Resourced Provisions (ARPs) and special schools, children on reduced timetables, pathways for early intervention, and community involvement. The Early Help Strategy discussion included a revised Children's Centre and outreach offer.

Overview of SEND and Inclusion

The panel were scheduled to discuss a report on SEND and inclusion in Ealing, covering Ofsted inspection outcomes, EHCP performance, SEND place planning, early intervention and outreach, community and parent carer involvement, children missing education, and SEN transport.

Ofsted Inspection

The report pack included a summary of the September 2025 Area SEND Inspection of the Ealing Local Area Partnership, carried out by Ofsted² and the Care Quality Commission (CQC)³. The inspection recognised strengths including inclusive education practices, strong leadership commitment, early identification strategies, and engagement with families. It also identified areas for improvement to ensure consistency and timeliness of support across education, health, and social care.

The inspection resulted in the judgement that:

The local area partnership's arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

The report pack noted that Ealing Local Area Partnership would produce a post-inspection improvement plan.

EHCP Processes and Performance

The report pack stated that Ealing had made improvements regarding the effectiveness and timeliness of the EHCP process, and the overall quality of plans. Enhanced collaboration across services including SENAS, Attendance, social care, NHS therapies, Early Years and Educational Psychologists was said to have supported better management of workloads and expedited assessment processes. The introduction of case tracking systems was also said to have been instrumental in identifying unallocated cases, enabling earlier interventions and reducing administrative delays.

The report pack noted that the LA previously faced challenges due to national shortages of Educational Psychologists, internal team development needs, and delays in receiving health information from NHS partners.

SEND Place Planning and Sufficiency

The report pack stated that Ealing Council is committed to ensuring that children and young people with SEND have access to high-quality, inclusive education within their local community, and that as part of its 2025–2030 SEND Specialist Places Sufficiency Plan, Ealing is working to reduce reliance on Non-Maintained and Independent (NMI) special schools while maintaining sufficiency and quality of provision.

To address this, Ealing is implementing a strategy including:

• Expansion of Local Maintained Provision
• Improved Transition Planning
• Strengthening FE College Partnerships
• A refined commissioning model for Non-Maintained and Independent (NMI) special school placements

The report pack also included information about admissions to special schools, Additionally Resourced Provisions (ARPs), and Specialist Resourced Provisions (SRPs).

Early Intervention and Outreach

The report pack stated that Ealing promotes best practice in schools through a multi-layered leadership structure and a shared commitment to inclusive education. It noted that at the strategic level, the Right Support Right Time Subgroup leads the implementation of the SEND and Inclusion Strategy's Priority 1 action plan, with a focus on early identification and intervention.

The report pack also noted that Ealing's expanding Outreach Offer is a key enabler of early intervention, helping to build capacity and deepen knowledge across the school workforce.

Coproduction Community and Parent Carer Involvement

The report pack stated that in 2021, Ealing's Participation strategy was launched through a conference, and from this, the 'Include Me' group was established to support the delivery of the participation strategy and to support the development of Ealing's joint strategy for SEND and Inclusion 2023-2027 during 2022 ahead of its launch in 2023.

The report pack noted that in February 2025, a Local Government Association peer review of SEND in Ealing found that coproduction was not well understood by local partners.

The intended aims of the project were listed as:

• Parents and carers of children and young people with SEND and professionals working in Ealing will have a clear understanding of what coproduction is, why it is important, when it is required and how it works.
• Through creating a shared understanding and agreeing an approach to communicating this widely, professionals working in the local area will know how to engage with voluntary organisations that provide young people's engagement and parent carer partnership services that and in Ealing to undertake coproduction across the borough.

Children Missing Education (CME) And Children Missing Out On Education (CMOE)

The report pack stated that CME describes children of compulsory school age who are not on any school roll and who are not receiving suitable education through alternative means, and that CMOE refers to children who remain registered at a school but are out of education for a significant part of the curriculum.

The report pack noted that there was an increase in CME referrals in 2024-25 compared to the previous year, and that in 2024-25, there was an increase in CMoE cases, which can largely be attributed to improved reporting and training.

SEN Transport

The report pack stated that since September 2006, all pupils up to the age of 16, or 18 if they remain in full-time education, have been entitled to free transport on buses and trams within London. It noted that the Council has a statutory duty to make additional free travel arrangements when they are necessary for children / young people to attend school, but that the presence of an EHCP, or attendance at a special school does not automatically create eligibility for travel assistance from the Council.

LBE Early Help Strategy

The panel were scheduled to discuss a report containing details of the progress being made on developing and implementing the plan which sits under the Early Help Strategy. The update included an outline of the Best Start in Life Programme and how local delivery of the programme aligns and feeds into the broader Early Help Strategy and Plan, with an update on the revised Children's Centre and outreach offer. The report also mapped the referral pathways and key touchpoints for families accessing Early Help.

The report pack stated that the Early Help Strategy 2025-2028 was developed with partners, parents and residents in parallel with the consultation for improving the Early Help offer through Children's Centres.

Update on the revised Children's Centre and Outreach offer

The report pack noted that on 10 September 2025, a judicial review claim challenging the decision taken by Cabinet on 11 June 2025 was issued at court, and that the Council has submitted a defence to this claim. It stated that no Children Centre closures have occurred, and the Council will refrain from further decisions until the legal claim has been resolved.

The report pack included a table of Children's Centre Outreach Venues, listing venues in Acton Town, Ealing Town, Greenford Town, Northolt, Hanwell Town and Southall Town.

Key Touchpoints and referral pathways for families accessing Early Help

The report pack stated that the Families First Partnership programme aims to transform family support by creating a seamless, integrated system that combines the strengths of targeted Early Help and statutory Child in Need work into a single, multidisciplinary Family Help service.

The report pack noted that Early Help encompasses a wide range of services, from universal to targeted support, and listed the Ealing Children's Integrated Response Service (ECIRS) Consultation Line, the Family Information Service, Early Help Assessments and Plans (EHAP), Children's Centres, Early Start 0–19 Integrated Health Services, One-to-One Mentoring, Parenting Programmes and Workshops, Mental Health and Wellbeing Support and SAFE Targeted Family Support.

Local delivery of the Best Start in Life Programme

The report pack stated that the Government's national Best Start in Life Strategy was launched in July 2025, and that its importance lies in breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty.

The report pack noted that Ealing has received a ring-fenced in-year development grant to prepare for the delivery of the programme, and listed the outcomes expected for the delivery grant as:

• Identify Family Hub Site(s)
• Prepare for Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs)
• Strengthen Local Plans
• Financial Accountability

Panel's Work Programme

The panel were scheduled to review their work programme for 2025-2026. The report pack included a table outlining the proposed timetable, listing agenda items for meetings on 8 July 2025, 2 October 2025, 25 November 2025 and 26 February 2026.